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Warren Buffett is notoriously a good investor. Sure, heâs made some mistakes along the way (who hasnât?), but whatever move he makes, you can bet heâs thought it through, and it will pay off â big time.
Which is why when Mr. Buffett made his biggest stock purchase of the year into Apple, we thought, âIsnât it too late to do that?â Apple is already trading at the highest price it ever has. It feels out of reach for us non-billionaires.
But it turns out, thatâs not the case. While we donât have the ability to own $111 billion (yes, billion with a B) in AAPL shares, we can still get our hands on some â and reap the rewards as the market goes up.
One of our favorite ways to get into the stock market and be a part of infamous big-tech returns, without risking billions is through a free app called Stash.
It lets you be a part of something thatâs normally exclusive to the richest of the rich â on Stash you can buy pieces of other companies â including Buffettâs choices â for as little as $1.
Thatâs right â you can invest in pieces of well-known companies, such as Amazon, Google, Apple and more for as little as $1. The best part? If these companies profit, so can you. Some companies even send you a check every quarter for your share of the profits, called dividends.1
It takes two minutes to sign up, and itâs totally secure. With Stash, all your investments are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) â thatâs industry talk for, âYour moneyâs safe.â2
Plus, when you use the link above, Stash will give you a $5 sign-up bonus once you deposit $5 into your account.*
Kari Faber is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
1Not all stocks pay out dividends, and there is no guarantee that dividends will be paid each year.
2To note, SIPC coverage does not insure against the potential loss of market value.
For Securities priced over $1,000, purchase of fractional shares starts at $0.05.
*Offer is subject to Promotion Terms and Conditions. To be eligible to participate in this Promotion and receive the bonus, you must successfully open an individual brokerage account in good standing, link a funding account to your Invest account AND deposit $5.00 into your Invest account.
The Penny Hoarder is a Paid Affiliate/partner of Stash.Â
Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. This material has been distributed for informational and educational purposes only, and is not intended as investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Investing involves risk.Â
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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Your washing machine. Your car. Your front tooth.
If any of those broke right now, would you be able to get it fixed immediately? Or would you have to walk around with a gap in your smile for months until you could get the money together?
If you canât afford to pay to fix it today, youâre not alone. Most people donât have $400 saved in case of an emergency either. So before your car breaks down on the side of the road on your way to an interview, make sure you have a solid emergency fund of at least $500.
Donât know how to get there? Having a budget (that you actually stick to) can help you get there. Hereâs one budgeting strategy we recommend, and four other tips that can help you keep your expenses in line.
1. The 50/30/20 Budgeting Rule
The 50/30/20 rule is one of the simplest budgeting methods out there, which is why youâve probably heard us talk about it before if youâre a regular TPH reader. There are no fancy spreadsheets or pricy apps to download (unless you want to), and itâs very straightforward.
Hereâs how it shakes out: 50% of your monthly take home income goes to your essentials â your rent, your groceries, your minimum debt payments, and other necessities. 30% of your cash goes to the fun stuff, and 20% is dedicated to your financial goals. That could be paying more than the minimum on your debts or adding to your investments. And it definitely includes building up your emergency fund!
If you take a look at your budget and realized you donât have enough leftover to contribute to your emergency fund, here are a few ways to help balance your budget:
2. Cut More Than $500 From One Of Your Must-Have Bills
Youâre probably overpaying the bills you have to pay each month. But you can cut those expenses down, without sacrificing anything. Maybe even enough to cover that window your kid just smashed with a ball. Definitely enough to grow your emergency fund a meaningful amount.
So, whenâs the last time you checked car insurance prices?
You should shop your options every six months or so â it could save you some serious money. Letâs be real, though. Itâs probably not the first thing you think about when you wake up. But it doesnât have to be.
A website called Insure.com makes it super easy to compare car insurance prices. All you have to do is enter your ZIP code and your age, and itâll show you your options.
Using Insure.com, people have saved an average of $540 a year.
Yup. That could be $500 back in your pocket just for taking a few minutes to look at your options.
3. Earn Up to $225 in Easy, Extra Cash
If we told you you could get free money just for watching videos on your computer, youâd probably laugh. Itâs too good to be true, right? But weâre serious. You can really add up to a few hundred bucks to your emergency savings with some mindless entertainment.
A website called InboxDollars will pay you to watch short video clips online. One minute you might watch someone bake brownies and the next you might get the latest updates on Kardashian drama.
All you have to do is choose which videos you want to watch and answer a few quick questions about them afterward. Brands pay InboxDollars to get these videos in front of viewers, and it passes a cut onto you.
