How to Automate Investing in 2020
From Crypto to the Dow. These are the best 3 apps for investing.
Stockpile
Instead of having to buy an entire share, Stockpile allows you to invest any amount you want. Even if your new to trading, the app comes with mini-lessons to help get you started. It is notable that Stockpile is the only brokerage where you can give an e-gift or physical gift card redeemable for stock. You don’t even need an account to give a gift. Plus, many of the top stocks are pricey, which makes it hard to get started. Take Amazon, at $1000 a share. At Stockpile, you can buy fractional shares. Buy $50 of Amazon and get 0.05 shares.
How to Automate
- If you don’t already have it, get the free Stockpile app on the App Store or the Google Play store. (Auto-deposits will be coming to the desktop soon)
- Go to your Settings, tap on Account, then Auto Deposit.
- Play with our growth calculator to estimate your potential wealth.
- Choose the frequency and amount of your deposit, and you’re all set!
Coinbase
I used to think only 10% of your portfolio should consist of crypto. Now, I would put significantly more. For example, TEZOS, a decentralized crypto on Coinbase, is literally giving cash for holding their stock. Mark Cuban, a propotent of cypto investing, said recently he would rather “have bananas than bitcoin”.
In response to being asked why he “hates crypto,” Cuban compared bitcoin to baseball cards, comic books and artwork, none of which have “intrinsic value,” he said. And there is less you can do with bitcoin than a baseball card.
“Crypto is so complicated for 99% of the population,” he said. “Do you put it in a device? Do you print it out? How do you keep it from being hacked? Who is going to host it for you?”
To take the confusion out of this, crypto is much simpler than it is made out to be and Coinbase has many tools and videos to teach you how to navigate this new form of currency. (They literally pay you for watching the videos) Try it out for yourself, and if you don’t like it, at least you made some money just watching a few videos.
How to Automate
- Navigate to the Trade icon on your mobile device
- Select the Buy icon
- Select the asset to buy
- Select the recurring purchase icon next to “one-time purchase”
- Select how often you’d like this purchase to repeat (daily, weekly, every 1st or 15th of the month, or monthly)
- Complete your purchase
Acorns
Easily my favorite, Acorns Invest automatically invests your spare change and lets you invest as little as $5 any time or on a recurring basis into a portfolio of ETFs. Your investments are then diversified across more than 7,000 stocks and bonds, and Acorns automatically rebalances your portfolio to stay in its target allocation.
Acorns Later, their IRA account, lets you automatically save for retirement by setting easy Recurring Contributions. When you sign-up, the app recommends the right IRA for you based on your goals, employment and income.
With Acorns Spend, you get a checking account and debit card, you can save, invest and earn while you spend. Acorns Spend actually has no overdrafts or minimum balance fees, plus free or fee-reimbursed ATM access nationwide.
How to Automate
In order to automatically invest your spare change, click here and turn on the “Automatic” setting. Once automatic is set to on, future Round-Ups will be invested automatically once your Round-Ups reach at least $5.
Free $5 for readers: https://www.acorns.com/invite/BMGB93
