You probably think of a great business leader like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Elon Musk. Right?

Some of you may think of an A-list celebrity like The Rock or Taylor Swift. There is no doubt they are all successful in their careers.

However, people define success in countless ways. From the amount of money in their bank account to the number of followers they have on Instagram, everyone strives to achieve their own version of success.

Whichever way someone chooses to define success, it takes hard work, consistency, and persistence.

My passion for helping my readers reach their financial goals led me to interview celebrities, influencers and business leaders. Sharing their stories brought to life the struggle and triumph that led them to their success.

I want my readers to feel as if they aren’t alone. I want them to hear from real people that they can relate to and learn from.

Through my interviews, I discovered nearly all of the successful individuals I spoke with had similar characteristics. I began to see patterns in their journey toward success.

Over time, it became clear to me that applying these patterns to your own life can help you achieve the life you have always dreamed of. If you have been waiting for that push, here it is!

7 Habits of Wildly Successful People

They Work Harder Than Most People

How many hours do you work a day? For many people, they work 40-hour weeks and then spend the rest of their time enjoying leisure activities or watching their favorite Netflix shows.

This is quite the contrary for the celebrities I’ve interviewed. Even when they work form home, they are putting in a TON of work.

All the entrepreneurs, celebrities, and influencers I interviewed credited working more than 40-hours a week to their success. They live a life of passion and purpose, not one of complacency.

Their drive to achieve their vision of success gives them energy and ignites their creativity in all aspects of their lives. This makes it easy for them to work 12-plus hour days. It amazed me that some of my communication with these celebrities would take place after midnight.

They truly never stop working on their passion and are unapologetic about their persistence.

In my recent interview with Dominic Pace, he mentioned the importance of seeking his own work.

Pace does not rely on anyone to find work for him, rather he pursues his own employment opportunities. He noted that being proactive in pursuing work doesn’t make you aggressive or needy, it makes you ambitious and hungry for success.

Your ambition and drive set you apart from the weak and the lazy. If you want something bad enough, you must put in more work than the average person is willing to. While others rest, you need to be working.

Even if you have a 9 to 5 job, you still have 79 hours a week to do as you please. That number includes 7 hours of sleep a night.

That’s 79 hours of non-sleeping hours when you could be turning your dreams into reality.

If you want to be successful, use your time wisely.

They Know Exactly What They Want

Goal setting is an important trait of those that have achieved success.

Knowing exactly what you want is the driving force behind your work ethic and passion. All the celebrities I speak with are extremely specific about what they are pursuing.

Diane Franklin believes that success is not only defined by the habits we establish but also in figuring out exactly what we want. To succeed you must define your goal and make a list of what steps you must take to achieve your dream.

If you don’t know what you want, you aren’t alone. But you need to start figuring it out. If you are stuck in a rut, then at the very least you already know what you are currently doing isn’t working, and that’s a start. Try something new and see if that’s better.

If not, try again. This is your life we are talking about, so what could be more important!?

According to Diane, you must push aside your fear of failure and to focus on the path to success. If you fail along the way, don’t be ashamed, use the experience as a learning experience and keep working on achieving your goals

For example, if you’re playing darts but don’t hit a bullseye what’s the point of the game? The point is to get better so that you can eventually hit the target!

Having defined goal with a list of actions you must complete is the key to remaining productive.

Knowing what you’re working toward is key to accomplishing your goals and aspirations.

They Respect the Competition

In addition to their passion for work, it is fascinating the healthy respect celebrities have for their competition. Almost every celebrity I interviewed was aware that if they were not willing to put in the effort, someone else would.

The same can be said for successful businessmen and women. Entrepreneurs realize that there’s always someone out there trying to steal their market share.

Successful people respect the fact that to remain successful they must maintain the level of hustle that got them success in the first place. Many believe they must start over each day and work harder than the day before. The first sign of laziness or inconsistency can significantly harm everything they have worked for.

Competition keeps them sharp and on their game. It forces them outside their comfort zone as well as pushes them to grow in their craft and skill.

Many people view competition as a bad thing or something to try to avoid at all costs. However, competition is something celebrities celebrate and accept as a part of life. There’s always someone who will have more experience or a better skill set than you do, but it’s up to you to keep striving for more.

Once we accept the existence of competition, we can accelerate our own growth. To be honest, most people really aren’t paying attention to you anyway. They focus on their own work and what they need to do in order to achieve their ideal version of success.

By using your competition to your advantage, you will always be one step ahead.

Avoid Saying No

Time permitting, successful actors, writers and business leaders rarely say no to high-potential opportunities.

It is impressive how rarely celebrities turn down work. Rather than consider a role too small or large, they consider every opportunity to network. They’re not fixated on the result of one effort, rather they focus on how the effort could lead to more opportunities down the road.

Their opportunistic perspective leads them to realize bringing your “A” game to a low budget short, might lead to the director wanting to work with them again on a future big budget movie.

Every opportunity leads to another opportunity. You never know what’s right around the corner if you don’t put yourself out there as much as you can.

Think back to the times when you said “yes” to a new job or an adventure. How did it turn out? Were you pleasantly surprised or disappointed? Most likely, it opened a new door to something you never thought was possible.

By saying “yes” to big and small opportunities alike you increase the possibilities that happen in your life.

Written Schedules

In nearly every interview I conducted the interviewee kept a handwritten schedule. Either a dry erase board or a simple piece of paper. I was initially shocked that they didn’t use Google calendars.

In my recent interview with Perez Hilton, he discussed his need for scheduling. He doesn’t do spontaneous work. Scheduling his life helps him balance all his avenues of work and stay on top of all his business obligations.

It’s easy for life to get in the way of your to do list. However, when you schedule your day hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, you leave less room for error. The more structured you are with your daily schedule the easier it will be for you to achieve your wildest dreams.

Time is priceless. The more you efficiently utilize your time to your advantage the more you will see results.

They Invest in Themselves

It is amazing how much time and effort they invest in themselves. Everyone I interviewed could name at least one or two books that they recently read that they found helped their craft.

The vast majority still work with a coach or a mentor, and several had recently attended training or conferences.

Some people view coaches or mentors as something that only non-successful people need. It turns out that the opposite is true.

You are your most important asset. It’s your responsibility to continue to grow and get better every day.

Each day provides the opportunity to learn something new and to enhance your skills. It’s important to take advantage of these opportunities. After all, if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.

Did you know that you only retain 10% of knowledge by simply reading written material? However, you may retain 90% of the material you read and then implement right away.

This means that it is imperative you continue to learn and apply your knowledge. Even if you re-read your favorite books, you will learn something new every time.

They Hit the Gym

It not just for vanity, each person I spoke with also believes hitting the gym and being physically active helps with their mental state. Everyone we spoke with mentioned that consistently hitting the gym helped them remain balanced and improved their mood.

In fact, according to the Mayo Clinic, exercise improves mood and boosts energy levels. If you’re going to work 12 plus hour days, you better have a way to keep your energy up.

In addition, another benefit of exercise is that it helps your cardiovascular system work better, giving you more energy to tackle any tasks at hand. Even the busiest celebrities make time to get their sweat on. They prioritize their health because they knew it could help them maintain their level of success.

Your Road to Success

Whether you want to become an accomplished writer, an entrepreneur, actor or a profitable side hustler, the path to success is similar.

The formula is simple, but few are up to the challenge. They are okay with a mediocre life.

I learned there really isn’t one secret to success. People who reach celebrity status or become business leaders are just like you and I. However, they are persistent, have discipline, and are consistent.

They know exactly what they want.

They take every opportunity and seize the day.

This is a post by guest author Michael who blogs at Your Money Geek, where he shares his experience, unique insights, and profiles inspirational success stories. When he is not writing about personal finance Michael can be found enjoying a sci-fi book.

Francisco Maldonado

Francisco Maldonado, MD is a personal finance expert who was raised in poverty by a single mother and had to learn everything about personal finance on his own. In addition to running  Finance Plan Today with his twin brother, he’s been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, US News, The Simple Dollar, and other top publications. Francisco is a physician who borrowed over $200,000 to pay for his medical training and understands debt payoff strategies and frugal living. He received his M.D. from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, the most selective medical school in the country, and a Bachelor’s degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota. He is currently a radiology resident at Northwestern University.

FinancePlanToday.com

The post 7 Habits Of Wealthy People appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

Mint Mobile Review Update: I extended my Mint contract for another year for $15 per month! It’s ridiculous how cheap it is, especially compared to what I used to pay. All in, I pay $180 per year for my phone service while most people pay that in just a few months…

It also doesn’t hurt that they just randomly increase the amount of data you get without increasing the price. A few months ago I randomly logged into my account and realized they increased my plan to 4GB up from 3GB. That now gives me twice as much data as Cricket for literally half the price ($15 vs. $30). Insane.

As I’ve noted in the past, I never use all of the data because I spend 95+% of my time at home and work where the WiFi is super fast. Regardless, it’s nice to have an extra GB without not paying extra.

Mint Mobile Review

Name: Mint Mobile

Description: is a low-cost cell phone company or mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that uses T-Mobile towers.

Overall

4.4

• Pricing
• Network Coverage
• Customer Service
• Ease of Setup

Summary

I use Mint Mobile because of the low prices and good network coverage in my area. If you are hoping to lower your phone, Mint Mobile is a solid option as long as you get good reception in your area.

Pros

• Low-Cost Plans
• Easy Set-up
• Can Use Existing Phone
• Can Keep Existing Number

Cons

• All Plans Are Pre-Paid
• Need Unlocked Phone

• Sign Up Now!

Today I’m sharing my Mint Mobile Review with you to explain why I decided to switch to Mint from Cricket Wireless. Mint Mobile is a low-cost phone plan provider that is helping people save money with less expensive mobile phone plans.

Mint Mobile At A Glance

Plan Cost	Plans start as low as low as $25/month
Plan Types	Prepaid Carrier
Features	You Can Bring Your Own Phone You Can Keep Your Existing Phone Number
Requirements	Unlocked Phone Necessary Plans are available in 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month increments
Sign Up Now

You might remember that I wrote an article last year about how I had saved thousands of dollars over the years by switching to Cricket Wireless from the main cell phone companies like AT&T, Verizon, & T-Mobile.

