Reviews Archives - Amanda Abella | Make Money Your Honey

June 7, 2017 By Amanda Abella

This post may contain affiliate links.

[MMYH Episode 10] Personal Capital Review: A New Tool To Track Your Net Worth

Quick Update on Acorns Review from a few weeks ago:

Acorns launched a beta version of their rewards program called Found Money. If you shop with their partners, those partners will then invest money into your Acorns account. For example, if you are a member of Dollar Shave Club, like I am, they’ll invest 10% of your Razor Membership into your Acorns investing account. It’s a nifty way to put some few extra dollars into your investment account.

You can check out Episode 5 where I do an in-depth review of Acorns.

Now let’s get to Personal Capital…

In today’s podcast episode we’re doing a review of Personal Capital, a financial management software that is similar to Mint.com but geared toward higher net worth individuals. Higher net-worth individuals, in this case, are usually defined as those that have a net worth of over $100,000.

Before you click away from the screen thinking “I’ve got student loan debt up to my eyeballs so so I don’t have a net worth of $100,000”, don’t worry. My net worth is nowhere near $100,000 and I’m still using Personal Capital.

The real point is that you start thinking about net worth and get started, even if it’s just small steps. And that’s why I’m bringing this Personal Capital review to you.

But first, we need to have a little lesson in net worth.

What’s the big deal about net worth?

If you truly want a good snapshot of your overall financial picture, you’ll want to start tracking your net worth. Here’s a simple formula to help you figure it out:

Assets – Liabilities = Net Worth

So let’s say you have $50,000 in cash and investments, but you owe $5,000 in credit card debt. In this case, your net worth would be $45,000.

The reason net worth is important is because a lot of people mistakenly assume that a healthy financial life is tied to the amount of money they make.

While having a high income can certainly help, if you’re spending it all or owe more money than you actually have, it doesn’t really matter how much you’re making because you’re still broke. That’s why a lot of people argue that good money management is more about how much you save rather than how much you make.

Personal Capital vs. Mint.com

The main thing you need to know about Personal Capital is that it’s basically Mint but for investing. Quite frankly, if you know how to use Mint then Personal Capital will seem a bit familiar.

Where Personal Capital exceeds Mint is in the investment and net worth department. Mint has long been known as being the go-to free software for budgeting, but their investment portion leaves a lot to be desired. So if you’re starting to take investing more seriously, Personal Capital can pick up where Mint leaves off.

What You Get With Personal Capital

Once you’ve linked all your accounts and organized the transactions (more on this in a bit) you’ll notice a few very helpful things on your dashboard.

Income vs. Spending

Personal Capital automatically tracks your income and your spending. This is pretty nice because with Mint I found myself having to make an “Income” category in the budgets section to really get a feel for what was going on.

You’ll also see what you’ve spent your money on in this past month. This alone can be a huge time saver in determining where your money is going and whether or not you need to make improvements.

Net Worth

You’ll have a separate section just for net worth, though, honestly, you can see it in big green numbers at the top every time you log in.

Investment Allocation

This is where Personal Capital starts beating Mint. When you log in you’ll see a breakdown of where your money is being invested. Mint does do this in terms of showing you winners and losers, but Personal Capital’s report is far more in depth.

Portfolio Balances

This has actually become my favorite feature. In the last couple of months, I decided that I would invest as much of my money as possible. Since I’m still living at home to help out with caring for my grandmother – I decided I would put the equivalent of a monthly rent payment into exchange traded funds. I’ve also got Acorns running all the time. It may really suck to see that money go now, but I know I’m going to thank myself later.

Each month that I log into Personal Capital I’m seeing the portfolio balances section creep up and up. When I saw that I’d gotten past the $10,000 mark I started squealing for joy. It was a very cool feeling and I felt like it was a major win for adulting.

Bill Reminders

You can set up bill reminders with Personal Capital, just like you would wth Mint. Although, honestly, at this point I’m all about auto-bill pay so I don’t really use this feature.

Liabilities

The only liability I have are credit cards. I always pay the balance in full each month, but I basically use credit cards for everything to get travel points.

If you have a mortgage or a loan you’ll also see this on your dashboard organized by their respective categories.

