Have any of you used the Acorns app before? It’s an app that takes the extra change from your purchases and then invest that money for you. A friend mentioned it to me, just wondering if any of you could offer some tips on it.
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@bjlee I have been using the Acorns app for well over a year now and I will just say that it is my least favorite of all the investment apps out there.
I have changed my investment strategy from “aggressive” to “conservative” and still since day one I have always been in the negative.
It has been doing better since I switched it to “conservative” but it still has not made back the money I lost.
Since it is a “robo-investor” you don’t have much control over it and it really does not do a very good job at investing in my opinion.
On top of that, the fact that they charge a monthly fee of $1 means that I have already paid over $15 for the service and have gotten no returns.
I have considered simply quitting using it many times but I am hoping I will go in the green at some point.
The only reason I would recommend it to people is to get the free $5 they give you for opening an account, but if you don’t see results after a couple months, it probably won’t be worth it.
I use another “robo-investor” that has gotten me much better returns (around 20%).
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Yes, I have used Acrons app for investing my spare change. If you’re a complete newbie I would suggest using a simpler app like Robinhood or Stash. Usability of Acorns can be a bit tough for new users.
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I have used the acorns app for over a year now. I have my account set to ‘moderately aggressive’ and currently I have 6% gain. I have been using Robinhood for a few months now and i’m happier with the performance of Acorns.
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I signed up for Acorns and Stash at about the same time. I stayed with Acorns for a little over a year, but I decided to quit using them for a few reasons: 1) I did not like the returns, they were always negative. 2) I had very little control over what the app chose to do. 3) This was the deciding factor - customer service is terrible. They take forever to get back to you.
I’m still with Stash and very happy with them. I would happily recommend that app.
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@thesugarfreelife it was the exact same thing for me. I love Stash.
I personally think Robinhood is more complicated because you have to choose the stocks yourself and you have to purchase a whole stock whereas Stash allows you to only purchase partial stocks.
@bjlee my favorite, that I have used for years and has gotten me around 20% returns is WiseBanyan. This is my top recommended robo-adviser
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Thanks for all info. Something I have been wondering about for a while.
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I looked at apps that PH has written about, like Fetch, Acorns, etc., but it’s literally pennies per month that you are saving and it doesn’t accumulate fast enough and the work involved doesn’t match the return on investment for me. Acorns’ management fees make it ridiculous to me, and you have to maintain at least $5000/mo. in the account to get the management fee to where I want it—under 1%. Why would I pay 12% in management fees to save $100? I don’t have any fees with a jelly jar on the kitchen counter, but then I have to think about it, and Acorns saves you the thinking. Can anybody who is currently using these types of investment apps what you are paying in fees?
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I went looking around WiseBanyan & while it looks easy enough I am still a bit nervous . I have never done any type of investing program. My husband has a 401k that he will need to do something with when he retires next year and I was thinking this program might be the answer but very nervous nelly here. Am I even on the right track as far as my thinking?
I have used the Acorns app for about 18 months and I’ve come out ahead. I’m currently in the Moderate portfolio (balanced between stocks and bonds). I started out doing the extra change from my Capital One credit card, but it got to be too much money every week, plus Cap One stopped participating or something. So I switched to a fixed amount deducted from checking every week. I’m happy with it. When I didn’t have any investments, Acorns gave me a way to get started even with a small amount.
