“A penny saved is a penny earned,” reads the proverb most attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Ironically, the same gentleman on the $100 bill in the United States. Believe it or not, saving pennies may just be one of the smartest ways to save money. While money may not grow on a tree as we would all like, it can certainly have growth like a tree growing strong and mighty. In the post, I have included a few ways for you to count your pennies and save your money more intelligently.
Digit – Automatic Savings
New start-up Digit takes the idea of saving a few pennies a day and puts that into action. Within just a few weeks, I had saved over $100 and didn’t even think twice about it, in fact I didn’t miss a single dollar. With advanced algorithms, Digit analyzes your spending and in turn withdraws a few cents or dollars that it knows you won’t miss from your checking account into a savings account! Before you know it, your money is savings are growing right before your eyes. The plus side is they are so confident in their calculations they provide overdraft protection if it is their fault. The downside is that the money they’re storing away for you doesn’t earn interest as of right now.
Motif Investing – Smart Way to Invest
Now that you’ve got your savings building up, you’re going to need to find a place to responsibly store your wads of cash–it’s time to invest. Mutual funds and ETFs are a great, fairly safe way to invest. Individual stocks are usually more lucrative but if you don’t fully have a pulse on the market or you’re hesitant to get your feet wet in investing, stocks can be daunting. Understanding the ins and outs of stocks and their potential returns versus their risk can be overwhelming. What is a stock’s beta, P/E ratio, cap and yield? Motif Investing removes barriers for beginner investors and essentially lets you create something similar to a mutual fund filled with 30 individual stocks for a flat rate of $9.95. This brilliant, social approach to investing allows investors seasoned and green alike to invest around ideas, social concepts or just personal curiosity. With an easy-to-use interface and great reporting, Motif Investing is a great, affordable way to begin investing for those who have saved up.
Future Advisor – Retire Smart
It is always a great idea to save money for a rainy day such as a savings account or an investment account. However, saving for retirement is also critical. Saving up for that day you decide you no longer need to do the 9-5 thing is smart. While there are countless ways, there have been a number of start-ups making a splash in “virtual wealth management.” These start-ups are helping reduce the cost of portfolio management allowing for optimized portfolios for the day you want to retire. Two I am currently investigating include WealthFront and Future Advisor!
To me happiness and success are not defined by a number in a bank account. That said, while we are here on this earth, we need to be good stewards of what we have whether that be time, money, possessions or anything in between. No matter where you are in life, it is time you start saving your pennies. While money doesn’t grow on trees, you can be smart with the ways you save and before you know it, your money will be growing faster than you know!