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Plan Your Financial Future with WeVest

August 2, 2017 By Mary Newton Leave a Comment

Financial planning apps are everywhere, and each has something different to offer. WeVest is a fairly new financial planning app that offers a new perspective on saving money and growing your net worth. The app promises a straightforward and inexpensive solution to you financial planning needs. But how well does it keep those promises?

How WeVest Works

When you create a WeVest account, you have to answer a few questions. In order to get your full financial picture, WeVest asks you basic questions about your assets, debt, income, age, and more. These questions allow their algorithm to create separate accounts on your dashboard for each item, as well as categorize you with peer groups who use the app. Then, WeVest asks about your saving goals. Their primary options are saving for retirement, building a college fund, and paying off credit card debt.

WeVest% and Your Financial Plan

The primary goal of WeVest is “to optimize the growth of your net worth in a way that achieves your goals.” Using your answers, WeVest algorithms formulate a financial plan specific to you, using the money you are willing to invest in yourself. Your WeVest% is the percentage of your income that you want to put towards growing your net worth. Your WeVest% is divided according to your goals – savings, retirement, college debt, etc. – in the most efficient way possible.

While this seems a lot like putting your money in someone else’s hands, fear not: WeVest also allows you to compare several recommended plans and pick the one you prefer. You have total control over your financial plan, supported by WeVest’s professional advice. In addition, you have constant access to that financial plan whenever you need it.

Once all your information is in and you have decided which financial plan you prefer,. Your dashboard shows how much money is going to which “bucket” – savings, debt repayment, retirement, etc. – for that month. You are given a graph that will measure and predict the growth of your net worth and savings, as well as whichever other buckets you prioritize. Finally, you can also see your exact current net worth with assets and liabilities, your financial plan, and a savings comparison between you and other users in your peer group.

WeVest Pricing

WeVest is not a free service. Their plans consist of a $4/month plan or a $35/year plan. Both plans have identical benefits, with the exception of the $35/year plan offering a 27% discount from the monthly plan. When you sign up, you have to select a plan and input your card information. However, you have a 45-day free trial before WeVest takes money from your account. You may also cancel your account at any time. This way, if you think you may use the app regularly, you can still sign up for the yearly plan knowing you have time before fully committing. This app boasts the low cost of its services in comparison to face-to-face professional financial planners.

WeVest Drawbacks

WeVest offers some fantastic insights into your financial planning, but it does have its drawbacks. Its primary drawback is its accompanying app. Rather than having an app which allows you to log in and view your information on your phone, WeVest’s mobile app is a simple calculator. It is free, and allows you to calculate simple savings projections for a large purchase, your child’s college tuition, or retirement. While these are useful, they are also pointless if you have an account with WeVest. Furthermore, toggling the “See The Full App” option within the mobile app simply opens the WeVest page in your mobile browser.

WeVest also caters more toward adults starting in their mid to late twenties with a stable, full-time job. College saving plans are geared towards planning and saving for your child’s future tuition rather than your own. Each financial plan prioritizes retirement funds. If you are a college student with a part-time job looking to get ahead in the financial planning game, or you are retired but still looking for a place to manage your finances, WeVest is not that place.

WeVest also requires a separate account for each individual item. For example, you need a separate account for student loans, a separate account for your retirement fund, a separate account for your savings, etc. Having this many accounts seems impractical, and having to input this many different accounts gets confusing on the website.

Is WeVest Worth It?

WeVest is perfect for the right people. If you are looking to keep track of your retirement fund, flesh out your savings, or invest in a home, WeVest has exactly what you need. If not, you may be better off looking elsewhere. WeVest is an incredibly thorough financial planning app that is truly a bargain for all it offers. If you want to invest in your financial future through financial planning, look no further than WeVest.

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Photos: WeVest

10 Best Frugal Living Blogs

July 5, 2017 By Mary Newton Leave a Comment

Frugal living blogs are all over the internet, making it difficult to keep up with every single one. But how do you choose which blogs to follow? Check out this list of the ten best frugal living blogs and what makes them so great.