Transactions

This is where things got a little messy for me when I first opened my Personal Capital account. When I linked my accounts the transaction categories were a total mess and I had to spend some time fixing it.

This isn’t a major con because this happens every time you try new financial software, but it is worth noting that you may need to spend some time fixing this up.

Personal Capital also supports over 400 different kinds of accounts – including Acorns which I couldn’t get linked to my Mint.com account. The downside is I couldn’t get my Digit savings account linked so I always have to remind myself to manually calculate those savings into my net worth.

Investment Checkup

This is another really cool tool that has become very helpful as I up my investment game. Personal Capital offers a free investment checkup where it assesses how you’re doing based on your profile. I was happy to see that, according to them, I’m on track.

However, I also learned where I could make some small adjustments and improvements to make sure everything is balanced. For example, it told me that I should have a little more liquid cash saved up – which is totally crazy because I never thought my investments would surpass my cash, but they did – so now I know to focus on boosting my cash savings.

How Personal Capital Makes Money

Personal Capital is free to use. And, unlike Mint, they aren’t constantly trying to upsell you on opening new accounts or credit cards. They make their money by offering financial advisory services which you have no obligation to actually use.

Final Judgement

I actually really like Personal Capital. I admit that in the beginning I was resistant because I tend to hate change. I know my Mint account like the back of my hand, so I was hesitant to learn yet another financial tool. However, since deciding to take investing more seriously, I have found this tool to be extremely helpful in seeing my entire financial picture.

Click here to sign up for Personal Capital via my referral link.

Resources That Are Helpful or Add Value to This Episode

January 31, 2017 By Amanda Abella

This post may contain affiliate links.

The Desire Map Review

Since it’s a New Year, I’m reviving an old post about one of my favorite books to help you figure out what you want. At this point, I’ve read The Desire Map at least six times, so I’m adding some new insights to the post as well. Enjoy!

If you’ve been following this blog for a while then you know I have a girl crush on Danielle LaPorte. She gives us fiery ambitious chicks (and dudes) something to think about. In fact, one of the best moments of WDS in 2013 was the chance to actually see her roc the mic in person.

While I’m usually on Danielle LaPorte’s products like white on rice, I knew The Desire Map would require more attention. So I waited. I also waited until after my book launch to really dive deep into this. So while the rest of the world started this work as early as December, I didn’t get my hands on this baby until the third week of January.

And I am so glad I did.

Not because it wasn’t good (it’s great, in fact!) but because the Desire Mapping process she walks you through requires your full attention. Attention that quite frankly I didn’t have for months.

So for those of you who are thinking about getting this book and working through this process, please make sure you create the space to do so! You will thank yourself later. I promise.

Below you’ll find my in-depth Desire Map review so that you can get the most out of reading the book and doing the exercises.

Goals with Soul

The entire point of The Desire Map is to match your goals to how you want to feel. Essentially, the pursuit of the goal should feel as good as attaining the goal itself.

As a self-proclaimed ambition junkie this hit me like a ton of bricks. How often had I gone after stuff to hit a benchmark? Or because it seemed like the next logical thing to do for my business? Or because I thought it would make me happy?

Similarly, how often had I struggled and strived to make shit happen? While my ambition and strong will have certainly gotten me incredibly far in life and especially my career, I knew there something was missing.

I realized that I, along with most of Western culture, had it ass backwards. Although I’ve been up to my eye balls in personal development since 2010, and although I intellectually knew that outside stuff doesn’t make you happy, and although I felt this truth many times in savasana at the end of a yoga class, I was still slipping big time. As a result, I was stressed, anxious, and not at ease despite the fact that I knew I had found my purpose. Somehow my successes would turn back into stresses.

When LaPorte walks through her theory things suddenly click. The entire point in this life is to feel good. And as we all know (and as I preach all the time), if you feel good the universe responds big time.We find solutions to problems, we feel at ease, and we can play big. So imagine what would happen if we planned our goals and desires in alignment with how we wanted to feel? There’d be some fucking magic happening!

Core Desired Feelings

By the end of this book, you’ve identified your core desired feelings (CDFs) and planned some annual goals in accordance with those feelings. LaPorte walks you through each section of your life – career, money, relationships, health, spirituality – and asks you, “How do you want to feel?”

