The 7 Biggest Money Secrets Most Rich People Won’t Tell You
You know what they say about secrets. They’re no fun.
And when it comes to the super rich, trust us — they’ve got plenty of secrets. And why would they reveal the keys to their success with you, anyway? The more for them, the better, right?
Well, the cat’s out of the bag. These are the biggest money secrets the elite don’t want you to know:
1. Invest in Real Estate Without the Volatility — You Only Need $500
You’re not the only one who daydreams about making money in your sleep. Investing in real estate is one of the best ways to earn passive income. The only problem? You need to have lots of money.
Well, you used to…
With a company called Connect Invest, you can get your foot in the door for just $500, investing in what are called short notes. And, if you make your first investment before December 31st, you can earn a $20 bonus.
Basically, you’re buying the debt that wealthy developers take on to fund their real estate projects — and they have to pay you back, with up to 9% (annualized rate) in interest… while you sleep.
With Connect Invest, you’ll invest for terms of 6, 12, or 24 months, during which you’ll receive monthly fixed-interest payments between 7.5% and 9% (annualized rate). You could earn a legit passive income with those rates — and it’s way higher than what you’d earn with your savings account!
Connect Invest carefully vets each real estate project and borrower. And don’t worry, all loans are backed by real estate collateral. In the rare event of a default, Connect Invest’s sister company will foreclose on the property with the investors’ approval and sell it to recover your investment.
It’s super easy to set up your free account and start investing. To earn your $20 bonus, select “Penny Hoarder” as a referral source and apply promo code “PH20.”
2. Cancel Your Car Insurance
You might not even realize it, but your car insurance company is probably overcharging you. In fact, they’re kind of counting on you not noticing. Luckily, this problem is easy to fix.
Don’t waste your time browsing insurance sites for a better deal. A company called Insurify shows you all your options at once — people who do this save up to $996 per year.
If you tell them a bit about yourself and your vehicle, they’ll send you personalized quotes so you can compare them and find the best one for you.
Tired of overpaying for car insurance? It takes just five minutes to compare your options with Insurify and see how much you could save on car insurance.
3. Get Paid up to $360/Year With This Free Debit Card
Wouldn’t it be nice if you got special treatment wherever you went? You can actually get rewards wherever you shop, using this free debit card from Discover.
You’ll earn 1% cash back on every single purchase you make using your Discover® Cashback Debit account, on up to $3,000 monthly.* There’s no impact on your credit score for signing up and no minimum balance requirements ever.
Need groceries? Tap your card for cash back. You can also get paid sooner with Early Pay direct deposit, protect against overdrafts and access to over 60,000 ATMs without fees. You can handle all of your banking needs through the app and connect a virtual wallet like Apple Pay to amplify your rewards. And on top of all that, checking-account deposits are FDIC-insured up to the maximum amount allowed by law.
Does your bank do all that? If not, open a free Discover checking account to get special treatment from a bank that will actually put money back into your account.
*See website for details.
4. The Home Equity Credit Card that Traditional Lenders Don’t Want You to Know About
As a homeowner, sometimes it feels like your options aren’t great when it comes to borrowing credit.
You can either use credit cards that are quick and easy to qualify for but that usually have sky-high interest rates, or, you can go through the long and costly process of originating a lower-interest Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC).
Or, there’s a brand new third option: The Aven Visa® Credit Card is the first card of its kind to offer you a home equity line of credit in the form of a credit card.¹
This cash back rewards card taps into your home equity in exchange for up to 50% lower interest rates compared to traditional credit cards. It takes as fast as 15 minutes to apply and get approved.
Here are some features that set Aven apart from your traditional credit cards and HELOCs:
- 7.99% to 15.49% variable APR²
- 2% unlimited cashback¹
- 7X Points on Hotels and 2X Points on Flights¹: Book stays at the Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, and more through the Aven Travel Portal.
- Access of up to $250,000
- Starting at $0 to get a card, plus no annual fees
So, if you’re a homeowner looking for lower interest credit payments with cashback rewards, apply and get approved in as fast as 15 minutes for the Aven card — at zero cost to you.
To qualify, you’ll need to own a property and have a FICO score of at least 640. They recommend FICO > 700 to have the best chance to qualify.¹
5. Make Up for Lost Time and Leave Your Family $250K+
We never seem to have enough savings or investments. But there’s one particular way to make up for that shortfall: life insurance.
None of us like to think about what happens to your family if you pass, but this is a smart way to free them from a burden – and give you peace of mind.
