M1 Finance is an app that I talk about a decent amount on this blog. It’s good because lately, it’s been offering great signup bonuses for new users. And while I think everyone should take advantage of the signup bonus when there’s a good one (and as I’m writing this right now, they’re offering $250 to new users who sign up with a referral link), it’s also just a good investing app.
I’ve often talked about friction when it comes to improving your finances. What exactly is friction? It’s that thing that stops you from getting started – that tiny barrier that makes you say “I’ll do this later.” Later, as often is the case, usually becomes never. This is why many of us haven’t set up that retirement account or started putting money into a 529 for our kids or done countless other things we know we should do.
Friction is the enemy that stops us in our tracks, so properly dealing with it can lead to positive results. On the money front, I think the thing that has some of the most friction is investing. As easy as investing is often made out to be, the truth is, while it should be easy, there are a lot of things about investing that are confusing or can slow you down or can outright stop you from investing altogether. Not only do you need to have money to invest, but you also have to figure out where to invest and what to invest in. And that doesn’t even include taking time to learn what investing even is (to learn about investing, I highly recommend The Simple Path to Wealth; another excellent book is The Little Book of Common Sense Investing).
Reducing friction is why I’m a big fan of roboadvisors. The good ones are free, have good investment options, and make it as easy to start investing correctly as it is to open a bank account. That’s the keyword, by the way. Correctly – because oh, boy, there are a lot of wrong ways to invest. As bad as not investing is, investing wrong can be worse (see all the people who lost it all on crypto and meme stocks).
A lot of roboadvisors have come and gone in the 7+ years I’ve been blogging. Some simply shut down. Others changed their business model so much that I can’t recommend them. But M1 Finance, through it all, has continued to stay good.
Why Do I Like M1 Finance?
The bulk of my investments are directly in Vanguard or Fidelity – I have my Solo 401k and HSA with Fidelity and my Roth IRA with Vanguard. But, when someone asks me how to invest, my first response isn’t usually to tell them to open a Fidelity or Vanguard account. Usually, I point people to M1 Finance.
Why do I do this? It’s not just because they offer signup bonuses for new customers. Even when M1 Finance didn’t have a good signup bonus, I’d still point people to M1 Finance, mainly because it made investing so easy at no additional cost.
The key with M1 Finance is their “pie” system. Instead of having to figure out specific funds or ETFs to invest in, M1 Finance has preset “pies” that you can select. Some of the pies are more complicated than they need to be, but most of them offer simple and sound investments. M1 Finance also lets you select pies that others have created for you – so when I’m referring someone to M1 Finance, I usually share my pie (which consists of just a single total stock market ETF).
For example, M1 Finance’s 90/10 portfolio (in the “Just Stocks & Bonds” section) is made up of 90% Vanguard Total World Stock Market ETF and 10% Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF. If you have a 20 or 30-year time horizon, you can pick this single pre-made pie with a few clicks of the mouse and you’re set for the next two or three decades. Each time you put money into your account, that money will automatically get invested into your pie, in the correct allocations, and will automatically get rebalanced.
When I refer people to M1 Finance, I usually send them my pie, which is just a single Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. This is a simple, straightforward investment that will stand the test of time.
For me, M1 Finance comes with little downside because the base product is free. There are no monthly fees or commissions. Any fees you pay on the underlying funds are the same as you’d pay with any other free brokerage.
They do offer a membership model that charges monthly fees and comes with additional features, but I don’t think any of those features are necessary and for the most part, M1 Finance doesn’t seem to bother you about upgrading to the paid plan. So long as the app stays free, there’s no downside to using M1 Finance as your main investing platform.
Removing Friction
I know it seems silly that this is what makes such a difference to me. But I’m telling you, this makes a big difference to someone who has never invested before. Being able to pick a pie and then have your money invested properly in that pie changes everything.
I’ve seen firsthand how confusing it can be when you start out investing in a traditional brokerage like Vanguard or Fidelity. I remember when I first set up my 401k back when I was 26 years old. I had no idea how to invest or even what the different investment options were. Fortunately, my work did make it so any funds were automatically invested in a 50/50 Fidelity fund, where half was invested in a Total Stock Market Fund and the other half was invested in a Total Bond Fund.
Even though that was way too conservative for me at 26, at least my money was invested. I’ve heard of far more people who set up investment accounts, diligently put money into them for years, and then discovered that they hadn’t invested in anything and that it was sitting in cash all those years.
They expected investing to be the same as putting money into a savings account. When you do that, you don’t have to think about what you do with your money once it’s in the savings account. It just automatically gets whatever interest rate the account gets. But investing doesn’t work that way.
I had a friend who once asked me about setting up a Roth IRA. He knew nothing about how investing worked and only wanted to set one up because he’d read about it online and felt he needed to start saving for retirement. I told him to open a Roth IRA at Vanguard since that’s what I had done. He promptly did that, then had no idea what to do next. There weren’t any easy default choices for someone like him who didn’t know anything and didn’t have the time or motivation to figure out all the weird names and ticker symbols and other investing lingo that many of us take for granted.
M1 Finance fixes that entire issue because you can either have someone set up your investing for you by sharing their pie or you can pick one of the default pies that M1 Finance offers. Either way, this solves this tiny little friction problem that makes people either not invest or invest incorrectly.
Final Thoughts
So that’s why I like M1 Finance and why I recommend it to people. If you already know how to invest and already have accounts in other places, then this isn’t something you need. I’d still open an account if I didn’t have one to get the easy referral bonus.
But for the vast majority of people who don’t know how investing works, this is how I’d do it. I started investing 10 years ago. Back then, roboadvisors like this didn’t really exist. Had I known about them, I think it would have changed my investing life for the better. At a minimum, it would have saved me a few years of investing incorrectly and would have motivated me to get moving on all this sooner.
Anyway, that’s just my opinion. M1 Finance is currently offering a nice referral bonus, so if you want to learn how to get that, you can check out this post: M1 Finance $250 Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Upgrade ($300) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $300 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $300 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
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