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Are you ready to start investing? Are you stuck on where to even begin? Do you want to learn about the tools that helped out this newbie investor?
Do you find yourself nodding to the above questions? I found myself doing the same thing just over three years ago!
Investing wasn’t something that I commonly heard about from those around me. Many of my family members only had experience in investing in their retirement accounts and short-term CDs. Which are still great investments by the way! Below I am going to share how I started investing as a complete newbie.
I thought Investing was out of my league!
My first full-time job was with a local community bank. A benefit to this employment was that they bought a share on our behalf and the earnings from this share were invested in our 401K. I remember calling the department that handled investment accounts just so I could ask more questions. My questions did get answered but I still hung up confused or unsure of how to move forward. I simply just did not know the right questions to ask. So, I moved forward with continuing to contributing to my employer-sponsored retirement accounts.
A few years later, my mother introduced me to Dave Ramsey. After going through his course, I realized that investing should be the least of my worries as we had no savings and tons of debt. I would like to say that this realization would have motivated us to get our finances in shape, but sadly we didn’t. It seemed impossible for us at the time while we were barely living paycheck-to-paycheck.
The next couple of years brought many changes that seemed to keep making it hard for us to save money and avoid debt. However, we never gave up. Little by little, we made small progress towards increasing our income and paying off old debts. Before we knew it, our mindset had started to shift and we grew past the living paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.
When the impossible became possible!
While continuing to improve our financial literacy, phrases like “building wealth” or “streams of passive income” had become prominent. One of the first things that came to mind to create additional income was to start investing. Since we were staying on budget, building savings consistently, and making progress towards debt, we felt comfortable allocating a small portion of our income for investments.
As a newbie to investing, I needed something that would help walk me through the investing process without costing me time and money. After doing some Google searches, I came across two apps, Stash and Acorns.
After reviewing both apps and their advertising features, I was faced with another dilemma. I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to start investing with!
The Undecided Investor
After much contemplation, I devised a plan. My plan was to sign up for both apps and contribute the minimum amount allowed monthly for the remainder of the fiscal year. During that time, I would try out the different features in each app and track my progress. My thought was that after having hands-on experience and the ability to look back at my progress, I could then make a more informed decision.
The Verdict
After using both the Stash and the Acorns app for the remainder of 2019, I decided that I liked the versatility of both apps so much that I would continue to use both throughout 2020 and 2021. Now here we are in 2022, already! After using both of these apps for 3 years, I wanted to share my thoughts on what I liked and dislike about each app. I know how it feels to be ready to start investing but also feeling overwhelmed by the information and options.
I hope that by sharing my personal testimony of my micro-investing experience that you will feel more at ease at making a decision about beginning your journey into investing
Now, about those Tools this newbie used to start investing.
Stash is known as a personal finance app that makes investing simple. Not only do they simplify the process but they also make investing easy and affordable for everyday individuals and families. This gives every individual and family opportunities to build wealth and achieve their financial goals.
Stash was founded on the principle that everyone should have access to investing. Isn’t that amazing that they were able to see the individuals like you and me who felt like we didn’t have the same kind of access to investing? This solution is exactly what I needed when I needed it to build up my confidence in investing. It can be your solution too!
What I am loving most about Stash!
- You can invest less than $5.00 (initial investment must be $5.00)
- Built-In Financial Literacy Coach
- Countless Companies and EFTs to choose from
- Earn Free Stock with Stock Parties Weekly
- Additional features available that I haven’t taken advantage of yet!
- Banking with Spend, Retirement & Custodial Accounts, and Insurance
What I do not love so much about Stash.
- Tiered monthly subscription plans
- The overwhelming feeling of having countless investment options
- Reporting features could be more user-friendly
Acorns is a personal finance app and website designed to help you save and invest your money. Growing your money was never quicker, easier, smarter and more trusted than with Acorns. They are on a mission to look out for our financial best interest by allowing us to step into micro-investing. With Acorns, you simply choose how much you want to invest and after completing your profile they will recommend the best Exchange Traded Funds to allocate your dollars too.
Not only is Acorns helping families and individuals invest in their futures, they also are investing in our enviroment. Acorns supports One Tree Planted. Areas that have been affected across America by forest fires and floods is being able to be restored by Acorns planting more oaks simply by having someone new sign up. Being able to further support the creation of jobs, assist in stabilizing the climate, and rebuilding habitats for biodiversity is just as important to me as being able to invest in mine and my families futures.
What I love further about Acorns!
- You can invest as little as $5.00
- Built-In Financial Coach
- Simple Investing Options
- Additional Features that are available to take advantage of still!
- Round-Up Investing, Earn Found Money, Retirement & Custodial Accounts, and Insurance
What could improve with Acorns.
- Nixing the tiered monthly subscription plans
- Providing more investment options beyond the five recommended
- Enhanced reporting features for us accounting nerds
Overall, both micro-investing apps are truly user friendly and make you feel more in control of your investing options. They are continously growing by adding new features and investment options. I can not say enough great things about Stash or Acorns.
Are you ready to begin your journey of investing?
I hope you have found this article helpful. Enough so, that you no longer feel stuck. I promise once you take the leap these apps will help guide you along your journey. I kept my investing journey very basic the first couple years. What I mean by that is that I only invested $5.00 to $15.00 a month between the two apps. Since then I have seen anywhere from a 10 to 40% rate of return on my portfolio. I have even built my confidence to the point that I have increased my monthly investment amounts and branched out into the world of investing with Fidelity.
Are you ready yet? If so, I would love to have you join the Stash or Acorns community today. Use one of my links below and we both score free money to build our investment portfolio.
Stash is currently offering $20.00 of stock once you add cash to your Stash. That is right. After investing just $5.00 into your new Stash account, you can earn $20.00.
Acorns is currently offering a $5.00 bonus investment once you sign up. Essentially, if you invest $5.00 today you will be able to double that investment for free!
Once you have signed up, comment on this post and let me know. I can not wait for us to be on this journey together!
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