InboxDollars wonât make you rich, but itâs possible to get up to $225 per month watching these videos. Itâs already paid its users more than $56 million.
It takes about one minute to sign up, and youâll immediately earn a $5 bonus to get you started.
4. Ask This Website to Pay Your Credit Card Bill This Month
Just by paying the minimum amount on your credit cards, you are extending the life of your debt exponentially â not to mention the hundreds (or thousands) of dollars youâre wasting on interest payments. You could be using that money to beef up your emergency savings, instead.
The truth is, your credit card company is happy to let you pay just the minimum every month. Itâs getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates â some up to nearly 30%. But a website called AmOne wants to help.
If you owe your credit card companies $50,000 or less, AmOne will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every single one of your balances.
The benefit? Youâll be left with one bill to pay each month. And because personal loans have lower interest rates (AmOne rates start at 3.49% APR), youâll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.
AmOne keeps your information confidential and secure, which is probably why after 20 years in business, it still has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
It takes two minutes to see if you qualify for up to $50,000 online. You do need to give AmOne a real phone number in order to qualify, but donât worry â they wonât spam you with phone calls.
5. Get a Side Gig And Make More Money
Letâs face it â if your monthly income is less than what your monthly expenses are (and youâve run out of things to cut), you need more money.
Well, we all could use more money. And by earning a little bit extra each month, we could make sure weâre never taken by surprise when an ER visit tries to drain our savings.
Luckily, earning money has never been easier with the rise of the âGig Economyâ. Here are 31 simple ways to make money online. Which one could you do to pad your emergency savings?
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
What you may know about RVing: Itâs a great, cheap way to travel, or even a low-cost alternative for living full time.
What you may not know: RVing costs can stack up, and even eclipse the cost of traditional car-and-hotel travel, or living in a sticks-and-bricks home.
Here, weâll detail the primary expenses associated with the RV lifestyle, with tips to help you reduce them.
How to Go RVing on a Budget
As someone whoâs traveled extensively by RV, and even lived in a travel trailer, I know exactly how much of a burden RVing can be on your budget. Hereâs what Iâve learned.
The Vehicle Itself
The first thing you need to go RVing ⦠is an RV. And depending on how you source it, this first purchase can be very pricy.
First-timers are more likely to rent than buy, but if you end up falling in love with the lifestyle, you should know that even modest motorhomes cost tens of thousands of dollars. Super luxurious ones go for over $1 million. (Yes, seriously.)
Travel trailers tend to be less expensive than motorcoaches for a comparable level of quality, from entry level all the way up to the top. Keep in mind, though, that you need a vehicle capable of towing the rig around.
But letâs go back to the rental option. Expect to see per-night prices of $250 or more, which can easily outstrip a moderately priced hotel room. Additional fees for mileage and insurance can push your bottom line even higher.
Consider looking at peer-to-peer RV rental marketplaces, like RVshare or Outdoorsy, where you can rent a rig directly from its private owner, which often means lower rental prices. (Think of it like Airbnb for RVs.)
You may also be able to find super-cheap rentals through RV relocation deals, in which you serve as a rental companyâs courier, delivering RVs to destinations where they are in demand. In return, you get use of the rig for a steal â but keep in mind youâll be limited in your ability to personalize your itinerary. Youâll have to stick to the companyâs route and timetable.
As far as buying is concerned, shop around â and consider shopping gently used. RV does stand for recreational vehicle, after all, and although the loan you take out might look more like a mortgage than auto financing, you probably arenât going to be building equity. You donât want to go too old, because maintenance starts to become a problem, but something three to five years old could save you a nice chunk of change.
Fuel
The appeal of RVs is simple: You get to bring everything along with you for the trip, including the kitchen sink.
But all of those accommodations and extras are weighty, which means that all but the smallest RVs are pretty serious gas guzzlers. Case in point: The largest Class A motorhomes get as little as 4-6 miles to the gallon.
If youâre hoping to save at the pump, consider taking a vacation closer to home or narrowing down to a single destination. Not only will you spend less money on gas, youâll also spend less of your time driving.
Campsite Accommodation Costs
Many people think you can load up into an RV, hit the road and just pull off to the side when youâre ready to catch some sleep.
But in most cases, thatâs not true. Although some rest stops and big box store parking lots allow overnight RV parking, many do not. Besides, do you really want to spend your vacation sleeping under the glare of 24/7 floodlights?
