Finance Xpress

Posted by: Adam McCann

Quick Review: Upstart loans are best for people with good or excellent credit because they offer APRs as low as 7.46% to the most creditworthy customers. Borrowers can also take out loans of up to $50,000, which is great for debt consolidation, home renovations, etc. People with credit scores as low as 620 can qualify for Upstart loans, but applicants who barely meet the minimum requirements for approval might have to deal with an APR as high as 35.99%.

Another downside to Upstart loans is that it can take as long as 14 business days to get a decision in some cases. It only takes 1 - 3 business days to get funded after approval, though.

Below you’ll find more in-depth information on Upstart loans, including a detailed description of their terms and a comparison to other available options.

Upstart Loan Terms

APR	7.46% - 35.99%
Loan term	36 or 60 months
Loan amount	$1,000 - $50,000
Credit score requirement	620
Income requirement	$12,000*
Other requirements (all must apply)	18+ years old SSN Bank account U.S. citizen or permanent resident U.S. address
Approval time	1-14 business days
Funding time	1 - 3 business days
Origination fee	0% - 8%
Late fee	5% ($15 min.)

*According to multiple third-party sources Upstart Interest Rates & Fees

Upstart interest rates have a range of 7.46% - 35.99%. Upstart’s interest rate maximum is one of the highest on the market, and their minimum is 1%-2% above where many other lenders start. Each individual’s rate is based on a combination of factors such as credit score, income, purpose of the loan, education and more. All Upstart personal loans have fixed APRs. Your rate will never change.

Upstart loans may or may not have origination fees, depending on how creditworthy you are. An Upstart origination fee can be anywhere from 0% to 8% of the loan amount.

The fee for late payments is the greater of 5% of the payment amount or $15. However, there is a 10-day grace period before the late fee gets charged. Upstart does not charge a fee to customers who pay off their loan early.

Upstart Loan Requirements & Application Info

The Upstart credit requirement is to have a score of at least 620. That’s fairly low compared to many other lenders on the market, which require credit scores of 660 or higher. Upstart does not publicly disclose a minimum income requirement, but multiple third-party sources say that you will need to make at least $12,000 per year to qualify.

Anyone 18 or older who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with a Social Security number can qualify for Upstart loans, as long as they also have a U.S. address and U.S. bank account.

You can check what Upstart loan rates you’re eligible for online. This process will not affect your credit score, though if you decide to apply for a loan afterward Upstart will do a hard pull of your credit. In order to apply for an Upstart loan, you must fill out the application online. You cannot apply for Upstart loans with a cosigner.

Upstart Loan Reviews & Transparency

Upstart loans have a stellar reputation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Customers also have few complaints about Upstart’s loans.

• Better Business Bureau: Upstart gets a perfect score from the Better Business Bureau – an A+. And they’ve been accredited with the bureau since 2015.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Customers have only filed 26 complaints about Upstart with the CFPB. The most recent is from March 2019. Some recent complaints include a person having a fraudulent Upstart account opened in their name and people being approved for different rates than they were estimated to receive in the pre-qualification process. Upstart has given a “timely” response to all but one complaint filed against them.
• WalletHub: WalletHub’s editors award Upstart loans a score of 4/5.

Upstart is very clear about the terms of their personal loans, and displays that information openly online. They even clearly disclose minimum credit score requirements. And they offer pre-qualification to help people see their potential rates before they apply.

Upstart Loans vs. Popular Alternatives

Lender	Upstart	LendingClub	SoFi
APR	7.46% - 35.99%	6.95% - 35.89%	5.99% - 16.49%
Loan amounts	$1,000 - $50,000	$1,000 - $40,000	$5,000 - $100,000
Loan lengths	36 or 60 months	36 or 60 months	12 - 84 months
Credit score required	620	600-640*	680

*According to multiple third-party sources Methodology

WalletHub’s editors determined the rating of Upstart loans by looking at 23 metrics in 7 categories: rates, fees, application procedures, requirements for approval, loan amounts, customer satisfaction and lender transparency. Below, you can read about the specific qualities we measured to come up with our final rating.

• Requirements: Our editors looked Upstart’s requirements for credit score, income, citizenship and identification.
• APR: We checked the range of possible APRs on Upstart loans, plus whether Upstart offers variable or fixed rates.
• Fees: We considered the fees on Upstart loans, especially prepayment penalties, origination fees and late fees.
• Loan amounts: We researched the minimum and maximum amounts available to borrow. In addition, we found out how long customers have to pay loans off.
• Application process: We checked on how to apply, plus how long it takes to get a decision and receive your loan. We also checked if joint applications are available, and if Upstart has a pre-qualification tool.
• Customer satisfaction: We looked at Upstart’s BBB rating, WalletHub user reviews and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaints.
• Transparency: WalletHub’s editors determined Upstart’s level of clarity on their minimum requirements to get a loan, along with what terms their loans have.

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Posted by: Adam McCann

EDITOR’S RATING

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Posted by: Adam McCann

EDITOR’S RATING

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Posted by: Adam McCann

EDITOR’S RATING

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EDITOR’S RATING

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Spring is the perfect time to tidy up your home and your money. Here are 10 ways to boost your mood, ease some stress, and spring clean your finances.

Around this time of year, I always start to think about spring cleaning. I am a bit of a clean freak, so I have a to-do list for each room of my home. And then it all gets done little by little rather than in a single weekend. Whether you prefer to spring clean a bit at a time or all at once, don’t forget to add one thing to your list: your finances.

Now is a great time of year to check in on those financial New Year’s resolutions and to tidy up your financial life. Not sure where to begin when making your money spring cleaning list? Check out these ideas for a start:

1. Get rid of old accounts

Over the years, it’s easy for accounts of all sorts to accumulate. Maybe you have a 401(k) from a job you worked at for only a couple of years, or an empty HSA that you can’t use with your current health care plan. Or maybe you tried a new bank a while back, but didn’t prefer their service and switched back. You may even have credit cards you aren’t using at the moment.

Now is an excellent time to clean up all those old accounts. Try to figure out where you have accounts, and consolidate as much as possible. This may mean rolling your 401(k)–or more than one–over into an IRA. Or you may need to actually close old bank accounts or credit cards.

Be careful when closing credit card accounts, though, as this will change your debt-to-credit ratio and could lower your credit score. But if the card in question has a relatively small limit or charges an annual fee, it may be worthwhile to close it.

2. Clean up your paperwork

While you’re going through those old bank accounts, start cleaning up your paperwork, too. Reducing the number of accounts you have can reduce the amount of mail you get, which is always a great option. But you should also go through your filed paperwork annually to see what you can get rid of.

Generally, you want to keep tax-related paperwork for seven years, or maybe more if you’re a business owner. But if you’re still hanging on to personal tax paperwork that’s more than a decade old, it’s time to take it to the shredder. As you get rid of paperwork, ensure that your filing system makes sense that you keep the paperwork you need and don’t let things fall through the cracks.

