- The Finance Gourmet

It Takes Money To Make Money Webull Example

November 11, 2024June 20, 2023 by Finance Gourmet

I’m writing up a comprehensive Webull review as part of my ongoing series of brokerage app reviews where I do comparisons like Webull vs Robinhood, look at is Webull legit, and my personal finance apps reviews. My hands-on Webull review includes actually depositing money and using the Webull app to buy and sell stocks, cryptos, and options. I feel like a real review of Webull or any other finance app requires putting your money where your mouth is, so to speak. Of course, for the purpose of writing a personal finance review of Webull, I’m not going to drop thousands of dollars into a new app I have no experience with just to try it out. My freelance financial writing business does pretty well, but maybe not THAT well. This article is not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities mentioned below. Some of the links below are referral links and may result in compensation to myself or Finance Gourmet. Invest In Webull Make Money Percentages Alright some context before we take a look at the screenshot. First, Webull gave me a single share of stock free in Genworth Financial for signing up for an account. In other words, …

Plynk Reviews – Plynk Invest Scam Legit Worth It?

July 4, 2023February 25, 2023 by Finance Gourmet

Plynk is another investment app similar to Robinhood, Wealthfront, and Webull. In our Plynk reviews we take a look with a Plynk investment app review to determine is Plynk a scam, is Plynk legit, and is Plynk worth it. As of today, Plynk offers a $20 deposit bonus and a $22 matching bonus for up to $42 in bonus cash upon deposit of $22. Let’s take a deeper look at the Plynk investing app. What Is Plynk? What is Plynk anyway? Plynk is another entry into the so-called world of fintech, or financial technology. With most standard online brokers like Schwab and Fidelity already offering free stock trades, apps like Plynk need to diversify further than just being free. Plynk’s attempt at individuality is that Plynk allows free stock purchases, or fractional share purchases with as little as $1. Then, there is a self-guided tool called Plynk Explore that will suggest investments based on the questions you answer. Finally, Plynk claims to be the most user-friendly interface by, among other things, “eliminating jargon.” There is also a Learn Plynk section that appears to be a bunch of blog posts about investing concepts. How Does Plynk Work? Like other micro-invest apps …

Fidelity Youth Account for Kids $50 Bonus

September 23, 2022 by Finance Gourmet

Now that the economy is no longer awash in free money, financial companies, banks and brokerages are in customer acquisition mode. New customers tend to stay customers, especially when scary stories on TV or scary circumstances trigger the impulse to stay put. $50 Fee for Fidelity Youth Account You probably started seeing postcards and letters in the mail with local banks trying to seduce you with offers of $200 cash for opening a new account, or something similar. This is a version of that. The idea from Fidelity’s end, of course, is that your child is getting older and if they already have a Fidelity account when they leave and go out into the world, there is a much better chance that they will keep that account than there is that they would find their way back on their own. How Do I Get $50 For Fidelity Kids Account? Fortunately, since this is for a kids account, there are kid sized requirements to earn the $50 bonus. First, the parent must be a Fidelity account holder. If you already are, then you can move to the next step. If you aren’t you have to make a choice about whether opening …

Is Bitcoin Better Than Gold?

February 9, 2023January 19, 2022 by Finance Gourmet

Bitcoin was once a joke. Then, Bitcoin was a fad. These days, after proving some staying power beyond being the new tulips, Bitcoin gets respect. Bitcoin has become mainstream with financial publications publishing predictions and analysis without accountability, just like it does with more traditional types of investing. Articles breathlessly ask how high can bitcoin go. But is bitcoin better than gold, especially after the bitcoin crash? Is Bitcoin a Good Investment? As a former financial advisor, I’m always cautious about telling people what is or is not a “good investment.” The better option is often to present the realities of any investment and allow investors to draw their own conclusion. Why Invest in Gold? Of course, to understand whether bitcoin is the new gold, you have to know why people invest in gold in the first place. There are several reasons people invest in gold. One of the most well-known is as an inflation hedge. While governments can print money, and inflation can take off with, or without, monetary policy failures, gold prices are tied to a physical commodity whose supply cannot be manipulated by the stroke of a pen. You can really get cash back with Rakuten This …

Do I Need a Financial Advisor?

September 14, 2022August 28, 2021 by Finance Gourmet

To read financial advice magazines and websites, you might think that anyone who uses a financial advisor is either dumb, or very rich. These money publications all say that with a little research and education, everyone should be able to do all financial planning and investing themselves to achieve financial independence. In the real world, however, real finance doesn’t always work that way. Getting Stuck Doing Finance Theoretically, getting your finances in order and investing can be a fairly simple process. However, it turns out that in reality, there are all of these places to get stuck. Once you get stuck, you lose all of your forward progress. Eventually, enough time passes and you have to start all over. As a financial advisor, I met with dozens of potential clients who walked out of my office without signing up to work with me. The vast majority never went forward with doing anything. Chances are, they met with a different advisor years later having done nothing in between. This all occurred to me while trying to work with fellow writers to set up their own online writing businesses. No matter how straightforward the instructions seemed, folks kept getting stuck. What struck …