I loved Cricket (I still do!), but when I started to hear murmurs about a less expensive option, I knew I had to look into it.

To test it out, I made the switch to Mint Mobile from Cricket Wireless, and I had a wonderful experience! After a year using Mint, I decided to renew my contract for another year. It was that good.

For the record, I have to say that I was truly happy with Cricket Wireless and only switched due to cost. I have a couple hundred thousand dollars of student loans so every penny counts.

I recommend both Cricket and Mint Mobile very highly and ultimately, so you should go with whichever service gives you the best reception. If you live in a place where AT&T and T-Mobile both have solid service, just go with the less costly option.

What Is Mint Mobile?

Mint Mobile is a low-cost cell phone service provider that offers plans with unlimited talk and text, and LTE data.

Mint is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that uses T-Mobile towers. MVNO is a fancy term for a mobile phone network that doesn’t own the actual cell phone towers themselves and essentially rents the bandwidth.

From a user perspective, you would have no idea if your phone is serviced by an MVNO or a standard carrier. So you’re just paying less for what you’re used to getting, including the same 4G LTE and 5G networks.

Because Mint Mobile doesn’t own or build the cell phone towers themselves, they can operate at a much lower cost than the major cell phone networks. They pass these savings to customers like you and me via more fair prices.

Just like the way Cricket Wireless uses AT&T towers and bandwidth, Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile towers. This means that as long as you’re in an area with reliable T-Mobile service, you should get dependable Mint Mobile service. That means you get the same mobile internet for a much better price.

How Does Mint Mobile Offer Cheaper Prices?

Unlike Cricket Wireless (and most other cell phone companies) who charge you a monthly price as you go, Mint Mobile plans are prepaid every 3, 6, or 12 months.

This pricing model allows Mint Mobile to offer super competitive rates since they know precisely how much bandwidth to purchase from T-Mobile. They pass these savings onto customers by rewarding customers who agree to longer contracts.

You still get 4G LTE data with wireless service so you can stream and watch your favorite content.

As you’ll see in the pricing table below, the real savings happen when you purchase a more extended plan.

What Are The Different Mint Mobile Pricing Plans?

You can see the plans on the Mint Mobile website.

Their introductory 3-month pricing levels are the same as their 12-month plans. In essence, they are hoping you’ll love the service and price so much that you’ll opt for the 12-month plan… which is exactly what I did!

Which Phones Can Be Used On The Mint Mobile Network?

Any unlocked GSM phone should work on the Mint Mobile network. You can bring your own unlocked phone just like I did. I just popped out the old sim card from my iPhone and popped in my Mint sim and that was it.

It’s important to note that you can still keep your existing phone number when you switch to Mint. Moving your phone number (porting) to the new network is simple.

This means you’ll save a bunch of time and hassle not needing to notify everyone you know that you got a new phone number or worry about missing calls and messages.

If you want a completely new number and start clean, that’s no problem at all.

Why Switch To Mint If You Are Happy with Cricket?

Look, I had zero problems with Cricket’s service. I loved it and have recommended it to anyone who asked us about it.

But ultimately, when you are trying to pay off over $200,000 in student loans, it all came down to the money saved. If you’ve seen our posts on financial freedom or budgeting, you’ll know how vital living within our means is.

Remember, the lower your expenses are each month, the more aggressive you can invest and save.

I want to be able to retire earlier than when we turn 65 years old, so I am hyper-focused on saving as much as possible and earning as much as possible.

Does this mean I will stop working when I am 50? Probably not, but it will mean I will be able to if that’s what I want to do.

So let’s take a look at how Mint compares to Cricket so you can see whether the savings made sense.

If you are on a major carrier, you’re likely paying much more than either Cricket or Mint Mobile!

Comparison: Cricket Wireless vs Mint Mobile Plan Prices

*Prices accurate as of May 2022

**5GB plan not eligible for Auto Pay Credit

Are the savings worth switching?

In short, YES!

This question comes down to two factors. The savings and the hassle involved.

To start, you are essentially getting the same service you pay for now, but at a fraction of the price. You still get unlimited text and talk, hotspot and tether functionality, high-speed data, strong cell service, and you get to keep your existing number and a compatible device.

Let’s address the hassle of switching before I break down the numbers.

The switch was quite simple, and there was a minimal hassle.

The process of switching took me 15 minutes plus the wait for the sim card to arrive since I already had an unlocked phone (I used the same phone I was using on Cricket Wireless).

Now let’s break down my savings!

Let’s compare the 10GB/month Cricket Wireless plan with the 10GB/month Mint Mobile plans since that was the same change that I made initially.

How Does Cricket Wireless Pricing Compare To Mint Mobile?

When it comes to finding a budget phone plan, these are the two clear leaders in the game. Both companies offer unlimited talk and text on all of their plans.

One company uses AT&T towers while the other uses T-Mobile towers. Also, Mint offers prepaid plans to offer additional savings, while Cricket offers the traditional monthly cell phone plans.

Let’s take a look to see how the costs between the two platforms compare.

Cricket 10GB vs. 10GB Mint Plan (3 Month Pricing)

Cricket 10GB vs. 10GB Mint Plan (6 Month Pricing)

At both the 3-month and 6-month prices, Mint Mobile provides savings over Cricket. At the introductory 3-month pricing, it’s $240 per year. That’s a decent chunk of cash!

One critical thing you have to remember is that these savings are only for a single phone line. If you have a family with multiple lines, the savings become huge. That means more money in your pocket so that you can live your best life without stressing out at the end of the month.

Cricket 10GB vs. 10GB Mint Plan (12 Month Pricing)

At this level, the savings over a full year are HUGE!! Like I mentioned earlier, if you have multiple phones in your family, then the savings can make a massive difference.

Over $200 in yearly savings! The catch is that Mint is a prepaid service, but the savings can be enormous.

One thing to note is that Cricket’s pricing drops as you add more lines, while Mint Mobile doesn’t offer family plans. Since Mint is still less expensive for the 12-month plans you will still likely still come out ahead, but you’ll want to compare to make sure. For example, for 5 lines on Cricket with 10GBs, their price is $26 per line. So still more expensive per line than Mint.

The Downsides To Mint Mobile

If you live paycheck to paycheck and struggle with paying all of your bills on time, then having to come up with the extra cash upfront will be a challenge. However, this is also a benefit because once you pay your phone bill, you won’t have to worry about your service being disconnected every month.

For example, with Cricket, you pay your $35 every month (if you have AutoPay set up), but with Mint’s 3-month pricing, you would pay $105 upfront for three months. On the flip side, the other two months you wouldn’t have to pay anything.

If you decide to maximize your savings and go with the 12-month plan, you would pay $240 once and then not have a payment due the other 11 months.

So over the full year, you would pay a lot less. This translates into more money in your high interest savings account or Roth IRA. More money to spend money on the other things that you need most.

What About The Time Value Of Money?

First, it’s fantastic that you think about the time value or opportunity cost of your money. Compound interest is a real thing!

Second, it’s a great question. After all, isn’t there a chance that you’d be better off keeping Cricket so that your money isn’t locked up for 3, 6, or 12 months! That’s money that you could be investing!

Let’s take a look and see.

For example, let’s assume you opt for the annual plan since that is the plan that would require the most amount of money to be paid upfront. Let’s focus on the 10GB plan that I selected.

This plan is $20 per month and is prepaid. With Cricket, you’d be paying roughly $35 for a similar plan every month. That means that during the first month, you’d have $205 extra dollars to invest. With a standard phone plan, you’d be paying even more.

Assuming you make 6% per year on your investments, that’s 0.5% per month. That means that you’d make $1.03 in investment gains from investing the extra $205. Let’s stop right there. You already saw that over the year, you would save $180, so clearly, this more than makes up for the ~$12 per year of investment gains you miss out on by paying upfront.

If you were to compare this to a standard phone plan you would save even more money.

Any way you slice it, saving money on your phone bill is one of the best things you can do to have more money on a regular basis.

Coverage Issues?

I have now been using Mint Mobile for over 18 months and I have had absolutely no coverage issues. I was on Cricket Wireless for several years and also had no issues. In short, these low-cost plans are the real deal.

Like all phone companies, Mint Mobile has stronger signal in certain areas and weaker reception in others.

Before you sign up, spend 2 minutes to check the wireless coverage in your area with their coverage checker. For the vast majority of you, this shouldn’t be a problem at all.

If you live in an area that’s borderline with regards to coverage, Mint Mobile offers a 7-day money-back guarantee, which is pretty sweet.

No Phone Upgrades

Mint Mobile will sell you a new phone at retail prices, so there are no savings if you are looking to trade in your phone or upgrade.

If you want to use the money saved on the plan to get a new phone, you’re better off thinking twice about it.

“I am going to save money by switching to Mint Mobile, so that means I can upgrade my phone, right?”

WRONG.

Apple and Samsung have some of the best marketing teams in the world. We get it. Every time we see one of their commercials, our brains also start to rationalize why we need the latest Apple or Samsung phone.

But that’s the thing: We don’t NEED a new phone.

One of us had the same phone for nearly five years. Was it annoying to type in the passcode each time when our friends could unlock their phones with their fingerprints? Definitely. Did we survive? No doubt.

Based on our personal savings rate, I’d say we did a lot more than merely survive!

So next time you feel like upgrading something that works perfectly fine, remember one thing: you can’t miss what you’ve never had.

If you really can’t make it more than a year or two with the same phone at least do the two following things:

1. Sell your phone (or give it away to someone in need)
2. Put the money you are saving on your cell phone plan into an account each month specifically for your phone (this is called a sinking fund)

By doing those two things, you will never go deeper into debt and can pay cash.

If you can’t pay with cash, then you can’t afford it (this doesn’t apply to large purchases such as a mortgage).

This doesn’t mean actually paying with cash. I use credit cards to get points/cash back but pay them off in full right away. I do this to avoid ever having to pay interest charges on my credit card.

You Should Know That There’s Now Unlimited Data Plans!

