What is Robinhood?
The Robinhood app debuted in 2013 as a first-of-its-kind revolutionizing free investment platform. Much like the 700-year-old story of the hero to the people, Robin Hood, FinTech entrepreneurs Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt created the platform in order to make stock trading easily accessible to the general public and not just the wealthy.
The sleek designed interface of the Robinhood app is easy to use
What do I need to open a Robinhood account?
Essentially, you don't need anything but your basic info and email to get your account started. Since Robinhood doesn't require a minimum deposit, you can connect your banking accounts after setup. Your Robinhood account can be accessed either from the web or through their mobile app.
Once you link your financial institution to transfer funds into the account, you can start buying and selling stock. Robinhood features instant deposits, which makes up to $1000 of your pending bank transfer available immediately for trades. This can be crucial if you wish to buy on stock right away for max gains, as it can take up to five business days for the transfer to go through.The most enticing aspect of joining Robinhood may just be the randomized free stock they give to each user at sign up. Although there is a 98% chance that stock will range anywhere from $2.50-10 in value, there's a 2% chance you might receive a stock valued at $200 or more!
The statistics and return on individual Robinhood stocks is easy to read and understand
Robinhood features
- Robinhood offers fractional share purchases. This allows you to buy a portion, or fraction, of a stock share. Say you want to invest in Tesla stock but don't want to put around $400 into buying one share of it. With fractional shares, you can invest as little as $1 into stocks like Tesla.
- The refer a friend program offers you another randomized free stock for each successful referral.
- With Robinhood's cash management program, uninvested cash deposits are managed through Robinhood's network of program banks, where it earns a variable interest (currently .30%) and is protected under FDIC insurance regulations. You also receive a debit card for use of the funds and can make purchases online through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. All of this is offered to Robinhood users free of charges or fees.
- For $5 a month, users can upgrade to Robinhood Gold. With Gold membership, you get higher thresholds for instant deposits, substantially superior market research through Morningstar and NASDAQ, and access to margin trading to buy stocks on borrowed money.
The Downfalls
Some of the popular stocks on Robinhood will show brief analytics, but professional research is only available to Robinhood Gold members
- The user is in complete control over which funds to buy and sell. There is no financial advisor in charge of your investments. With complete control, the user has to either take time to do their own research or take the risk of possibly losing big without having expert advice.
- Robinhood limits you to only one account option, a brokerage account. Without the option of a tax-deferred retirement account as the investment vessel, users have no choice but to pay taxes on the account right away.
Who is Robinhood Best Suited for?
Robinhood offers cryptocurrency trades from many of the biggest companies in the business. Being one of the few brokerage apps that allow this, Robinhood is great for people looking to get into crypto investing.
Generally speaking, Robinhood is best for new-to-investing users who want to try an innovative way to dip into the world of investing with a little bit of cash. However, I wouldn't recommend this app for anyone looking for anything long term.
While Robinhood gained much of its craze because of being the first commission-free trading app, many more brokers have also gone to commission-free trades. Ameritrade and Fidelity are two brokerages that offer commission-free trades but with the full service and options of a mainstream brokerage.Spring may be the most popular time to list, but people need to buy homes in every season. Follow some simple steps to get your home sold in the winter.
Sometimes there is no choice—a home needs to be sold in the winter.
Spring may be the most popular time to put your house on the market, but homes do sell in the colder months. With fewer houses available, your home may be someone's only choice when house hunting in your neighborhood. As your neighbors hold out until spring, you'll already be done and ready to shop for your next house!
Here are a few tips for selling a home in the winter to get you on the right track.
Keep Paths Safe and Landscaping Fresh
Landscaping is the last thing on a homeowner's mind in the winter. Everything was cut back in the fall and may now be covered in snow. Still, take a walk around the house and yard to check everything out. Branches may have fallen from heavy snow, leaving a mess in the yard. Keep everything neat and tidy.
The last thing you need is a potential buyer slipping on the ice-covered walk in front of your house. Buyers often consider those moments bad omens, and this can affect their decisions. Shovel, snow blow, spread salt—do whatever you have to do to keep the driveway and walking paths clear, and don't forget the porch and deck.
Make the Inside Warm and Cozy
In cold weather, buyers won't spend a lot of time examining a home's exterior. Instead, impress them with the inside by creating an atmosphere which causes them to want to move in.
When there's time, leave wintery types of snacks and drinks, such as hot cocoa and cookies, available on a table during showings. This gives your home a welcoming feel to buyers.
Light the fireplace (if you have one) for a lovely ambience and set your thermostat to a comfortable setting. A warm home in the winter is much more appealing than a chilly one.
