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Throughout the month of June, we’re featuring Qapital customers using health and fitness Rules to help them save money. This week, we’re featuring Craig Caruso from Staten Island, NY! Craig squeezes mini-workouts into his day and saves money in the process. <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/06/Craig-Caruso.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-966"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/06/Craig-Caruso.jpg" width="300" height="344"></a>When it comes to reaching his daily fitness goals, Craig Caruso’s approach is to channel his passion for technology into positive reinforcement. “I am a technologist,” he says. “I love finding new apps, exploring them and see what's new. I live and breathe technology.” Craig, who is a “engineer by day, developer by night,” says that his health and fitness have become more important to him as he gets older. “As I am getting older I realize fitness is a top priority over everything else. Even standing for a few minutes helps.” As part of his fitness strategy, Craig is cutting down on long stretches of sitting while he’s at work, rewarding himself for a job well done using Qapital. He’s using two Apple Health Rules to help keep him moving while in the office. “[When I] run or walk 4 miles a day... I save $4 and stand 12 times a day for $1,”  he says. “I picked those goals because they are achievable but you do have to push yourself.” <h3>Step it up and save!</h3> In fact, just adding the Apple Health Steps Rule adds $15 to the average Qapital customer’s Goals each week! Craig says these mini breaks strolling through his office also give him a chance to focus on his work and approach tasks and challenges with a fresh set of eyes. “When my watch reminds me to stand I make sure I walk a few minutes to breathe and take a step back to re-collect my thoughts and refocus on what I am doing.” Not only is Craig staying on track with his step goal, he’s also make it easier to pay his bills each month! If he hits his daily Goals, he has enough money set aside to pay the bills by the time they’re due. “Working out is encouraging me to pay bills. I have nothing overdue but it helps push to me meet my goals each month.” Whether your goals are pragmatic or more of the pipe variety, by simply adding a fitness Rule in Qapital you can get to stepping, whatever it may be! We’re always looking to share stories from our customers! Want us to share your Savings Story? Email hello@qapital.com with the subject line ‘Savings Story’! <h2 class="h3">Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a class="btn" href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

Small steps for this man lead to big savings each month!

The winter holiday season is upon us! Stressed out about how much holiday cheer is going to cost you this year? Fret not! We’ve got a few holiday shopping tips to help you and your wallet survive all the meals, flights and gift-giving ahead.&nbsp;<h2>Spend money on experiences, not just things.</h2>&nbsp;Sure, a new game console or a pair of shoes are appealing, but when you’re thinking about gifts – for yourself or for someone else – remember the value of experiences, too. A ticket home to see Grandma could mean a lot more to you than an iPhone 15 down the line.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sometimes it’s more about what you spend your money on rather than how much you spend. Buy an experience you will remember, an experience you can share. Memories are one of the few gifts that never stop giving, and the winter holiday season is famous for them.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>Prepare yourself for unexpected holiday purchases.</h2>&nbsp;Even if you don’t have an emergency or rainy day fund yet, it’s good to plan for the unexpected. Overestimating what you’ll pay for dinners with friends and presents for your family can help keep you from running into the red every time you swipe your Qapital Visa® Debit Card.*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Some things are out of your control, for example, knowing exactly how much you’ll spend on that first night out at home with your best pals from high school or that spontaneous present you’ll buy your daughter when you see it in the store. Face the reality of holiday splurges! If you know you’re going to have hot chocolate every day it snows, then don’t lie to yourself and pretend you won’t buy one every morning. Budget it into your weekly spending.&nbsp;<h2>Think of spending on others as spending on yourself.</h2>&nbsp;As the saying goes, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” By that logic, every present you give to someone else is also a present you give yourself.&nbsp;&nbsp;Don’t buy into the “giving is a gift in itself” ideology? Well, when you think about it, gifts that are experiences are gifts to anyone who partakes in them – including and especially you. So you treat yourself when you treat your best friend to a cup of coffee or shell out half a month’s pay to fly home for the holidays!&nbsp;<h2>Choose debit over credit.</h2>If you already have a Qapital Visa® Debit Card, you know the benefits of choosing debit over credit (especially when your debit card is synced up with Qapital rules). You can spend less time worrying or feeling guilty about purchases, and more time enjoying yourself over the holidays.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you don’t have a Qapital Visa® Debit Card, what are you waiting for? They’re free with Complete and Premier membership, they’re sleek, and they come with our exclusive Spending Sweet Spot budgeting tool, which helps you stay within a weekly budget..&nbsp;<h2>Small indulgences can make the holidays feel decadent. Embrace them.</h2>&nbsp;Everyone gives in to their guilty pleasures some time or another – those small indulgences that you crave all year long, all week long, all day long. Giving in to what Behavioral Economist, Dan Ariely, refers to as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Qapital/videos/187292936616198">“what the hell effect”</a> is all too normal. Enjoy what you know you can’t resist, and if you treat yourself to something nice, let go of the guilt before it grips you. Never underestimate the power of little things over our happiness.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Happy holiday spending!&nbsp;*The Qapital Visa® Debit Card is issued by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC.Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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5 Holiday Shopping Tips To Get You Through Winter

