I’m Going To Start A Betterment Account

Jeremy BiberdorfBy: Jeremy Biberdorf

August 19, 2013August 19, 2013

I'm Going To Start A Betterment Account

Hey everyone, thanks for joining me for another Monday Money. I talk about a lot here, most of it tips and tricks on saving money, spending wisely and churning rewards credit cards. But, today, I’m going to take a bit more of a personal approach. I’m going to let you in on what I believe is going to be the most important financial decision I’m going to make this year. I’ve decided to start a Betterment account by taking advantage of Betterment promotions.

Click for Betterment Pricing and Details.

The truth is, I’m not that rich guy that’s chatting with you from my high rise pent house in New York City. Nope, just a normal guy in a 2 bedroom apartment living the dream with my fiancé. I’m 25 years old which, for all of my working life I’ve been referring to as the most important year financially for anyone! This is the year it’s time to start thinking about retirement. Wait any longer and your returns diminish by the minute!

So, my age is right on the money with getting started. Now, it’s time to think about some really important decisions that I need to make. The good news is, I’ve been helping others make the same decisions I’m about to make for years now.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked with several lenders, investment firms, banks, credit unions, online financial software, you name it. The only thing is, I’ve always been paid by others to do this stuff for them. I’ve never really put my own money in my own hands when it comes to investing because, I just wasn’t thinking about investing when I had money.

This time it’s different, I’m thinking long and hard about it. Luckily for me, I work with Jeremy on the Reviews for Modest Money and, he’s had me looking into investment services lately. I’ve reviewed some of the best options in the world from what my research tells me! For me, I decided to go with Betterment!

“Why Betterment” You Ask?

Well, I’m a busy guy. The truth is, I work a full time upper management job starting at 6am. I come home, I run my blog, write for Modest Money and several other publications across the web. At some point around 7pm I’m usually done for the day. I get to relax for a couple of hours, enjoy the comfort of having my fiancé by my side and I wake up to do it again. Well, 5 days a week. I really try not to work on the weekends. Sure, I could manage my own portfolio with Vanguard, but compared to Betterment, Vanguard is a lot more work.

All of that being said, I’m not rich so, it’s not a reasonable concept for me to pay huge broker fees to make the most out of the money I do have. I’m pretty good at predicting what stocks will do but, I don’t want to set all of my money on my own predictions. Then I did the Betterment Review.

Known as the investment option designed for the busy investor, it seems like their services were designed just for me. All I need to do is decide which buckets I want to put my money into. Set my risk level based on the return that I want at a risk that I’m comfortable with and, check it every month or so when I make the next deposit. Betterment is going to do all the investing work for me and not charge me every time my money changes hands as a result of their advice.

OK, I admit, paying a percentage of what I have invested on an annual basis kind of sucks but, with all the fees that I’m missing out on, I think it’s worth it. Plus, I’ll be able to relax and watch my money grow instead of working for an extra 15 to 30 minutes or more a day on my investments.

I’d Like To Hear From You

Have you tried Betterment? Did it work for you or not? What was your experience? Of course I’ll be sharing my experience with you as I go through the Monday Money column but, I’d love to know your story too! Let me know in the comment box below!

Click for Betterment Pricing and Details.

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Jeremy Biberdorf
Jeremy Biberdorf

About the Author:

Jeremy Biberdorf is the founder of Modest Money. He's a father of 2 beautiful girls, a dog owner, a long-time online entrepreneur and an investing enthusiast.

23 thoughts on “I’m Going To Start A Betterment Account”

  1. Rita P @ Digital Spikes

    Josh, it is very good that you thinking long term right at 25. Betterment is very good option for people who don’t have time to invest. Invest your money, set your bucket and just relax. Nice post

  2. I keep seeing Betterment pop up in the blogoverse.

    Enough so that I will likely do some research.

    If I ever start to feel overwhelmed with handling it myself, this seems like a strong way to go.

    1. Hey No Waste, thanks for your comment. Betterment is definitely getting popular for a reason…well worth looking into!

  3. Nick @ ayoungpro.com

    I’m probably going to start a Betterment account with my daughter’s long-term savings as soon as we get some more money in there. Hopefully by the time she is 18 we will have a nice chunk of change in there.

    1. Hey Nick, I think that’s a great way to go. Unless I find a better option, I’ll probably be doing the same thing when I have kids!

  4. I use a target retirement fund through an online discount broker and while it may not be ideal, I’ve been very pleased with the returns.

    1. Hey Stefanie, that’s the great thing about investing, there are so many good ways to go! I’m glad you found yours. Thanks for your comment!

  5. Sean @ One Smart Dollar

    I don;t personally use it, but Bettermint is a great way to invest if you don;t have the time to do all the research yourself. Yes you are going to pay fees, but those fees might be worth the time saved.

    1. Thanks for your comment Sean. These days, I don’t have the time so it’s definitely worth the fees for me.

  6. I have been with Betterment for close to a year. I really have enjoyed their service and plan on keeping it for some time. It is super easy to use and it really is a time saver. They are also creating a better portfolio next month, so it should offer a greater diversity.

  7. jacob | iHeartBudgets

    Sounds like a great option for a semi-passive investor. I just threw everything into my Vanguard Index target date fund, but as I feel more comfortable, will be investing myself.

    1. Hey Jacob, thanks for your comment. You definitely have to be comfortable with your abilities if you’re going to be investing your own funds.

  8. Kim@Eyesonthedollar

    I started a Betterment account about 6 months ago. I realize I could probably invest the money myself, but I don’t have to think about it, so that’s worth something.

    1. Hey Kim, thanks, it’s good to know a blogger friend is using it. How has it been? Care to share your experience?

  9. Lisa E. @ Lisa Vs. The Loans

    I opened up a Betterment retirement account last year and I haven’t looked back since! I love that I don’t have to do a ton of research.

    Now, if I could only convince my boyfriend to start thinking about retirement – he turns 25 in less than a month!

    1. Hey Lisa, he really should get to thinking about the future. Try to coerce him with goals like…hey you want that motorcycle don’t you. Once he gets used to saving, it will be easier to get him to think about retirement. Thanks for your comment!

  10. Tara @ Streetsaheadliving.com

    I personally want to start a Vanguard target fund since they lowered the balance minimum to $1,000 to start, so long as you do digital documents and contribute $100 monthly.

    But I’m curious from others how their experience is with Betterment!

    1. Hey Tara, it looks like a few people in the comments have tried betterment and enjoyed it! Maybe it’s worth giving it a shot. Thanks for your comment!

  11. Derek @ MoneyAhoy.com

    Josh, it’s great that you’re starting to invest at the young age of 25 – congrats on that smart decision!

    I’ve seen Betterment pop up a lot recently. I’ll have to look more into it and see what it’s all about. I can certainly appreciate setting up investing on autopilot as it can definitely suck up a ton of time if you’re not careful.

  12. Based on the comments I think I’m going to check out this betterment account thing. Much like you I work full time and blog atnight for my site and other sites so my time is limited. Any thing that can help me invest with minimal effort sounds great to me. Thanks for sharing.

  13. Christine @ ThePursuitofGreen

    I can’t wait to try out Betterment! My husband and I are almost hitting our house down payment goal. Soon as that happens going to start a Betterment account! Looking forward to seeing what you think of it! Your review on it was very useful.

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