3. Change banks

Are you getting the best possible interest rate on your savings and maybe even checking account at your bank? If not, or if you’re paying high banking fees, it may be time to find a new bank. With interest rates trending up, you may even out-earn inflation in some high-yield savings accounts.

The key here is to be sure you can live up to the bank’s expectations to get the best yields. So be realistic about your daily and annual balances to ensure you aren’t choosing a bank where you’ll inadvertently have to pay fees because your balance isn’t high enough. And be sure the high interest rate you’re going for also applies to your general balances.

4. Get going with a debt snowball

Getting out of debt is always a worthwhile goal. And while you definitely don’t want to think about any more snow this time of year (especially if you live in the Midwest like I do), setting up your debt snowball can be helpful.

One option, the traditional “snowball” method, is to pay off your debts smallest balance to largest balance. Each time you pay off a debt, you roll that debt’s minimum payments into your monthly snowball payment. By the time you get to your highest-balance debt, you’re throwing a ton of money at it each month.

Another option is to structure your debts from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate. This is also a great option, and it can help you save more money as you get out of debt. Check out this article for an overview of the pros and cons of each approach.

5. Set and track a budget

If you aren’t already tracking your budget, it’s time to start now. Keeping track of your budget is the best way to begin working towards your financial goals. And you don’t have to do anything super complicated.

Plenty of online budget tools let you set up a simple budget and automatically keep track of your spending in different categories. And the great thing is that you don’t have to be micro about what you track. Just focus on tracking your trouble spending areas–those types of things you tend to overspend on. Just becoming more aware of your monthly spending can help you rein it in so that you can direct more money towards that debt snowball.

6. Automate your savings

Once you’ve figured out your budget and how much you want to put towards debt each month, look at how much you want to save. Whether you’re saving for long-term goals like retirement or short-term goals like a vacation, automating your savings is an excellent way to make it happen.

For retirement, this may mean looking at your employer-sponsored retirement plan and, if possible, ramping up your contributions. If it’s too early in the year to change your contributions, consider contributing to an IRA instead. You can also make automated transfers between your checking account and your emergency fund, vacation fund, or other short-term savings account goal.

7. Consult with a financial advisor

You might think that financial advisors are only for the wealthy, but that’s actually not the case. In fact, a financial advisor could help you set a path for your financial success in the future. And you may not even need to meet with a real person.

Services like Betterment can help you see where you need to go financially and whether you’re on track to retire when you’d like to. This particular tool is an excellent robo-advisor service that can really ramp up your confidence in financial decision-making.

8. Begin investing

Once you’ve met with a financial advisor or used a service like Betterment, it’s time to start investing if you haven’t already. You’re really never too young to begin investing, and if you’re out of your twenties, you can’t get going soon enough!

If you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, that’s the best place to begin. This is especially true if your employer offers any sort of match for your retirement plan contributions. That’s essentially free money, so you definitely don’t want to miss out on it! But even if your employer doesn’t offer a plan, you can invest on your own through an IRA, which is another tax-advantaged investment option to consider. Check out this article to learn how to open your own IRA.

9. Track your net worth

Tracking your net worth might seem like it’s not worth your time, but it’s actually something worth looking at. Your net worth is the value of all your assets, including non-liquid assets like your home or car, minus all of your debts. Sometimes the path towards becoming debt free can be long and arduous. But as you climb that path, your net worth will climb, too. So that can be encouraging.

Plus, your net worth is a good indicator of your overall financial health. And it’s not that hard to track, either. Tools like Personal Capital make tracking your net worth practically automatic, which is great.

10. Create or update your estate plan

For me, some of spring cleaning is about preparing for the future. If I spring clean things like the lint trap on the dryer, which you should totally do more than once a year, I can protect my home from the possibility of a fire. And spring cleaning in the basement lets me catch leaks or other problems that could get out of hand in the future.

Financial spring cleaning is no different. Much of it is about planning for the future, both of yourself and of the ones you love.

Unless you’re a wealthy individual, you probably don’t need a complicated estate plan. But nearly everyone needs a will and a streamlined estate plan. For instance, if you have debts, you need to be sure those can be covered so that your loved ones aren’t stuck holding the bag. And if you have children, an estate plan and will is even more important. So if you don’t have one of these or you haven’t looked at it in more than a couple of years, it’s time to get an estate plan together.

These spring cleaning steps could happen in the course of a week or two with some dedicated effort and the right tools. Or you can begin your spring cleaning now and plan to finish in a couple of months, just in time to relax for the summer.

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The post 10 Ways to Spring Clean Your Finances appeared first on The Dough Roller.

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Blogging completely changed my life, and it's funny to think that I literally had no idea what blogs were until right before I started one in 2011.

Back then, I also never realized that you could earn money blogging. I don't think I even looked into it because that was never my goal when I first learned how to start a blog. I certainly never thought blogging would drastically change my future, but I’m so glad I gave it a shot.

I had so many questions when I started my blog, and I learned 99% of what I know that hard way – by making mistakes.

I know that many new bloggers probably have some of the same questions I had because I receive around 100 emails a day from readers wanting to know how to start a blog, how to earn money blogging, and more.  So, I'm hoping today's post will help you solve your blogging questions.

I know that blogging can seem scary in the beginning, but remember that most other bloggers were in the exact same place you were when they started.

Blogging isn’t as easy as it looks from the outside, but it is something that you can do. You can earn money blogging so that you can work towards living the life you want.

Blogging has allowed my husband and me to leave our day jobs, travel full-time, see family and friends more often, meet great people, and live one heck of a great life.

Because of the great experience I’ve had, I love helping others learn how to start a blog.

I never thought it would be possible, but here I am. Plus, I know many, many other bloggers in all sorts of niches who are making a great living online.

While there is no 100% guarantee that you will be able to earn a full-time living by blogging, I know many bloggers who are full-time and are very happy with it.

Due to that, today’s post is all about answering the questions I commonly receive about about how to start a blog and how to earn money blogging.

Related content:

• 12 Free Resources To Grow Your Blog Fast
• How I Successfully Built A $1,000,000+ Blog
• How To Quit Your Job And Become A Full-Time Blogger

Here are my reader’s top questions about how to earn money blogging:

 

Is 2019 too late to start a website/blog?

No, it's not too late, and you haven't missed out.

2019 is a great time to start a blog.

Trust me, people were saying the same thing when I first started Making Sense of Cents – that people who started in 2011 were starting too late and that no one would earn money blogging if they started when I did.

However, that wasn’t the case then or now.

The online world is still so new, and each year there are new ways to monetize and grow your blog.

For example, it wasn’t until the past couple of years that companies and advertisers started realizing the value of online influencers, such as bloggers, and that means even more opportunities to earn money blogging.

Before that, it was mainly celebrities that companies advertised with, but now, it is actually shifting to bloggers and other online influencers (such as Youtubers and Instagrammers!).

The online world is a huge place and it is just going to keep growing. Every blogger earns a living in slightly different ways, and everyone has a different message and story. Plus, there are so many different ways to earn money blogging, and I expect that the options will continue to grow.

