5 Surefire Ways To Increase Your Net Worth & Organize Your Finances

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Planning for your future is not only a daunting task, but it’s also labor intensive. With all the financial services marketing to you constantly, it can be difficult to sift through and find out what works and what doesn’t. Our financial experts bring you in-depth research explaining retirement plans, investing strategies and answering questions on investment methodologies (heard of a robo advisor?).

Jeff Butler is our financial guru, holding an undergraduate degree in Finance from Malone University. He has a diverse background in small business ownership, accounting and property management. With his expertise in personal finance, Jeff consults on and reviews our investing and financial content, including this article.

1) Try An Online Bank

The biggest perk of choosing an online bank vs a brick-and-mortar bank is the interest rate can be higher than 2.0%. Standard banks offer an interest rate of 0.1% and lower typically. You can make more money by letting your funds sit in the bank and still make deposits and withdrawals. You may have to deposit and withdraw money differently, but once you learn how to do so, you’ll be set. Find out if you should switch to an online bank.

2) Plan For The Future, Reach Your Retirement Goals

Having long-term financial goals is essential. Most important is saving for retirement. Don’t rely on your 401k to survive. You also need to contribute to other savings accounts.

We dive into the various types of employer-sponsored retirement accounts, IRAs and more in our best retirement plans article.

3) How Do I Get The Best Investment Advice Online?

Whether you’re new to the world of investing or are a seasoned pro, it takes a lot of research and sage advice to do it right — especially if you don’t want to fork over big bucks for a financial advisor. We’ve chosen some of the best (and affordable) investment advice websites to help you achieve your financial goals. We give you our top picks for beginners, advanced investors and for those of you who want to focus on mutual funds or trading.

4) What Are Robo Advisors?

A new option for investing is a robo advisor, which serves as a sophisticated robotic online financial advisor. Instead of humans managing the ups and downs of the market, these investing tools are algorithm-driven make calculations and decisions much faster than the human mind is capable of. It’s a relatively new industry, but we’re on top of it — check out our comparison of the best robo advisors.

5) 529 Plans For College Savings

A 529 plan is a great way to save for college. It is a tax-advantage savings plan to be used on future educational costs. Learn more in our detailed 529 Plan guide.