You’ll also notice that while all Mint plans include unlimited talk and text, they now offer an unlimited data plan! For most people, it doesn’t matter since you probably have access to WiFi at home, work, or school.

But if you are the person who has no access to WiFi and uses insane amounts of data monthly, then a Mint Mobile Unlimited plan is the real deal!

Switching To Mint Mobile – My Overall Review

When it comes to our phones and plans, a few things are most important to us.

Price, call & FaceTime quality, data speeds, unlimited text and unlimited calling.

For me, there has been absolutely no difference in call or FaceTime quality. I haven’t noticed dropped calls, audio problems, or any loss in data download speeds. Texts and emails have always been coming through on time and rapidly.

However, there has been one BIG change I’ve seen: more money in the bank from saving on my phone bill.

As mentioned earlier, switching was super simple. I kept the same phone number and the same phone (protip: only upgrade your phone once your current phone dies AKA every 3-5 years to maximize savings).

I haven’t noticed any difference in quality from Cricket (which wasn’t any different from AT&T before that).

Initially, I was on the 8GB plan for six months, but I am now on a 12-month 3 4GB plan. I went from paying $150 for six months to $180 for the full year! Before making the switch to a plan with less data, I checked my account to make sure I didn’t need more than that. I couldn’t be happier.

Well, what are you waiting for? Sign up now!

Francisco Maldonado

Francisco Maldonado, MD is a personal finance expert who was raised in poverty by a single mother and had to learn everything about personal finance on his own. In addition to running  Finance Plan Today with his twin brother, he’s been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, US News, The Simple Dollar, and other top publications. Francisco is a physician who borrowed over $200,000 to pay for his medical training and understands debt payoff strategies and frugal living. He received his M.D. from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, the most selective medical school in the country, and a Bachelor’s degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota. He is currently a radiology resident at Northwestern University.

FinancePlanToday.com

The post Mint Mobile Review – How I Save Thousands On My Phone Bill appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

The post blew up and we got a bunch of emails and messages asking if the process was actually simple. We decided to throw this guide together to walk you through making the switch from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint to a Cricket Wireless plan!

Cricket Wireless Review

Name: Cricket Wireless

Description: is a low-cost wireless phone company founded in 1999. Cricket was acquired by AT&T and operates on their LTE networks.

Overall

4.2

• Pricing
• Network Coverage
• Customer Service

Summary

There’s no denying that cutting your phone bill is one of the best decisions you can make since it’s a recurring payment that you’ll have for your entire life. That means a small monthly saving will add up to large numbers over time. Cricket Wireless is a solid option and if your experience is like mine, you won’t be disappointed.

Pros

• Low-Cost Plans
• Can Use Existing Phone
• Keep Your Existing Number
• Easy Set-up and Migration
• No Long-Term Contracts

Cons

• Need To Unlock Your Existing Phone

• Sign Up Now!

If you have your eye on a Mint Mobile plan instead, the process is SUPER similar. You can’t really go wrong by paying less for your phone plan!

Cricket Wireless At A Glance

Plan Cost	Plans start as low as low as $25/month
Plan Types	Monthly
Features	You Can Bring Your Own Phone You Can Keep Your Existing Phone Number Discount For Automatic Billing
Requirements	Unlocked Phone Necessary $25 Activation Fee
Sign Up Now

Before you get started there are a couple of things that you should do. First off, check the coverage map below and make sure your area is covered. Once you have verified that, you are ready!

To make the switch online here is a simple checklist for you!

#1 Is your current phone unlocked?

You can contact your current cell provider and ask them if your phone is unlocked.

An “unlocked” phone is simply a phone that can be used on another network. This has to do with the setting with your current carrier. Your carrier will walk you through the unlocking process and let you know if there’s a fee.

Switching networks is typically done by taking out your SIM card and putting in another card from another carrier. It’s that easy.

#2 Are you currently under contract with another carrier?

Early termination fees for smartphones are less common now with most carriers having phone installment plans.

AT&T was the last of the major carriers to end two-year contracts for smartphones. But you’ll face early termination fees if you are still stuck on a two-year contract. Don’t forget that you’ll still have to pay off your device before you switch or turn it back in!

Remember, Cricket Wireless does not buy out contracts, pay off contracts, or buy out your current phone.

Once you’ve confirmed you can switch carriers you’re ready to move on!

#3 Is your current phone compatible with the new carrier?

You probably want to keep your current phone and not spend money on a new one. Good call. That is what we did too. Once you decide which company to switch with, you’ll need to check with them to make sure the phone is GSM compatible.

Cricket has a tool to help you determine if your phone is compatible.

You’ll also need your phone’s IMEI number handy. Cricket does a good job of walking you through the simple process of finding it.

#4 Now you’re ready to pick a plan!

You have made sure your phone is “unlocked”, you are not under contract with your current company, and your phone is compatible. Now you can take a look at the different Cricket plans and see which one will fit your needs and most importantly, your budget!

#5 Wait for the new SIM and begin to save that money!

Once you insert your new SIM card into your phone you’ll be ready to go!

The last step is to sit back and watch all the money you’ll be saving. If you aren’t sure what to do with your money, make sure you read our Personal Finance 101 post, and it’ll become crystal clear.

Summary

As a reminder, here are some of the things you can expect when switching to Cricket Wireless:

• Able to bring your own phone and keep your current number
• Lower cost plans plans
• Nationwide coverage through the AT&T network
• No overages or additional fees like other carriers
• All-in pricing (prices already include tax)
• $5 per month discount for using their automatic billing
• Low-cost devices, if you don’t need the latest releases
• More data, less cost
• Over 3,000 stores nationwide

Francisco Maldonado

Francisco Maldonado, MD is a personal finance expert who was raised in poverty by a single mother and had to learn everything about personal finance on his own. In addition to running  Finance Plan Today with his twin brother, he’s been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, US News, The Simple Dollar, and other top publications. Francisco is a physician who borrowed over $200,000 to pay for his medical training and understands debt payoff strategies and frugal living. He received his M.D. from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, the most selective medical school in the country, and a Bachelor’s degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota. He is currently a radiology resident at Northwestern University.

FinancePlanToday.com

The post Switching to Cricket Wireless is Easy! appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the typical American spends $100 per month on their mobile devices and services. That’s over $1k just to stay connected per year. 

The good news? There are alternatives to spending thousands on something so needed. That’s where we come in. And to be clear, all of these plans come with unlimited talk and text but have varying amounts of data.

What is Mint Wireless?

Mint Mobile is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that uses T-Mobile towers. MVNO is a term for a mobile phone network that doesn’t own the cell phone towers themselves. They simply operate on the infrastructure that the cell phone network provides. 

Mint Mobile doesn’t own or build the cell phone towers themselves; however, Mint can operate at a lower cost than major cell phone networks. 

Since Mint Mobile doesn’t build cell phone towers, they do not spend as much money on materials, labor, and upkeep. This low overhead means that Mint Mobile passes these savings to customers with more affordable pricing.

Read a full Mint Mobile Review.

What is Cricket Wireless?

Cricket Wireless, like Mint Mobile, is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that uses AT&T cell towers.

Mint Mobile and Cricket Wireless are “alternative carriers,” meaning that they’re not the ‘big four’ wireless service providers that are commonly used in American households, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint.

Switching to an MVNO can save you money because they lease coverage from one of the more extensive networks and resell it to customers.

Read a full Cricket Wireless Review.

How Are Mint Mobile and Cricket Wireless Different?

Other than being on different networks, Cricket Wireless and Mint Mobile have different plan structures altogether.

Unlike Cricket Wireless and most other cell phone companies in the ‘big four’ who charge a monthly price, Mint Mobile plans are prepaid every three, six, or twelve months. “Bulk” purchasing saves you more money in the long run with Mint Mobile. All Mint Mobile plans also include unlimited nationwide talk, text, and data. Unlimited international texting is also included in all plans.

Cricket Wireless offers a more traditional approach. Unlimited talk and text plans with varying degrees of data. All plan prices are flat fees, with taxes and fees included. You only pay $30 per month if you choose the $30 monthly plan. 

Most plans from Cricket Wireless come with unlimited talk, text, and 2G data. Prices vary depending on how much data you choose for your specific plan.

Plans offered by Cricket Wireless + Mint Mobile

Cricket Wireless Plan Options:

Mint Mobile Plan Options:

Pros & Cons of Mint Mobile

The largest trepidation when considering converting to Mint Mobile, Cricket Wireless, or an ‘alternative’ mobile provider is service disruption or degradation. 

As previously stated, Mint Mobile operates on T-Mobile’s infrastructure and Cricket Wireless operates on AT&T’s infrastructure. This means that as long as you’re in an area with reliable T-Mobile or AT&T service, you should get dependable Mint Mobile service.

There’s no argument here that alternative service providers have less coverage than the large mega-networks based on the coverage maps.

Just like any other phone company, check the coverage in your area. For the majority of households living within a couple of hours of a large metropolitan area, you should not have a problem with Mint Mobile or Cricket Wireless.

As a warning, if you are currently living paycheck to paycheck, purchasing a plan in “bulk” will be challenging. Paying upfront translates to larger savings over time; however, not everyone has large amounts of money set aside for a bulk phone service purchase.

If you’re one of those people who look forward to phone upgrades perks, Mint Mobile is not the right option for you.

Pros & Cons of Cricket Wireless

If you are a low-income earner or live paycheck to paycheck, Cricket Wireless is a better option for you, as you do not have to pay for your service upfront. 

You will lose savings in the long run; however, it is still better than overpaying for other ‘big four’ providers.

To reiterate, Cricket Wireless relies on the same exact infrastructure as AT&T. The service is the same at a much lower cost. 

Cricket Wireless also offers affordable upgrades, unlike Mint Mobile. According to Cricket’s website:

To upgrade your phone:

• You must have an existing line of service with Cricket
• You must have a Cricket monthly rate plan that costs $30/mo or more
• The upgrade phone must be new and purchased from a Cricket store or online at cricketwireless.com
• You can upgrade your phone only once every 90 days
• A $25 device upgrade fee applies to phone upgrades in Cricket stores and online

How Does Cricket Wireless Pricing Compare To Mint Mobile?