Of course, because the blogging world keeps changing, there will constantly be new things for you to learn, but that will probably always be the case for managing any kind of business.

So, if you are thinking about starting a blog, today is the day. Don't let your fears hold you back any further! You can find my free How To Start a Blog Course here.

 

How do I come up with a blog name and URL?

Deciding on a name for your blog is probably one of the hardest parts of blogging.

Even if you know exactly what you want your topic to be and have some articles written, deciding on your blog’s name may be stopping you from actually creating your website and launching it.

I don't remember how I came up with Making Sense of Cents, but I'm glad I did. It is still catchy, and I receive compliments on it to this day.

Coming up with a blog name shouldn’t lead to stress, so here are my tips for deciding on a blog name:

• Make it easy. My blog name isn't the easiest for people to spell, and even I sometimes jumble it when I'm spelling it. So, my top tip would be to make sure that your blog name is easy for people to type or spell out loud. I've seen blog names that are extremely long, contain words that are difficult to spell, and so on. Instead, you should make it as easy as possible for your readers to find you.
• Think about what you'll be writing about. Think about the topics you want to write about, who your target audience is, and more, and then jot down descriptive words that are related to each. Brainstorming like this is a good way to come up with a blog name!
• Use a thesaurus to find similar words. If your first or second choices are taken or if you want to see if there are some catchier sounding blog names, using a thesaurus can help you with some new ideas.
• Make it catchy. You may want to think of something funny, use alliteration, or something else to make your blog name catchy and memorable.
• Use your name. If you don't want something catchy and/or if you think you're not creative enough, then just use your name. It's super easy that way, and more and more people are starting to do this.

See, creating a name for your blog can be easy!

 

What topics should I write about so that I can earn money blogging?

I know a lot of people think that you have to write about blogging to earn money blogging.

But, this is not true. The reason you may think that is because the bloggers who have income reports are the ones who talk about blogging, but that’s only because it fits in with their niche of trying to help other people start a blog. It’s meant to encourage others and to show them that it’s possible to earn money blogging.

It wouldn’t make as much sense for someone who writes about fashion or DIY stuff to have income reports. And, many people don't like to openly share their income – money is a taboo subject still!

The truth is that people in all different niches make money blogging.

I know bloggers who are successful and write about health, clothing, home renovations, DIY, finance, travel, homesteading, business, self-help, relationships, food, and more. I even know plenty of people who just write about their lives and earn a full-time income from doing that!

So, how do you determine what to write about?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. I always recommend creating a blog around a topic that you are passionate about, that you are an expert in, that you like, or something else along those lines.

This can make blogging feel fun instead of like a chore.

You can blog about several topics or you can blog about one specific thing, such as personal finance. For me, I cover a ton of different topics here on Making Sense of Cents. I talk about personal finance, life, travel, RVing, sailing, self-help, and more.

Some things that you may want to think about when choosing your blog topic include:

• What are you passionate about? I always recommend that you start by thinking about what you are passionate about. Perhaps it's a sport that you really love, crafts, cooking, managing money, travel, or something else. Whatever it is, blogging about your passion is great because that will show in your writing, and your readers will enjoy that.
• What blogs do you enjoy reading? If you are thinking about starting a blog, I'm assuming it's because you probably enjoy reading blogs yourself. If that's the case, then you may want to think about which blogs you really enjoy spending your time on, and possibly blogging about something similar.
• What are you an expert in? Now, you don't need to be an expert in your blog’s topic to earn money blogging (more on that below in the next section), but if you are an expert at something, then this could be a topic that you blog about. There are many successful “How To” websites because people love to learn new things through blogs. And, there is probably something you could teach (everyone is an expert at something, even if you don’t realize that yet!). Think about the questions your friends and family are always asking you about, topics that you enjoy helping others with, and so on.
• What things do you like learning about? Like I said above, you don't need to be an expert in a topic to blog about it. People LOVE reading blogs from people who are learning or trying new things. This is because everyone has to start somewhere, and people love following the journey and seeing how something is actually done. So, if you are learning how to earn money blogging, for example, that could be where you start your blog. You can write about all of your mistakes, talk about what you've learned, show how you have tried and reviewed different options, and so on.

To earn money blogging, your blog can be about anything and/or everything. It's entirely up to you.

Here are some possible blog topic ideas. The list doesn't end here either. Choose one, all, or some. It's all up to you.

• Lifestyle
• Home
• Family
• Finance
• Crafts
• DIY
• Small business
• Outdoor activities
• Fitness and health
• Food
• Inspiration and advice
• Animals
• Travel
• Games
• Relationships
• School
• Electronics, and more!

That's the beauty of having a blog – it can be about anything and you can still earn money from it.

But, the only thing I would avoid when starting your blog is that if it is about legal things or tax issues, then you should be an expert before giving people advice. You could get someone in a lot of trouble if you gave them the wrong information.

 

Should my blog be self-hosted? What does that even mean?

First, yes! Your blog should be self-hosted if you want to earn money blogging. It’s actually one of the first things you should do.

I recommend you start on self-hosted WordPress (this tutorial will help you start your blog the correct way). I cannot say this enough, but I do not recommend Blogger or WordPress.com (you want the self-hosted version, which is WordPress.org – confusing, I know). Buying that $10 domain name from Blogger or GoDaddy does not mean you own it either.

Unless you self-host your blog, advertisers, companies, and readers will still know you are on Blogger or free WordPress, and that can look unprofessional. Plus, your blog can be deleted at anytime and for no reason if you are using a free version, which actually happened to me. Even though you may save some money in the beginning, not being self-hosted can hurt your chances of earning money through your blog.

Seriously, just trust me. Go with self-hosted WordPress, and it will significantly increase your chances of monetizing your blog.

If you want further proof, take a look at my past income reports. You can tell that my blogging income didn’t take off until I switched to WordPress. That right there is a lot of proof that being self-hosted on WordPress is the way to go!

So, to recap, the positives of being self-hosted on WordPress through Bluehost include:

• Your blog will look more professional meaning you will increase your chances of making money online.
• You will have complete control over your blog.
• You own your blog, and it can’t be deleted for any reason.

 

How much do I have to spend before I can earn money blogging?

When I first started my blog, I spent almost NOTHING on blogging expenses. In fact, I probably went a few years when I was only spending about 1%-2% of my revenues on blogging expenses.

Now, some of my expenses include:

• My computer
• The actual blog (design, hosting, etc.)
• Courses, guides, and ebooks
• My email (newsletter) list
• Virtual assistant and editor
• Technical management
• Transaction fees

But, you do not need to spend money on all of these things to earn money blogging – I spent less than $100 total for the whole first year of Making Sense of Cents!

Learn more about my expenses at My Complete List of Monthly Expenses for a Multi Million Dollar Blog.

 

Do I need a lot of readers to start making money from a blog?

You do not need millions of pageviews per month to earn money blogging, but if you want to increase your income, it will be important to increase your page views.