1. WiseBread

WiseBread has been around for a while, and age certainly keeps them on top of their game. From life hacks to career advice, they have it all, entirely dedicated to their motto: Living large on a small budget. Their practical advice on a variety of finance-related topics is sure to keep you interested and informed.

2. Money Saving Mom

It is no surprise that many frugal living blogs are run by moms. This mom in particular focuses much of her blog on finding coupons and deals. She also provides grocery lists and menu plans, adding a touch of personal experience to her practical advice.

3. Mavis Butterfield’s One Hundred Dollars A Month

If you are looking for a frugal living blog driven by personal experience, look no further! With recipes, crafts, gardening tips, daily deals, and money saving advice, One Hundred Dollars a Month offers a variety of resources and tips for the frugal liver. You can rest easy knowing that all of this advice is tried and tested by Mavis herself!

4. Living Well Spending Less

This blog is quite the eye-catcher, and that is a good thing. This blog covers four major topics: food, life, home, and money. It offers financial planning advice, as well as accompanying tutorials with free downloads. The blog also sells a Living Well Planner created by the founder, Ruth.

5. Budget and the Bees

This blog offers practical and varied financial advice, covering topics from money to travel. It is a great one-stop-shop for those seeking practical financial advice.

6. Money Crashers

Money Crashers posts articles in a variety of categories and from a variety of writers. Whether you are a busy mom or an artist looking to sell your work online, this blog has an article for you.

7. SquawkFox

The coolest thing about SquawkFox is that the blogger, Kerry K. Taylor, is not just a blogger. Taylor has been around almost as long as Wise Bread, and has an amazing career background in finance advice. She is a speaker and a consumer expert. She has done TED Talks, has her own YouTube channel, and even wrote a book on saving money. If you are looking for professional advice, SquawkFox is definitely the place to get it.

8. The Simple Dollar

One unique thing about this blog is that it is male-driven. Many frugal living blogs are run by women who run their own households, leading to posts about dinner recipes, updating their kids’ bedrooms, and the like. While these are all fantastic and useful topics, it is refreshing to have a varied perspective. This blog is simple and streamlined, offering frugal living and financial advice, as well as a variety of guides to help you navigate the financial world.

9. Our Debt Free Family

This blog offers fantastic personal finance advice, but perhaps its best treasure is the blog’s toolkit. From forums to calculators to suggested reading, this is a goldmine of useful finance tools.

10. Fun Cheap or Free

Last, but certainly not least, Fun Cheap or Free offers a unique perspective on a fun and frugal life. While also offering free printables and fantastic budgeting advice, this blog’s shining star is its experience-driven tips on how to have fun without breaking the bank.

These blogs offer a wonderful variety of frugal living and personal finance advice, all with their own unique perspectives. Among them, you are sure to find the perfect one for you.

If you’re interested in frugal blogs like these you may also enjoy:

Photo: Cheap Like Me

Google Contributor Blocks Ads on Sites You’re Willing to Financially Support

November 20, 2014 By Kara Pendleton 4 Comments

Google is beta testing Contributor which will block ads on websites for a donation

Google has launched a beta test to see how many internet users would be willing to pay $1 to $3 per month to block ads on each of their favorite websites. The test is for a new Google program called Contributor that is currently working with 10 popular websites. The sites working with Google on the beta test include Mashable, The Onion, Science Daily, Urban Dictionary and WikiHow. The Contributor beta test is also invitation-only, so everyone else will have to wait to experience it for themselves. It’s a sort of crowdfunding for online publishers.

The elephant in the room, of course, is people who are tired of ads can already do this. There are web-blocking add-ons in web browsers which do the same thing for free, or a small voluntary donation of the user’s choice. Why pay $1 each to do ad-free surfing on 20 different sites, when that same $20 could block ads on all the sites one visits and be an annual voluntary contribution rather than a monthly coerced one?

The logic is that just as people will pay for Netflix to support what they love rather than illegally stream content free online, people will pay to support sites they love. Although some may, it’s more likely that the majority of the internet surfers will continue to use ad-blocking content free of charge or make small donations to keep it up and running. That keeps ads off all their favorite websites and does not break the bank.