Not, “What do you want it to look like?” or “What do you want to hit this quarter?” or “What do you want your man to be like?”, but how do you want to feel when you think about the different areas of your life. She then encourages you to narrow it down to four of five feelings. These feelings will be at the core of everything you do.

After tons of scribbles in my moleskin, meditation, playing with words, time with a thesaurus, and time reading what the words actually meant I came up with the following for 2017:

Prosperity

Union

Allow

Divine Feminine

These words don’t necessarily mean their literal sense. For instance, Divine Feminine doesn’t mean I’m going to join a goddess circle. To me, Divine Feminine means compassion, empathy, sexy, receptive, nurturing, and intimacy. It’s about being the best woman I can be. Likewise, prosperity doesn’t necessarily mean I want to be dripping with diamonds (wouldn’t be too shabby though, eh?), it means I want to rich in every area of my life.

Similarly, they aren’t just words. They are intentions. And intentions are some powerful shit.

Desires as a Habit

LaPorte doesn’t just leave it there though. She teaches you how to apply these feelings to your life, and as such, start creating ideas, goals, and actions that will help you cultivate these feelings.

For instance, my career goal of creating one product this year that can better the lives of the members of my community makes me feel expansion, union, and opulence. If I make it just for women we can throw divine feminine in there too.

In essence, it’s no longer about the money, or about a sales, or about quarterly sales goals, it’s about feeling good and doing good. The money will then sort itself out. In my experience, when you stop stressing over numbers and instead focus on feeling good, the response you get is beyond anything you could imagine.

And just like I applied this to a career goal, I applied it to my personal life. THAT’S the beauty of all of this.

So from now on I’m:

Going to plan my weekly work based on how I want to feel.
Buy more flowers and light some more candles.
Spend more time with my friends.
Stop neglecting my personal life.
Heading back to the yoga studio.
Stop giving people money out of guilt (big one!)
Walk outside more.
Meditate in the morning BEFORE checking my phone.
Allow myself to enjoy the fruits of my labor. This is going to be a big one for me in 2017.
Take my desires and emotions into account when growing my business, building relationships, handling my money, and moving my body.

Why? Because I want to feel prosperity, I want to allow, I want to feel in union, and I want to feel the divine feminine.

Some tips for reading this book:

I found the following to be very helpful in getting in the right headspace for this kind of work:

Lighting candles. (I’m loving Paddywax Green Tea Bamboo!)
Natural lighting. Or, if doing this at night, soft yellow lighting.
Lots of tea.
Moleskin and a good pen. (Or you can buy the workbook separately from her site)
Music that puts you in an introspective mood. (Deva Premal’s rendition of the Moola Mantra was on repeat while I read through the book.)
A clean space. Preferably one where you don’t typically work.

Overall The Desire Map isn’t just a book. It’s a far out experience that will have you asking the big questions as you plan your life accordingly. I highly recommend this read and I recommend going through the process as often as you’d like.

Click here to purchase your own copy of The Desire Map (affiliate link).

September 26, 2016 By Amanda Abella

This post may contain affiliate links.

Annual Recap: 2016 Financial Blogger Conference in San Diego

I’m baaaaaccckkkk!

After two weeks of traveling, first through the Caribbean for a proper vacation and then to San Diego for The 7th Annual Financial Blogger Conference, I am ready to get back to blogging, podcasting and connecting with the Make Money Your Honey Community.

To be honest, I’m currently sitting on a plane on the way back to Florida trying to process the last couple of weeks. I spent a week on a cruise visiting The Bahamas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and St. Maarten (all photos can be found on Instagram). Then I had a day at home and flew out early the next morning to spend a few days in San Diego.

One of the reasons I wanted an online business was so that I could have flexibility with my time and travel, and now I’m actually doing it. It’s always crazy when you notice your hard work starting to pay off and I’m so grateful for the lifestyle that freelancing, blogging, and coaching has allowed me to have. In addition. I’m grateful for all my friends and colleagues who continue to teach me about money. Without their knowledge I wouldn’t be able to do any of this.

