Saving for Goals with Rize

I recently signed up for Rize to give it a try and wanted to share a few details about it.  Basically, Rize helps you save towards goals by pulling money from your account and putting it into a separate account (with assigned goals so you can track progress).  This could be a specific goal ( a vacation, a laptop ) or a general one ( emergency fund ).

The benefits of Rize ( Visit https://rizemoney.com/ to read more )

Safe and Secure: Money in your Rize account is insured up to $250,000 and Rize uses 256-bit encryption end-to-end.
0.90% APY: Cash in your Rize account earns interest at 15x the national average.
Unlimited Goals: Save for 1 goal or for 100. Whatever you want to save for, you can do it with your Rize account.
Unlimited Transfers: Move money in and out of your Rize account anytime you want for free. Transfers typically take 2-3 business days.
No Minimums: It doesn’t matter if you save $5 each month or $5,000. Saving for the future you want, that’s what counts.
Pay What You Want: You choose what you pay to use Rize. 100% transparent with no hidden fees. We’re not kidding.

Disclosure: This post contains a referral link, which means that if you sign up using my link, I’ll receive compensation.  However, all opinions are my own.

Sign up using this link https://goo.gl/oRYNam to get $5.

When you sign up, it will walk you through a few steps - setting a goal, monthly saving amount and connecting your bank.  If you aren't sure you want to actually start moving money around yet, I would check the following settings:

1) Go into the goal you created, and edit it so the monthly commitment is $0.
2) Go into your settings > Profile Settings and under "Scheduled Savings" make sure it say "Recurring deposits are paused" if it doesn't go ahead and pause them
3) Turn off the "Savings Power Ups" until you have a chance to read about them
4) For the Monthly Rize Contribution, change it to $0.  This is ONLY while you get familiar with it, if you try Rize for a few months and it provides value then you should consider contributing to the service.

You can play around with the interface a bit more, and then start setting some actual goals.

Your $5 free will take a few weeks to show up, but it has to stay in your account for 90 days before you can withdraw.  Remember this is a savings account so really that $5 is just $5 towards one of your goals.

Referral bonus!

Update: After playing around with Rize and getting a better understanding of the service, I came up with how I can use it.  I was working on a monthly budget, but there were certain items that were quarterly, yearly, or twice a year.  For example my trash is about $54 every 3 months.  It is hard to budget for those type of expenses on a monthly basis, since two months there is no expensive then one month it goes up to $54.

If you take the $54 across 3 months that is $18 per month.  I am using Rize to pull $18 per month from my account, and set it aside against a specific goal for my trash bill.  I do the same thing for other items that aren't monthly.  This way on a monthly basis, a consistent amount is set aside for the items that happen quarterly, twice a year or yearly.  When I need to pay those bills, I can just move the money out of Rize.

If you take this approach, keep in mind the timing of your bills will impact how things work first time around.  For example, lets assume the trash was paid in August and is due again in November.  Since I am starting this now in October, I will have Oct/Nov ($36 total) set aside.  However, once that bill is paid the next time it is due I should have the full $54 available.  Check out the screen shots below.

$18 a month for trash company

Other quarterly, twice a year and yearly set asides

Disclosure: This post contains a referral link, which means that if you sign up using my link, I’ll receive compensation.  However, all opinions are my own.

Sign up using this link https://goo.gl/oRYNam to get $5.

If you want to see other freebies/offers, go here:
http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2016/11/get-some-free-stuff-or-free-money.html

Robinhood - Free (or near free) Stock Trading

I recently ran across a page online that provided information on how to get a free stock via Robinhood (see details at the end of my post).  I was familiar with Robinhood, and have played around with stocks in the past ( most recently via Scottrade but it has been a while since I did any trading ).  I had my eye on Robinhood in the past, but didn't signed up until just recently - the key aspect of Robinhood is that there are no fees to purchase stocks.  Make sure you read up on other fees before diving in, so there are no surprises.

If you are ready to sign up, use my referral link ( https://share.robinhood.com/victorj95 )  Make sure you confirm your email.

Keep on reading..

Signing up for Robinhood is pretty simple, but keep in mind this is a financial site/app so you will need to share information like your social security number.  Overall the process wasn't difficult, if additional information is needed they will let you know.

NOTE: If you have your credit frozen, make sure you unfreeze it before signing up for Robinhood since it will likely help you avoid extra steps to confirm your account.

Once my account was verified, the first thing I did was claim my free stock.  It didn't take long to show up, I figured I wouldn't get one of the high value ones like Apple and I was right - I got Chesapeake Energy (CHK).  It was a free stock, and more importantly it put something in my account so I could start to become familiar with the application features.