Let’s take a look to see how the costs between the two platforms compare.

Cricket Wireless 10GB vs. 3 Month 10GB Mint Mobile Plan

Cricket Wireless 10GB vs. 6 Month 10GB Mint Mobile Plan

Cricket Wireless 10GB vs. 12 Month 10GB Mint Mobile Plan

With Mint Mobile, you begin seeing savings immediately. A modest $20 savings each month, but at 100% more data. 

Over the full year, you are looking at $240 in savings. Over five years, you are talking $1,200. 

If you have more than one phone in your family, the savings will be more massive

Final Verdict: Do We Prefer Mint Mobile Or Cricket Wireless?

Here at Finance Plan Today, we love both Cricket Wireless and Mint Mobile and would recommend either company. If you can get good Mint Mobile service and can afford to pre-pay, they are a solid option. Paying in bulk could save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars per year on a single bill. 

We urge you to check the reception of each company network in your area. Choose the plan that will work best in your geographic location.

No matter what you choose for yourself or your family, we prefer Mint Mobile and Cricket Wireless over the “big guys” any day.

You can sign up for Mint Mobile here, and you can sign up for Cricket Wireless here.

Camilo Maldonado

Camilo is a personal finance expert and the Co-Founder and CEO of Finance Plan Today. I was raised in poverty by a single mother and had to learn everything about personal finance on my own. I have been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, and US News. Earlier in my career, I worked as an investment banking analyst on Wall Street at JPMorgan Chase & Co., and I have an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a B.S.E. in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

FinancePlanToday.com

The post Mint Mobile vs Cricket Wireless – Which Service Is Right For You appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

What Is SoFi?

Started in August 2011, Social Finance (SoFi) was the first company to ever offer student loan refinancing (refi). Since then, they’ve grown to other products such as private, home, and personal loans. According to SoFi, they’ve helped finance over $45 billion in loans for over a million people.

They truly were the first of their kind, paving the way for student loan refinancing. At their beginnings, they were the uncontested refi champions.

However, do they still hold the crown of being the premier refi option? Although they offer some of the most competitive interest rates out there, they require top-of-the-line credit histories, incomes, and debt-to-income ratio. Though, they do also offer some nice perks and benefits.

How Does SoFi Refi Work?

SoFi’s application process is pretty standard, requiring the typical personal and financial information. 

Student loan refinancing (refi) is when a company like SoFi pays off your existing student loans but gives you a new loan at a (usually) lower interest rate. Refi can be one of the best ways to save money by decreasing the interest rates on your loans.

Should I Refi My Federal Student Loans?

On the surface, your new refi option could have a lower interest rate than your federal student loans. However, remember that federal student loans have a lot of benefits. 

For example, federal loans offer public service loan forgiveness, interest-free deferment and forbearance, discharge options, and income-based repayment plans. No other private lenders offer such perks.

The decision to refi should be carefully thought out. If you plan on taking advantage of any of the federal benefits, then refi might not be for you.

SoFi Rates, Terms, and Fees Summary

Offering some of the most competitive rates available, SoFi also has stringent requirements. They typically only accept those with good or excellent credit history. Though, if you make the cut, they offer many awesome perks and benefits.

SoFi also allows cosigners, but they cannot be released. In addition, you can get a rate quote completely free of charge. 

What Makes SoFi Unique?

SoFi’s unique twist is their free career coaching. They are the only lender with a focus on advancing their client’s careers. By providing access to coaches and networking opportunities, SoFi can help borrowers through the job search.

Pros & Cons Of SoFi

SoFi is an excellent choice if you can meet their requirements. According to prior loan data, they typically refinance loans for those with advanced degrees in law and medicine. One of the nice things is that they refi across all 50 states, which is something not all lenders offer. 

However, SoFi doesn’t offer cosigner release, which can be a significant deterrent for cosigners. Moreover, their customer service isn’t great.

Pros

• Competitive and low-interest rates
• Refi available in all 50 states
• Many forbearance and deferment options
• Career development opportunities

Cons

• High credit score needed
• High income needed
• Poor customer service

How Do I Qualify For SoFi Refi?

Like we’ve mentioned, refinancing your student loans with SoFi isn’t an easy task. Having top refi options, they come with high entry barriers. You’ll need to make sure your credit score is in tip-top shape.

Financial Requirements

• Minimum credit score of 680, but most approved lenders are in the 700s
• No minimum income stated, but data shows average salary to be about $100,000
• No recent bankruptcies or delinquent loans in the past seven to 10 years
• Meet debt-to-income (DTI) requirements; specific limits unknown

Given that some of SoFi’s financial requirements can be a bit steep, it’s not bad to take a look into lenders like Earnest or ELFI. These both take lenders with lower credit scores. Furthermore, Earnest also looks at more than just your credit score to determine your eligibility. 

Individual Requirements

• US citizen or a permanent resident
• Must have an associate’s degree or higher
• Must have graduated from a Title IV public or private institution authorized to receive federal financial aid

What Does The Average Applicant Look Like?

According to a 2018 report for private loans, the typical SoFi applicant met the following average financial requirements:

• FICO Score of 762
• Gross yearly income of ~$177,000
• Monthly cash flow of ~$7,300

These levels are by no means easy to meet. It’s worth remembering that SoFi’s main target seems to be high earners from top schools in the country. Applicants with advanced degrees also seem to be approved more often than those without. 

What Are SoFi Repayment Options?

SoFi offers typical loan terms of 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 years for both their standard and medical refi. No fees arise if you want to pay off your loan early or make a larger monthly payment. 

They also offer a 0.25% discount on your interest rate if you sign up for automatic payments. 

Generally, the shorter the loan term, the lower the APR. Thus, you’ll end up paying less money in the long run. 

SoFi also offers a plethora of deferment and forbearance options.

For borrowers going back to school, entering the military, or going under disability rehabilitation, you can postpone your payments. Moreover, those who lose their jobs may be eligible to postpone their payments for three months, for a maximum of 12 months. In fact, SoFi offers many ways to find jobs or networking opportunities to help you get back on your feet.

Medical and dental residents are eligible to only pay $100 per month throughout their residency for four years. 

Since everyone’s situation is different, it’s vital to contact SoFi’s customer service to ensure that you meet their various deferment and forbearance eligibility requirements. 

Is SoFi Safe?

It’s not my right to be the judge on this, but I can provide facts to help you make a good decision. 

Unfortunately, SoFi was indicted in 2018 by the Federal Trade Commission for lying about how much money borrowers can save. The ruling forces SoFi to make any loan claims backed with ample evidence. Perhaps you can feel more comfortable knowing that the government is watching SoFi closely. 

SoFi has yet to report any data breaches. However, there’s always a risk when entering your sensitive personal and financial info online, even to the most trustworthy and safe companies. 

Their customer ratings are “eh” to say the least. While the Better Business Bureau rates the firm an “A,” TrustPilot consumer reviews place SoFi 3.6/5.0 stars. That TrustPilot rating places SoFi among the lowest-rated refi options out there. 

TrustPilot users say that SoFi is “unresponsive, disappointing” and “uncaring” given the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. 

Will SoFi Hurt My Credit Score?

Yes and no. SoFi won’t hurt your credit score if you simply get a quote, but if you proceed with signing the loan, then your credit score may be affected. 

In the first steps, SoFi will only do a “soft pull” on your credit score. “Soft pulls” don’t affect your score. However, in finalizing the loan, SoFi will do a “hard pull” for your credit history. “Hard pulls” can hurt your score.

However, credit inquiries play a small part in your total credit score (10% in FICO score). Moreover, they disappear after only 24 months. Nothing much to worry about if you don’t open too many credit cards or loans rapidly.

How Is SoFi’s Customer Service?

Given that they are based entirely online, SoFi offers a variety of ways to reach out to them. You can reach them by phone or email. Moreover, you can submit your payments via mail-in check. 

However, TrustPilot notes that SoFi customer service is “unresponsive” and offers “terrible service.” If you’re looking for better customer service, check out Earnest.

What I Wish Was Different About SoFi

SoFi is no doubt one of the best options for lenders coming from strong credit histories and high incomes.

I do wish SoFi would be more open to a wider variety of applicants. If you don’t make the cut for SoFi, it’s a good idea to look into other lenders like Earnest or ELFI.

However, I think the biggest problem with SoFi is their customer service. Frankly speaking, their ratings aren’t the best compared to others. While SoFi loans offer many perks and benefits, there have been many complaints about their customer service.

How Does SoFi Fare Against Competitors?

Top Student Loan Refinance Companies

Company	Variable APR	Fixed APR
	1.86-6.01%	2.43-5.99%	Get My Rate
	1.99-5.64%	2.98-5.79%	Get My Rate
	1.99-6.09%	2.99-6.09%	Get My Rate
	1.99-6.10%	3.00-6.20%	Get My Rate
	2.99-6.06%	2.99-5.99%	Get My Rate
	1.99-5.25%	2.99-7.75%	Get My Rate

How To Get Started On SoFi

SoFi’s application process is entirely online. First, you can get a quote entirely free of charge. You’ll need to enter basic info, such as your name, SSN, and income.

If you prequalify, you can see your rates and loan terms. Once you confirm that these loan rates are the best for you, you can finalize the loan. SoFi will then do a “hard pull” on your credit history. They may also request documents to confirm some numbers. 

You can refi end-to-end on SoFi’s website. Being entirely online has its benefits. 

Should You Use SoFi? 

Since getting a quote from SoFi is completely free, I don’t think there’s any harm in applying to SoFi to see your rates. Though, SoFi seems to be intended for those with high credit scores and income. Given that their refis offer so many perks and benefits at low rates, this trend would make sense.

I think you should apply for a SoFi loan—it’s free. However, if you are looking for excellent customer service, Earnest or ELFI might be better. Moreover, if you want better loan term options, then Earnest is by far your best option.

Even if your application gets approved and you like your SoFi quote, it’s always a good idea to look through all your options. You wouldn’t want to miss out on lower rates because you didn’t check out Earnest or ELFI. In fact, pretty much every online lender offers free rate quotes. It’s worth the effort since you’ll be with the lender you choose for years to come. 