Now, let’s get to FinCon. As I do every year, I’m going to lay out exactly what I loved about my favorite conference of the year.

I got to hang out with my people.

14468517_581243093103_7135822534853647802_o — *Hanging out at the SoFi Happy Hour hosted at Rustic Root in Downtown San Diego.*

Yes, I go to FinCon every year for business, but it’s also like a huge family reunion for money nerds. The financial blogger community is really tight, and I’m happy to say that these people aren’t just colleagues and peers, they are also friends that I have an absolute blast with.

*Some of the original members of Colorful Money.*

From the Colorful Money crew to the late night fire pits at the hotel, I have to say that the best part of FinCon for me is always hanging out with my online friends in person.

I got to bring a team member with me for the first time.

Live podcasting with my VA Lynette Davis, Jessica Garbarino, Michelle Jackson and Kate Dore. — *Live podcast with my VA Lynette Davis, Jessica Garbarino, Michelle Jackson and Kate Dore.*

My entire team is virtual, meaning I barely ever actually get to see them in person. The last time I saw my virtual assistant in person was two years ago when I went on a trip to Philly. This year, I decided to bring my VA Lyn along with me to FinCon.

Building support in your business is so important, and I realized during this conference that having support in person is also extremely beneficial. Lyn helped take pictures and write social media posts while I was speaking and getting interviewed. She kept me in the loop of my schedule. She handled emails and business cards. She helped me give books to people who asked questions during the panel I participated in. I mean, really, she was an absolute godsend.

I got to help her beta test her live event assistance service and she helped me not to lose my mind lol.

What’s even cooler is that I always wanted to be able to fly team members to conferences with me, so the fact that I was able to do it this year is really cool and is a testament to how far this blog has taken me. Maybe one day we can have a team retreat!

We covered really taboo topics and it was awesome.

Live on the Money and Politics Podcast. Photo credit: Miranda Marquit — Live on the Money and Politics Podcast with Josh Elledge. Photo credit: Miranda Marquit

Money, in general, is a pretty taboo topic, but I am thrilled to see that the FinCon community takes it a step further by discussing the real issues people face with money every day. Here are just some of the conversations that were had at events and podcasts:

How we can help people of color better understand personal finances.
The challenges the underbanked face when trying to do something as simple as cash a check.
Women and money.
Money and relationships.
Mental health and money.
Money and politics.
Money and religion.

I have to say, it’s amazing that this community of bloggers is really going there and covering issues that more establishment media sources may shy away from. Not only that, but we’re trying our best to actually help people. We know we have a responsibility to our readers and communities and I’m so proud that this community isn’t afraid to talk about these issues.

The parties were dope.

*At the Ignite After Party at Bassmnt in Downtown San Diego.*

The parties and events at FinCon have always been amazing, but good Lord they stepped up their game! There were so many parties and meetups going on that it was impossible to attend them all, but here were some of the event highlights for me:

Dumplings and pot stickers at a really good local restaurant courtesy of Experian. Yes, a credit bureau throws parties.
The Fidelity Women and Money Dinner. They took us out on an old school yacht through the San Diego Harbor. We saw the skyline from the water, we saw sea lions and we saw the sunset while having a fascinating discussion about what women deal with when it comes to money.
The opening party at Coasterra sponsored by TradeKing. Oh my gosh, this venue was beautiful! You almost felt as if you were in a floating club in the Harbor while looking at the skyline and bridge.
SoFi Happy Hour. SoFi always throws good parties. This time, they threw a roof top party in downtown San Diego (which by the way is absolutely beautiful and charming).
Ignite, of course. It was held at an underground club called Bassmnt and sponsored by Centsai. The venue was SICK.
PT Money sponsored an Ignite after party and rented out the club for us. The DJ in the hip-hop room was good! I danced my face off with Latisha Styles of Young Finances, Zina Kumok of Debt Free After Three and Michelle Jackson of The Shop My Closet Project.
The closing party was also beautiful. It was held out in the hotel’s lawn which overlooks the bay and was decorated with tree lights and paper lanterns.

We rocked the Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing panel!