Every blog is different, and it isn’t always the blogs with the largest number of readers that make the most money. That’s because once you understand what your readers want, understand how to effectively reach out to companies for partnerships, and know how to charge the correct rate, you can make a good income online in many cases, regardless of the amount of pageviews you receive.

But, if you want to increase your pageviews, here are my tips:

1. Publish high-quality blog posts.Readers come back to blogs with high-quality and helpful posts. I recommend that your blog posts be at least 500 words, but more wouldn’t hurt either. The majority of my blog posts are around 1,500 to 3,000 words (this one is clocking in at over 8,000 words!).
2. Be active on Pinterest. Pinterest is one of my top traffic sources. To increase your pageviews with Pinterest, I recommend creating great images, making sure the description and title of your images are catchy, pinning regularly, and only pinning long images. I use Picmonkey to edit all of my images and Tailwind to schedule them.
3. Be active on other social media sites. Social media lets you interact with your audience more and can help you reach a larger audience. Besides Pinterest, you may want to check out Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Periscope, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, and others.
4. Post regularly. If you want to earn money blogging, you should publish something at least once a week. Going for weeks or months at a time without a blog post can lead to readers forgetting about you.
5. Network with other bloggers. You should look at other bloggers as friends and colleagues, not competition. This means you may want to interact with them on social media, reach out to them via email, attend conferences, and more. Of course, be genuine and give more than you take.
6. Guest post. Guest posting is a great way to reach a new audience and helps build partnerships with other bloggers.
7. Make sure it’s easy to share your content. I love sharing posts on social media, but it gets frustrating when some blogs make it more difficult than it needs to be. You should always make sure it’s easy for readers to share your content. This could mean making your social media icons easy to find, having all of the info input that is needed for sharing (title, link, and your username), and so on. Also, you should make sure that when someone clicks on one of your sharing icons the title isn’t in CAPS (I’ve seen this too many times). No one wants to share a blog post when it sounds like you’re screaming at them.
8. Create catchy headlines. The title of your post is a major factor influencing whether readers click over or not. I like to use the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to help me with my headlines.
9. Learn SEO. SEO (search engine optimization) is not something I could teach in such a small section, but I recommend doing your research and learning more about what it is and how it can help you.
10. Make it easy for readers to browse. If you want more pageviews, you should make it as easy as possible for readers to read your other blog posts. Readers should be able to easily find your blog homepage, categories, tags, search bar, and so on. Also, I recommend including links for related posts in every single one of your blog posts.

 

How does a blogger network with other bloggers?

As you learned above, networking is so important!

Bloggers should be open to making blogging friends, attending blog conferences, sharing other blogger’s content with their readers, and more.

However, I believe that many bloggers skip this area, which can hold you back if you want to earn money blogging. Many bloggers see other bloggers as competition, and this is a bad thought for a blogger to have.

Networking can help you enjoy blogging more, learn new things about blogging, learn how to make money blogging, make great connections, and more. If you want to make money blogging like I have done, then you will want to network with others! After all, networking is how I learned how to earn money blogging!

Here are my tips to build relationships as a blogger:

• Attend blog conferences and meetups. Attending networking events in person is great because that's usually where you can build blogging connections with others. I attend Fincon every single year. Even though it’s mainly for financial bloggers, it's a great conference for bloggers in pretty much any niche because the conference topics can be applied to many different types of blogs. For example, there are experts from all types of online industries to teach you how to improve your blog in so many different ways.
• Comment on blogs. A super easy way to network with another blogger is to comment on their blog posts, talk to them on social media, reply to their newsletter emails, and so on. This is so easy to do!
• Share articles. I share other blogger's articles all the time. I do this because there's so much great content out there that I want my readers to see, and by promoting other’s posts you’re helping them as well. This can be a great way to network with other bloggers as it's something that other bloggers will notice.
• Be active in Facebook groups. There are Facebook groups for pretty much everything these days. You can join groups for bloggers, digital nomads, those who just want Pinterest tips, and so on. By joining Facebook groups, you can connect with others who are interested in the same things as you are.

As you can see, there are so many ways to network and to build relationships, but make sure you treat it like building a “normal” friendship. You can start off really simply by commenting on a person's blog and sharing their articles. Then, you eventually may want to interact with them on social media, attend blogging conferences, and so on. You can build relationships with those in your niche, somewhat related niches, or people who are blogging about things you’re interested in.

The key is to be genuine and to give more than you take, which are the two main things I always tell people when it comes to networking. I receive so many emails every day from people who clearly aren't genuine and it's very easy to see.

You shouldn't be emailing other bloggers and people in the industry demanding that they do something for you – that just isn’t how networking works. Instead, you should find ways that you can genuinely help other people.

 

Do you mind sharing a detailed list of what processes you have with new blog posts?

This may sound like a pretty long process for each article that I write, but it has become quite routine over time. And, other than me brainstorming and writing the actual blog post (besides guest posts, I have always written my own content myself because I enjoy it), almost everything else is now outsourced to virtual assistants.

Here is a list of what goes along with each new article that you see on Making Sense of Cents:

1. Think of new article topic ideas. I have a list of over 100 possible article topics that I keep on my laptop and my phone. The topics you read about here on Making Sense of Cents come from life experiences, reader questions, research, articles that I've come across (like if I see a crazy statistic that I find interesting, I'll then turn it into a long article), and so on.
2. Create a schedule. I have a schedule of topics for at least one full month, including the dates articles will be published. And, I like to make sure I cover a good variety of topics each week. For example, I don't usually like to have a week full of making money ideas. Instead, I like my posts to vary between making money, saving money, life improvement, and so on.
3. Write content. I like to sit down and write an article from beginning to end without any breaks. It may take me an hour to write an article or I may be at it all day. Sometimes, content does span a few days, but for the most part, I like to finish a piece of content in one sitting. I then hand over the content to my editor to fix anything from grammar and punctuation to the general flow of the article. The only thing she doesn't edit are my monthly income reports.
4. Add images and formatting. Once I get the content back from my editor, I add images (one for Pinterest and one for Facebook), format the post the way I want it to look, and add links to related content on my website.
5. Publish the article and share. Once the article is published on Making Sense of Cents, I share it to Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, StumbleUpon, Flipboard, and Twitter. I also schedule it to share on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter for future dates as well.
6. Email my subscribers. The last thing I do is send an email to my subscribers about a new blog post being published.

I also do this for all of the articles I write for other blogs too. If I'm guest posting on a blog, I usually share it a little more than I do my own content. If you guest post on a person's website, you should do the same – the more you share it, the more traffic that person will get, and the more likely they are to re-share it too.

Everyone wins!

 

Where does blogging income come from? Who pays bloggers?

This is a question I receive more and more often about how to earn money blogging. Many of you are interested in blogging, but you aren’t sure where the income actually comes from.

You receive blogging income from whoever is paying you.