The most comfortable campgrounds â the ones where you can hook up to electricity, water, and sewer connections â can cost a pretty penny, especially in highly sought-after destinations. Malibu Beach may be an extreme example, but during peak seasons, youâre looking at about $100 per night for a basic site, and up to $230 for a premium location. (Remember, thatâs on top of your rental price. And fuel.)
But you can find resort-style accommodations for $35 to $50 per night, often with discounts available for veterans, military members or those staying a week or longer. There are also a variety of camping discount clubs that can help you score lower-cost campground accommodations.
Youâll also want to look into state parks, which often offer RV sites with hookups for prices much lower than privately owned campgrounds (though they may not have a cell signal).
Finally, there are places you can camp for free (or super cheap), but even in an RV, youâll kind of be roughing it. On BLM-managed land and in certain other wilderness locations, you can do âdispersedâ camping, otherwise known as âboondockingâ or âdry campingâ â basically, camping without any hookups.
But you need to check ahead of time to make sure that cool-looking space is actually okay to park in and not privately owned. There isnât always appropriate signage, and if you accidentally end up in someoneâs backyard, you may be asked to move or even ticketed. Some great resources for finding spots include Campendium and FreeCampsites.net.
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Maintenance and Storage
If you buy an RV, you should be prepared for costs associated with maintenance â and, if you canât park it on your own property, storage. In Portland, Oregon, I pay $75 a month to keep my travel trailer in an uncovered lot. More desirable, secure storage is almost $200.
Then there are the maintenance costs of both the vehicular and household systems of an RV, which need regular upkeep. Doing it yourself may be time intensive, but even a minor trip to the repair shop can mean a major bill.
Itâs best if you already have a place in mind to keep it â and the initiative to learn some DIY mechanics. Thereâs a YouTube tutorial for most RV repair and maintenance basics.
Overall, the great thing about RVing is that the expenses are easily modified to fit almost any budget â you may just have to rethink which RV you drive, where youâre going and how youâll be staying once you get there.
Jamie Cattanachâs work has been featured at Fodorâs, Yahoo, SELF, The Huffington Post, The Motley Fool and other outlets. Learn more at www.jamiecattanach.com.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
You probably donât need us to tell you that the earlier you start saving for retirement, the better. But letâs face it: For a lot of people, the problem isnât that they donât understand how compounding works. They start saving late because their paychecks will only stretch so far.
Whether youâre in your 20s or your golden years are fast-approaching, saving and investing whatever you can will help make your retirement more comfortable. Weâll discuss how to save for retirement during each decade, along with the hurdles you may face at different stages of life.
How Much Should You Save for Retirement?
A good rule of thumb is to save between 10% and 20% of pre-tax income for retirement. But the truth is, the actual amount you need to save for retirement depends on a lot of factors, including:
Your age. If you get a late start, youâll need to save more.
Whether your employer matches contributions. The 10% to 20% guideline includes your employerâs match. So if your employer matches your contributions dollar-for-dollar, you may be able to get away with less.
How aggressively you invest. Taking more risk usually leads to larger returns, but your losses will be steeper if the stock market tanks.
How long you plan to spend in retirement. Itâs impossible to predict how long youâll be able to work or how long youâll live. But if you plan to retire early or people in your family often live into their mid-90s, youâll want to save more.
How to Save for Retirement at Every Age
Now that youâre ready to start saving, hereâs a decade-by-decade breakdown of savings strategies and how to make your retirement a priority.
Saving for Retirement in Your 20s
A dollar invested in your 20s is worth more than a dollar invested in your 30s or 40s. The problem: When youâre living on an entry-level salary, you just donât have that many dollars to invest, particularly if you have student loan debt.
Prioritize Your 401(k) Match
If your company offers a 401(k) plan, a 403(b) plan or any retirement account with matching contributions, contribute enough to get the full match â unless of course you wouldnât be able to pay bills as a result. The stock market delivers annual returns of about 8% on average. But if your employer gives you a 50% match, youâre getting a 50% return on your contribution before your money is even invested. Thatâs free money no investor would ever pass up.
Pay off High-Interest Debt
After getting that employer match, focus on tackling any high-interest debt. Those 8% average annual stock market returns pale in comparison to the average 16% interest rate for people who have credit card debt. In a typical year, youâd expect a $100 investment could earn you $8. Put that $100 toward your balance? Youâre guaranteed to save $16.
Take More Risks
Look, weâre not telling you to throw your money into risky investments like bitcoin or the penny stock your cousin wonât shut up about. But when you start investing, youâll probably answer some questions to assess your risk tolerance. Take on as much risk as you can mentally handle, which means youâll invest mostly in stocks with a small percentage in bonds. Donât worry too much about a stock market crash. Missing out on growth is a bigger concern right now.
