Make a Payment Rates About Careers Contact Locations

Micro Investing

December 7, 2022 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. You might also be interested in 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... 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... 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... 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... With Thanksgiving behind us, the countdown to Christmas has “officially” begin. This year, as part of our Project Money journey, we have been planning... 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... 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... 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... 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...
Featured Products Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Certificates Checking Accounts Home Equity Loans Home Loans Business Banking Financial Education Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts Upcoming Events Programs Tools & Calculators On-demand Webinars Podcasts About Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Equity in Money™ About Summit Careers News Community Giving Help & Support Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch Contact Us Member Support Center Schedule an Appointment Find a Branch
Please read the following before proceeding to: The website you are about to visit is solely the responsibility of the merchant or other party providing the site. The content of this third-party site, including materials and information, is solely the responsibility of the provider of the site. The Credit Union is not responsible for any such third-party content. Any transactions that you enter into with a vendor, merchant or other party that you access through this third-party site are solely between you and that vendor, merchant or other party. The Credit Union does not endorse the content contained in this third-party site, nor the organization publishing the site, and hereby disclaims any responsibility for such content. The Credit Union Privacy Policy does not apply to this third-party site, and for further information you should consult the privacy disclosures of the third-party site.
NCUA Insurance Estimator Privacy, Security & Accessibility Rates Terms and Fees Routing Number
* The Wisconsin's #1 Mortgage Lender designation is based on the number of loans in 2023, gathered from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data compiled annually by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The results of the data were obtained through the LEI: 254900NTAC4H10MGSU23 ** SBA Lender of the Year Award for Credit Unions as awarded by the Small Business Administration of Wisconsin in 2024. Copyright 2025 © Summit Credit Union. All rights reserved. If you are using a screen reader and are having problems using this website, please call 608-243-5000 for assistance. Insured by NCUA