Additionally, this new Google program will not remove all of the ads from websites. It will only remove Google ads from select sites. The next elephant in the room is why Google would be willing to remove their own ads from sites for a fee that goes to the sites? Because Google will be taking an undisclosed cut of the payments.

Forbes reported in 2013 that the use of ad-blocking was on the rise, with an estimated 22.7 percent of web users utilizing the browser add-ons. The ad blockers crowd has been growing at a rate of approximately 43 percent per year.

However, the Guardian reported earlier this year that now an estimated 150 million users of the internet are also using ad-blockers, and this is costing publishers big money in lost revenue. One data firm compared ad-blocking usage to the usage of Napster. Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing service that originally allowed what was deemed the illegal sharing of music. Blocking ads is not illegal, but it does cost publishers lost revenue, much as music companies and artists were losing revenue due to Napster.

(Photo courtesy of Kristina Alexanderson)

5 Million Gmail Usernames and Passwords Leaked, but Only 2 Percent Accessible

September 11, 2014 By Emma Harrison Clark 1 Comment

In recent days the internet has been awash with news that nearly 5 million gmail account addresses and passwords were posted for public access in an online forum. In security circles it’s called credential dumping — sharing people’s user details so worldwide hacker communities can break into accounts to commit fraud and theft.

This week Google said that the breach did not originated with them, but came from multiple other sources. They also noted only 2% of the data accessed would actually work. In response to the possible threat, they’ve warned all users whose details have been accessed to change their password on any at-risk accounts, and have assured users their automated anti-hijacking systems will have blocked most attempts.

Companies like Google claim they have multi-layered security protocol to protect users from attacks of this nature. So you may be wondering how these names and passwords were accessed. If not through Google, then who?

Well, anytime you use your gmail address to sign into a website, you expose yourself. And if that site is not as well resourced and protected as Google, then your details may be vulnerable. The team at Google says the risks increase when you use, “…The same username and password across websites, and one of those websites gets hacked, your credentials could be used to log into the others.”

So although it’s hassle having to change and remember more than one password, it may well be worth the extra effort. There are some great lockable apps you can purchase to store your password variations.

The other ways hackers can capture your details is to use malware or phishing scams. In a blog post on the recent breach Google says, “We’re constantly working to keep your accounts secure from phishing, malware and spam. For instance, if we see unusual account activity, we’ll stop sign-in attempts from unfamiliar locations and devices. You can review this activity and confirm whether or not you actually took the action.”

So though it’s not good news, 2% is better than the originally claimed 60% percent validity of the posted credentials. The stolen details were in some cases three years old, which meant many users had already changed their passwords.

CSIS Security Group is a Danish company which helps financial institutions fight Cyber Crime, and after some investigation, their researchers concluded that some of the user names and passwords were never even used for Google accounts. This seems to confirm that the breach happened outside of Google’s systems altogether.

Google has the following three common-sense tips for users:

1) Make sure you’re using a strong password unique to Google.

2) Update your recovery options so we can reach you by phone or email if you get locked out of your account.

3) Consider 2-step verification, which adds an extra layer of security to your account. You can visit g.co/accountcheckup where you’ll see a list of many of the security controls at your disposal.

(Photo courtesy of Bhupinder Nayyar)

Microsoft Blue Screen of Death Caused by August Update

August 17, 2014 By Emma Harrison Clark 21 Comments

Microsoft is asking users to uninstall an update to avoid the blue screen of death

Microsoft, the maker of popular operating system Windows, has this week asked users to uninstall their latest update after complaints that it was causing computers to crash and give users what has become known as the Microsoft “blue screen of death.” The update bug is apparently a serious one, with users reporting it was causing computers to crash and leave their computer screen blue.

PC World reports that Microsoft has identified three key problems with the update:

“First, fonts that are installed in a location other than the default fonts directory (%windir%fonts) cannot be changed when they are loaded into any active session, essentially locking them in. Second, fonts don’t render correctly. The third issue is the most critical, however… that systems may crash with a ‘0x50 Stop error message’ after the updates are installed.” It appears the problem will apply to the following programs: Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, plus Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003.

