11 Easy Money Moves To Make to Set You Up for Life

I get asked all the time: “What are a few money moves I can do today to improve my finances?”

Keeping tabs on your money is obviously important. But why can it be so hard to stay on top of it day after day?

The short answer: there is SO much to keep track of. Budgets, payment dates, paying off debt, improving your credit score, refinancing, tracking your investments, and planning for retirement….just to name a few. It’s enough to make your head spin.

11 Easy Money Moves To Make Today

Here are some of the easiest money moves you can make today to help set you up for life.

  1. Track Your Money
  2. Invest in Real Estate
  3. Earn a Passive Income
  4. Save on Car Insurance
  5. Optimize Your 401(k)
  6. Refinance Student Loans
  7. Get The Best Deal on Life Insurance
  8. Live for free
  9. Invest with a Robo-advisor
  10. Start A Blog
  11. Sign Up for A Travel Credit Card

1. Track Your Money As Millionaires Do

One of the toughest parts of managing your finances is staying on top of every aspect of your wealth.

Investment performance, cash flows, budgets, early retirement trajectory…..it’s a lot.

Luckily, Personal Capital makes it easier to master your money. It’s hands down the best Free Money app in the game. It has over 50 amazing features that allow you to keep track of your accounts, your spending, and your retirement progress. Here are a few of my favorites:

  • Track your net worth (the most important number in personal finance)
  • Monitor your spending
  • Analyze your investment portfolio
  • Track your savings goals
  • Plan for retirement

By linking your accounts with Personal Capital, you can use the next-level dashboard to keep a birds-eye view on your financial life.

It’s literally my favorite app ever. I’ve been using it for over 4 years and it’s completely FREE.

2. Invest in Real Estate

Want to invest in real estate without putting down a huge down payment or becoming a landlord? Believe it or not, there’s a way.

With Fundrise, you can start investing in real estate with a minimum investment of just $500. Then Fundrise takes care of all the work for you.

The best part? You get to know EXACTLY what properties are included in your portfolio.

Earn money through quarterly dividend payments and potential appreciation in the value of your shares, just like a stock.

Keep in mind, that there is risk involved with investing. Even though Fundrise has paid distributions every quarter since Q2 2016.

3. Earn Cash for Browsing Online While Watching Netflix

Spend much time online? Like earning passive income? One of the “non-investing” ideas on my passive income list is Swagbucks, an online platform that gives users an awesome way to earn gift cards and rewards while doing easy things like answering surveys, watching movie trailers, and shopping online.

In the end, you get coupons and gift cards that keep cash in your wallet. They give out over 7,000 gift cards per day!

4. Optimize Your 401(k) and Stop Leaving Money on the Table

Got a 401(k)? Sweet! You may be able to make it perform even better. Most people are leaving money on the table.

Knowing if your retirement account is crushing it can be difficult. All sorts of allocations, indexes, and long-term planning to understand.

5. Refinance Your Student Loans and Pay Up To $18,000 Less

The average college student has over $30,000 in student loans after graduation. And most people are paying WAY TOO MUCH MONEY on their student loans.

Don’t leave money on the table. The average student loan refinancer saves over $18,000 over the life of their loan. That’s a ton of money!

Fortunately, you can easily refinance those student loans as you build your credit and improve your finances in the first years of career.

Earnest and Credible both make refinancing easy and affordable. Some qualified borrowers can reduce their interest rate to below 5%. One Millennial Money reader even got a rate below 3%. Don’t leave money on the table!

Refinancing debt can give you more financial flexibility, and potentially pay less in interest.

6. Get the Best Deal on Life Insurance to Protect Your Loved Ones

Knowing what type of life insurance to get is tough. I’ll admit it.

Especially for young professionals in their 20s and 30s. You don’t always need the type of insurance being thrown at you by salesmen.

It can still be a great idea to have a basic life insurance policy if your family relies on your income or if you just had a kid. It can be your significant other, child, or relative you help care for.

You can get an instant quote from companies like Haven Life in less than 5 minutes, and many providers even offer policies without a medical exam.

7. Rent Your Home (and maybe even live for free!)

Renting out a room (or house) through AirBnB is one of the fastest and easiest ways to make more money.

Depending on your space, you could make anywhere between a few hundred bucks to a few thousand in extra cash each month with regular occupancy.

Signing up takes no time at all and gives you the power to rent out your space whenever you want.

Do you own multiple properties? There’s even the potential to build a six-figure AirBnb rental business.

8. Invest with an Automated Investment Platform

M1Finance is an easy-to-use platform that helps users start investing with little money.

It works by asking you a series of questions about your age, income, risk tolerance, and financial goals. They help you minimize your tax burden and give you the option of consulting with a person any time you need a more personal touch.

9. Start a Blog Online Side Hustle and Make $2,000+ a Month

Fact: it has never been easier to make money online.

Fact: I’ve made over $1 million with this blog! Yup!

Already have a blog? Great! Don’t already have a blog? Get started building your own personal platform. It’s the best way to build your brand and share your ideas with the world.

10. Sign Up for a Better Travel Credit Card (and travel for free)

Do you travel a lot or want to travel for free?

Then you need to check out some of the amazing signup bonuses from the best travel credit cards. Some cards give you up to 100,000 bonus miles or points for signing up!

Depending on the airline you fly that can easily buy you a FIRST CLASS ROUND TRIP TICKET anywhere in the world.

If you do use credit cards and have decent credit then you should definitely check out the best travel cards to see if you can get a better credit card with better bonuses. I always sign up for at least 2 or 3 new travel credit cards every year to maximize the miles I can earn.

I am always looking for a card with better bonuses and miles. What are some other easy money moves you can make today?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read Comments

  • Comment Author image blank
    Metromile is only available in 7 states...before people get all excited. You may want to mention that. Safeco can be a really good option for saving on car insurance, though.
  • Comment Author image blank
    Can you talk more about Fundrise please? A lot of people have had mixed results for that company. I've heard it is extremely hard to pull out, since the companies individually can approve or disapprove. Most of them disapprove. I have heard they are always paying dividends on time quarterly however, so the ROI should be quick.I have heard they can also reinvest. Correct? Thank you for the blog post.
  • Comment Author image blank
    Number 11 Fundrise sounds COOL! I had heard of most of the others but that one sounds super interesting.
  • Comment Author image blank
    Hey Grant. Thanks for all these tips. Very usefull Do you use the free Personal Capital tools or do you actually invest w/ them?
    • Grant Sabatier
      I use the free tools.
  • Comment Author image blank
    I do like #3 Which is pay only for car insurance when you drive your car. I've been doing this for years. Every winter time I keep one of my cars in the garage and tell my insurance agent to suspend the insurance for three months (December-February). Been saving me a bunch.
  • Comment Author image blank
    These are really great, actionable tips. I think that conquering the psychology of spending was the best thing for my financial life that I ever did. Not only does cutting your budget by eliminating unnecessary purchases help you to save more, it teaches you to live on less when you do reach financial independence.
  • Comment Author image blank
    Cool tips! I've never even heard of Metromile. I'm definitely checking that out now.
  • Comment Author image blank
    I like that your suggestions are immediately actionable. I hadn’t heard about the new car insurance. I’m also going to look further into Fundraise.