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M1 Ride Along, Money

Using M1 Finance – A Year In Review (M1#12)

I have been terrible at keeping you guys updated on my progress using M1 Finance. Before I knew it, it has already been a over a year of use. So I think now would be a great time to share what I think of the platform overall. Easy-To-Use I’m not a stock market expert at all, and I did some very surface level research on … Continue reading Using M1 Finance – A Year In Review (M1#12)

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Money Saving

Four Tips to Increase Home Cooling Efficiency and Reduce Your Electric Bill

1. Get Solar Panels And do not lease, as it creates a nightmare if you are a homeowner and would like to sell your home. Getting solar panels is an investment (even with financing) because of this principle: instead of paying your electric bill to the power company and never seeing that money again, put that money toward a set of solar panels, which reduce … Continue reading Four Tips to Increase Home Cooling Efficiency and Reduce Your Electric Bill

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M1 Ride Along

(M1#11) My Top 3 Investment Tips, and I Broke 8% in Returns!!!

Not a whole lot to report, but I am just so glad that I have reached 8% in returns overall. I remember back when I only had a return of 0.55% earlier this year. Here are some lessons I’ve learned so far: Be patient with returns. Set it and forget it. I auto invest $10 every weekday to take advantage of dollar cost averaging and … Continue reading (M1#11) My Top 3 Investment Tips, and I Broke 8% in Returns!!!

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Money

7 Clever Ways to Earn $100 Per Month in Amazon Gift Cards

One strategy I like to employ in my household budget is offsetting my normal costs with Amazon gift cards. Amazon has made it very easy for you to earn their store’s credit. Yes, this is to entice you to buy from them, but if you are on a budget and Amazon has practically everything you need, this is a good strategy. Of course, results will … Continue reading 7 Clever Ways to Earn $100 Per Month in Amazon Gift Cards

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M1 Ride Along

(M1#10) Breaking $100 and Steady Returns. Another highlight for diversification and dividend yields.

Overview I know I haven’t posted in a while, but honestly there hasn’t been anything interesting to talk about. Lately there have been some swings in the market. My Roth IRA and other portfolios took a hit, but surprisingly my M1 Finance returns stayed pretty solid. What happened was that while my common stock pie went down in returns, my REITs went up and covered … Continue reading (M1#10) Breaking $100 and Steady Returns. Another highlight for diversification and dividend yields.

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Extra Cash Ride Along, Money, Money Making, Money Saving

Extra Cash Report – An Extra $300 With Little Effort (April 2018)

Every month I post a ride along of various ways I came up with extra in a month. This month I came up with about $300 extra. Most (if not all) required no effort. So if you are looking to make some passive income, look within. Some referral codes are inside as well. Continue reading Extra Cash Report – An Extra $300 With Little Effort (April 2018)

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M1 Ride Along, Money

Investment Ride-along (#7) – Overall Happy with Progress, but Will it Last?

So this is pretty awesome, my entire portfolio is up 2.02% for a total gain of $26.17. For the week, I am up 1.04% for a weekly gain of $16.71.  REITs The big gainers here are CyrusOne Inc (+11.71%) and National Storage Affiliates (+11.75%). CyrusOne specializes in carrier neutral data center properties. I suppose this makes sense, perhaps the retail store death could mean more … Continue reading Investment Ride-along (#7) – Overall Happy with Progress, but Will it Last?

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M1 Ride Along, Money

(M1#5) One Month Strong, Still Net Positive

Sorry I missed last week’s update as I was on travel for work. This update will cover the 4/16/18 to 4/27/18. I have had some wild swings over the last two weeks. At one point I was up around $16 and another point I was down $22. My REITs and Bonds have taken hits due to interest rate hikes. There have also been more decline … Continue reading (M1#5) One Month Strong, Still Net Positive

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M1 Ride Along

Investment Ride-along (#3) – Overall Up Almost a Whole Two Dollars

This week has been overall successful, despite reading nothing about volatility in the market. At one point I was up around 11%, but by the end of the week I was only up 0.24%. Even though my portfolio already has 63 holdings, I’m always looking to diversify, especially if I can just buy a fraction of a share, which M1 allows you to do. I … Continue reading Investment Ride-along (#3) – Overall Up Almost a Whole Two Dollars

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Product Reviews

My Top 3 Picks for Grid Notebooks

I’ve always been a big fan of notebooks. For me, writing down notes and organizing my thoughts have always been easier on paper than electronically. My wife recently told me “nobody uses notebooks anymore.” While I love my wife, this is not true. Being in the military, I often find myself in spaces where electronic devices are not allowed, therefore having a pen and pad … Continue reading My Top 3 Picks for Grid Notebooks

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Money

Did I Even Save Any Gas Money by Buying a Chevrolet Volt?

Short Answer: Yes, but… Long Answer: Not Everyone Will Before you decide to hop on the Electric Vehicle bandwagon (hmm…. Electric Bandwagon…) you need to examine if it is the right move for you from either a financial standpoint or even an environmental standpoint. If it is your mission to reduce your carbon footprint or produce zero emissions from your car, then by all means … Continue reading Did I Even Save Any Gas Money by Buying a Chevrolet Volt?

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M1 Ride Along

(M1#9) Returns are Now Officially Better Than my Mortgage Rate

I realize that I originally wanted this to be a weekly update, but now that I am in a pretty good rhythm, weekly updates would be superfluous. Today though, marks something meaningful to me though. I noticed that my overall return rate is greater than 4.5%! It is ever so slightly above at 4.56%, but it is still better than my mortgage rate of 4.5%. … Continue reading (M1#9) Returns are Now Officially Better Than my Mortgage Rate

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