Build Your Emergency Fund
Building an emergency fund that could cover your expenses for three to six months is a great way to safeguard your retirement savings. That way you wonât need to tap your growing nest egg in a cash crunch. This isnât money you should have invested, though. Keep it in a high-yield savings account, a money market account or a certificate of deposit (CD).
Tame Lifestyle Inflation
We want you to enjoy those much-deserved raises ahead of you â but keep lifestyle inflation in check. Donât spend every dollar each time your paycheck gets higher. Commit to investing a certain percentage of each raise and then use the rest as you please.
Saving for Retirement in Your 30s
If youâre just starting to save in your 30s, the picture isnât too dire. You still have about three decades left until retirement, but itâs essential not to delay any further. Saving may be a challenge now, though, if youâve added kids and homeownership to the mix.
Invest in an IRA
Opening a Roth IRA is a great way to supplement your savings if youâve only been investing in your 401(k) thus far. A Roth IRA is a solid bet because youâll get tax-free money in retirement.
In both 2020 and 2021, you can contribute up to $6,000, or $7,000 if youâre over 50. The deadline to contribute isnât until tax day for any given year, so you can still make 2020 contributions until April 15, 2021. If you earn too much to fund a Roth IRA, or you want the tax break now (even though it means paying taxes in retirement), you can contribute to a traditional IRA.
Your investment options with a 401(k) are limited. But with an IRA, you can invest in whatever stocks, bonds, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) you choose.
Pro Tip
If you or your spouse isnât working but you can afford to save for retirement, consider a spousal IRA. Itâs a regular IRA, but the working spouse funds it for the non-earning spouse.Â
Avoid Mixing Retirement Money With Other Savings
Youâre allowed to take a 401(k) loan for a home purchase. The Roth IRA rules give you the flexibility to use your investment money for a first-time home purchase or college tuition. Youâre also allowed to withdraw your contributions whenever you want. Wait, though. That doesnât mean you should.
The obvious drawback is that youâre taking money out of the market before itâs had time to compound. But thereâs another downside. Itâs hard to figure out if youâre on track for your retirement goals when your Roth IRA is doing double duty as a college savings account or down payment fund.
Start a 529 Plan While Your Kids Are Young
Saving for your own future takes higher priority than saving for your kidsâ college. But if your retirement funds are in shipshape, opening a 529 plan to save for your childrenâs education is a smart move. Not only will you keep the money separate from your nest egg, but by planning for their education early, youâll avoid having to tap your savings for their needs later on.
Keep Investing When the Stock Market Crashes
The stock market has a major meltdown like the March 2020 COVID-19 crash about once a decade. But when a crash happens in your 30s, itâs often the first time you have enough invested to see your net worth take a hit. Donât let panic take over. No cashing out. Commit to dollar-cost averaging and keep investing as usual, even when youâre terrified.
Saving for Retirement in Your 40s
If youâre in your 40s and started saving early, you may have a healthy nest egg by now. But if youâre behind on your retirement goals, now is the time to ramp things up. You still have plenty of time to save, but youâve missed out on those early years of compounding.
Continue Taking Enough Risk
You may feel like you can afford less investment risk in your 40s, but you still realistically have another two decades left until retirement. Your money still has â and needs â plenty of time to grow. Stay invested mostly in stocks, even if itâs more unnerving than ever when you see the stock market tank.
Put Your Retirement Above Your Kidsâ College Fund
You can only afford to pay for your kidsâ college if youâre on track for retirement. Talk to your kids early on about what you can afford, as well their options for avoiding massive student loan debt, including attending a cheaper school, getting financial aid, and working while going to school. Your options for funding your retirement are much more limited.
Keep Your Mortgage
Mortgage rates are historically low â well below 3% as of December 2020. Your potential returns are much higher for investing, so youâre better off putting extra money into your retirement accounts. If you havenât already done so, consider refinancing your mortgage to get the lowest rate.
Invest Even More
Now is the time to invest even more if you can afford to. Keep getting that full employer 401(k) match. Beyond that, try to max out your IRA contributions. If you have extra money to invest on top of that, consider allocating more to your 401(k). Or you could invest in a taxable brokerage account if you want more flexibility on how to invest.
Meet With a Financial Adviser
Youâre about halfway through your working years when youâre in your 40s. Now is a good time to meet with a financial adviser. If you canât afford one, a financial counselor is typically less expensive. Theyâll focus on fundamentals like budgeting and paying off debt, rather than giving investment advice.