Check out LendKey to be matched to your perfect loan. And if you’re considering finding business loans, then FundEra might be a great next stop!

FAQs

If I only have a credit score of 700, should I bother applying?

Absolutely. There’s no reason to not apply because getting a quote is free. If you get denied, SoFi will explain why. There are no obligations, and you’ll never know unless you try!

John Ta

John Ta is an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania and the founder of Penn’s first undergrad personal finance club, Penn Common Cents. As a first-generation college student, he had to learn everything about personal finance on his own and seeks to mend the financial literacy knowledge gap seen almost everywhere. John is currently studying for an MS in Chemistry and a BA in Physics (business & tech concentration), Biochemistry, and Biophysics and is interested in the intersections of finance and healthcare.

The post SoFi Refi Review appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

Manifesting money isn’t merely thinking about dollar bills. It’s also not wishing you had that Lexus or BMW that your friend has. Moreover, it’s not dreaming you could suddenly win the lottery. 

Instead, manifesting money is a way of thought to help you become wealthy and achieve financial freedom. Don’t envy others. Focus on yourself, and forge your own path through the world.

I’ve had the opportunity to fix how I manifest money throughout my lifetime. Coming from humble beginnings myself, I always dreamt of owning a private jet. Sought to travel the world. Studying at an Ivy League only furthered these “rich” thoughts. Thus, I thought I was manifesting money with these thoughts.

However, as I grew older, I realized that I was manifesting money incorrectly. I discovered it wasn’t something that I had to dream about. Furthermore, I found it was something I could do, something I could get started with.

And so, I did. This article covers the tangible, real techniques that I used to manifest money.

Think Wealthy, Not Rich

Your mindset is the first thing to work on to manifest money. 

There’s an enormous difference between being rich and wealthy. Not every millionaire is wealthy. Not every millionaire is rich.

Go ahead: ask your friends what the difference is. You’ll be met with blank stares.

At first, I didn’t know the difference between the two. However, as I grew older, I realized the critical distinctions.

In brief, the difference between rich vs. wealthy is that the former focuses on investing, while the latter focuses on spending.

What Does Being Wealthy Mean?

Wealth is the accumulation of assets. Those who are wealthy focus on investing.

To begin, a wealthy individual follows most of the principles in this beginner’s guide to personal finance.

They save at least 15% of their paychecks, owe little to no debt, have their retirement portfolio in smart investments, and live well within their means.

But the most important distinction is that a wealthy person has a huge net worth. Wealthy people use their assets to generate passive income for them. 

What Does Being Rich Mean?

Being rich simply means having a high income without corresponding assets.

Having a lot of money doesn’t make you wealthy because rich people also spend a lot. Someone who earns $1 million per year while spending $999,000 on a flashy lifestyle will have less money at the end of the year than you. That expensive car looks nice in the driveway but could spell disaster since they have so many other bills piling up. 

Rich lifestyles spend most of their income, resulting in little investing activities.

That’s the stereotype you think of with professional athletes. Instead of investing their money, they buy expensive cars and jewelry, frequently using loans.

You’d be better off only making $60,000 and saving half of it!

Never judge a book by its cover. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people see a brand new Lexus and be like, “wow, they must have a lot of money.” They might have a lot of income, but that doesn’t mean they have any money saved.

How Do I Think Wealthy And Not Rich To Manifest Money?

You can start thinking wealthy by changing how you view the world. 

Going back to my example, every time you see a BMW cross the road, don’t think that they’re necessarily wealthy. For all you know, they could have spent their entire yearly paycheck for just the down payment. They could even be struggling to pay their monthly bills as a result.

If you want to explore more about how to deepen your wealth mindset, continue reading into our rich vs. wealthy article. In short, it’s essential to:

1. Remember that this is a long term game
2. Cut unnecessary expenses
3. Put yourself in a supportive environment
4. Envision a successful life
5. The longer you wait, the harder it is

By thinking like a wealthy person, you’ll realize that you can achieve your dreams of financial freedom. 

Is This Mindset All I Need?

Having the correct mindset is one thing. Being positive and energetic about achieving your goals is another. 

If you foster negative thoughts, they can become realities. For example, there’s a world of difference between saying:

“I’m not smart enough to do this assignment,”

versus

“I have the power and capability to complete this task.”

Positive affirmations are statements that can help you overcome negativity. You can literally “speak it into existence.” Research has even revealed that thinking about your best traits can improve performance before a high-pressure meeting.

Your mind is an extraordinarily powerful tool. By simply thinking positively, you can kickstart your journey towards manifesting money more effectively.

There will be highs and lows throughout your journey. However, it’s crucial to stay positive throughout and keep your eyes on the prize: manifesting money for financial freedom. Otherwise, you’ll stop believing in yourself and your dreams. 

Establish Short And Long Term Goals

Now that you’ve started thinking with a wealthy, positive mindset, it’s vital to make goals for yourself. These targets shouldn’t be impossible to reach but should be hard enough that you have to work for them. 

You want to make these goals difficult enough that when you hit them, you can pat yourself on the back and smile. You’ll only then realize how much money you’ve manifested along the way. 

Making monetary goals can best be solved with a budget. Using a 50% needs / 30% wants / 20% savings split, you can aim to save a certain amount of money within a few months. 

For example, say you make $1,000 every month, and you set a goal to save $600 in the next three months. You might set aside $200 every month in your budget for the next three months and add it to your high-yield savings account. Once you hit that goal, you’ve built a savvy emergency fund. Well done!

Goals on a monthly timeframe are pretty short-term. What about long term goals? Do you want to start saving money for your kid’s college aspirations? We can do that too!

I know my parents did their best to set aside some of their paychecks every year to help get me to college. Maybe you want to aim to save $25,000 over the next ten years. While that might be a daunting number, the math makes it more achievable.

To save that amount of money, you’d need to set aside $2,500 every year. Or about $210 every month. Not including the interest you’ll earn or the profit from investing smartly.

These goals can seem lofty at first, but break them down and realize that they can be achievable.

A Key To Manifesting Money Is Surrounding Yourself With Positivity

“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” – Oprah Winfrey

Few things impact our lives as much as those that we surround ourselves with. Being at an Ivy League university, I’m immediately surrounded by classmates who study around the clock, push themselves, and talk about their dreams.

It inspired me to work harder and to explore what I want to do with my life. So as you look around, find people that encourage you and lift you.

You’ll manifest money more easily if you surround yourself with the right people. These people can help keep you motivated, serve as a resource, and ensure you stay on the right path. 

Be An Investor

An investor is someone who puts their money into things intending to make a profit.

They would never leave their money under a pillow or in a piggy bank. Instead, they’re always looking for ways to make their money grow. Investors are constantly researching and putting their cash to hard work. They typically think long-term as well. 

How can you be an investor to start manifesting money?  

The first thing to realize is that investing is not as daunting as it can be. Movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street” or “The Big Short” make investing seem risky and chaotic. However, in reality, investing can be simple. 

In fact, you don’t even need a finance degree or to have worked in Wall Street to invest wisely. I speak from experience here!

One of the easiest ways to get started is to invest long-term in your retirement. By choosing to invest in retirement, you’ll ignore many of the challenges that make investing hard. Moreover, by thinking about retirement early, you’ll manifest enough money to retire comfortably. 

Remember: this is a long-term game. Nothing in life comes instantaneously, and the rule holds for manifesting money. 

Perhaps the next easiest way is to invest long-term into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or index funds. We talk more about them in our index funds article, but in simple terms, they are a very safe investment that even an investor like Warren Buffet recommends. 

I highly recommend you start thinking about what you can do with your existing cash. Make sure you’ve thought about putting your funds towards retirement. Explore what and how exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds can be used to your advantage. 

By acting like an investor, you can manifest money right before your eyes.

Get A Hold Of Your Current Situation

To manifest money, it’s paramount to look at what you have now and make sure you’re covering all the gaps. Why?

You wouldn’t want to miss out on easy opportunities to manifest the most money possible. For example, moving your money from a standard to high-yield savings account will instantly grant you interest rates about 15-20x higher than the norm. And this simple action takes less than 15 minutes to do. 

Manifesting money can be as simple as looking through your current situation and seeing what easy things you can do to maximize your passive income. That might mean cutting debt interest rates or finding better savings accounts. 

Tackle Your Debt

Do you have debt with extraordinary high-interest rates that strip all your monthly income? Private student loans that ask for every dime of money you have left? Is there credit card debt hitting you hard?

If any of these apply to you, then you aren’t alone. About 55% of all Americans say they have some degree of credit card debt. About 10% even report having over $5,000 in credit card debt. Considering that most credit cards have interest rates ranging between 10 to even 25%, that’s a lot of interest.

To manifest money the most money possible, you must remember to lower your expenses and monthly debt repayments. 

Your first play should be to look into loan refinancing (refi). Refi can help you save tens of thousands of dollars. Furthermore, just looking at your options is generally free and only takes a few minutes. 

Consider refinancing your student loans with Earnest, LendKey, or ELFI. They offer low rates, and you can get a quote for free.

Open High-Yield Checking, Savings, And CD Accounts

As I like to put it, not opening a high-yield checking, savings, or CD account is quite literally like leaving free money on the sidewalk. 

If you don’t have a high-yield account right now, I recommend you open one right after reading this section. They have interest rates 15-20x higher than standard accounts.

To put that rate in perspective, say you and your friend both had $10,000.

You open a high-yield savings account with a 2.00% APY, whereas your friend opens a typical savings account with a 0.05% APY. Over 10 years alone, you’ll have made about $2,100 more than your friend. 

The only difference? You read into high-yield savings account for 15 more minutes than your friend. There’re no differences in maintenance, reliability, or security. 

High-yield variants exist for checking, and certificate of deposit (CD) accounts as well. By placing your funds in these accounts, you’ll start manifesting money.

Build An Emergency Fund

We’ve been talking a lot about ways to physically manifest money. However, it’s important to secure yourself against the unexpected. Otherwise, you won’t be manifesting anything.

An emergency fund is simply money set aside in case of an emergency. An emergency is a bill or unexpected expense that can’t be delayed. Like needing to fix your car so you can go to work. Or paying for a medication that you need to stay healthy. 

