How to have more money than most Americans.

Advocates for a diverse financial porfolio (via IRTI)

Let’s talk about money.

Some consider it to be the root of all evil, others say it makes the world go round. Yet no matter how you feel about the machinations of modern capital, it is undeniable that liquid currency (cold, hard, ca$h) is a vital resource for survival in our contemporary society.

The average American is $50,000 in debt, and our futures look noticeably bleaker than those of our parents.
Unfortunately, the gap between rich and poor has worsened over the past several decades, and this increasing divide has been described as “one of the biggest threats to the global economy.” (source: Forbes). Without going into a more generalized critique of Market Capitalism, it’s suffices to say that unless you were born rich or have people taking care of your financial needs, you could very easily find yourself vulnerable in these turbulent economic times.

Despite our global reputation as a wealthy and developed nation, many Americans teeter on the brink of poverty. Others have fallen into it’s depths. Over 50 million Americans live in ‘distressed communities’, places where unemployment rises while business are forced to shutter their doors. Recent college graduates, saddled with debt, are relocating to the most expensive cities in the country, simply to pay in rent what some pay for a mortgage. The average American is $50,000 in debt, and our futures look noticeably bleaker than those of our parents. The scariest part? Most Americas don’t have $1000 cash on hand to cover an emergency. I’ve been one of those Americans more recently than I would like to admit, and I promised myself that I would never be that broke again.

Source: Federal Reserve’s 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances; via TIME
But it’s not all doom and gloom.

We just need to be brave and talk about it.

There’s often a sense of shame when talking about money; this shouldn’t be the case. In order to develop any semblance of financial literacy and de-stigmatize the topic, we need to bring it to light. Here: I’ll start.

I have $35,000 in college debt, $1,800 in collections, and my credit score is…580? I have terrible spending habits and I only just started saving in…May. My current job is my first full time salaried position, and I’ve been there for 18 months. I bring home about 50k a year, which comes out to 40k after taxes. I live in the most expensive area in the USA (San Francisco Bay Area), so a good 30–40% of my monthly income goes to my living expenses.

Good? Ok, now you try. Once you’ve done the math, you should at least be able to conceptualize how much you can spend, or how much you can save, over a given period of time. My goal is to save $1000 dollars a month, and so far, I’ve almost saved $4000! It’s not much, but it is a nice nest egg/emergency fund that wouldn’t be there if I didn’t make the decision to start saving.

But enough preamble. Let me tell you the tools I’m using to save. I am not in any way marketing or endorsing these products; They just happen to work for me.

1. Status.
   Status (statusmoney.com) is a ‘personal financial management service’. For those of who who’ve used Mint (mint.com) in the past, it should seem somewhat familiar. What separates Status from its competitors is that it anonymously compares your finances to your peers as well as national averages. It’s reassuring to know that I’m not the only person with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. It syncs seamlessly with online banks and investment platforms, so that you can have a bird’s eye view of your net worth.

2. Robinhood
   Ever since my internship at Lehman Bros. during the summer of 2008 (true story), I’ve always been wary of the stock market. My step-father lent me his Scottrade account, and I proceeded to lose close to $300 making an untimely investment in the now defunct financial firm. Robinhood inspired me to jump back into the market with it’s sleek UI and robust platform. I was able to verify my account and start trading within a day or two. I try and stay away from volatile stocks though; the majority of my money is in stable long-term ETFs.

3. Barclays Online Savings Account
   This is the best online bank account I’ve ever had, bar-none. The interest rate is 1.85%, and setting up an account was extremely easy. There’s no minimum balance, no hidden fees, and it takes about 2–3 days for deposits to post. I’ve had savings accounts closed in the past due to exceeding withdrawal limits, so I’m glad that this account isn’t linked to any card.

4. Kraken
   Ah, Kraken…My favorite platform for making risky and ill-timed cryptocurrency investments. Honestly, the crypto markets are extremely volatile and not for the faint of heart. I recommend doing a fair amount of research beforehand, but it’s not a bad way to save your money. Kraken has options for trading crypto against a wide range of foreign currencies, and a easy to use interface for making different calls and orders. There is a fair deal of verification required to unlock some of the trading features, and if you make a cash withdrawal, you will have to pay a 45$ wire transfer fee. Regardless, I always set aside some of my savings to put into my account.

5. Coinbase
   While I trade most of my Cryptocurrency on Kraken’s platform, I usually purchase my coins through Coinbase. I can purchase coins in minutes and transfer them to my other wallets. If I need to convert my coins into cash, I can do so instantly through the app. Coinbase does charge a small transaction fee, so keep that in mind. When you do need to withdraw those coins, the funds become available in your account within 2–3 business days.

I’m a big fan of diversity, which is why I wanted to save using several different methods. The way that you save your money will largely depend on your perception of risk and willingness to try new things. If investing in cryptocurrency scares you, then you could put some money away in a CD instead. The most important thing is to be intentional about saving, and set concrete goals that you can reach. Just remember that everyone’s gotta start somewhere, and you should start saving for tomorrow today!

*originally posted on Medium because my account was being verified. In the future, we aim to keep General Public content as Steem world exclusives, because we want to support the platform and its continued growth. If you want us to keep making quality content, drop a like or subscribe!