Saving for Retirement in Your 50s
By your 50s, those retirement years that once seemed like they were an eternity away are getting closer. Maybe thatâs an exciting prospect â or perhaps it fills you with dread. Whether you want to keep working forever or retirement canât come soon enough, now is the perfect time to start setting goals for when you want to retire and what you want your retirement to look like.
Review Your Asset Allocation
In your 50s, you may want to start shifting more into safe assets, like bonds or CDs. Your money has less time to recover from a stock market crash. Be careful, though. You still want to be invested in stocks so you can earn returns that will keep your money growing. With interest rates likely to stay low through 2023, bonds and CDs probably wonât earn enough to keep pace with inflation.
Take Advantage of Catch-up Contributions
If youâre behind on retirement savings, give your funds a boost using catch-up contributions. In 2020 and 2021, you can contribute:
$1,000 extra to a Roth or traditional IRA (or split the money between the two) once youâre 50
$6,500 extra to your 401(k) once youâre 50
$1,000 extra to a health savings account (HSA) once youâre 55.
Work More if Youâre Behind
Your window for catching up on retirement savings is getting smaller now. So if youâre behind, consider your options for earning extra money to put into your nest egg. You could take on a side hustle, take on freelance work or work overtime if thatâs a possibility to bring in extra cash. Even if you intend to work for another decade or two, many people are forced to retire earlier than they planned. Itâs essential that you earn as much as possible while you can.
Pay off Your Remaining Debt
Since your 50s is often when you start shifting away from high-growth mode and into safer investments, now is a good time to use extra money to pay off lower-interest debt, including your mortgage. Retirement will be much more relaxing if you can enjoy it debt-free.
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Saving for Retirement in Your 60s
Hooray, youâve made it! Hopefully your retirement goals are looking attainable by now after working for decades to get here. But you still have some big decisions to make. Someone in their 60s in 2021 could easily spend another two to three decades in retirement. Your challenge now is to make that hard-earned money last as long as possible.
Make a Retirement Budget
Start planning your retirement budget at least a couple years before you actually retire. Financial planners generally recommend replacing about 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income. Common income sources for seniors include:
Social Security benefits. Monthly benefits replace about 40% of pre-retirement income for the average senior.
Retirement account withdrawals. Money you take out from your retirement accounts, like your 401(k) and IRA.
Defined-benefit pensions. These are increasingly rare in the private sector, but still somewhat common for those retiring from a career in public service.
Annuities. Though controversial in the personal finance world, an annuity could make sense if youâre worried about outliving your savings.
Other investment income. Some seniors supplement their retirement and Social Security income with earnings from real estate investments or dividend stocks, for example.
Part-time work. A part-time job can help you delay dipping into your retirement savings account, giving your money more time to grow.
You can plan on some expenses going away. You wonât be paying payroll taxes or making retirement contributions, for example, and maybe your mortgage will be paid off. But you generally donât want to plan for any budget cuts that are too drastic.
Even though some of your expenses will decrease, health care costs eat up a large chunk of senior income, even once youâre eligible for Medicare coverage â and they usually increase much faster than inflation.
Develop Your Social Security Strategy
You can take your Social Security benefits as early as 62 or as late as age 70. But the earlier you take benefits, the lower your monthly benefits will be. If your retirement funds are lacking, delaying as long as you can is usually the best solution. Taking your benefit at 70 vs. 62 will result in monthly checks that are about 76% higher. However, if you have significant health problems, taking benefits earlier may pay off.
Pro Tip
Use Social Securityâs Retirement Estimator to estimate what your monthly benefit will be.
Figure Out How Much You Can Afford to Withdraw
Once youâve made your retirement budget and estimated how much Social Security youâll receive, you can estimate how much youâll be able to safely withdraw from your retirement accounts. A common retirement planning guideline is the 4% rule: You withdraw no more than 4% of your retirement savings in the first year, then adjust the amount for inflation.
If you have a Roth IRA, you can let that money grow as long as you want and then enjoy it tax-free. But youâll have to take required minimum distributions, or RMDs, beginning at age 72 if you have a 401(k) or a traditional IRA. These are mandatory distributions based on your life expectancy. The penalties for not taking them are stiff: Youâll owe the IRS 50% of the amount you were supposed to withdraw.
Keep Investing While Youâre Working
Avoid taking money out of your retirement accounts while youâre still working. Once youâre over age 59 ½, you wonât pay an early withdrawal penalty, but you want to avoid touching your retirement funds for as long as possible.