*With the ladies of the Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing panel.*

On the last day of the conference, I was on a panel with Miranda Marquit of Planting Money Seeds, Emily Guy Birken who is a four-time personal finance author and Bobbi Rebbel who is a journalist for Reuters and has a forthcoming book called “How to Be a Financial Grown Up.”

The premise of the panel was to teach people about the differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing through our own experiences. Let me tell you, we were on fire and the audience was digging it! They were so engaged and were asking phenomenal questions!

I didn’t get to attend the other sessions because I was taking a lot of meetings, but I’m told they were amazing (I would expect nothing less) and I will definitely be watching them as soon as the recordings are made available.

I got to mentor some amazing bloggers and watch my coaching clients rock it!

One of my goals each year is to help as many people as I can, especially if they are newer to blogging. I had the privilege of doing some mentoring with Samantha Ottley Porter of Kidz Count, Natasha M. Campbell of The Wealth Stylist, Kara Perez of From Frugal to Free, and Khaleef and Sherrian Crumbley of KNS Financial/Fat Guy Skinny Wallet.

I saw Make Money Your Honey coaching clients Dave Auten and John Schneider of Debt Free Guys kill it at FinCon this year! Apparently, their coach told them to hustle 😉

*John and David of Debt Free Guys working the media like bosses.*

I also met Make Money Your Honey coaching client Sarah Li Cain of High Fiving Dollars in person for the first time!

I got to hang out with the cool websites I write for.

I have some pretty awesome writing clients. I got to hang a bit with John Rampton of Due.com and Han Chang of Investment Zen. I’ve been writing for both sites for quite some time and it’s always fun to actually hang out with your clients in person – especially if they are money nerds with dance moves.

I also got to hang out with Jackson from Kasasa. If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out my review of Kasasa, you can do so here.

We won a Plutus Award for Best Designed Personal Finance Blog!

*Taking a bow with my trophy and plaque at the closing party.*

We won Best Dressed Blog! For those who don’t know, The Plutus Awards are the industry award for personal finance bloggers and content creators. We are nominated by our readers and peers and then a panel of bloggers chooses the finalist.

Thank you to all the subscribers and social media followers who voted for my blog and helped make this possible! It’s my first Plutus Award (I was a finalist for Best PF Blog for Millennials last year but did not win) and I’m so thrilled about it!

The team and I worked so hard on this rebrand in 2015 and I’m so excited that it’s getting some major recognition!

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go to a surfing lesson like some of the other bloggers did because I was on a tight travel schedule. I guess I’ll have to come back to California and make that happen.
Overall, FinCon was amazing as usual. It’s always bittersweet to leave. On the one hand, you’re fired up and ready to get back to work. You also probably miss your own bed, especially if you’ve been traveling quite a bit like I have. On the other hand, it’s always a little upsetting to say goodbye to these amazing people until you see them again the next year.

With that being said, I already bought my ticket for Dallas 2017! Now, who is coming with me?

August 9, 2016 By Amanda Abella

This post may contain affiliate links.

Kasasa Review: Get Sweet Rewards At Local Banks and Credit Unions

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post that is a collaboration with Kasasa. All opinions are my own. I would not recommend products or services unless I have personally vetted them.

In the world of personal finance, it is often times noted how credit unions and local banks are good options for banking. They are usually local, they have lower interest rates when you borrow money, and they tend to have higher interest rates on CDs and savings accounts. The customer service is also known for being much better and you typically have less fees to deal with.

There are just a few downsides. First, you have to be eligible to join a credit union. Second, the rewards are usually lower. And third, often times credit unions and local banks haven’t caught up with technology.

As a millennial, rewards and easy access to our money are a big deal. We want to get more bang for our buck and we want to be able to easily access our accounts from anywhere.

That’s where Kasasa comes in.

Kasasa is a kind of bank account that is now being offered at over 400 credit unions and local banks throughout the country. They are helping credit unions and local banks cater to a millennial market while also helping millennials with better banking options.

The benefits are so good they’ve already been praised by NerdWallet, CNN Money, and CNBC!

If you’re fed up with your big bank (been there) and would still like some of the benefits that comes with a bank having a physical branch, this could be a good option for you.

