Buying your first home? It's hard — but worth it.
Making the leap from renting to owning takes work, dedication, and consistency with your money. The result: your very own place to settle down and build memories in. Yay!
If you're thinking about buying, there are a few things you should do to prepare. These dead-simple tips will help you save money, cut out unnecessary bills, improve your credit, and more.
A smart investing strategy is key to building your savings. Even if you don't have lot of money to invest, you don't have to let that stop you — you can start investing with $5 or less. Stash was built to help beginner investors get started. You can buy fractional shares (partial shares) in companies that are household names like Apple, Google, Amazon, and more1
. Normally a single share of these companies could cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but you only need as little as $5 to get started with Stash. If you're thinking about saving for retirement, you can start investing in an IRA and enjoy the tax benefits that come with retirement accounts. Stash also offers tools and guidance to help you along the way and you can use the Stash app to track your investments from anywhere. As a bonus, Stash will give you $10 to invest after you deposit $5 or more into your personal portfolio.4
Want even more tools and guidance? If you choose the Stash+ plan2
when signing up, you can earn 2x stock rewards when you spend on eligible purchases!3
We've got bad news. You could be wasting $500 every year on overpriced, second-rate car insurance. And you should probably cancel your existing insurance right now, because there's something much better. This new tool from FinanceBuzz can tell you if you're overpaying for your car insurance in just a few clicks. We match drivers with companies that report saving drivers up to $500 or more per year when they save! Each driver’s savings will vary by driving history and how many discounts you’re eligible for. And once you try it out, you'll never have to look for affordable insurance again because we find you the lowest rates that other companies can't match. Oh, and it's also free. And come on — you can't tell us you don't want to save up to $500. To find out if you're losing up to $500 or more a year, just enter your zip code here, answer a few questions and see if you're overpaying. It takes less than 2 minutes.
If you're young and healthy, you might not be thinking about term life insurance yet, but you should be — it could help your family pay off your mortgage if anything happens to you. Bestow can help you find term life insurance policies with up to $1.5 million in coverage starting at just $10/month. You can apply online and get a decision in just five minutes. The best part: you might not even need to take a medical exam. If you are between 18 and 59 years old, have never had a felony, and are generally in good health, get a free quote today.
As a homeowner, you'll have more bills than ever before. This makes it easy for unwanted subscriptions to slip by. Companies pull money from your bank account or charge your credit card every month and you pay it, sometimes unknowingly. Rocket Money can help you cancel subscriptions and lower bills. The best part: you never need to pick up the phone. Their expert negotiators can call the cable company and phone company on your behalf to help lower your bills. They'll also help you cancel unwanted subscriptions and put that money back in your bank account where it belongs. Rocket Money has already helped save its members over $50,000,000 on their bills without much time and effort.
Protecting your home is important, but dealing with insurance companies can be such a drag. They give you the hard sell up front. You make your monthly payments, but when you actually need money for a claim, it's delay after delay. Lemonade is a new type of insurance company that takes the hassle out of home, renters, and condo insurance. Using AI and transparent business practices, they make it easy to find the perfect policy in just minutes. If you already have insurance, they'll help make the switch simple and seamless. If you need to file a claim, they're committed to paying claims instantly whenever possible. More proof this isn't your typical insurance company: Lemonade donates leftover money at the end of the year to causes that you - the policyholder - care about. Lemonade offers renters insurance policies starting at just $5 per month and homeowners policies starting at just $25 per month. Identity theft can turn your life upside down. Your money could be stolen, your credit score could tank by hundreds of points, and worst of all… you could be liable for damages, even if you’re not at fault. It can be really bad. Identity Guard can help protect your money in case your identity is ever stolen online. They keep you updated 24/7, constantly monitoring in the background while you go about your day with total peace of mind. Using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, they’ll alert you when potentially suspicious activity is detected, helping you take action to protect your money. With Identity Guard, your money, identity, and credit score are kept safe and secure. Sign up today and get access to real-time monitoring and $1 million in identity theft insurance5
for as little as $6.67 per month. Most banks aren’t built to look out for you. In fact, banks charged billions in hidden fees last year alone. Plus, many banks just don’t offer features that help you stay financially secure. Varo Bank (N.A., Member FDIC) is a new kind of bank that looks out for your financial security. With Varo, your bank account is safe from monthly fees and foreign transaction fees, and they offer 55,000+ fee-free ATMs. You can even get paid up to two days early6
when you connect direct deposit. When you open your account, Varo will send you a tap-to-pay debit card that can be easily locked from the app on your phone, if needed. And Visa Zero Liability guarantees you won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges on your debit card, keeping your money safe. Apply today for an account today — it won’t impact your credit score! Your credit scores affect whether you can get approved for a loan, a credit card, or even a new job. Usually it can take weeks or months to improve your credit scores, but there's an innovative new feature that could help you raise your FICO® Scores7
instantly. Experian Boost® can help you get credit for making on-time payments for your phone and utility bills.8
The process takes just minutes and if qualifying payments are identified, you can include this positive information in your Experian credit file. (Don't worry: If you have any negative marks, those won't count against you.) Since launching, Experian Boost has collectively increased FICO® Scores across America by over 10 million points. It's 100% free and new potential credit scores take effect immediately.Get $10 to start investing in Apple, Amazon, and other companies
Cancel your car insurance
Get life insurance when you're young
Life insurance companies look at a number of factors including your age, health, and weight to determine the rate you'll pay for coverage. Generally, the younger and healthier you are, the lower the rate.Cancel unwanted subscriptions and trim up to $720 from your bills
Protect your home starting at just $5/month
Protect your money and get $1 million identity theft insurance
Join the bank with 0 monthly fees
Start improving your credit instantly