Instead, continue to invest in your retirement plans as long as youâre still earning money. But do so cautiously. Keep money out of the stock market if youâll need it in the next five years or so, since your money doesnât have much time to recover from a stock market crash in your 60s.
A Final Thought: Make Your Retirement About You
Whether youâre still working or youâre already enjoying your golden years, this part is essential: You need to prioritize you. That means your retirement savings goals need to come before bailing out family members, or paying for college for your children and grandchildren. After all, no one else is going to come to the rescue if you get to retirement with no savings.
If youâre like most people, youâll work for decades to get to retirement. The earlier you start planning for it, the more stress-free it will be.
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder. She writes the Dear Penny personal finance advice column. Send your tricky money questions to DearPenny@thepennyhoarder.com.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
Vinegar isnât the only super performer in your kitchen.
Windex â that simple $3 spray you keep under your sink â can be used to clean the interior of your car, to detail jewelry and even to unstick zippers.
Your store shelves probably carry several varieties of Windex, so if youâre cleaning fabric, stick with the clear version, and if youâre using it for a car, use the Windex Ammonia-free Glass Cleaner.
Aside from those suggestions, any of the Windex variations will do the job.
Here are 9 surprisingly effective uses for that familiar blue (or sometimes clear) bottle.
1. Moving Large Pieces of Furniture
Los Angeles-based interior designer John Linden uses Windex to slide large items that are stuck or too heavy to move.
âAll we need to do is to spritz some in front of the objects we want to move before pushing the item,â Linden says. Heâs then able to easily move that piece of furniture to its place.
As long as you use the ammonia-free version of Windex, you can use it on any type of flooring, including hardwood.
2. Cleaning Carpets and Upholstered Furniture
You thought Windex only worked on glass? Linden says heâll often spray Windex onto small stains, leaving it for 20 minutes to soak. Then he wipes right off the furniture.
Make sure to use the clear formula for this, as the blue formula may leave its own stains.
3. Insect Repellant
The smell of ammonia is strongly disliked by many insects, says Andrew Barker, founder of Homeowner Costs. As a result, Barker suggests spraying Windex by open windows and doors to keep bugs at bay.
4. Clean Your Car
Windex is also a great cleanser for cars, says Deidre Fisher, owner of Simply Bliss Cleaning in Salt Lake City, Utah. Use it on window and mirror smudges, on dashboards, the steering wheel and any plastic and leather surface.
Itâs also great for cleaning the screens and dials. âI just recommend spraying the cloth first and not the electronics directly,â Fisher says.
5. Washing Makeup Brushes
Makeup artist and lifestyle blogger Kerrin Jackson has been using Windex to clean her brushes and airbrush parts for more than a decade.
âThey make light work of breaking down the alcohol-based makeups and heavy-duty body makeup products that can sometimes be stubborn and difficult to clean from the inner workings of the airbrush parts,â Jackson says.
6. De-greasing Your Kitchen
Use Windex on your exhaust fans and range hoods in your kitchen, suggests Diana Rodriguez-Zaba, president of ServiceMaster Restoration by Zaba, a cleaning company in Chicago.
Rodriguez-Zaba suggests spraying Windex on the surfaces and letting it stand for 5-10 minutes, then wiping it clean and rinsing with water to remove any remaining chemical residue.
7. Cleaning Your TV Screen
Got a dusty TV? Dust is usually very prevalent on televisions because everyone is scared to clean them. But spray some Windex on a soft cloth and youâre good to go, says Abe Navas, general manager of Emilyâs Maids, a house cleaning service in Dallas.
8. Removing Stains From Clothing
It works well for red wine, tomato sauce, ketchup and more, says Jen Stark, founder of Happy DIY Home, a gardening and home improvement blog.
âYou can lightly spray the stain with Windex and let it sit for 15 minutes, as long as the clothing item isnât a delicate silk,â Stark said. âGet a clean cloth and blot at the stain before rinsing it in cold water.â
Follow this by washing the clothing as recommended. Make sure you use clear Windex for this task.
9. Cleaning Patio Furniture and Outdoor Surfaces
Benjamin Nguyen, owner of Full Color Cleaners, says he uses Windex to clean his patio furniture, making it look as good as new. It will clean everything from the furniture to outdoor surfaces, including brick.
For this task, go the extra mile and snag the Windex Outdoor Concentrated Cleaner, which is a 32 oz. spray bottle that attaches onto a hose ($27.66). Spray onto your aluminum siding, your brick, your windows â and with this tool, you wonât even need a ladder to do it.
