Want a simple way to invest your savings, but don’t know how? Acorns is an app that helps you invest your savings and spare change in the stock market.
Plus, you get a $5 bonus for registering as a new member.
What Is Acorns?
Acorns is one of the most popular robo-investing apps on the market. Instead of deciding on what stocks or securities you should invest in, Acorns will make the decisions for you. All you have to do is deposit the money.
If you don’t want to make deposits manually, you can also choose the option of rounding up your purchases to the nearest dollar. The difference between the purchase price and the next dollar is invested in your Acorns account.
How Does It Work?
There are 4 ways to start investing with Acorns; One-Time, Recurring, Round-Ups and Found Money. You can choose one or all three when you link your debit or credit card.
One-Time payments are the fastest way to start investing. You can invest as little as $5. I made my first invest this way.
The second way is Recurring payments. With recurring payments, you can set aside a certain amount every week or month to invest.
Thirdly, Round-Ups is the most passive way to invest. Make purchases using your linked debit or credit card and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar.
The Acorns Later service allows you to save for retirement by allowing you to set up automatic, recurring payments. They’ll even recommend an IRA for you to save with.
If you shop with brand within their brand partners within the app, Acorns will invest money for you. For example, if you book an Uber ride within the Acorns app, Acorns will invest $0.50 in to your account.
Finally, Acorns Spend is a checking account with a debit card that saves, invests and earns money for you. Acorns Spend gives you the ability for direct deposit, mobile check deposits and free bank to bank transfers. You can also earn money with the Found Money feature automatically.
How Do I Earn?
Acorns takes your cash and make the appropriate investments based on your risk level; Conservative, Moderately Conservative, Moderate, Moderate Aggressive or Agressive.
They take your cash and invest it in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs for short). These funds are mostly made up of a broad holding of many stocks or bonds. For example, The Millennials Thematic EFT currently consists of over 76 different securities.
The idea is that by spreading your cash across a diversified range of investments, you ultimately lower your risk while still being able to see a positive return on your money.
This helps “smooth out” any bumps for sudden market changes. In short, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. You’ll find that every dollar is invested in over 7,000 different stocks and bonds.
Acorns is also a firm believer that you’re better off investing your money than letting it sit. If you don’t invest, you’re not letting your money work for you.
How Does Acorns App Pay?
Money can be withdrawn anytime as long as you have $5 available to withdraw. Funds are deposited to your bank account within 3-5 business days.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Great for beginners without any knowledge of investing
- $5 Bonus when you register
- $5 Bonus when you refer others
- Earn extra money by shopping with their brand partners
Cons
- Risk levels limited
- Not meant for large investments
How Can I Get Started With Acorns App?
You can register for the Acorns App 100% free by clicking this link here. All you need to get started is to enter an email address and create a password. They even give you a $5 registration bonus as a new user.
Next you’ll need to link your bank account. Invest $5 to $10.
You’ll need to complete your profile that includes entering in some of your personal information. Like any brokerage firm, they will need your SSN since all earnings will be reported to the IRS.
This is a very important step in the registration process. When you fill out your financial profile, Acorns will do their best to suggest which type of portfolio you should invest in. Be sure to answer all questions as honestly as possible. You can change these answers at any time.
If you want Acorns to automatically round purchases up to the nearest dollar, you can link your credit card for round-up purchases. This is a great way to start investing with just pennies at a time without any work on your end. Watch the video below to see how round-ups work.
If you want to invest a certain amount of cash over a certain interval, you can setup recurring investments. You can choose to invest as little or as much as you want on a daily, monthly or weekly basis. The minimum amount must be $5.
Final Thoughts…
Acorns is a great way to save and invest, especially if you have little to no knowledge of investing.