My free Chesapeake Energy (CHK) Stock

Next, I linked my account to my bank and pulled in a few bucks.  The money showed up as instantly being available in Robinhood which was very cool.  It didn't take me long to play around with the various options to purchase shares, and I ended up buying a stock in Ford (F).  It wasn't a well researched decision, I just like Ford.  So now I have two stocks, one free and one purchased without a fee.  More importantly, I think Robinhood may have gotten me interested into playing around on the stock market again.

Portfolio view

Portfolio View ...continued
Positions = Stocks you own
Watchlist = Stocks you are tracking

For someone trying out the stock market without racking up fees, this seems like a good area to get started.   If I remember correctly Scottrade has some neat reporting and tracking features, and their trades were cheap compared to other offerings at the time but it is hard to argue with free stock purchases and a simple interface even if you miss out on some of the bells and whistles that other options may have.

Bottom line, I think Robinhood is a great way to start getting familiar with buying and selling stocks since you can try things out for free (or minimal fee) to see if you want to dive into stocks further.

If I run into any other cool features, or problems, I will update this post.

Free Stock Details

As of 9/9/2017 here are the key points of the "Free Stock" offer from Robinhood but make sure you read to see what has changed if you sign up later:

- You and the person who refers you will get a free stock certificate
- The stocks are chosen randomly, and will be in the $2.50 to $200 range but that depends on the market.
- You can refer others and get up to $500 in stocks

If you are ready to sign up, use my referral link ( https://share.robinhood.com/victorj95 )  Make sure you confirm your email.

If you want another option to try and more free stock, check out my review of Stockpile:
http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2017/09/stockpile-review-and-free-5-stock.html

If you want to see other freebies/offers, go here:
http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2016/11/get-some-free-stuff-or-free-money.html

Should I freeze my credit?

This post doesn't really align with my "normal" posts, but hopefully someone finds it useful.

With the recent Equifax data breach, I have seen many posts online where people ask about credit freezing vs. credit monitoring, and what they should do.  Personally this is just one of many times my information has potentially been breached, so I have received monitoring for free many times but in my opinion monitoring isn't enough.

Monitoring is not the same as freezing.  I have had a credit freeze on my account for years.  Remember a freeze restricts access, so if a company can't pull your report chances are they will not issue credit or access against the info.  Think of it this way:

Freeze: Imagine you have a safe, and it is locked.  No one can get in.  So real world, that means even if they know your information when they apply using your social the financial institution will not get anything back from the credit agencies.

Monitoring: You keep the safe open, hoping no one knows where it is.  If someone does find the safe, it is wide open and they can steal what they want.  Sure you have monitoring in place, but all they will say is "hey someone got into your safe and maybe did something".  So real world, if they know your information they can apply for credit in your name and you will find out.

That may not be the best way to explain it, but that is what I came up with.

There are things to consider with a freeze (for example, it might cost money to freeze or temporarily lift the freeze for your credit).  Also, it has caused me problems signing up for certain sites online (when they verify your info against credit agencies) but 1) lifting the freeze fixed the problem and 2) that basically proves it is protecting me.

Personally, I would rather avoid the issue in the first place by freezing my credit.  Ultimately I would suggest each person do the research and make an informed decision.  Good links to read more:

http://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs

Credit Monitoring

Additionally, even if you place a credit freeze it is probably a good idea to consider some free monitoring options:

- For Equifax and TransUnion, Credit Karma is a great (free) option
- For Experian someone suggested Credit.com, but I also saw this option ( https://www.experian.com/consumer-products/free-credit-report.html ).

Free Credit Report Info

If you go to this official FTC Government website ( https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports ) it states:

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

You can go to ( http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ ) to get your reports, or go to the link above for other options such as calling or mailing a request.  Don't Google "free credit report" use the link above, or if you don't trust me use the FTC link above or Google "FTC free credit report" and look for the ftc.gov link.

Nook 7 for kids - Quick review

It has been a few months since I wrote a blog entry, so I figured I would write about the Nook 7 but not a traditional review.  I wanted to focus on the use of the Nook 7 as a child friendly device.

First, the biggest selling point is the hardware cost since it is only $50.  However if you are getting this for a child, I would suggest you look into the Nook foam bumper and it seems they (B&N) have an extended warranty for only $10 that covers damage but they don't do a good job of advertising it so ask about it.

For the OS / software, it feels like a stock Android device with Nook software installed - they didn't go crazy trying to make a custom interface and honestly I like the stock-like approach better.