Danielle Braff is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
Typically when a company files for bankruptcy, its stock prices crash. Yet recently, eager investors have flocked in to buy those ultracheap shares and temporarily driven up the prices. (Ahem, ahem: Hertz.)
Having a small amount invested in gold and silver can help you diversify your portfolio. But anything above 5% to 10% is risky.
Bondholders may be left empty-handed when a corporation declares bankruptcy. But guess whoâs dead last in terms of priority for who gets paid? Common shareholders.
We wonât bore you with the nitty-gritty, but the risk here is similar to buying stocks on margin: It can lead to big profits but it can also magnify your losses.
10 Risky Investments That Could Lead to Huge Losses
Fraud is also rampant in the penny stock world. One common tactic is the âpump and dump.â Scammers create false hype, often using investing websites and newsletters, to pump up the price. Then they dump their shares on unknowing investors.
If you answered yes to these questions, youâre probably an investor with a high risk tolerance.
1. Penny Stocks
Thereâs usually a good reason penny stocks are so cheap. Often they have zero history of earning a profit. Or theyâve run into trouble and have been delisted by a major stock exchange.
That 50% drop has wiped out 100% of your investment â and thatâs before we account for interest.
Options give you the right to buy or sell a stock at a certain price before a certain date. The right to buy is a call. You buy a call when you think a stock price will rise. The right to sell is a put. You buy a put when you think a stock price will drop.
2. IPOs
Collectibles are illiquid assets. Thatâs a jargony way of saying theyâre often hard to sell.
The average first-day returns of a newly public company have consistently been between 10% to 20% since the 1990s, according to a 2019 report by investment firm UBS. But after five years, about 60% of IPOs had negative total returns.
Suppose you buy ,000 of stock and it drops 50%. Normally, youâd lose ,500.
Plus, thereâs also the risk of losing your entire investment if your collection is physically destroyed.
3. Bitcoin
If it goes well, you amplify your returns. But when margining goes badly, it can end really, really badly.
But if you end up on the losing side: You could have to pay that high price for the stock that just crashed or sell a soaring stock at a deep discount.
Instead, weâre more likely to be swayed by the hype that a popular company gets when it goes public and the shares start trading on the stock market. Then, weâre at risk of paying overinflated prices because we think weâre buying the next Amazon.
Hold up, Evel Knievel.
4. Anything You Buy on Margin
Both gold and silver are highly volatile. Gold is much rarer, so discovery of a new source can bring down its price. Silver is even more volatile than gold because the value of its supply is much smaller. That means small price changes have a bigger impact. Both metals tend to underperform the S&P 500 in the long term.
Like regular exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, leveraged ETFs give you a bundle of investments designed to mirror a stock index. But leveraged ETFs seek to earn two or three times the benchmark index by using a bunch of complicated financing maneuvers that give you greater exposure.
You may be planning on turning a quick profit during the run-up, but the spike in share prices is usually short-lived. If you donât get the timing exactly right here, you could lose big when the uptick reverses.
Buying a leveraged ETF is like margaining on steroids.
The 10 things we just described certainly arenât the only risky investments out there. So letâs review some common themes. Consider any of these traits a red flag when youâre making an investment decision.
5. Leveraged ETFs
What makes options trading unique is that thereâs one clear winner and one clear loser. With most investments, you can sell for a profit to an investor who also goes on to sell at a profit. Hypothetically, this can continue forever.
Companies issue bonds when they need to take on debt. The higher their risk of defaulting, the more interest they pay to those who invest in bonds. Junk bonds are the riskiest of bonds.
If you own bonds in a company that ends up declaring bankruptcy, you could lose your entire investment. Secured creditors â the ones whose claim is backed by actual property, like a bank that holds a mortgage â get paid back 100% in bankruptcy court before bondholders get anything.
Sure, if things go well, youâd make money â lots of it. But if things go south, the potential losses are huge. In some cases, you could lose your entire investment.
If the stock market crashed again, would you respond by investing more? Is day trading your sport of choice? Do you smirk at the idea of keeping money in a savings account instead of investing it? This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
6. Collectibles
Options trading gets even riskier, though, when youâre the one selling the call or put. When you win, you pocket the entire amount you were paid.
For this reason, leveraged ETFs are only appropriate for day traders â specifically, day traders with very deep pockets who can stomach huge losses.
