If You’ve Gone 12 Months Without an Overdraft Fee, Make These 4 Moves

You haven’t paid an overdraft fee in over a year, and honestly, what a relief.

Give yourself a pat on the back, because that’s a big accomplishment.

Now that you’ve broken the cycle, don’t lose momentum. It’s time to continue to build your wealth and add even more financial stability to your life.

Yes, this sounds like a big goal, so you might feel a little overwhelmed. But don’t worry. You can check off almost every task on this list by the end of today.

Ready? It’s time to make these money moves:

1. Grow Your Savings More Than 20x Faster

You’re feeling good about the status of your checking account, so now it’s time to focus your attention on your savings. Whether you’re building an emergency fund or saving for a big purchase, you don’t want your money to sit stagnantly — you want it to earn some interest.

Many savings accounts, however, pay out very little, but we found a legitimate option that’ll help you grow your savings a lot faster than the average person — 20 times faster.

It’s with a mobile banking app called Varo. The FDIC reports that the average savings account pays a paltry .08% APY*, but when you open an online checking and savings account with Varo, it will pay you more than 20 times that amount on your savings account.

Oh, and there are no monthly fees, either.

We know opening a new account isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of fun, but Varo makes it easy. You can open an account with just a penny, and more than 750,000 people have already signed up.

*https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/rates/

2. Hesitant to Invest? This App Gives You Up to $500 in Free Stock

You just got over the overdraft hurdle, so you might feel like you don’t have enough money to invest. But investing is an important part to building wealth, and the truth is, you don’t need a whole lot of money to start. You can even get free stocks (worth up to $500!) if you know where to look.

Whether you’ve got $5, $100 or $800 to spare, you can start investing with Robinhood.

Yeah, you’ve probably heard of Robinhood. Both investing beginners and pros love it because it doesn’t charge commission fees, and you can buy and sell stocks for free — no limits. Plus, it’s super easy to use.

What’s best? When you download the app and fund your account (it takes no more than a few minutes), Robinhood drops a share of free stock into your account. It’s random, so that stock could be worth anywhere from $5 to $500 — a nice boost to help you build your investments.

3. Challenge: Add 100 Points to Your Credit Score

Now that you don’t have to worry about incessant $35 overdraft fees, you’ve probably started thinking about your future goals. Do you eventually want to buy a car? Save up for a home?

Your credit score will play a role in these purchases. Even a couple of points could cost you hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars in interest over time.

So as you save up for these purchases, take steps to improve your credit score with a free service called Credit Sesame. It’ll take a look at your credit report and show you exactly what to do to improve your score.

Boosting your score might be easier than you think, too. You might have an error hidden on your report — one in five reports do. Credit Sesame will help you detect these errors and even help you dispute them.

Take Salome Buitureria, for example. The working mom in Louisiana found a major error on her report, thanks to Credit Sesame. The site helped her fix the mistake and take additional steps to raise her credit score nearly 200 points.

Depending on your score, challenge yourself to add an extra 50 to 100 points to your score. Then, take 90 seconds to sign up with Credit Sesame and see how fast you can meet your goal.

4. Secure Up to $1.5 Million in Life Insurance; Rates Start at $20/Month

Have you thought about how your family would manage without your income after you’re gone? How they’ll pay the bills? Send the kids through school? Now’s a good time to start planning for the future by looking into a term life insurance policy.

You’re probably thinking: I don’t have the time or money for that. But your application can take minutes — and you could leave your family up to $1.5 million with a company called Bestow.

Rates start at around $20 a month. Plus, the peace of mind of knowing your family is taken care of is priceless.

If you’re under the age of 54 and want to get a fast life insurance quote without a medical exam or even getting up from the couch, get a free quote from Bestow.

Carson Kohler ([email protected]) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

*Bestow: Policies are issued by Bestow Life Insurance Company, Dallas, TX on policy form series BLI-ITPOL. Bestow Life Insurance products may not be available in all states. Policy limitations or restrictions may apply. Not available in New York. Our application asks lifestyle and health questions to determine eligibility in order to avoid requiring a medical exam. Prices start at $10/month based on an 18-year-old male rated Preferred Plus NT for a $100k policy for a 10-year term. Rates will vary based on underwriting review.