• If it is affiliate marketing you are providing, then you get paid by the company that makes the product or service whenever someone buys or signs up for something through your link.
• If someone is paying you to place an advertisement on your website, then you get paid by the company who you are advertising for.
• If you are publishing a sponsored post, then you are paid by the company who is sponsoring that post.
• If you have display ads on your website, such as with Google Adsense, then you are paid by Google or by any number of other companies.

There are many companies and blogging networks out there that you can use to earn money blogging, and they usually pay you through PayPal or with a check in the mail.

 

How long does it take to earn money blogging?

There is no one answer to this question.

As you can tell from my past income reports, it took me nearly a year of blogging to start earning a few hundred dollars a month from my blog. After two years of blogging, I was earning several thousands of dollars a month, which was all on the side of my day job.

I know some bloggers who were making thousands of dollars a month after just a few months of blogging. There are bloggers out there who began a year or two after me and are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. There are also other bloggers who aren’t making any money at all.

As you can see, blogging is not a get rich quick scheme and there isn’t a timeline for when you will start to earn money blogging. However, if you are serious about it, you never know what it may turn into.

It all depends on you, the effort you put into your blog, whether you have the time to learn how to monetize your blog, and more.

 

In what ways can I start making money from a blog?

There are several ways to earn money blogging, including:

• Affiliate marketing
• Blog sponsorships
• Display advertising
• Product sales
• Staff writing

I will explain each of these in detail below.

 

 

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a blog monetization method in which you place a link to a product or company on your website or  social media platform. You earn money when a follower purchases the product through your link (this is called an affiliate link). Affiliate marketing can be a great way to earn money online because if there is a product or company that you enjoy, all you have to do is review the product and hopefully others will be interested in buying it as well.

Affiliate marketing is my absolute favorite way to earn money blogging. I love it because it can feel quite passive. With just one blog or social media post, you can potentially earn money years down the line. Now, you will have to maintain the post and keep generating traffic to it. Also, most bloggers who do well with affiliate income will share their affiliate links in more than just one post.

Affiliate marketing allows me to relax a little and enjoy life more, all while knowing that I am earning a great living by promoting products that I use and enjoy.

I regularly earn around $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing. For the most part, all the work is done and the traffic that is generated to my email list and blog posts passively converts people into buyers with minimal work required from me.

If you want to learn how to make money blogging with affiliate marketing, read the tips below:

• Use the Pretty Link plugin to clean up long affiliate links. I use this for all of my affiliate links because something like “makingsenseofcents.com/bluehost” looks much better than the long links that affiliate programs usually give you.
• Provide real reviews. You should always be honest with your reviews. If there is something you don't like about a product, either don't review the product or do mention the negatives in your review. Either be honest or don’t work with companies that have products you don’t like using.
• Ask for raises. If you are doing well with a particular affiliate program, then ask for a raise. The worst thing that can happen is that your affiliate manager says no. The best is that they say yes!
• Form a good relationship with your affiliate manager. Your affiliate manager can supply your readers with valuable coupons, affiliate raises, and more. These things help you earn money blogging.
• Publish tutorials. Readers want to know how they can use a product. Showing them how to use it, how it can benefit their life, and more are all very helpful.
• Have a recommendations page. I always like checking out a blog’s recommendations page because it helps me learn about new products and services. For the blogger, your recommendations page is a great way to list affiliate links and valuable resources that readers may need or want. Here's mine as an example.
• Don't go overboard. There is no need to include an affiliate link 1,000 times in a blog post. Include them at the beginning, middle, and end, and readers will notice it.

You can learn more about affiliate marketing strategies in my course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.

 

 

What are sponsored posts?

Having a company advertise on your blog is one of the first ways the average blogger begins to earn money blogging. In fact, sponsored posts are exactly how I started!

This form of blogging income is when you partner with a company and advertise their brand on your blog or social media accounts.

I earn around $15,000 to $20,000 a month with sponsored posts. And, this is all from companies finding me and approaching me directly.

Whether you are a brand new blogger or have been blogging for years, you can start with sponsored posts right now.

Yes, that means that even if you are on Day 1 of your blog, you may be able to find a successful sponsored partnership.

I personally know several people who have found high paying sponsored partnerships in the very beginning of their blog. They started with an easy pitch email and knowing how to approach the company – I teach both of these topics in my  sponsored posts for bloggers course.

Many brands are moving toward working with bloggers and social media influencers due to the kind of traffic and customers a sponsored post can bring to a brand. Brands can reach their desired audience with sponsored posts, then gaining authentic customers.

This is why we are seeing ads and sponsorships moving toward bloggers and Instagrammers.

Brands have only recently started to understand the power of blogs and social media accounts, and the results have been great. Before working with bloggers and online influencers, brands would often rely on celebrities to promote their products. But in today’s world, people are more likely to be influenced by a blog, Facebook, Youtube, or Instagram account run by their favorite online influencers. This is because online influencers are real people who have been able to build a loyal following using an authentic and unique voice.

There is a ton of room for new bloggers to break into the sponsored post market, with plenty of room for growth well into the future. The fact that companies and advertisers are only starting to realize the value in online influencers, such as bloggers, means that the blogging world will keep expanding and offer more opportunities for sponsored partnerships.

And, the data supporting the continued success and growth of influencer marketing is out there. According to a study published on Social Media Today:

• 94% of marketers using influencer marketing found it to be effective.
• 48% of companies in the U.S. plan on increasing their online influencer campaign budgets in the future.
• 71% of marketers think that ongoing ambassadorships (such as with sponsored partnerships!) are the most effective form of influencer marketing.

This just proves that sponsored partnerships are here to stay, and your ability to earn money blogging with sponsored posts will definitely continue to grow in the future.

As the online world continues to expand, so will the opportunities to earn money blogging. There are many different types of bloggers out there, and we all make money in a slightly different way. With a variety of stories and niches, the sponsored partnership opportunities are endless!

If you want to learn how to increase your advertising income, I recommend taking my Making Sense of Sponsored Posts course. Learn how I made my first blogging income, and how I'm now making $10,000-$20,000 a month with sponsored partnerships!

 

 

What is display advertising?

Display advertising is another popular way of making money from a blog.

Display advertising is a passive form of blog income because all you need to do is place advertisements (usually through an advertising network) on your blog’s sidebar, below a blog post, or somewhere else. Your display advertising income will increase or decrease based on your page views, and once you place the advertisement, there’s no other direct work to be done.

If you want to learn how to make money blogging through display advertising, then some popular networks include Adsense, Media.net, MediaVine and AdThrive.

Personally, I use AdThrive for my display advertising network. I don't have many display advertisements on my blog, but I regularly earn around $1,500 to $3,000 a month from them.

 

 

Can I create my own product to sell on my blog?

To really be in control of how you earn money blogging, you'll eventually want to create a product to sell to your audience. There are many products you can create and sell on your website, such as an ebook, course, etc.

I launched my first product to sell over a year ago, which is a blogging course called Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I am making around $20,000 to $50,000 a month from this course, and because I have already created and finished the course, it's a nice form of somewhat passive income.

Plus, I have helped many, many people improve their affiliate marketing income as well, which is such a great feeling!