With NerdWallet, you can get multiple life insurance quotes all in one place and find a plan that’s probably far more affordable than you think.
You can choose whole life plans if you want to do it once, forget about it and have coverage for the rest of your life. Or you can pick from term life plans to get even lower rates with coverage that can last a few decades.*
Is it finally time to get covered? It’s easy to get life insurance quotes from NerdWallet to see just how affordable a good policy could be for you.
6. Get 4.50% APY and a $30 Bonus With This High-Yield Cash Account
It’s hard not to cringe when you see a bank statement full of fees. And let’s be real: When every dollar matters, why are we paying to keep money in our accounts in the first place?
It’s time for something better.
With Wealthfront, you can forget those annoying bank fees and earn a whopping 4.50% APY through partner banks on your cash — about 10x the national average savings rate. Enjoy unlimited transfers, same-day withdrawals, zero account fees, and no minimum balance requirements to earn 4.50% APY¹. You can use Wealthfront with your favorite payment apps like Apple Pay, Venmo, and Google Pay.
They’ll also give you access to a customizable investment portal so you can start building wealth while focusing on your short- and long-term goals.
Wealthfront isn’t quite a bank, but it works with several FDIC-insured partner banks to give you the convenience and flexibility you expect, minus the sneaky fees and account requirements. The best part? You can get started with Wealthfront with only a $1 opening deposit or snag a $30 bonus² when you deposit $500 or more (terms and conditions apply).³
Join Wealthfront today and make your money work for you— not your bank.
7. Protect Your Household from System & Appliance Breakdowns — and Save BIG!
It’s possible your fridge or HVAC system could turn on you at any moment, and there’s nothing your homeowner’s insurance would do to protect you.
Besides, would you really want to wait on insurance to get around to begrudgingly sending out help?
Choice Home Warranty’s plans deliver rapid response times for household repairs. Service is available 24 hours a day via their app, website, or phone.
A small monthly fee protects your washer, dryer, HVAC system, stove, fridge, and more—things your insurance company won’t.
And not to keep bashing your awesome homeowner’s insurance, but these home warranty plans cost way less and could save you much more money than insurance.
Choice Home Warranty has protected more than 2 million homes from having to cancel plans or lean on credit cards. With a network of over 25,000 insured technicians, help is never far away.
Learn how you can get a Free Quote. Just take this 30-second quiz to learn how much coverage you need to protect your finances from appliance repairs.
¹Based on the national average interest rate for savings accounts as posted on FDIC.gov, as of July 15, 2024.
²Client must maintain $500 by the 30 day mark. See website for details.
³Checking features for the Cash Account are subject to identity verification by
Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC. Cash account is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“Wealthfront Brokerage”;), a Member of FINRA/SIPC. Wealthfront Brokerage is not a bank. We convey funds to partner banks who accept and maintain deposits, provide the interest rate, and provide FDIC insurance. The APY rate listed is as of 09/19/2024 and is subject to change at any time. Fees and Eligibility requirements may apply to certain checking features, please see the Deposit Account Agreement for details. Limits, fees, and exclusions apply. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of money you invest.
Apple, the Apple logo, and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google, Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Please note, Real-Time Payments (RTP) transfers may be limited by destination institutions, daily transaction caps, and by participating entities such as Wells Fargo and the RTP® Network. New Cash Account deposits are subject to a 2-4 day holding period before becoming available for transfer. Wealthfront doesn’t charge for transfers, but receiving institutions may impose an RTP fee.
The Penny Hoarder receives compensation when a reader clicks on the referral link that redirects them to Wealthfront, which creates a conflict of interest. The Penny Hoarder’s opinions in this article are their own and are not tied directly to such compensation. The Penny Hoarder and Wealthfront Brokerage, LLC are not associated with one another and have no formal relationship outside of this arrangement.
*NerdWallet: believes everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. And, while our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and teh tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward – and free.
Aven Disclosures:
¹Other banks have used access/debit cards as a means of withdrawing money from a home equity line, Aven’s card is unique in that the credit card is the primary source of funds and function. It is the first credit card backed by home equity to publicly launch into the market.
The Aven Card is issued by Coastal Community Bank, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A., Inc. Aven accounts are made by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. NMLS #462289 (NMLS Consumer Access Page) For additional information or complaints to Coastal Community Bank, visit www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov.
This post was sponsored by Aven. See aven.com/#disclosures for more information.
Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.