To manifest money, you must build yourself from the foundation. Consider opening the CIT Bank Savings Builder account to embrace a high-yield account that encourages good savings habits. 

Pop a tire in a huge pothole driving to work? Your emergency fund can help cover the cost. An unexpected event can cause a lot of trouble. If your car breaks down and you can’t cover the repair costs, you may lose the ability to get to work and lose your job. This incident alone will cause a flurry of other problems we won’t delve into. 

The point of emphasis is clear: to manifest money, you must fill in all the gaps. That includes making sure you can stay firm against the storm of life. 

Act Now

None of what you’ve read will come to life if you don’t act on it.

The most crucial step to manifesting money is to do something today. Looking through this article is simply the first step. Remember the short and long term goals section: you have to set yourself up for success.

Don’t just say you’ll do it tomorrow. Chances are you won’t do it tomorrow, next week, or in a month. I know I’ve said this to myself before and never acted on it. 

The easiest time to start something is now, but the most effective day was yesterday. Don’t fall another second behind. This is your life we are talking about.

John Ta

John Ta is an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania and the founder of Penn’s first undergrad personal finance club, Penn Common Cents. As a first-generation college student, he had to learn everything about personal finance on his own and seeks to mend the financial literacy knowledge gap seen almost everywhere. John is currently studying for an MS in Chemistry and a BA in Physics (business & tech concentration), Biochemistry, and Biophysics and is interested in the intersections of finance and healthcare.

The post How To Manifest Money appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

How To Make Money As A Teenager

We’re going to break down how to make money as a teenager into two categories: making money in-person and making money online.

Making Money In-Person

There are a surprising number of ways to make money in-person. This can be anything from part-time jobs to garage sales to mowing lawns. Let’s talk about the most typical way teenagers make money: part-time jobs.

If you’re over the age of 14 (or your state’s minimum age requirement), part-time jobs are a great way to earn a steady income.

Part-Time Jobs For Teenagers

Lifeguarding

Though it may be more of a seasonal job than a year-round part-time one, lifeguarding lets you earn a good amount of money. Even better, since lifeguarding happens during the summer, you can take advantage of your time off school.

Given how hard it can be to balance school, homework, extracurricular, and work, removing any parts of that equation can make your life way easier.

Camp Counselor

Working as a camp counselor is another job that’s usually seasonal rather than year-round, but it’s one of the few jobs that regularly pay above minimum wage. Granted, you will need a certain ability to work with young kids.

But, if you don’t mind working with children, summer camps give you a great chance to earn extra money. Plus, you can enjoy a lot of the fun parts of going to a summer camp⁠—meeting new people, building community, and exploring new hobbies.

Babysitting

While we’re on the topic of part-time jobs that involve working with children, babysitting is another well-paying way for you to make money as a teenager. Even though this isn’t always the most exciting job, babysitting is often much more relaxed and gives you more freedom than other options.

Unlike lifeguarding or camp counseling, babysitting lets you stay right in your neighborhood. Parents are often looking for opportunities to go out and have some alone time, so there’s a strong likelihood that you’ll be able to get jobs through word of mouth alone.

As one more bonus, you can often multi-task when you’re babysitting. Now, you obviously don’t want to risk neglecting the child or children you’re looking after. 

But, most babysitting jobs will involve a good amount of downtime where the kid is either asleep, watching TV, etc. During this time, you may have the chance to do homework or study up on a difficult subject. Imagine getting paid for the stuff you’d normally be doing for free!

Pet Sitting

If working with kids isn’t your thing, but you love animals, there are still lots of possibilities for you to make money as a teenager. One of the most popular part-time jobs is pet sitting, and it’s great if you enjoy being around pets.

Now, the work is usually less frequent than it is for babysitting since most people hire pet sitters for long stretches of vacation rather than daily occasions. But, if you’re able to find steady work, pet sitting can be a low-stress and fun way for you to make money.

Dog Walking

If you find yourself struggling to get enough work pet sitting, dog walking can be a useful addition to your part-time job list. Because dogs need to be walked at least once a day, the possibilities for work are much more frequent.

As an added bonus, walking dogs removes one of the biggest hurdles for teenagers 13 – 15: the ability to drive. Since you’re already walking around as part of the job, and most of the work you’ll find is likely local, your absence of a license or car won’t hinder you from being a successful dog walker.

Amusement Park Employee

Working at an amusement park is one of the jobs people often reflect upon as most fun. Now granted, this isn’t always the case, and there might not be any amusement parks near you. But, if you have the chance, it’s worth exploring.

Amusement park employees get the fun of working with the public in a location where everyone goes to have fun. Though you’ll definitely find the occasional angry customer, the amusement park’s security is usually quick to step in and bail you out.

But what is maybe the best perk of all is your access to discounted or even free admission to the amusement park. With these savings, you can spend your days off having fun riding roller coasters. What teenager wouldn’t want that?

Manual Labor

If you want a part-time job that doesn’t require a ton of interaction with others, manual labor might be the way for you. There’s no shortage of manual labor jobs you could get, even as a teenager.

Whether it’s mowing lawns, shoveling snow, landscaping, or washing cars, you can make a lot of money doing manual labor in your spare time. One of the advantages of this type of work is setting your own hours and choosing when and where you work.

The extra flexibility may not be a big deal for some, but if you’re struggling to balance other obligations and live a hectic schedule, consider more flexible jobs to make money as a teenager.

How To Make Money Online

All of the jobs we’ve discussed so far have some in-person aspect. But, we live in the age of technology. There’s an ever-growing number of ways to earn money without ever leaving the comfort of your own home.

Now, there truly are almost limitless ways to make money online, at any age. There are literally thousands of online surveys and apps that claim to pay you for almost nothing. 

Unfortunately, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish legitimate services like these from scams. So, for the purposes of giving you information that’s safe and consistent, we’ll focus on your other options.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s talk about how to make money online as a teenager.

Tutoring

So, yes, tutoring isn’t technically a job that you have to do online. But, it’s certainly one that you can do.

Of all the different odds and ends jobs I had growing up, tutoring was always one of the easiest and best-paying ones. Depending on what subject you tutor and the overall clientele you’re able to contact, you could make anywhere from $15 – $25 per hour!

As a teenager, that pay rate can translate to some serious money. In many places, people are willing to pay even more if you can tutor their child in a foreign language of some sort. So, if you happen to speak or are proficient in a second language, definitely explore this option.

Using Artistic Skills To Make Money

“But wait, what if I don’t want to tutor?”

If tutoring isn’t something you’re interested in or feel confident doing, you can still make money (even as a teenager) using any artistic skill.

It doesn’t matter if your particular talent is painting, drawing, singing, playing an instrument, graphic design, knitting, etc. Whatever it may be, odds are, there’s some way you can start a side hustle with it.

If you love making anything physical, such as paintings or other crafts, consider starting an Etsy shop. These are great ways for you to make money off of a hobby that you already enjoy doing!

If your talent is instead something a little less tangible, don’t worry. You could always try your hand as a musician or a performing artist.

Now, before you start a band with your best friends, it’s important to understand your options. You don’t necessarily need an entire band in order to get gigs. 

A lot of the time, you can get hired as part of another band. The consistency of work may vary quite a bit depending on how many musicians are around you and how much demand there is, but musical gigs can pay very well.

But, let’s say you don’t want to be a performer. Luckily for you, there’s always teaching. Music teachers can make a lot of money.

If you know a few kids in your neighborhood looking to learn guitar, drums, etc., it could be worth reaching out to see if you can turn that desire into some extra money.

Making Money Through Social Media

For those of you who don’t feel like you have any options thus far, there’s always the power of social media.

This money-making method isn’t as stable or surefire as some of the other jobs we’ve discussed, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

If you have a certain interest or hobby and can draw others in and make yourself entertaining, you might just be able to earn money through sites like Youtube.

Again, you’ll need to establish a strong following to make any serious money, but the option is still out there if you want to give social media a try.

At the end of the day, however, how you make money won’t matter as much as how you spend it. Apps like EveryDollar can help you learn to budget, while Acorns can help you save, and M1 Finance or Robinhood are great to learn how to invest.

Remember: it’s not how you get the money, it’s what you do with it once it’s yours.

FAQs

Lucas Woodley

Lucas is a personal finance expert, an undergraduate student at Harvard University and the founder of the Personal Finance and Consulting Group at Harvard College (an officially recognized student organization). He has spent much of his life working to increase financial literacy in his surrounding communities through independent financial research and curricula design, and he is currently studying economics with a secondary in music.

The post How To Make Money As A Teenager appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

Make sure you don’t miss my Mint Mobile review! Both Mint and Cricket offer compelling products at a fraction of the prices of the major carriers.

Let’s be honest, living without a cell phone seems nearly impossible for most people, so finding a cheaper alternative is your best bet.

Cricket Wireless Review

Name: Cricket Wireless

Description: is a low-cost wireless phone company founded in 1999. Cricket was acquired by AT&T and operates on their LTE networks.

Overall

4.2

• Pricing
• Network Coverage
• Customer Service

Summary

There’s no denying that cutting your phone bill is one of the best decisions you can make since it’s a recurring payment that you’ll have for your entire life. That means a small monthly saving will add up to large numbers over time. Cricket Wireless is a solid option and if your experience is like mine, you won’t be disappointed. Regardless of which company you ultimately go with, Cricket Wireless deserves to be a part of the conversation.

Pros

• Low-Cost Plans
• Can Use Existing Phone
• Keep Your Existing Number
• Easy Set-up and Migration
• No Long-Term Contracts

Cons

• Need To Unlock Your Existing Phone

• Sign Up Now!

It’s hard to imagine a time without cell phones. For many people, it’s the first thing they see in the morning and the last thing they see at night.

We aren’t here to curb your cell phone addiction, but rather help you pay less for your phone bill.

Today I’ll focus on how to save money on your cell phone bill.

Because cell phones have become an essential device in everyday life, one would think there would be tons of options when it comes to cellular service. But in reality, there are just a handful of large carriers.