Related: How I’ve Made Over $1,000,000 From My First Course Without a Big Launch

 

Do you have to pay taxes on blogging income?

Yes, blogging income is just like any other type of full-time or side income that you may bring in. That means you will have to pay taxes on your blogging income.

To understand taxes for bloggers, I recommend reading:

• Blogging and Taxes – What You Need to Know
• Your Top 14 Tax Questions For Bloggers and Digital Nomads Answered

In the second article I linked, which is from a blogging friend of mine who is also an attorney, you will learn about:

• Blogging and self-employment
• What self-employment tax is
• Filing taxes as a blogger
• Tax deductions for bloggers
• And, what if your blog is just a hobby?

It's a very informative read, and it will help clear up many of the common blogging and tax questions that you may have.

 

Where do you get your photos from?

Putting pictures in your blog posts is important. They can help explain your story, break up text to make a blog post easier to read, and you need them for social media too (such as Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram).

Now, you can’t just do a Google image search and use the pictures you find, and the same goes for images and pictures you find on Pinterest. Doing those things may get you in trouble with the person who owns the photos. Similar to how you wouldn't want someone to copy and paste a blog post of yours, you shouldn't take photos without permission.

Currently, I source the pictures I use from two main areas:

1. My own photos. These are usually found in my travel-related content and Instagram. I use both my iPhone 6 and my super old DSLR for pictures. Photography is an area that I'm still looking to improve, so I mainly use the following option for the majority of the pictures I publish directly on Making Sense of Cents.
2. Ivory Mix. I absolutely love IvoryMix. They have great stock photos that fit perfectly with the vibe of Making Sense of Cents. They add over 100 photos monthly, and you can use them on your blog, social media, and more. Plus, Ivory Mix comes with unlimited download access.

 

Why do I need an email list for my blog?

Not having an email list is a huge mistake when you want to earn money blogging. I didn’t start my email list until years after I started blogging, and that is probably the biggest blogging mistake I’ve made. It took me even longer to take my list seriously, which I did after switching to Convertkit in 2016.

I can’t believe I waited that long!

I didn't really use my email list until 2016 because I didn't really understand newsletters, and I also didn't realize how having an email list could help me engage with my readers and earn money blogging.

I really wish I would have spent more time on my newsletter in those early years, but I'm glad that I've learned from my mistake.

This is why I recommend that all bloggers spend time growing their email list. Actually, starting an email list is important for anyone who wants to make money online.

Here is why having an email list is important for bloggers:

1. Your newsletter is all yours. Unlike Pinterest and Facebook (and other social media sites too), your newsletter and email subscribers are all yours, and you have your readers’ undivided attention. You don't have to worry about some social media algorithm not showing your content to your readers, as they are your email subscribers so you aren't fighting with anyone else to have them see your content.
2. The money is in your list. I believe that an email/newsletter is the best way to promote products, from affiliate products to ones you create. Your email subscribers signed up specifically to hear what YOU have to say, so you definitely have their attention. Your email list, over any other strategy, will almost always lead to more sales.
3. Your email subscribers are loyal followers. If someone is allowing you to show up in their email inbox whenever you want, then they probably trust what you have to say and enjoy hearing from you. This is a great way to grow an audience and to grow a loyal audience at that.
4. Email is a great way to deliver other forms of content. With Convertkit, I am also able to create free email courses that can automatically be sent out to my subscribers. This makes life easy because all a reader has to do is sign up, and then Convertkit drips out the content daily, weekly, or in whatever other timeframe I choose.

 

What blogging ebooks and courses do you recommend?

It takes a lot of work to grow and build a successful blogging business!

If you want to earn money blogging, then you may want to look into buying ebooks and/or courses that will teach you about the topics that will help you become a better blogger from the very beginning. Plus, there are many blogging secrets that you just can't find by searching the internet. So, by taking a course or reading an ebook, you will learn the exact steps to take to help you succeed.

I'm almost always taking new blogging-related courses because I know that there is always something new to learn.

Here are the ebooks and courses that I recommend for bloggers:

• Facebook Strategies Worth Sharing. I started 2016 with around 6,500 Facebook followers and I now have over 95,000. I owe a lot of that to the ebook Facebook Strategies Worth Sharing. Growing my Facebook page has allowed me to reach new readers, improve my blogging income, grow my email list, and more.
• Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I earn over $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing, and I share my exact strategy and tips in this very informative online course. If you're a blogger, then you NEED this course. I show you exactly how to make passive income from blogging, even while you're sleeping.
• 7 Surefire Ways To Boost Your Blog Income Overnight. By signing up through this link, you'll receive a free copy of the informative ebook 7 Surefire Ways To Boost Your Blog Income Overnight. Ruth also regularly sends out many other great blogging tips. Her course, Elite Blog Academy, launches one time each year (the next launch will most likely be March of 2020), and it's probably the most popular, well-rounded blogging course out there.
• 21 Strategies I Used to Increase My Monthly Page Views from 17k to 400k+ in 10 Months. Lena Gott's guide is full of great information on how to increase your blog's page views. If you are feeling stuck or if you are a new blogger, check out this resource! Lena went from 17,000 monthly page views to 400,000 and shares all of her best tips in this guide.
• Making Sense of Sponsored Posts. I launched this course with my sister, Alexis of Fitnancials, in 2018 to help bloggers earn money through sponsored posts. Between the two of us, we earn around $20,000-$30,000 a month from sponsored posts. We teach finding sponsorship deals, maintaining partnerships, and how to always make sure that you are helping your readers.

The blogging ebooks and courses above will help you to create a successful blog. They will show you how to master Facebook, get crazy traffic from Pinterest, grow your blogging income, and more.

 

How can I learn how to use social media for my blog?

Social media is very important for bloggers. It can help you to engage with your readers on a closer level so that they can get to know you better, improve your traffic levels, grow your audience, and more.

There are just so many different ways that social media can help you earn money blogging. However, I also understand that it can be time-consuming to master just one social media platform, let alone trying to master them all!

Learning how to use social media for your blog gets easier once you’ve been doing it for a little while. Plus, you can automate a lot of it, including scheduling posts in advance.

Below are my favorite social media resources that have helped me earn money blogging. To stay updated, I check these resources often for new articles, I read their emails, listen to their podcast episodes, and more.