Make Your Home Less Personal
Understandably, this can be a tough thought for homeowners. After all, you've spent years creating memories in your home. To buyers, though, they need to picture it as their own. Too much personality makes that difficult.
It's always important to stage your home in a way that makes it look clean, comfortable, and move-in ready. Don't feel offended by the idea of taking family pictures down and replacing them with generic décor. This will help your home sell faster by helping buyers envision their own things there.
Cleanliness and Maintenance
Clean, clean, and clean some more. Make appliances, counters, and floors shine. No matter how old your home is, it needs to feel like new to potential buyers. If you aren't into dusting, now is the time to try. Don't forget window coverings that might need washing.
Be prepared ahead of time for home inspections by taking care of maintenance now. HVAC systems, plumbing, and electrical should all be up to code and running smoothly.
Use these tips for selling a home in the winter, exercise patience during the slower months, and your home will sell before you know it.
Entering your 20s means you'll quickly need to learn how to navigate the world of personal finances, much of which you probably didn't learn in college or high school courses.
Without any previous lessons on finances, it can be challenging to know where to start. Follow this guide as we outline the financial decisions you'll need to make in your 20s.
Setting a Budget
The first step to being a fiscally responsible young adult is setting a budget. Your budget will determine many future financial decisions, from where you can live to what splurges you can make. Look at the expenses you currently owe every month and your projected income to determine how much you should be spending on bills, daily expenses, etc.
Tackling Debt
Getting rid of your debt as early as possible is a critical step for newly independent 20-year-olds. However, some may not be able to get rid of debt as soon as they hope. Once again, look at your budget, then decide if you'd like to put more toward tackling debt now or pay your loans as they come.
Getting Coverage
While you may be able to hold onto your parents' insurance until 26, you'll have to choose your own plans sooner or later. From health insurance to renter's and car insurance, you shouldn't skip an opportunity to cover yourself in the case of an accident. Find a provider and plan you're comfortable with, and get your coverage as soon as possible.
Saving for a Rainy Day
Navigating how to save is another critical financial decision you'll have to make in your 20s. Living paycheck to paycheck is not a sustainable course of action. Even putting a small portion of your wages into a savings account can make a big difference—especially if an emergency you didn't prepare for occurs.
Starting To Invest
Investing is a scary topic for young adults, but it's a great way to build wealth. Starting to invest as a young adult will set you up for success on your long-term financial plan. However, be sure to conduct research before jumping into the market to decide when, where, and how much you'd like to invest.
Your 20s are an optimal time to learn and grow. One area of life you'll undoubtedly learn a lot about is managing finances. Use this guide to help you get started on the path to becoming a fiscally responsible adult.
Tax deductions can be tricky to understand if you're new to the finance world.
One of the biggest sources of confusion is knowing what you can and can't deduct from your taxes. Deductions can be a massive financial boon for a lot of people, yet not everyone files for them correctly. This causes people to miss out on money that should be theirs. We'll go over some of the most common tax deductions that are overlooked, so you don't get shortchanged when Tax Day comes.
Charitable Contributions
When you start regularly giving to charity, even if the donations are small, you'll want to start getting itemized receipts for your donations. These receipts will help you write off these charitable contributions on your taxes. You can even write off supplies that you bought for use in a charitable cause or any miles you drove on your car while in service to a charity. Make those donations to the Purple Heart Pickup with an open heart, but make sure you get your deduction on top of that.
Student Loan Interest Payments
Student loans take up a significant amount of a lot of people's money. If you're one of these people, make sure that you get a deduction on the amount of interest you paid off in the last year. What's important to remember is that even if you aren't someone's dependent, you can write off the money someone else gave you to pay for said student loans. If someone else helped you pay off part of your loan, don't think that means you can't still get a deduction on that sum.
Child and Dependent Care Credit
If you have a reimbursement account through your job that pays for child or dependent care, you might be forgiven for forgetting about this particular tax credit. However, you can use these funds for a tax credit if you file for them correctly. This is hugely important because this is an opportunity to receive a full tax credit, not just a deduction. You're losing money you could be directly receiving if you don't file for this credit.
Jury Pay Given to Your Employer
A lesser-known tax deduction that often gets overlooked is the money you can deduct from jury pay you gave to your employer. It may not be the most exciting thing to come out of jury duty, especially after handing over any money you receive to your employer, but you do get to deduct however much money your employer made you hand over after you finished jury duty.
Credit for Saving
While this credit is more for people that are working part-time or for those that have a retired spouse, you can get a tax credit for contributing to a 401(k) or another retirement savings plan. This is also a great incentive for those that are just starting out in their careers and need another reason to start saving for the future.