As phone screens get larger, so do the monthly prices cell phone companies charge us. In an effort to reduce our monthly bills we searched until we found the cheapest phone plans. This was back in the fall of 2014, and in the years since we made the switch, we’ve each saved over $1,500!

The savings add up quickly and compound over time!

Cricket Wireless At A Glance

Plan Cost	Plans start as low as low as $25/month
Plan Types	Monthly
Features	You Can Bring Your Own Phone You Can Keep Your Existing Phone Number Discount For Automatic Billing
Requirements	Unlocked Phone Necessary $25 Activation Fee
Sign Up Now

Why we jumped to Cricket from AT&T

We chose to switch from one of the large carriers to one that was more affordable. 

Ultimately, for our needs, Cricket Wireless was the best deal. You can easily port over your existing cell number, and all you have to do is just make sure your phone is unlocked and compatible with their network.

They likely won’t buy out your existing contract so you might need to get creative if you are locked in with your carrier.

When we made the jump, there weren’t any physical Cricket Wireless locations near us, so everything was done online. They mailed out a SIM card within a week and we were set. We do think it’s worth noting that Cricket is owned by AT&T, but their pricing and flexibility would lead you to believe they are unrelated.

The low-cost phone carriers like Cricket have a variety of plans available.

Cricket, in particular, has plans ranging from $25 (no data) to $60 (unlimited data) and everything in between. Their monthly prices also include all taxes and fees! No more hidden fees in the fine print that show up on your bill. But you should take into account a $25 activation fee.

We opted for a plan in the middle of their range since we don’t need unlimited high-speed data with WIFI access at home and work.

Cricket Wireless Reception

One thing a lot of our friends have asked us is if we have noticed worse reception or coverage.

The good news is that we have not, and we actually think we have fewer dropped calls now. The one time we felt we had worse service was on a trip to a remote part of Vermont. Some of our friends with AT&T still managed to get 1 bar of service in the middle of nowhere. If you live out in a forest it’s probably worth looking into before making the switch, but the 99% of you that live in a city or suburb will be more than fine.

We never had a problem with service and were pleasantly surprised that we felt we got the same product for less!

What’s The Catch?

The biggest thing to know is that there isn’t an option to buy a new phone at a discounted price. At least for the ‘latest and greatest’ models of iPhones and Samsung phones. You also can’t pay for a new phone on a monthly basis without running that chance of paying interest.

When we get new phones we pay the full price of the phone outright, which is not cheap. But when you run the numbers, paying for the phone outright is the optimal choice anyway.

However, we recommend that you do not upgrade your phone every year and wait until it is absolutely necessary. Believe it or not, an iPhone can last years! We just don’t recommend upgrading the operating system very often since that can slow you down. If it ain’t broken don’t fix it!

Contrary to all of the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy commercials, you do not need to upgrade to the latest phone every year. We promise that the people on the other end of the line (or text thread) cannot tell whether you are texting or calling on an iPhone 4s or iPhone X. If you are the kind of person who needs the latest and greatest phone regularly, please read our article on lifestyle creep. 

With that said, there are many cheaper alternatives to iPhones. We know plenty of people that are happy with many types of phones (Samsung, LG, Motorola, HTC). Remember, a phone is just a tool used to communicate, stay organized, and take photos. It’s not your identity and it is not who you are. If your phone defines who you are, then personal finance is probably the least of your worries!

Once you build your net worth you can splurge on a phone.

Bring Your Own Phone

When we first switched, we simply unlocked our phones and kept our existing iPhones. You can use this tool to see if your current phone will work on their network!

How Much Can You Save Each Year?

Cricket Wireless is not the only low-cost cell phone company on the market. Cricket is simply one of our favorites, has great coverage where we live, and has only gotten better over time. In fact, a few months ago we got a text message from Cricket saying that they were increasing the data on their data plans at no additional cost!

So how much can this actually save you? Look at the example below.

Note: The information in the table below is accurate as of 03/2018; Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile do not offer a 5GB plan.

These are not the cheapest plans available, simply the cheapest equivalents plans (equal amounts of data). For our plans, we signed up for Cricket’s auto-pay to save an additional $5 each month, which is a no-brainer. Who wants junk mail, anyway? Not me.

We saved $540 a year. With no noticeable change in service or quality.

By choosing the Cricket Wireless plan with automatic payments from the example above you’d save $540 each year ($420 vs $960)! That’s half a grand you can save each year or use to pay down your high-interest debt like credit cards! Or use it for your family’s Christmas celebration.

If your current plan is even more expensive, or you’d be switching multiple lines for your family, you’d be saving even more. Multiple lines will make the savings add up quickly.

We used this information to convince our friends and family to switch to Cricket Wireless almost 4 years ago. Needless to say, they still thank us when they get their phone bill. We encourage you to do the same!

Ready to Switch? Read our step-by-step guide now!

Francisco Maldonado

Francisco Maldonado, MD is a personal finance expert who was raised in poverty by a single mother and had to learn everything about personal finance on his own. In addition to running  Finance Plan Today with his twin brother, he’s been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, US News, The Simple Dollar, and other top publications. Francisco is a physician who borrowed over $200,000 to pay for his medical training and understands debt payoff strategies and frugal living. He received his M.D. from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, the most selective medical school in the country, and a Bachelor’s degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota. He is currently a radiology resident at Northwestern University.

FinancePlanToday.com

The post Cricket Wireless Review: How I Saved Thousands On My Cell Phone Bill appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

If you’re filling out a W4 form, it likely means you have a new job or have gone through changes to your financial situation.

If the reason you’re filling it out is a new job or an addition to the family, congratulations! Don’t forget to also sign up for your job’s 401K retirement plan AND open an IRA.

Regardless of the reason why you need to fill out a 2021 W4 Form, you’ll be happy to know that the W4 has been refreshed and redesigned to make it easier than ever to fill out.

The days of wondering whether you should be claiming ‘0’ or ‘1’ are over! The W4 no longer asks about allowances.

This article will explain what the 2021 W4 is and how to fill out the 2021 W4 Form. 

What Is The W4 Form And Why Was It Redesigned

The 2021 W4 Form needs to be filled out by all new employees and existing employees who want to update their withholding. The form makes sure your employer can withhold the correct amount of federal income tax from your pay.

If you are happy with your withholding and you already submitted a W4 to your employer during a previous year, you do NOT need to update the form. Only do so, if your tax situation has changed.

Having too little withheld means you’ll likely owe tax when you file your tax return and may owe a penalty. Have too much withheld and you will generally be due a refund.

The redesign eliminates allowances. This change aligns with the changes from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The changes make the Form simpler to complete and easier for workers to accurately let their employer know how much tax to withhold.

Trust me, it’s a LOT easier now.

What Does the 2021 W4 Look Like & Where Can I Download It

The 2021 W4 Form consists of 4 pages, and you can download a 2021 W-4 Form Printable PDF copy here.

Page 1 consists of the actual Form itself. This is the only page that must be returned to your employer.

Page 2 includes instructions (see below).

Page 3 comprises the Multiple Jobs Worksheet and Deductions Worksheet.

Finally, Page 4 has a set of withholding tables to be used in conjunction with Page 3.

How To Fill Out A W4

Now that you have your W4 Form ready to be filled out, let’s go through each step so that you can get this over with and move on with more important things in your life, like watching reruns of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, or choosing a low-cost online financial advisor to help you save and invest your money like a pro.

The first thing that you need to know, is that the easiest way to fill out the form is to use the IRS’s withholding estimator. Their calculator works best on desktop (Mac or PC) so that you can export the completed form. I’ve had less success on mobile.

All you do is follow a sequence of steps and you can then download a pre-filled 2021 W4 Form. It’s that easy.

Now, let’s move on to the steps to filling out the form if you’d rather DIY.

Step 1: Enter your personal information.

This step is self-explanatory. The only thing that might be less straightforward is step 1c, which is where you need to select your filing status.

Your tax filing status refers to how you will file your taxes at the end of the 2021 tax year. So if you are single and don’t expect to get married this year, you’ll file taxes Single.

If you are confused about this, check your taxes from last year and see what your previous filing status was. Assuming no significant life changes occurred or are expected, you’ll likely file taxes the same way!

Step 2: Multiple Jobs or Spouse Works

The beautiful thing about steps 2 through 4 is that you ONLY need to fill them out IF they apply to you.

That means that if none of the steps apply to you, you can skip straight to Step 5 to sign and wrap things up.

Complete step 2 if you (1) hold more than one job at a time, or (2) are married filing jointly, and your spouse also works.

The easiest way to fill this step will be to use the IRS’s tax withholding estimator on a Mac or PC. Alternatively, if your household only holds two jobs in total, and both have similar pay, you can check the box for Step 2(c) and proceed to Step 3.

To use their estimator, you’ll need to make sure you have your and your spouse’s most recent pay statement and any info on other sources of income.

Once you’re done using the IRS’s estimator, you can head back here to see how to proceed.

Step 2(b): Use the Multiple Jobs Worksheet

If you prefer not to use the estimator tool or you can’t get it to work, you can use the multiple jobs worksheet. Follow the instructions on the Form and input the final result in Step 4(c) as an extra withholding.

Step 3: Claim Dependents

Like Step 1, Step 3 is also relatively simple. If your income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less if married filing jointly), follow the steps listed in the Form.

As an example, let’s assume your household income will be $300,000, you will file married filing jointly, you have three kids under the age of 17, and you also support your elderly mother financially.

Under this example, your total for step 3 will be $6,500. This is because you have three qualifying children, so 3 x $2,000 = $6,000. You also have one other dependent, which gives you an additional $500. As a result, $6,000 + $500 = $6,500.

Simple enough.

Step 4: (Optional) Other Adjustments

Follow the directions for Step 4(a) if you have non-job income for which you’d like to have tax withheld. 

Step 4(b)

Use the Deductions Worksheet on Page 3 if you are NOT expecting to claim the standard deduction. If you aren’t sure what this means, then you are likely going to claim the standard deduction (the vast majority of people claim the standard deduction). If you aren’t sure, you can use last year’s taxes as a guide or as your accountant.