This guest post is courtesy of Kassondra Cloos. <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/10/optimized-kassondra-cloos-camping-by-nick-cote-1-2.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/10/optimized-kassondra-cloos-camping-by-nick-cote-1-2.jpg" width="1200" height="767"></a> Photo by Nick Cote Becoming a freelancer is the dream for a lot of writers, who love the idea of trying to make it as their own boss. I first started thinking about making the leap in 2014 when I was a newspaper reporter and not making very much money. I considered quitting to waitress, travel, and pursue creating writing. With tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, though, I needed guaranteed income. But last year, while working as an editor for an outdoor industry news website—a dream job in itself—I became addicted to saving with the Qapital app, and I started thinking about it again as my savings grew. I had met lots of successful travel writers who told me going freelance was the best decision they’d ever made, and I started preparing to give it a shot. In December, sick of throwing away all my spare cash on student loan bills, I cleared out my checking and savings accounts to pay off my highest-interest loans. There was a moment of intense freedom, then a few weeks of living paycheck-to-paycheck while I rebuilt my safety net. I watched my spending closely, and I wanted to hold myself accountable for saving the money I’d no longer need for my loans. I found Qapital while Googling new savings accounts just after Christmas, and I opened an account immediately. I set up goals for student loans, quitting my job, and vacation, and a bunch of rules, like rounding up to the nearest $1 on every purchase, the 52-week rule (which saves $1 the first week then $2, then $3, and so on), and a guilty pleasure rule for withdrawing money from an ATM. At first, I saved maybe $20 or $30 a week while I recovered from clearing out my funds to triple digits. But it quickly became like a game, and I created more and more rules. Automatic transfers held me accountable to save the $250 a month I had been spending on the loan I’d paid off, putting it just out of my reach so I couldn’t spend it frivolously. I loved how quickly spare change added up, so I took it a step further and changed my $1 round-up rule to a $5 round-up rule. Saving with Qapital became addicting, and I’d check my account obsessively, every day, to see if I could round up a goal to a milestone by manually transferring an extra $5 or $10. In the spring, I started freelancing on the side as much as possible to build up my clips, establish relationships with publications I’d want to write for long-term, and save enough to quit. I created a new goal for taxes, for a third of what I made from assignments, and I put nearly all of the rest into other Qapital savings goals. Instead of spending my extra cash on eating out or new clothes, I funneled every extra penny into my Qapital savings. <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/10/optimized-img_722dc4a7220c-1-2.jpeg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/10/optimized-img_722dc4a7220c-1-2.jpeg" width="505" height="900"></a> Within just seven months, I saved over $9,000. A little more than half of that came from extra income outside of my regular job, and the rest was from filing away all the extra money I could. I used IFTTT, for example, to save $5 with one tap every time I avoided spending money on non-essential purchases. With a safety net I finally felt comfortable with, I put in my notice in late July, and started freelancing full-time in mid-September. It’s a little early to know how successful I’ll be in the long term, but I do know that if every month is like this one, I’ll be just fine. <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/10/kassondra-cloos-headshot-by-nick-cote-1.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/10/kassondra-cloos-headshot-by-nick-cote-1.jpg" width="1600" height="1112"></a> Photo by Nick Cote Kassondra Cloos is a freelance adventure travel and outdoor writer based in Boulder, Colorado. Follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/kassondracloos">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kassondracloos/">Instagram</a> at @kassondracloos, and find more of her work at <a href="http://kassondracloos.com/">kassondracloos.com</a>. <h2 class="h3">Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a class="btn" href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

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How Saving With Qapital Helped Me Quit My Job To Pursue My Dream

Qapital makes saving money easy, and doing it hands-free makes it even easier.&nbsp;Qapital + Siri means instant updates on your Qapital account balances whenever you want. It means easy-peasy, hands free transfers of money to your goals while you’re cooking dinner or riding the bus. You can ask Siri to check your balance, transfer funds to a goal, or show you how much you’ve saved so far toward that plane ticket to Portugal.&nbsp;Of course, Siri’s not the only way your iPhone and Qapital app work hand in hand… Don’t forget you can set up an Apple Health rule to link your fiscal habits and fitness routine.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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Hey Siri, Save $25 For Honeymoon