For the child friendly setup, here are some of things to consider:

• During initial setup, you can either setup an account just for your child or use your own account.  If you do setup a new account, make sure you setup the family capabilities so you can share purchased items.
• Disable applications you do not need or do not want your child to access.
• If you have a Nook account, you can setup profiles on your account that way you can login to your Nook account but put the device on a profile just for your child.  This will allow you to restrict what they can access from your Nook library.
• In "Play Store", make sure you require authentication for all purchases
• In "Play Store", make sure you setup Parental Controls if your child is going to have access to apps like "Play Movies & TV".
• If you are going to use the table for videos/movies without internet access, you should look into getting a microSD card since the internal memory is limited.  Netflix and Google Play Movies & TV both allow offline saving of movies and both work with a memory card.
• If you are a heavy Amazon user, consider trying Amazon FreeTime.  It does a good job of only allowing your child to access what you want them to access.  You can either setup on a dedicated device like a Nook 7 or just run the app on your own phone/tablet for them to use.
• If you don't use Amazon FreeTime, try Luna Launcher - Kid Launcher.  It does a good job of limiting what your child can access.  You can keep them out of settings and certain apps, but still let them access

Overall the Nook 7's low cost makes it an ideal option for children just make sure you get the foam bumper and extra warranty.

As I continue to use/test the Nook 7, I will update this post.  Feel free to post questions or suggestions in the comments, I hope people find this information to be useful.

Gane - Money Transfer App

Lately I have been playing around with various money transfer applications.  I recently ran across one called Gane, so I decided to play around with it and do a quick review.  This application doesn't have a referral program like some of the others, but right now you can get $1 free on the website which is a nice way to start playing around with the application.

Per the Gane website ( https://gane.io/ ), the application supports the following main functions:

Tap & Pay - Spending made effortless. Use anywhere that accepts Apple Pay and Android Pay.

Receive Offers and Share - Be in the know about exclusive offers. Sweeten your spending — save money and share.

Send and Receive Money - Send and receive money to use instantly. Anyone, anywhere, anytime.

All the applications I have tested have the ability to send/receive money, but the other two aspects are pretty unique.  You can do Tap & Pay with Square Cash via Apple Pay, but no similar ability exists for Android users (specific to Square Cash).  As far as offers, I don't think any of the apps I have tested (so far) provide that feature.

Here is some feedback I have so far based on using the application.

Initial Setup of app

I went to the Gane website and put my # on the page for the free $1 offer.  You just put in your # and hit "Collect", moments later you get a text message with a link.  The app was simple to setup, initially I didn't have to enter any personal information.  I did get my $1 free in the Gane app.  I think the application built-in tutorial should do a better job of letting the user know what they need to enter for the application to be useful - I didn't realize the last 4 of SSN and other details would be required for anything to really work.  I did do the option to register my #, so I can recover the account if needed.

"Discover" area of app

This is one area where the application stands out compared to the others I have tested so far.  You can see high level activities of others, but more importantly you can "Collect" and "Share" offers.  Some of these offers look pretty good - $3 off Chick-fil-A or 25% off Starbucks Coffee, for example.  Even if you don't want the offer you can share it with someone else that may be interested.

Discover

"Activity" area of app

Like most applications, Gane has an activity log area.  For me, it showed the initial $1 and then showed various offers I collected while playing around in the application.  The offers you claim show up as "Completed" which is a bit confusing - the offer is collected, but not yet used so I think they should use a different term.

Activity

Load Funds

The app has a "Load Funds" option, that seems to work with credit or debit cards.  I am still trying to find out the fees for this app, but I am assuming debit is free and credit has a charge.  I touch on the lack of being able to find the fees near the end of this post.

When I put my card info to test the "Load Funds" option, it then told me I was required to verify identity.  I didn't complete these steps so I didn't fully test the "Load Funds" option.

Send Funds

The main interface doesn't have a simple "Send" button like most money transfer applications, you have to go into the top right 3 dot menu and choose "Send Cash".  It gets a bit confusing here, you enter an amount ( I did 50 cents as a test ) and you choose "Cash" or "Starbucks Store Credit" as what you plan to send.  There was no place to put in who it was going to, but I hit "Send" anyways.  Next, a screen comes up saying you sent $0.50 and then the normal Android "share" interface comes up with various options.  From what I can tell you share the money as a link, using whatever method you want (email, twitter, whatever).  I have seen many people send money (on other apps) to old phone #s that no longer worked, so I think this is a creative approach to ensure it reaches the correct person since you communicate using whatever method is most current and effective.

There is no way to add a note to the payment - while you can send a note when you send the person the link, keeping it in the app is useful.

When you send money, it shows up as "Pending" and you have the ability to cancel it which most of the other apps do not offer.  I don't now if the cancel option goes away after time but once the person collects the money, then it will show up as "Completed" and you can't cancel it anymore.

Send Funds

Withdraw Funds

The app has a "Withdraw" option, which seems to only work with debit cards.  Most of the other applications work with debit or a bank account (using account/routing info).

After going into "Withdraw" I clicked "Add Bank Source" where it asked for the normal debit card (card # and other details).  After this step, I was asked for the amount to withdraw but was given a notice that I would need to verify my identity before I could withdraw funds.  I didn't complete these steps so I didn't fully test the "Withdraw Funds" option.

