fbpx
:::: MENU ::::

Posts tagged with: remarriage
Apr 8, 2024    |      1 comment

Investing with CashApp

by

A few months ago, a friend sent me some money they owed me via CashApp. I had to download the app specifically to receive the money, because it’s the only cash-sending app my friend had (I already had Zelle and Venmo but my friend didn’t have either of those). Then a funny thing happened. The money just sat there. I never took the time to hook up CashApp to my bank, so there was no way to “cash out” the funds. It wasn’t a huge sum of money, and I didn’t immediately need it, so it just continued to sit in CashApp, untouched.

Investment Options with CashApp

Until just about a week ago… I logged into CashApp and for the first time noticed you can invest through the app. Even better – the trades are Free! I started poking around a bit. I saw you can invest in Bitcoin and stocks. I started searching the stocks a bit and noticed you and search based on performance. For example, I searched for stocks with performance of 10% or higher over the past year (you can modify and change the % performance and time period). You can buy single stocks or buy into a fund.

I took my little bit of money and threw it into stocks. Why not? I wasn’t missing the money and it was just sitting in CashApp untouched for months anyway. Why not try to see if I could invest it and potentially stand to grow it a bit? I bought Meta (single stock) and SPDR S&P 500 (a fund that’s supposed to track the S&P 500). It’s only been about a week, but I’m already up a couple bucks!

Saving with CashApp

Just today when I logged into CashApp to check out my stocks’ performance, I also noticed they have a high yield savings account option as well! You can earn up to 4.5% interest depending on how much and how often you save. Who knew that CashApp had all these options for saving and investing?

Final Thoughts

I tend to be pretty fiscally conservative and risk-averse. For those reasons, I’m not big into investing in single stocks. I likely wouldn’t have ever invested through CashApp if I wasn’t in a situation wherein I had funds just sitting in CashApp doing nothing. Given that it was a small amount of money, and I could afford to just lose it all together, I’d almost consider this more “entertainment” and a learning experience versus an investment vehicle.  I’ll stick to Fidelity for my longer term investments. And for short-term investments, I have about half my Emergency Fund in a 5.25% yield 6-month CD through a CapitalOne360 bank account (currently half-way through the 6 months). The other half of my EF is just in a normal savings account.

I’d love to know if others use CashApp (or another app like RobinHood, etc.) for investing. I truly do not follow the market enough to start investing in single stocks regularly. But when it’s a small sum and viewed just as entertainment, it actually is quite fun to login and see daily changes, etc.

What are your thoughts on investing through apps? Would you ever do it? Why or why not?

Mar 29, 2024    |      0 comments

How to Get Out of Debt in These Three Common Situations

by

While no one actively tries to go into debt, certain life situations can happen, causing you to exhaust your savings and even max out credit cards to help cover the unexpected. Some may even find the need to turn to personal loans in order to make ends meet. Some of these cases include accidents that can put you out of work, an unexpected divorce, and home repairs that are essential and unexpected. Keep reading to see how you can get out of debt in these situations and find some financial freedom.

Debt Following A Car Accident Or Personal Injury

If you’ve been hurt in a car accident or suffered a personal injury on your job, or in public, you are likely having to take some time away from work. According to AllLaw, most U.S. personal injury cases are related to a car accident. When this happens, there’s an accumulation of medical expenses that build up, as well as property damage to vehicles, or the need to purchase a new one. If you had a negative equity on your car, you’ll also be forced to pay that sooner rather than later. Not being able to work and having bills stacking up can be overwhelming. If you’ve turned to your credit cards, personal loans, and savings account, you may not see an end in sight.

If you find yourself accumulating a lot of debt and getting calls from bill collectors, you’ll need to reach out to a personal injury lawyer and have them consult with you on your case. Most will do a free consultation, review your case, and if they can help you, they’ll take the case and start advocating on your behalf. In these cases, they look to get costs for all the debt you’ve accumulated back, as well as compensation for missed income, pain, suffering, and anything else related to your case, so you can pay back your debt and move forward.

Debt Following Divorce

When a couple gets married, they don’t assume there will be a divorce, but when it happens, there are debts and assets that need to be sorted out. Nearly 60 percent of all divorces involve individuals aged 25 to 39. Depending on what property you’re left with following mediation, you could find yourself overwhelmed with the situation.

Once you’ve been served with divorce papers, you should secure your own divorce attorney so that you can go over the expenses you share with your spouse, including assets and debt. They will let you know what you’re responsible for and help you avoid collecting so much of that debt. If you’ve gone through the divorce, and you’ve been left with excess debt, you may need to move forward with pursuing a bankruptcy lawyer and see about filing bankruptcy so that you can eliminate and consolidate your debt on a manageable plan.

Debt Following Home Repair And Renovations

As a homeowner, you’re responsible for keeping your home in good condition. In the event of a natural disaster, accidental fire, or other tragedy, you may find yourself overwhelmed with home repairs, replacing damaged property, and a swarm of debt that you weren’t expecting. According to This Old House, homeowners spend more than $10 billion each year on HVAC repair and maintenance services. Some things you can claim on your insurance, but when you need a new HVAC system or new roof because they’re old, that’s on you as the homeowner.

If you find yourself in debt with home repairs, you may have to consider doing one project at once and listing them out by priority. You will want to go to your mortgage lender and see if you qualify for a home equity line of credit, where you can borrow against the value of your home and do the essential repairs that you need to get your home back in good condition. These payments will fold back into your home payment and are easy to manage so that you don’t cover any unwanted debt.

Know All Your Options

When you see the debt start to pile up, it may seem like a knee-jerk reaction to pull out the credit card or get another loan to cover the expenses. However, know what all your options are and see if you qualify before you move to options that add more extensive monthly payments to your budget. If at any point you find yourself overwhelmed in any situation, you do have the option of filing for bankruptcy as a way to restructure the debt you have and stop you from getting more.

1 2 3 4 … 1,874