• My favorite Pinterest course is Pinterest Traffic Avalanche. This course shows you how to get free traffic from Pinterest to your blog. You'll learn about Pinterest SEO, how to set up Rich Pins, how to create viral content, how to make Pinterest images, all about group boards, and many other valuable Pinterest strategies.
• If you're looking for great free Pinterest advice, that would definitely be Simple Pin Media. This website publishes high-quality articles on the topic of Pinterest as well as highly informative podcast episodes. They also have several great Pinterest courses.
• My favorite overall business-related podcast would have to be Amy Porterfield's podcast. Some of my favorite episodes are How to Engage Your Small Facebook Group When You’re Just Starting Out, All About Instagram Ads, and How to Create a 5-Day Social Media Video Series for Rapid List Growth.
• My favorite Facebook page resource is Facebook Strategies Worth Sharing – Like I said earlier, I started with just around 6,500 Facebook followers when I first read this resource, and I currently have over 95,000. I owe a lot of that growth to the ebook Facebook Strategies Worth Sharing. Growing my Facebook page has allowed me to reach new readers, improve my blogging income, grow my email list, and more.
• If you want to learn about Facebook ads, I recommend reading How One Blogger Grew His Blog to Over 2 Million Visitors In A Year.
• If you want to learn about SEO, I recommend reading The exact template that helped my site earn $95,000 in affiliate income last year.
• My favorite overall guide that covers many different social media strategies is 21 Strategies I Used to Increase My Monthly Page Views from 17k to 400k+ in 10 Months – Lena Gott's guide is full of great information on how to increase your blog's page views. If you are feeling stuck or if you are a new blogger, check out this resource! Lena went from 17,000 monthly page views to 400,000 and shares all of her best tips in this resource.
• My favorite overall free resource would be Social Media Examiner. This website shares tons of great updates for nearly every social media site. If there's some rumor going around about social media, I usually check this website first to see what they have to say about it.

As you can see, there are a TON of great resources for any social media help that you may need. There are plenty of other websites I regularly read and listen to as well.

 

How do you think of ideas for new blog posts?

I have published around 2,000 articles on Making Sense of Cents. And, I'm not running out of ideas any time soon.

I currently have a few hundred blog posts ideas that are just waiting to be written and published. Plus, nearly every single day, I add at least one more to the list.

This makes me laugh, because if you would have told me just seven years ago that I would really, really enjoy writing and that I would write millions of words for a living in the near future, I would have called you a liar!

I just didn't enjoy writing when I was in school at all.

But, it's pretty much one of my most favorite activities today.

Two questions that I receive quite often from readers include: 1) How do you come up with ideas for new blog posts and 2) How are you constantly coming up with new blog posts after several years of blogging?

One of the most difficult parts of blogging is creating new content, and sometimes you may feel that you have hit a brick wall and can't find any inspiration.

For me, though, I have a system that has worked quite well, and due to that, I don't think I will EVER run out of ideas for content.

So, how do I still have things to write about after several years of blogging?

I find topics to write about through:

• Life experiences. Here on Making Sense of Cents, I generally only like to write about topics that I have experience with. I think this is what helps set me apart from others. I also receive the best motivation and inspiration from taking financial topics that I personally come across in day-to-day life and turning them into fun and engaging content.
• Reader questions. I receive a ton of emails and comments each day from readers, and most of them are questions, like the topic of today’s post – is it possible to earn money blogging? If I feel like I have something valuable to share, then I like to turn questions into blog posts. This way, I can share my knowledge and expertise on a subject, and I also help a reader by diving further into a subject than what I could say in a simple email. Plus, if one person has a question, I know that many other people probably do as well! Turning questions into posts is also great because the next time I receive the question, I can easily send the link over to the reader.
• Research that I've done and articles that I've read. I read a lot of articles every day simply for fun, and sometimes I come across something that I feel should be expanded upon, a topic that I think the average person doesn't understand, things that boggle my mind, and so on. For example, if I see a crazy statistic that I find interesting, I may turn it into an article.
• Brainstorming. Occasionally, I will simply sit down and have a little brainstorming session. While I do have a long list of possible content ideas, I like to keep my list fresh and update it often. Some of the things I do in my brainstorming sessions is that I may read older content of mine and see how I could possibly expand further on a subject to make it better, think of new blog posts that I could write about on a subject that is popular on my site (I may look at Google Analytics or Pinterest Analytics to determine this), and more.
• Survey readers. Sometimes I ask my readers what they want to read more about. This always leads to a ton of ideas for blog posts and can be a very quick and easy way to add to your content list.

As you can see, there are many ways to come up with new blogging content.

Also, if you're looking for even more ideas, I recommend checking out this freebie: 120 Awesome Blog Post Ideas from a blogging friend of mine, Ruth Soukup. This is a free resource that will help you come up with new blog content!

 

If blogging is so great, then why doesn't everyone do it?

I hear questions like that pretty often. I also get a lot of people asking me: “If it’s so easy, why don't you just start multiple blogs and make even more money?”

Blogging is not printing money.

It's not a scam and it's not a get rich quick scheme.

Learning how to earn money blogging is work, and just like with all jobs – not everyone wants what you want.

And, for every successful blog out there, there are probably hundreds of bloggers who will never earn money blogging. While you can earn money blogging, not all bloggers will.

It would be like saying that 100% of people who start a business will see success. That is just never going to happen – businesses fail, business owners have a change of heart, and others just don't find it enjoyable.

I know I am always talking about the positives of blogging, but I also like to mention how it's not the easiest.

After all, if blogging was easy, then everyone would do it and everyone would make thousands of dollars a month.

But as you know, that's not the case.

Not everyone is going to earn money blogging because it is WORK! Most new bloggers quit just a few months in. A few months is not enough time to see if your blog will be successful. It took me six months before I started to earn money blogging, and I only earned $100. Now, I make over $100,000 a month.

It's funny/weird to think about what life would be like if I would have quit back then.

I'm constantly learning something new when it comes to blogging and that is why I enjoy it so much.

Once you realize that blogging is hard, you will be ahead of 99% of everyone else in the game. Don’t assume, like most people do, that blogging is easy or a get rich quick scheme.

Starting a blog can be difficult. But, all bloggers start at the same point.

I remember being so lost when I first started my blog. I had to learn everything the hard way – it sure was difficult at times.

But, I have always really enjoyed blogging. I think that is so important when it comes to this type of business – you either need to have passion in your blog and/or passion in what your blog allows you to do in your free time (such as travel or spending more time with your family).

What other questions do you have about how to earn money blogging?

The post How To Earn Money Blogging: Your Top Questions Answered appeared first on Making Sense Of Cents.

from Making Sense Of Cents


via Finance Xpress

Not all Health Savings Accounts are created equal. The best HSA accounts offer low fees, easy access, and excellent investment options. Here are the top HSA companies in 2019.

 

Check out our podcast on Health Savings Accounts. In this episode, Dough Roller’s founder Rob Berger calls them “one of the best tax-advantaged accounts”; he tells us why he has one and why you should too. For more episodes, click here or keep watching on our Youtube channel.

HSA Overview

These days, more and more consumers are moving to HSA-eligible health plans. To qualify for an HSA (health savings account), your health plan needs to have a minimum deductible of $1,350 for yourself or $2,700 for your family. If your health plan qualifies, using an HSA is a smart way to save on a tax-advantaged bases for health-related expenses.

When HSAs first arrived on the market, none of them were really very good. Many didn’t offer solid investing options at all. And some had high fees. They were basically a glorified savings account, albeit one that let you put in pre-tax money up to the annual limit. Now, though, HSA providers are catching up.