Stash vs Acorns vs Robinhood vs Betterment vs Wealthfront

April 12, 2021January 25, 2021 by Finance Gourmet

acorns robinhood stash wealthfront betterment

It is time for a mega-review session where we review Stash versus Acorns versus Robinhood versus Betterment, and Wealthfront. Why these apps? These are current front runners in a crowded space that encourages small investments from regular people as a way to invest rather than the traditional broker models of investing. In a way, this Wealthfront review versus the other money investing apps begs for a new investing apps versus Fidelity, Schwab, ETrade, Ameritrade, ScottTrade review. That will have to wait for another day since I’ve already bitten off more than I can likely chew with an in-depth look at each of the Stash, Acorns, Robinhood, Betterment, Wealthfront apps and financial services. The Quick and Dirty Look (No Fine Print) Is Stash safe? What does Betterment do? Why is Wealthfront better or worse than Acorns? These questions demand an in-depth look at each one, and a thorough review of the fine print. Before that, we can take a look at what each money app and financial service say they do, and how that fits for regular investors. What Is Stash? Stash is why I’m writing this mega-review. People keep asking me about Stash. Then they ask me if Stash is …

Fidelity Joins Free Commissions Movement

January 12, 2023October 10, 2019 by Finance Gourmet

Fidelity announced that it too would be offering free trade commissions to its customers following earlier announcements from Schwab and TD Ameritrade. Fidelity free commission trades have some limits, but they are not onerous. While this is a newer movement among discount Wall Street brokers, it comes after many different investing apps, and services have pushed a commission free investing business model for a year or two now. Obviously, the free trade model is mostly aimed at smaller, do it yourself investors. It also works well for those doing the roboadvisor, or computer-based model investing. Fidelity Free Commission Larger investors already enjoyed “free” trades as part of an annual fee usually applied to their accounts that provided not only free trades, but investment and financial advice as well. Keep in mind that the free trades does not apply to mutual funds with loads, or other investments that charge their own fees. This new wave of freebies only applies to stock trades, ETF trades, options, and other market trades. And, of course, be sure to check the fine print where you’ll find tidbits, like $0.65 per option contract and a charge for sell orders: Sell orders are subject to an activity …

Free Trades

October 3, 2019 by Finance Gourmet

Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade have both announced that they are eliminating their usual commission for stock, option and ETF trades, to provide free trades to their customers. In the coming days, we may see other discount brokerages follow their lead, in part, or in whole. Until now, most brokerages only offered free trades on select securities, often on company owned mutual funds. For example, Fidelity has a list of mutual funds customers can buy for “free.” Schwab has a similar list. This new move opens up free trades to the world of stocks and options. Trading vs Investing New investors often confuse the concepts of trading and investing. Trading seems exciting and romantic. While it very much can be for the right people, the average person actually needs to be investing for long-term goals, rather than slinging stock trades. For investors building a well-diversified, long-term portfolio high commissions can impose an overhead that diminishes returns. That’s why low-cost brokerages like Schwab and Fidelity are preferred for many do it yourself investors. Zero-cost takes it one step further, providing the opportunity to build, maintain, and re-balance a portfolio without the added overhead of even a low commission. Traders, obviously, will …

Can I Text My Financial Advisor?

November 28, 2017 by Finance Gourmet

When it comes to technology, the financial industry often moves slowly. Back when I was starting out as a financial planner and financial advisor, I was forbidden from having a website, or financial blog like this one for fear that it would constitute non-compliant advertising. The irony was that as someone a bit ahead of the curve on that, I likely could have built up the financial planning practice I wanted, without doing something I didn’t want, cold calling. These days, numerous financial advisory firms run websites and blogs exactly like the one I wanted to run a decade ago. It begs the question how it can be perfectly fine, and non-scary now, but not then. I also never understood how a person who feels good fast-talking strangers on the phone would be considered “more honest” than someone willing to put into writing what they were saying. But, rules are rules. Text Messaging Financial Professionals and Brokers Not long after I left financial planning, I wrote some articles about the SEC and FINRA slowly loosening rules on various forms of electronic financial communications, in particular releasing things like Quarterly Reports on a company website, instead of the, then current, default …

Lowest Cost Mutual Funds No Minimums

December 7, 2022April 25, 2017 by Finance Gourmet

When it comes to getting started investing, it is often that first step that becomes the biggest hold up. For many would-be investors the most formidable barrier is actually free, that of setting up an actual account. However, for those with the momentum to cross that line, the next barrier is the cost of investing, most often in the form of a minimum investment. Skipping over these two barriers is one of the things that makes automatic investing apps like Acorns so attractive to new investors. They both eliminate the need to choose and set up a brokerage account and offer a way to get started investing with as little as five dollars. No Minimum Investment Mutual Funds with Low Costs Theoretically, a single investment in a mutual fund with a $1,000 doesn’t sound insurmountable. However, when every reputable financial advisor recommends diversifying your investments among several different funds, that $1,000 minimum quickly adds up to a $5,000 or even $8,000 minimum, to obtain the right kind of diversification. Throw in a 5.25% up-front load for many mutual funds sold by advisors, and that’s a lot of initial overhead. Fortunately, there are many low-cost, do-it-yourself mutual funds that you can …