The Main Difference Between a Big Bank And a Credit Union

Before getting into what Kasasa is and how it’s helping credit unions, local banks, and millennials, it’s first important to understand the main difference between a bank and a credit union.

A big bank is a for-profit organization. Their goal is to make money for stakeholders. As a result, you are seen as a customer. Even online banks are typically for-profit. While I haven’t had any issues with my online bank yet, they were bought out by a big bank so you can bet I’m keeping a close eye on any changing policies and fees.

Local banks are also for-profit but they tend to cater more to the local community. According to the Harvard Business Review, community banks provide more than half of all small business loans. They also have much lower overhead which translates to better rates and lower fees.

With a credit union, you’re seen as a member. Credit unions are not-for-profit, so the money generated is meant to benefit members of their organization. This is one of the reasons why you’ll see cheaper fees and better interest rates with credit unions.

We already mentioned some of the upsides as well as downsides of using credit unions and local banks, now it’s time to address how Kasasa is helping banks with their challenges as it pertains to millennials.

How Kasasa Is Helping To Improve Credit Unions and Local Banks for Millennials

Essentially, they offer their Kasasa Cash checking account to the credit union or local bank. The product, which is easily accessible online and comes with good rewards, helps credit unions cater to millennials. As for how Kasasa helps millennials, it helps attract them to credit unions and local banks which are a much better option for their wallet.

Kasasa is basically combining the best of both worlds. You get the benefits of a credit union or local bank (better customer service and better rates), while also getting some of the features you would get with a big bank (online banking and convenient ATM locations.)

Some of The Benefits That Come with a Kasasa Cash Account

Kasasa has quite a few benefits that are very millennial-friendly. In this section, I’m going to address each of them individually.

No fees and no minimum balance on a Kasasa checking account. Can you say “Yes, please”? It’s no secret that customers at big banks have been getting pummeled by fees for years.

Local ATM transactions are reimbursed. According to a report by CNN Money, the three biggest banks in the U.S. earned over 6 billion dollars from ATM and overdraft fees in 2015. With Kasasa, your ATM fees are reimbursed nationwide.

Better interest rates. The rates on a Kasasa account depend on the financial institution, however, as we’ve already established, credit unions and community banks have better interest rates than big banks. Kasasa Cash offers interest rates as high as 3 percent! Not even my online bank comes close!

You are eligible for credit union member benefits. This means you’re eligible for car loans or credit cards that have much lower interest rates than what you would see at a big bank.

Sweet rewards. One of the reasons millennials may be a little more averse to credit unions is because their rewards programs aren’t that good. Kasasa offers different types of accounts, each tailored for your spending behavior and what rewards matter to you most. They also offer Kasasa Tunes which are rewards you can cash in for music on Amazon, iTunes or Google Play. Essentially, you can get rewards without having to get a credit card and potentially find yourself in debt. This is great news for a generation that has already shown to be a little hesitant about using credit cards.

You help the local economy. By banking with local credit unions and community banks, you’re helping to keep the money circulating in your community.

Better customer service. Customer service in local banks and credit unions far exceed that of a big bank. Seriously, have you ever tried calling a big bank to get a problem resolved? I once got transferred to 12 different departments and my issue still wasn’t resolved! Poor customer service was one of the reasons I left my big bank in the first place.

What’s the catch?

I know what you’re thinking. What’s the catch? Fortunately, in Kasasa’s case, the catch isn’t a big deal and it’s actually quite obvious.

First, you need to be eligible to be a member of the credit union. You can circumvent this if you find a local bank that offers Kasasa (I, unfortunately, could not in my area). Additionally, sometimes being eligible for a credit union is as easy as living or worshipping in the local area (I have a chance here with a local credit union that offers Kasasa). You can visit DepositAccounts.com to see if you are eligible for a Kasasa account near you.

Second, you need to meet certain criteria each month in order to get rewards. While every institution has different limits, the criteria includes, signing up for direct deposit, opting for e-statements and using your debit card 12 times per month. Truthfully, this is all pretty basic stuff people already do anyway, it’s just that Kasasa rewards you for the good behavior.

Where can I learn more?

To learn more about Kasasa and what they offer head on over to their website. You can also check them out on social media – they are very active and ready to answer any questions you may have.