But if youâd put down ,500 of your own money to buy the stock and used margin for the other 50%? Youâd be left with Unless you can afford to part ways with a huge percentage of your investment, bitcoin is best avoided. Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder. She writes the Dear Penny personal finance advice column. Send your tricky money questions to DearPenny@thepennyhoarder.com.
7. Junk Bonds
A lot of people collect cars, stamps, art, even Pokemon cards as a hobby. But some collectors hope their hobby will turn into a profitable investment.
Secured creditors, bondholders and owners of preferred stock (itâs kind of like a stock/bond hybrid) all get paid in full before shareholders get a dime.
But hereâs whatâs especially tricky about leveraged ETFs: Theyâre required to rebalance every day to reflect the makeup of the underlying index. That means you canât sit back and enjoy the long-haul growth. Every day, youâre essentially investing in a different product.
8. Shares of a Bankrupt Company
You and I probably arenât rich or connected enough to invest in an IPO, or initial public offering, at its actual offering price. Thatâs usually reserved for company insiders and investors with deep pockets.
The riskiest way to invest in gold and silver is by buying the physical metals because theyâre difficult to store and sell. A less risky way to invest is by purchasing a gold or silver ETF that contains a variety of assets, such as mining company stocks and physical metals.
That post-bankruptcy filing surge is usually a temporary case of FOMO. Remember: The likelihood that those shares will eventually be worth But suppose you buy a call or a put. If your bet was correct, you exercise the option. You get to buy a winning stock at a bargain price, or you get to offload a tanking stock at a premium price. If you lose, youâre out the entire amount you paid for the option.
Both precious metals are often thought of as hedges against a bear market because theyâve held their value throughout history. Plus in uncertain times, many investors seek out tangible assets, i.e., stuff you can touch.
9. Gold and Silver
But donât assume that a company is profitable just because its CEO is ringing the opening bell on Wall Street. Many companies that go public have yet to make money.
If you need to cash out, you may not be able to find a buyer. Or you may need to sell at a steep discount. Itâs also hard to figure out the actual value of collectibles. After all, thereâs no New York Stock Exchange for Pokemon cards. And if you do sell, youâll pay 28% tax on the gains. Stocks held long-term, on the other hand, are taxed at 15% for most middle-income earners.
Proponents of bitcoin believe the cryptocurrency will eventually become a widespread way to pay for things. But its usage now as an actual way to pay for things remains extremely limited.
Margining gives you more money to invest, which sounds like a win. You borrow money from your broker using the stocks you own as collateral. Of course, you have to pay your broker back, plus interest.
Penny stocks usually trade infrequently, meaning you could have trouble selling your shares if you want to get out. And because the issuing company is small, a single piece of good or bad news can make or break it.
10. Options Trading
If you have a low credit score, youâll pay a high interest rate when you borrow money because banks think thereâs a good chance you wonât pay them back. With corporations, it works the same way.
All that speculation creates wild price fluctuations. In December 2017, bitcoin peaked at nearly ,000 per coin, then plummeted in 2018 to well below ,000. That volatility makes bitcoin useless as a currency, as Bankrateâs James Royal writes. Source: thepennyhoarder.com
Itâs fine to embrace a âno-risk, no-rewardâ philosophy. But some investments are so high-risk that they arenât worth the rewards.
Itâs OK to spend a reasonable amount of money curating that collection if you enjoy it. But if your plans are contingent on selling the collection for a profit someday, youâre taking a big risk.
What Are the Signs That an Investment Is Too Risky?
Weâre not saying no one should ever consider investing in any of the following. But even if youâre a personal finance daredevil, these investments should give you serious pause.
Theyâre confusing. Are you perplexed by bitcoin and options trading? So is pretty much everyone else.If you donât understand how something works, itâs a sign you shouldnât invest in it.
Theyâre volatile. Dramatic price swings may be exciting compared with the tried-and-true approach of investing across the stock market. But investing is downright dangerous when everything hinges on getting the timing just right.
The price is way too low. Just because an investment is cheap doesnât mean itâs a good value.
The price is way too high. Before you invest in the latest hype, ask yourself if the investment actually delivers value. Or are the high prices based on speculation?
Essentially, a leveraged ETF that aims for twice the benchmark indexâs returns (known as a 2x leveraged ETF) is letting you invest for every youâve actually invested.
For now, bitcoin remains a speculative investment. People invest in it primarily because they think other investors will continue to drive up the price, not because they see value in it.
If youâre worried about the stock market or high inflation, you may be tempted to invest in gold or silver. The bottom line: If you can afford to put a small amount of money in high-risk investments just for the thrill of it, fine â as long as you can deal with losing it all.