If you’re one of the unfortunates who has downloaded the updates already, don’t panic. There is a solution, which is detailed in the security bulletin by Microsoft. You’ll need to fiddle with the registry files, then enter the recovery environment to delete the .dat file, reboot and then export the file. This will then need to be repeated before you uninstall the update and reimport the font file. It may sound complex but follow Microsoft’s bulletin and you’ll be on the right track.

It’s not the first lot of issues Microsoft has had to deal with this month. On Friday they had to issue a hotfix for Internet Explorer after multiple dialog windows began causing halts and delays. This applied to all versions of Explorer and garnered many user complaints.

The problem with the latest update is yet to be found, but it has notably coincided with Microsoft’s move towards using Patch Tuesday to combine small feature updates into the Windows monthly security update package. This is instead waiting awhile (until a bundle of new features are ready) and then releasing them together in one major update like Windows 8.1.

Whatever the cause, users aren’t happy and Microsoft may need to rethink their update protocol before impatient users start to rethink their loyalty to the brand.

(Photo courtesy of wolfram_schmied)

Amazon Is Now Picking a Fight with Disney While Continuing Dispute with Hachette

August 10, 2014 By Emma Harrison Clark Leave a Comment

Amazon stops pre-orders to some Disney movies

Amazon looks like it has a method it’s satisfied with and sticking to when it has a disagreement about pricing with a company. The latest to feel the pain is Disney, where pre-orders to a number of their movies have been halted on Amazon in what looks to be another dispute about pricing. This comes as Amazon and book publisher Hachette have been in a lengthy (and public) dispute about e-book pricing.

The Disney titles feeling the brunt of this latest dispute include titles such as Maleficent and Captain America: The Winter Soldier which were both unavailable for pre-order on the online website over the weekend, although digital copies could be pre-ordered. This seems to be the exact same tactic Amazon is using with their disagreement with Hachette, and there are likely similar arguments from both sides.

The battle between Amazon and Hachette also continued over the weekend with the emergence of both a petition against Amazon’s market opening tactics, and a petition for them. The argument centers around Amazon’s proposal to price down e-books from $12.99 to $9.99. Hachette, who stands to lose money, has understandably protested against the move, but Amazon has responded to their stubbornness by simply removing Hachette pre-orders from the Amazon store and lengthening delivery times.

Now writers are taking sides in the argument and it’s turning out to be more than just a pricing skirmish between a publisher and an online retailer. Instead it seems that the old and new school of the industry are facing off in a worth defining struggle.

On one hand, the opportunity to self-publish affordable e-books has democratized the market allowing unknown writers access in ways never before experienced. While on the other, established authors who have poured more time and energy into the craft are protesting at the idea of being undercut by this change in technology, and in book consumption.

The Independent reports from both ends of the battle field with this comment from popular Irish e-book author, David Gaughran, strikes at the petition against Amazon.

“I absolutely reject the idea that lower e-book prices are harmful to authors.” Lower prices expand the market…bestselling authors don’t want the status quo to change because it has served them very well. But since the explosion in popularity of e-books, more writers are earning a living from selling books than ever before. This is something all authors should be celebrating, but perhaps those at the top table are worried about losing their seat.”

On the other side of the argument, agreeing with Hachette and many of the most popular writers in the world is Douglas Preston. He co-wrote the Pendergast Crime Series and organised the anti- Amazon petition which many established authors of note have signed in protest of Amazon’s tactics of negotiation. “Amazon has been throwing its weight around for quite some time in a bullying fashion and I think authors are fed up.”

It’s an argument that has merits on both sides. The way people read is changing so shouldn’t our authors adapt and remain open to the change, in the same way that every other industry has had to adapt to technology?

But on the other hand, no one likes a bully, and surely as the dominant online retailer, Amazon could treat authors and their craft with a little more respect. At least until a compromise can be made.

(Photo courtesy of Andy Melton)