Written by George Friedman, CEO.At Qapital - we spend a lot of time thinking about people’s relationship with their money. About how the way people are wired affects the way we manage our money. And about how human nature shapes our financial decision-making (sometimes for the better, sometimes not).It’s why we design our products in tandem with Behavioral Economist, <a href="https://vimeo.com/226792730">Dan Ariely</a> – who helps us find ways to make the act of saving more successful. Like having people save for specific goals, instead of generic savings accounts. Or having people upload custom photos for their goals – because we know that when people can see what they want in front of them, they save 2x more.By combining behavioral economics and technology, we built an app that turned people into great savers by making saving easier and more motivating.Today, we’re taking that same philosophy a step further with the launch of “Qapital Spending” - a checking account designed to help people spend more intentionally, and reach their goals even faster.This means that Qapital is moving from a simple savings app, to a more holistic goal-focused personal finance platform. Or – in human speak – a new way to bank designed to help people put their money towards the stuff that matters most.Now, with the addition of Qapital Spending, users can better monitor and manage their weekly spending and savings habits in real-time. They can automatically puts a little away every time they swipe – making saving for their goals a daily, automatic habit. Qapital users even get helpful notifications about how much they’ve saved and track progress towards their goals. Just like traditional banks, Qapital lets people send paper checks, set up direct deposit, even earn interest on their account balances. But UNLIKE banks, Qapital has no monthly fees, no minimums, unlimited transfers and more. So basically – the stuff you need, without the stuff you don’t.It’s the next step in our effort to create a better banking experience. One that helps people not only manage -- but improve -- &nbsp;their financial lives. One that’s less frustrating, and more fulfilling. One that helps people get the most possible happiness out of their money.And the best part, is this is just the next step. Much more to come in the next year.<h2>Put money in its place</h2>Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

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The Inspiration for our New Product - Qapital Spending

Written by Carl Parson This week, Qapital met with Phillipe Casorla Sagot to hear about his Journeys around and across the globe. <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/06/phillipe-fjord.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/06/phillipe-fjord-1024x683.jpg" width="1024" height="683"></a> Wednesday noon, and that Swedish sun seemed to have finally come out for the summer. Everyone at our Stockholm office were drawn closer to the windows, excited like magnets. But the sun wasn’t the only thing to excite me. Today, I was going to interview one of our super-savers, Phillipe Sagot. “The world is big, but you run into people you know everywhere” Maybe I shouldn’t have been very surprised right then -- but I was. When Phillipe came into the office, he immediately walked up to two of my co-workers. “Hey, what’s up?” he said. Apparently, Phillipe knew not only one, but two people working at Qapital. I asked them all if this meant they had staged this whole meeting. “No”, they all smiled. And Phillipe said, “I guess the world is big, but you still run into people you know everywhere.” We found a quiet little room. I asked if it’s okay to record, then I opened the shades to let the summer light in. “You’re originally from Costa Rica” I asked. “What brings you to this little city of ours?” “Work. And, well, I guess I like to travel around. I just came from Norway, actually. It was amazing. The Fjords -- wow.” “Wow, yes -- those fjords have quite a reputation” I replied (But didn’t reveal how badly I’ve wanted to go there lately.) “The only thing with Norway was how expensive it was.”, Phillipe continued. “I got some salmon and a beer, and it cost me $60! I guess you gotta pay for those pretty views” I tried some type of clever reply to this, and said, “I guess it’s a good thing you’re saving with Qapital.” He laughed, looked at his phone, and agreed. “I’ve started saving for a trip to Tokyo. It’s a fascinating place.” “I remember downloading Qapital like two years ago. I didn’t use it at first. But I came back to it, and thought, ‘why not’, you know?” This was like six months ago. Now I’ve saved up $1900.” <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/07/Skärmavbild-2017-07-07-kl.-16.10.28.png"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/07/Skärmavbild-2017-07-07-kl.-16.10.28.png" width="954" height="720"></a> “What are you saving for?” “I want to go to Tokyo. I went there two years ago. Ever since, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I just want to go back. And this is actually the first time I save for a trip in advance. I used to put everything on my credit card, then payed for it afterwards… which kind of wasn’t the greatest.” “So when do you think you’ll go?” “Well, I started saving in December. I figure it’ll take me a few more months. I’d like to go in the winter. But I don’t think I’ll stay in Tokyo all the time. This is the advice I give to some: If you’re down to travel a bit outside the city, you should go to Kyoto. It used to be the capital -- and you can feel it. It has a lot of tradition.” “Tell me more about that.” “Tokyo is crazier. The pace is crazy. It’s crowded -- but not in a bad way. Kyoto is calmer. You can go to the temples that are so unique to Japanese culture. You can sit down with the old ladies wearing traditional sandals and garments. And the tables there are only like four inches high. It’s really, really different. I love it.” “I can’t wait to reach my goal.” I gave Phillipe a Qapital t-shirt and mug, and said, “It’s not much, but I wanted to give you something to show how happy Qapital is that you came over for this interview.” and he gave me a polite smile. “I love them”, he said. “One last question”, I asked. “Do you think Qapital has made you a better saver?” “Well, before I didn’t save at all. So definitely. I rather not put the big travel expenses on credit anymore. It just feels better if I have the money I’m spending. I gotta say, I’m happy to save. I can’t wait till I have reached my goal.” <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/06/4.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/06/4-1024x919.jpg" width="1024" height="919"></a> <h2 class="h3">Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a class="btn" href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

