Category: Personal Finance Product Reviews

Personal Finance Product Reviews

Here is where you’ll find honest personal finance product reviews. There’s no shortage of financial tools and services that you can use to help you manage your money. New FinTech products, tools and services seem to hit the market each month. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the options.

Our goal is to give you honest personal finance product reviews of the many services and tools available to you as you pursue financial independence and an early retirement.

Debt Elimination Personal Finance Product Reviews

Best Student Loan Refinance Companies & Services

Post author By Jackie
Post date May 6, 2020
No Comments on Best Student Loan Refinance Companies & Services

Chances are, the idea of refinancing student loans may have crossed your mind once or twice. So if you’re looking into that, you’ll want to check out some of the best student loan refinance companies and services. Here are a few to consider.

(As always, we work hard to keep this information up-to-date, but since things can change in an instant be sure to check the individual websites to make sure you understand the exact terms and offers before applying. We strive to provide you with valuable information and resources. Opinions are from the author alone, not from any advertiser or partner. Many or all products featured here are from partners, and we earn from qualifying purchases/signups.)

Note that if you refinance federal student loans, you’ll give up benefits like public service forgiveness and economic hardship programs, so it may not be a good idea to do that.

With that said, here are some of the best student loan refinance companies and services!

Invest Your Money Personal Finance Product Reviews

M1 Finance Review – Start Investing for Free

Post author By Josh Patoka
Post date April 21, 2020
1 Comment on M1 Finance Review – Start Investing for Free

We strive to provide you with valuable information and resources. Opinions are from the author alone, not from any advertiser or partner. Many or all products featured here in this M1 Finance Review are from partners, and we earn from qualifying purchases/signups.

Investing doesn’t require special skills or expensive software. M1 Finance is a free investing app that makes it easy for anyone to invest. You can invest small amounts of money into most stocks, ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and index funds.

Both new and experienced investors may find M1 Finance intriguing. You can buy fractional shares of stocks and ETFs without paying a trade fee. This can make it easy to save for retirement by investing in low-cost index funds while having the flexibility to be a DIY investor.

I use M1 Finance as a fee-free way to buy fractional shares of my favorite stocks and ETFs. You can invest as little as $25 at a time.

This M1 Finance review will help you decide if this is the best online brokerage for you.

Personal Finance Product Reviews Save Your Money

Rakuten Review: An Easy Way to Put Money Back in Your Pocket

Post author By Josh Patoka
Post date March 23, 2020
No Comments on Rakuten Review: An Easy Way to Put Money Back in Your Pocket

We strive to provide you with valuable information and resources. Opinions are from the author alone, not from any advertiser or partner. Many or all products featured here are from partners, and we earn from qualifying purchases/signups.

Are you looking for an effortless way to make extra money from your daily habits? Rakuten is one of the easiest ways to put some money back into your pocket when shopping online, and this Rakuten review will show you how.

This online shopping tool is free and lets you earn cashback at over 2,500 retailers. You don’t have to spend time answering surveys or possess a unique skill. As long as you can shop online, you can earn cash rewards.

I have personally been using Rakuten (previously known as Ebates) since 2015. It’s my favorite shopping app because it’s easy to use compared to other online shopping apps.

And as of right now, you can get a $10 cash bonus with your first $25+ online purchase by joining Rakuten.

Invest Your Money Personal Finance Product Reviews

Investing Passively in Real Estate With DiversyFund

Post author By Jackie
Post date June 18, 2019
No Comments on Investing Passively in Real Estate With DiversyFund

This post was written in partnership with DiversyFund.

If you’re a reader of personal finance blogs, you know that real estate investing is a hot topic. Bloggers plug and review companies like Fundrise, Realty Mogul, and PeerStreet. A relatively new, but highly competitive fund in this space is DiversyFund. The team at DiversyFund asked us to take a look at their fund. We’re glad we did.

With that brief introduction, let’s dive in and take a closer look.

DiversyFund

Personal Finance Product Reviews Save Your Money

BEAM High Interest Banking App Review

Post author By Ty Roberts
Post date April 10, 2018
9 Comments on BEAM High Interest Banking App Review

Review summary for the Beam high interest banking app

BEAM High Interest Banking App

A NOTE OF CAUTION: BEAM claims that all funds are held by their partner, Evolve Bank & Trust, an FDIC institution. However, Evolve Bank & Trust told me via a phone call today (4/10/2018) that they have no direct relationship with BEAM. The connection between BEAM and Evolve Bank & Trust is through a third party called Synapse Financial Technologies. Synapse referred me back to the BEAM terms & conditions. Perhaps everything is completely legitimate, but I’ve seen too many red flags for me to feel comfortable using and recommending this service right now.

WHAT IS BEAM? BEAM is a no-fee savings account meant to compliment, not replace your primary bank. They pay 2%-4% APY (interest compounds daily) and require no minimum balance. Beam has launched to a limited audience and is available on iOS devices. An Android application will be coming soon. There are no plans for a web-based application.

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT BEAM? BEAM pays a minimum of 2% APY, which is double what most big banks pay. Not bad, especially since BEAM is free to use and requires no minimum balance. You can earn up to a 4% APY via a “Billies” program (more on that in the full review below). The iOS app, while still in beta, is easy to set up and use. Transferring money between your primary bank account is simple.

WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT BEAM? To get an APY higher than 2% users must open the BEAM app daily to claim a Billie (more on this below in the full review). Even if you’ve boosted your APY, it reverts to 2% each day which can be frustrating and discouraging. My biggest concern with BEAM is their claim to FDIC insurance that nobody besides BEAM will confirm. If BEAM were a household name, like CapitalOne or Wells Fargo, this wouldn’t be an issue for me, but as an unknown startup, with unknown partners, this is a concern.

COST TO USE BEAM: BEAM is free to use.

WHERE TO GET BEAM: ~~Get a free account here.~~ I’ve decided against providing my referral link at this point. Too many unanswered questions.

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