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Being part of Project Money has pushed our family to take a more active role in managing our finances, necessitating weekly conversations that have spurred growth from both educational and fiscal perspectives. One of the topics we had discussed was micro investing, investing small sums of money in fractional shares of stock or ETFs.
The two platforms that stood out to us were Acorns and Stash, specifically because of their round-up features. What they both do is round up purchases made on a linked account (i.e., checking account) to the nearest dollar – so if you bought something for $1.25 the round-up amount would be $0.75, and those round-up amounts aggregated and once they reach $5 would be invested in the funds chosen from the platform. Acorns allows you to link multiple existing debit and credit cards to calculate the round-ups, but it only transfers the total value of all the round-ups from the linked primary checking account (even if a round up was earned on card “X” the funds would come out of the checking account linked to card “Y”, if that was the primary account). Stash is slightly different in that you need to use their debit card in order to earn the round-ups. Stash’s Stock-Back card also earns stock on point-of-sale and online purchases at 0.125%.
Both platforms charge a flat fee of $3 per month for the basic level of services offered. Both also offer a robo-advisor for choosing the funds. Stash appears to have a more robust customizable offering of funds with 3,740 stock offerings and 93 ETFs. Acorns offers 9 standardized portfolios comprised of multiple ETFs each.
The option that seemed the most intriguing to us was Acorns, solely because it allowed for exiting accounts to be linked. We did a quick review of our transactions during a recent month, which we could consider average, and figured it would net ~$30. This seems to be in-line with Acorns claim that their average customer invests $150 in their first four months.
But while this approach to investing had us interested, as it seems like a low-risk, low-effort way to invest ~$360 per year, we ended up not moving forward. Based on discussions with our coach there are other areas where we could maximize first, getting a better return on our investment. I don’t think we will write this off completely though, as both platforms offer a custodial account option for minors. I could envision using something like this as our children get a bit older to as tool to help teach them about savings/investing.
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Across The Line
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As the year comes to a close, so does Season 14 of Project Money. In preparation for writing our final blog post we reflected over what has occurred over the last 6 months and the strides our family has made. Below, in no particular order, are a few of the highlights from our journey:
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Extended Car Warranty, Resource Or Rip-off?
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In the last week we had to take Robin’s car, a 2019 VW Atlas, in for a couple of recall notices we had received. Nothing completely out of the ordinary and wouldn’t have any out-of-pocket costs – so it wasn’t something that we had put much thought or effort into – outside of scheduling the appointment. Unfortunately, what we anticipated being a ~1 hour visit ended up being 5+ hours and spurred a larger discussion.
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Investing In Your Employer?
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One of the topics we had mentioned in our posts from earlier this year was an employee stock purchase plan offered by Robin’s employer. We have never participated in any stock purchase plans before through our employers but being a bit more vigilant as part of Project Money, we decided to give the program further consideration.
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Micro Investing
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Being part of Project Money has pushed our family to take a more active role in managing our finances, necessitating weekly conversations that have spurred growth from both educational and fiscal perspectives. One of the topics we had discussed was micro investing, investing small sums of money in fractional shares of stock or ETFs.
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Countdown To Christmas
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With Thanksgiving behind us, the countdown to Christmas has “officially” begin. This year, as part of our Project Money journey, we have been planning to approach things a bit differently when it comes to our holiday budgeting.
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Winter Has Arrived
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I had been putting this off for a few weeks/months now, optimistic that Fall might stretch on a little bit longer – but this past week’s winter weather brought with it a reality check, it’s time to replace the tires on my vehicle. I’ve just started to research pricing at local tire shops and trying to narrow down which tire choices will be the best value – both in related to cost and performance in wet/winter weather. I’ve also been checking some of the retail stores, Costco in particular.
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Back To Basics
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Over the last few weeks, we have been working to refocus, and get back to some of the basics as we start to head into the end of year holiday season.
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Bonds, Bonds, Bonds
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Over the past few weeks and months, I had seen several news reports about I Bonds, usually with a corresponding endorsement of their attractiveness as an investment in today’s market. I’ll be honest, my only experience with bonds was a savings bond that I received as a child – and I can remember waiting for what seemed like an eternity until I (and the bond) were old enough to cash in. After that I haven’t given them much thought until the past couple weeks.
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Energy Savings In Our Home
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We have reached the point of the year where we have one foot firmly planted into heating season and thought we would reflect on what energy saving tips we have used previously and are currently using to help reduce our bills.
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