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A Saver’s Journey Around the World

<a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/05/laura.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/05/laura-240x300.jpg" width="240" height="300"></a> Written by Laura Hager, Blogger For years, I had been dreaming about my wedding. I had been pinning pictures of pretty venues, gorgeous dresses, and color palettes to my Pinterest board long before I was engaged. I had so many ideas saved up! Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled when my boyfriend got down on one knee and asked me the question. We were in a newly engaged, dreamlike state until we realized that we had no way to pay for our wedding. How had I scrolled through endless wedding Pinterest boards and never thought of how I was going to pay for it?! After a few days of trying to coming up with schemes to earn money, it hit me. I could create a new goal on my Qapital app! I had my Qapital rules saving my money into two goals already, so I knew that this type of savings plan was perfect for me! I logged into my app and created a new goal and titled it "My Wedding." I knew I need to add money to that goal as soon as possible, so I created two rules. The first adds a certain amount into the goal every Sunday and the second rounds up every purchase to $3. What I love about Qapital is that I just have to create the rules and let the app do its thing. I don't have to think about my savings goals all day. My handy app is constantly working towards my savings goals for me, even when I forgot. Something else I love about Qapital is the automatic overdraft protection. Overdraft fees are the worst! The app helps by postponing the transfers until the withdraw account is ready to go. Plus, it holds the transfer amount and remembers what it was going to transfer so no saving rules get skipped! In addition to the rules I created, I started manually transferring money into my wedding savings goal. If I decide to make coffee at home instead of hitting up the closest coffee shop, I transfer the $4 I would have spent into the app. If I decided to check out a book at my library instead of purchasing a new one, I move the amount I didn't spend over to Qapital. It's so easy to manually transfer a specific amount of money. And in only a week of this new habit, I saved $50 from packing lunches and brewing my own coffee. Using Qapital to save for my wedding has relieved a lot of stress! It's also helping me become more aware of my spending habits and helping me become a better saver! Do you have a wedding coming up? Let me know which saving rules are helping you get to your dream wedding goals! Laura Hager lives in Phoenix, AZ with her fiancé and their small dog, Astro. She runs a blog called Laurel and Fern. She loves scrapbooking, baking, reading, and all things creative. Her website is <a href="http://laurelandfern.com/">www.laurelandfern.com</a> and her Instagram is <a href="https://www.instagram.com/laura_hager/">@laura_hager</a>. <h2 class="h3">Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a class="btn" href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