Request Funds

You can't... at least not in the app itself.

The Gane application does not have an ability to request funds.  Of course you can do it the old method of sending an email request, but having it done completely in the application (like most of the other apps) is actually convenient.

Since the application relies on the user to send a link to transfer funds, I would imagine even requesting funds would still require the person paying to do the normal "send funds" step - unlike other payment apps that make it easier to pay a request.

Balance Options

Based on the "Help" area of the application, it seems to have a few balances:

• Purchase Power balance: Used for tap & pay.  It is withdrawn from your Gane Account balance.
• Gane Account balance:  Available for transfers with friends.
• Premium Gane Account balance: This seems to be the combined balance after you verify your ID.

Per the help info if you complete your identify verification, your Purchase Power and Gane Account are combined.  As of right now I really have no clue why there are 3 balances and honestly this just seems confusing.

Verify Identity

After playing with the application I realized that verifying your identity is pretty much required for any useful functions, so I wonder why that isn't just done at the start - or make it clear to the user what they will not be able to do in a limited mode w/o user identification.

Identity Verification

It requires the following: First Name, Last Name, DOB, email and last 4 of SSN.  It also requires you to confirm you have read and accepted the Cardholder Agreement, Privacy Policy and E-Sign Disclosure.  All 3 of those items link to ( https://gane.io/terms ).  On the terms page I looked for the 3 items mentioned:

• Cardholder Agreement:  There is a section titled "Gane Gift MasterCard® Cardholder Agreement" and another one titled "Gane Prepaid MasterCard® Cardholder Agreement" but I don't know which is relevant.
• Privacy Policy:  I was able to find a section with details.
• E-Sign Disclosure:  There are multiple references to http://www.ganecard.com/ which isn't a valid URL.

I find it interesting that on Twitter, the Gane account bio says "Kind of like Venmo, but way better" but Venmo ( per https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/217532197-Social-Security-Number ) doesn't require the last 4 digits of your social until you hit certain triggers like sending more than $300 in one week ( as an example ).  I am guessing the tap & pay aspect makes the last 4 of SSN necessary earlier in the process, but for users that don't care about tap & pay it could be a deterrent.

Fees

Great question.  The FAQ doesn't even mention fees, which is odd because most services like this make it clear what the fees are either on the main page or in the support/FAQ area.  I checked the terms page ( https://gane.io/terms.html ) and it was not helpful either.  There are various $4.95 fees mentioned ( purchase fee, inactivity fee, card replacement fee ).  What card?  I ran across a mention of a complete list of fees at https://gane.io/fees, but that quickly led to disappointment when the page came up with a 404 error.

Overall impression?

Overall Gane seems interesting, and based on a quick look online it seems fairly new ( started late 2016 from what I can tell ).  Any new option has a chance, but I think they need to focus on some key areas to really make progress:

- The application could use some care and feeding on the interface for the application.  It should be easy to use, and not require you to dig around to figure things out.  The application should also make it clear what will / will not work before you verify your identity.

- The website also needs to be cleaned up and fees need to be clearly listed out.  I have a feeling that maybe Gane was originally going to include an actual physical card, but the business model changed and some of the website references still need to be revised but that is just my guess.

- The offers / special deals for the tap & pay ability are key features that none of the existing money transfer apps have as far as I know.  I personally use Samsung Pay and it has offers from time to time that encourage me to use tap & pay.  While the tap & pay savings does help, not every user will be able to use it or even care about that option - if Gane wants that target market (people not able/interested in tap & pay) it needs to figure out how to gain it.  Providing a virtual credit card, like Square Cash does, might be an option to consider to increase how useful it is for customers who can't or don't want to use tap & pay.  However doing any "me too" features isn't as impressive and will make it hard to get customers to switch companies.

- The ability to use funds is important.  From what I can tell most users want the money on their debit card instantly, as far as I know only Google Wallet does this free and Square Cash does it for a 1% charge.  Venmo and Circle Pay don't have an instant option.  The ability to use the money via tap & pay does give instant access, but that will only entice some users.  It could be a limited type of deal - one instant transfer for free per week or month.

- A meaningful referral program should be considered.  From what I have seen, the money transfer applications are very tied to social circles.  Most people use what their peers use, and aren't in a rush to try out new options.  Mainly geeks will try the apps because they are the "new shiny toy" - the average user will not try a new application without incentive.

- Customer service is critical.  I see people on Twitter all the time ranting about this application or that company, I personally have had issues with one of the money transfer applications.  I know you can't make everyone happy, but there has to be an escalation team that can handle unique/odd situations.

I have submitted some comments to the company support, and will update this post as needed.

If you want to see freebies/offers, go here:
http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2016/11/get-some-free-stuff-or-free-money.html