Now you can find HSAs geared more towards investing. This means your HSA can be similar to your 401(k) or IRA as a long-term investment that could provide significant gains. This is a solid strategy for HSA savers who don’t tend to have high out-of-pocket health costs each year.

Even if your employer offers an HSA through a particular provider, you can go out on your own to choose a provider that more closely suits your own needs. Typically, you can just fill out a form from your chosen provider, and your employer can still put pre-tax dollars into your HSA.

If for some reason your employer won’t do this, you can opt out of contributing pre-tax dollars to the employer’s HSA. Then, just contribute post-tax dollars to your chosen account, and take a tax write-off at the end of the year.

So it’s good to know that you can choose your own HSA provider. But which one should you choose? First, let’s talk about what to look for in a good HSA. Then, we’ll highlight a few of the best accounts available on the market today.

Two Ways to Use an HSA

Before we dive into what to look for in an HSA, let’s talk about the two primary ways to use an HSA. This is important because how you plan to use your HSA will define what makes a “good” HSA for your needs.

There are basically two ways to use an HSA: for spending or for investing.

You may do a combination of both throughout the year. But chances are you’ll lean more towards one or the other.

You’ll likely lean towards the spending end of the spectrum if you have lots of health expenses. This could be because you’ve got some chronic health problems to manage. Or it could just be because you have a couple of kids who have constant check-ups that require co-pays. Either way, if you plan to spend at least half of the money you put into your HSA within a year, look for a spending-related account.

What if you don’t have many healthcare expenses in a year? In this case, you can use your HSA as basically a supplement to your retirement savings. You can invest the money for the long term because you’re less concerned about potential short-term losses. Remember, if you ever get into a situation where you need to pull back to safer, spending-centric investments, you can always do that, too.

If this isn’t your first year using an HSA, you probably already know which direction you lean towards. But if this is your first year to use this type of account, you should look back at your healthcare expenses over the last year or so. And be sure to account for any upcoming major changes, such as a new baby on the way.

Once you know about how you plan to use your HSA, you can decide which account features are key for your needs.

What to Look for in an HSA

Just like you look for something different from savings accounts versus 401(k)s, you’ll want to look for features in your HSA based on how you plan to use it. Here’s what to look for in spending versus investing accounts:

Spending HSA

• Fees: Fees are important either way, but with a spending HSA, you definitely want to spend as little money as possible out of your account each month.
• Interest Rate: With these types of accounts, you don’t have to invest in mutual funds or market investments. Instead, you can just opt for an interest rate. So a higher rate is better than a lower one, of course.
• Debit Cards: This isn’t a must-have, but it’s convenient. If you plan to use the money in your account often, being able to spend directly from the account on a debit card is nice. Just be sure you’re only using it for qualified HSA expenses so you don’t have to reimburse your account.

Investing HSA

• Investing Options: Choosing an investing-focused HSA is similar to choosing an IRA. You want to have a good, varied menu of investment options so you can make the investing choices that make the most sense for your needs.
• Price: Investing HSAs will carry different fees than savings-oriented accounts. Be sure to understand both the account fees and the fees for underlying investments to get the most bang for your buck.
• Performance: Look at the historical performance of the HSA’s underlying funds to make sure that it’s done well in the past. Past performance isn’t always an indicator of future performance, but it can be helpful.

The Best HSAs for Both Categories

Since we’re dealing with two different categories here, let’s break down the HSAs in to the best options by category. Then we’ll look at one that’s a good option if you want to do a blend of spending and investing with your health savings account.

The Best Spending HSAs

Using our metrics of maintenance fees, interest rates, and potentially a debit card, here are the best HSAs for spending:

BMO Harris Health Savings Account

The BMO Harris Health Savings Account has no minimum opening deposit and no monthly maintenance fee. You can get paper or online statements for free, and it comes with a BMO Harris Hsa Debit Mastercard so you can spend directly from your account.

The account does carry a $25 transaction fee if you move money over from a different custodian, and a $3 fee for non-BMO Harris ATM transactions. You do have to visit a branch to open an account, and the accounts earn a variable interest rate.

Affinity Credit Union HSA

This is another account with no minimum deposit or balance and no fees. You can add an Affinity Visa Debit Access Card to your account for more convenient spending. And the account earns a 0.25% APY.

Before you can apply for this HSA, you have to apply to be a member of Affinity Federal Credit Union.

First American Bank HSA

The First American Bank HSA has no monthly minimum balance or monthly fees. It comes with free mobile and online banking and a Mastercard debit card for convenient spending. It pays tiered interest rates based on your balance. The rates range from 0.09% APY to 1.00% APY. You can find the full list of rates and one-off potential fees here.

Besides these, there are plenty of other credit-union based HSAs that don’t charge any maintenance fees and that do offer some interest. Be sure to check out your local credit union options before you decide which HSA to use for your spending.

The Best Investing HSAs

For this ranking, we’ve relied heavily on the Morningstar report on the best HSAs. It came out in 2017, so we’ve verified the latest numbers for the highly-ranked investing HSAs listed there.

Health Equity

Health Equity has three different HSA options, one of which is geared towards mutual fund investments. You can choose to invest your money automatically for a higher account fee, or you can choose a self-driven account.

The self-driven account has no monthly service fees and an investing administrative fee of 0.033% per month. The auto-pilot account, which is the most hands off for investors, has a monthly service fee of 0.08% and an investing administration fee of 0.033%.

The account earned a high ranking from Morningstar for its plethora of mutual fund investing options, many of which have a strong performance historically.

The HSA Authority

Run by Old National Bank, The HSA Authority is one of the oldest names in the game. Once you get a $1,000 balance in your account, you can use it to invest. The account has an annual fee of $36, or $3 per month. This could be more or less than you’d pay with percentage-based fees, depending on your account balance.

You can invest your account here in mutual funds, which are load-waived. The HSA Authority has a decent list of underlying mutual fund options in which to invest.

SelectAccount: Potential for Both

The only account in Morningstar’s list that scored well in both the saving and investing categories was SelectAccount. This account gives you a few options for a savings account. For a higher account maintenance fee, you can get a higher interest rate each month, which also varies according to your account balance. You can also decide to transfer your savings account to an investing option, which costs just $18 per year.

Saving in Multiple HSAs

What if you don’t fit cleanly into one category or the other? Maybe your family is planning to contribute the maximum $6,900 to your HSA this year. You know your health expenses should be around $3,000, but you want to invest the remaining $3,900.

In this case, you could consider opening two different HSAs. This is allowed, provided your total HSA contributions for the year don’t exceed the annual limit.

You could put $3,000 into a no-fee account first, and use that account for spending. If you’re planning to spend the money within the year, it doesn’t even matter much if you earn any interest. But then you could put the remaining $3,900 in an investment-focused account to save for the rest of this year and beyond.

The advantage of this is that you don’t pay balance-based investment account maintenance fees on money that you’re just going to spend quickly, anyway.

This may not be the right strategy for you, but it’s worth considering if you need to take more of a combination approach to your HSA saving and spending.

Topics: Health Insurance

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