Step 4(c) was already discussed above in Step 2(b) with regards to the Multiple Jobs Worksheet. Finally, let’s move to the final step!

Step 5: Sign Here

Step 5 is required to complete and submit your 2021 W4 Form, and you simply need to sign and date the Form.

It’s important to realize that you must complete the Form honestly and accurately since this Form is a legal tax document, and you can face penalties of perjury if you do not complete it honestly.

Don’t cheat, kids.

Dream Big Dreams

And remember, if you need help with your finances, there’s no shame in seeking help. It might just be the best thing you do for your financial future. A solid resource you can check out is Facet Wealth. They are an award-winning online-only financial advisory firm offering professional financial advice for affordable prices.

The best part is that it’s all done via video calls so you don’t even have to leave home. Prices start at $100 per month which means you can get expert help for less than you spend during a night out on the town.

Overall Rating	4.1 out of 5.0
Account Minimum	$0
Pricing	Plans start at $100 per month, although the average customer pays closer to $150-$200 per month ($1,800-$2,400 annually).
Payments	All plans are subscription based and are billed automatically on a monthly basis.
Dedicated CFP	When you sign up, you'll have a single dedicated Certified Financial Planner to work with.
Lifestyle and Expense Planning	All plans include lifestyle and expense planning which includes developing a budget to meet your goals.
Investing Expertise	Your CFP will work with you to develop an optimal investment strategy. The days of stressing over investments are over.
Cancellation Fees	None
Other Benefits Included:	Financial education program On-demand access to the Facet Wealth online portal Flexibility to increase range of services on-demand, so Facet Wealth can grow with you.
Schedule Your Free Call

*Disclaimer: Finance Plan Today is a financial publisher that does not offer personal financial advice or tax advice.

Camilo Maldonado

Camilo is a personal finance expert and the Co-Founder and CEO of Finance Plan Today. I was raised in poverty by a single mother and had to learn everything about personal finance on my own. I have been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, and US News. Earlier in my career, I worked as an investment banking analyst on Wall Street at JPMorgan Chase & Co., and I have an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a B.S.E. in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

FinancePlanToday.com

The post The 2021 W4 Form and How To Fill Out A W4 appeared first on Finance Plan Today.

While the reasons are complex and beyond this article’s scope, budgeting is a tried and true method of establishing solid financial footing. Instead of reacting to expenses as they arise (or as they are created), budgeting allows one to make a plan for each earned dollar ahead of time. Every single dollar has a purpose.

By creating a game plan for every dollar, you can ensure that you are also allocating money towards debts and savings instead of simply creating more debt to cover growing expenses. 

Simply put, spending money is easy. Far too easy. It’s not hard to imagine how one could effortlessly spend their entire paycheck and then wonder where the money went at the end of the month. Actually, you probably don’t need to imagine it at all, because that’s how most people do it.

Needless to say, an unplanned expense or unexpected decrease in income is enough to shatter any sense of security.

Envelope Budgeting

Amongst the many premium budgeting services available, You Need A Budget (YNAB) has established itself as a favorite within the personal finance community. 

Despite the success that many have had with YNAB, we’ve had readers write in and ask for help because they are still overspending despite having a solid budget in place. Have you ever struggled to stick to a budget? For those who struggle with sticking to their budget, a physical envelope system is a more rigid and literally tangible budgeting method.

When using a physical envelope budgeting system, one goes to the bank in person and withdraws all of the cash needed to cover their budgeted expenses for the month. The cash is then physically divided into each budgeting category (groceries, gas for the car, entertainment, etc.). 

Once the cash runs out for any particular category, one has to wait until the following month to refill the envelope before spending any more money. If you are very disciplined, you won’t borrow money from one envelope if you overspend in another.

While this is undoubtedly a surefire way to prevent overspending, there is typically one complaint that many have shared: managing the cash and having to carry it around can be quite a hassle. It’s also cumbersome to track where you spend money unless you keep very detailed records and save receipts.

Qube Money is the new kid on the block when it comes to budgeting. Their product is the answer to those who want to stick with a strict envelope budgeting system but want to leave the cash behind. Before we get into the details, let’s learn a little more about each company to compare them and finally see which product is better.

So what is Qube Money? 

Qube Money is unique in the budgeting sphere because it combines the power of digital envelope budgeting with the convenience of online/digital banking. Their technology allows you to spend money from each envelope (they refer to them as “qubes”) digitally. No cash necessary. Basically, it’s the cash envelope system for the digital age.

How does Qube Money Work?

Qubes are the digital envelopes that you allocate your money into each month. Instead of using real physical envelopes to distribute the cash, you divide up your checking account into individual “qubes,” which you can think of as sub-accounts of the primary checking account. 

Before making a purchase using the Qube Money check card, you select which envelope you want the transaction to pull from and proceed through the transaction. The data then updates, and you see your new remaining balance. 

Much like a physical envelope, if you don’t have enough money within a qube, you won’t be able to spend the money. There are no overdrafts, so the transaction will be declined if there are not enough funds in the allocated qube to cover the total. 

To illustrate how this works, imagine you are standing in line at the grocery store. You have a cart full of food, and you have $300 allocated for your groceries for the month. While the cashier rings up the person in front of you, you pull out your phone and select your grocery qube. You move the 300 dollars over to the card, and you’re ready to go. Once your groceries are rung up, the total is $150. The transaction clears, and the remaining $150 is returned to your grocery qube for next time. 

No logging is needed, as that transaction has already been attributed to the grocery store qube. It’s similar to logging transactions, except you’re logging them before the transaction rather than after. 

This is an excellent feature because your budget will always be up to date. If you’re like me, you may sometimes forget to track an expense or update them weekly. Qube Money eliminates this aspect of digital budgeting, which isn’t often discussed.

How Much Does Qube Money Cost?

Qube Money has announced four plans. Your needs will dictate which plan is right for you. The “Basic” plan is free ($0) per month. This plan is an individual plan with 10 qubes.

The “Premium” plan includes the same services as the free plan but has additional features such as unlimited qubes and the ability to get more than one card if you share finances with a significant other/partner/spouse/etc. The premium plan is $8 per month. 

A Family plan is $15 per month, and in addition to the features of the Premium plan, it allows you to add up to 10 kids accounts. There is an upcoming ‘chore tracking feature,’ which could be a motivator for task-oriented families. It’s clear that the app was designed with families in mind.

For $25 a month, a Platinum account gives you access to all of the features of the cheaper plans in addition to rewards, benefits through corporate partners, access to additional training, and a sleek metal card.

What is YNAB?

You Need A Budget (YNAB) was initially released in 2004 to help users break the cycle of living paycheck-to-paycheck. YNAB is like a digital envelope budgeting system in the sense that you bucket your money into groups. Not only do you budget for monthly expenses, but for future spending as well (car or home repairs, trips, etc.). 

How Does YNAB Work?

YNAB is a budget and expense tracker that can integrate with banks to sync information and import transactions, but it does not offer banking services. You can also manually enter transactions.

While initially available for purchase as a stand-alone piece of software, YNAB eventually transitioned to a web-based service with a subscription. Seems like that’s how everything is nowadays. 

Since YNAB is not affiliated with a bank, you can spend your money however you would like. Cash, credit, or debit. Doesn’t matter. Just track your transactions (or import them) and go from there.

The software allows you to see reports and track your net worth. 

How Much Does YNAB Cost?

YNAB offers a monthly subscription and a yearly subscription. The monthly plan is $11.99, and the annual plan is $84.

Key Differences between Qube Money and YNAB

While both YNAB and Qube Money are envelope-style budgeting systems, I think the most significant difference is that Qube Money is wholly integrated with a bank, and YNAB is not.

If you struggle with sticking to your budget, Qube Money really behaves much more like a true cash envelope system. While you can work around your envelopes and spend more than you have, the system is designed to keep you on track. No guessing involved. You either have the money or don’t—no spending money and then trying to fudge the numbers or pull money from another category.

The fact that you have to open the app and see your remaining balance also acts as an accountability mechanism so that you are less likely to make an impulse purchase that you weren’t planning. We’ve all been on Amazon’s website and purchased something random that we didn’t need urgently. However, seeing that it’ll have to come from a qube you need for other things may just be enough of a deterrent to keep you from spending frivolously.

Another consideration is that since you’ll need to use your Qube card for purchases, you won’t be able to get the credit card rewards you might be used to. However, for anyone struggling to stick to their budget, that shouldn’t be a huge priority!

Again, Qube’s advantage here can’t be overstated; this can be a powerful tool in the sense that before each transaction, you are forced to open up the app and look at your balances. This constant reminder of your budget could be an underestimated influence on your attitude toward spending and maybe just what you need to curve your spending or alter your habits.

Qube vs YNAB Pricing

So Which is Better? Qube Money or YNAB?

Like most things in life, it depends.

Budgeting is very similar to dieting (sorry for the health-related analogy, but as a physician, I just can’t help myself). The most successful diet is the one you can stick to. Although following a 100% plant-based raw diet can help you lose weight and prevent chronic disease, it won’t work if eating that way is not sustainable for you.

Similarly, it doesn’t matter if cash envelope budgeting is the most effective way to curb unwanted spending if that’s not sustainable for you.

If you have tried budgeting on your own and had trouble sticking to it and not overspending, then Qube Money may be the perfect tool you need to take control of your finances.

Qube also has the ability to allow your children to learn how to spend responsibly since the family plan allows them to receive cards as well. Financial experts agree that the sooner children learn to manage money responsibly, the better their financial outcomes will be later in life.

On the other hand, if you can stick to your budget and want a robust budgeting system that can generate reports and calculate and track your net worth, then YNAB may be right for you.

Francisco Maldonado

Francisco Maldonado, MD is a personal finance expert who was raised in poverty by a single mother and had to learn everything about personal finance on his own. In addition to running  Finance Plan Today with his twin brother, he’s been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, US News, The Simple Dollar, and other top publications. Francisco is a physician who borrowed over $200,000 to pay for his medical training and understands debt payoff strategies and frugal living. He received his M.D. from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, the most selective medical school in the country, and a Bachelor’s degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota. He is currently a radiology resident at Northwestern University.

FinancePlanToday.com

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