How I Saved for My Wedding Making My Lunch and Using the Qapital App

<a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/04/lucy.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/04/lucy-240x300.jpg" width="240" height="300"></a> Written by Lucy Ross, Editor in Chief at <a href="https://likeabossgirls.com">Likeabossgirls</a> You know that feeling on the first chilly day of the season when you reach into the pockets of the coat you haven’t worn in months and you realize you are now holding a $5 bill? Yeah, I don’t know about you but I get pretty jazzed about that. Fancy latte and a muffin, here I come! So imagine that feeling times 200. Literally. That’s how I felt when I went to check my Qapital app as I hopped on a plane to Budapest and found $951.68 saved and ready for spending on fun things. I had just set it up 6 months earlier! LET’S START AT THE BEGINNING Ok, let me explain. In August 2016 I decided I wanted to finally take this idea of a European springtime travel sesh out of my head and into action. I’m a digital nomad--a.k.a. I get to work from my laptop, so wherever I have a wifi connection and one of those aforementioned lattes, then I am good to go! For me it was just a matter of logistics: where will I go, where will I live, and how long will I be there. And of course, intertwined with each question: how much moolah will I need to cover my expenses and then some. I did some digging on this fantastic site where digital nomads rate cities based on different factors that affect our livelihood and quality of living called NomadList.com. I found that Budapest and Prague met my requirements: <ul> 	<li>High-speed internet that is easily accessible (i.e., complimentary fast wifi at all cafes)</li> 	<li>Friendly toward foreigners</li> 	<li>At least of a third of the population knows English</li> 	<li>Safe for a solo lady traveller</li> 	<li>Low cost of living</li> </ul> BUDGETING FOR A TRIP Once I nailed down the locations, it was on to planning out my finances. I calculated my average monthly expenses for the last year in the U.S. and then told myself Lucy, your monthly expenses for this 2 month European jaunt need to be equal or less than that! So off I went finding airbnbs and flights that were in the budget. Easy enough. But I know myself and know that if I have an opportunity to go to some cool cultural event (like the Hungarian Folk Dance concert I just went to last night) then I want to be able to go do those things guilt-free… “When in Rome...” right?! I knew I wanted to set up a savings plan for the “little luxuries.” Within that day, I learned about Qapital (gotta love targeted Instagram posts!). HELLO EASIEST SAVINGS APP EVER, NICE TO MEET YOU The premise is simple: it’s too hard to save AFTER you’ve spent money. So why not just save while you spend. And make it automatic! I downloaded the app and within 2 minutes I had set up rules for reaching my savings goal of $1000 (=$500 for each month I’m there) for the little luxuries of my 60-Day European Adventure. I had 3 “rules” for saving that I set up in the app: <ol> 	<li>A Round-Up Rule: Every time I made a purchase using one of my connected cards, Qapital would round up to the nearest second dollar and put that difference in my savings</li> 	<li>A Spend Less Rule: For every week I spent less than $15 at Panera Bread (where I have a bit of an addiction!), then the difference is saved in my account</li> 	<li>A Steps Rule: Every day I walked 10,000 steps or more, 5 buckaroonies get transferred to my savings (Yay health! Yay savings!).</li> </ol> Here are screenshots of the my rules and activity for a few days in March: <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/04/qapital_rules.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2017/04/qapital_rules-192x300.jpg" width="192" height="300"></a> So that was August 19th when I set up those rules. On April 3rd, as I boarded the flight for my first leg of my journey, I wanted to see how my progress was looking (FYI, they also sent me monthly reports of how close I was to my goal so I could adjust or add rules whenever I wanted). And what did just six-and-a-half months of mindless automatic saving have in store for my future little luxuries? $951.68! Not bad for a mere 2 minutes of effort setting up savings “rules” back in August! Concerts, fancy dinners, and facials, here I come! I guess what I’m saying is two-fold: Saving is smart. But making saving AUTOMATIC is wise. Do both. It’s actually kinda fun. Lucy Ross is a Web Design, Videographer &amp;  is the Editor In Chief at <a href="https://likeabossgirls.com">Likeabossgirls</a>. <h2 class="h3">Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a class="btn" href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

How I Saved $951.68 for my European Adventure with 2 minutes of Minimal Effort

Now that the holidays have almost passed, the New Year looms ahead. What financial goals did you meet this year? Which ones could you have stayed better on top of?&nbsp;We all had some cash setbacks in 2016, and next year we vow to be ahead of the game – but how? Why not take the “you” out of the equation, and automate your deposits? &nbsp;Our 52 Week Challenge Rule can help you do just that. The first week, you’ll save $1. The second, $2. Third, $3 and so on. Continue to the end of the year, and you’ll have stashed away $1378. That’s quite impressive, and can get you a lot of goods.&nbsp;To motivate you, we’ve made a list of 5 things you could buy with those savings:&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>A trip&nbsp;to Hawaii</h2>We’re not joking. The off-season runs between October and mid-November, and toward the end of February through March. There might be some early morning rain, but otherwise you won’t miss much, unless you’re an avid surfer (but hey – how about those rainbows?). Plane tickets during those times average in around $380 (round trip, no less! That is a steal!), which would leave you with enough money to take the time off work, go on a volcano tour of the big island, or have a biking or snorkeling adventure.&nbsp;<h2>A 7-Day Western Caribbean Cruise</h2>Norwegian Cruise Lines offers a <a href="https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-western-caribbean-from-miami-GETAWAY7MIARTBBPICMACZMMIA?cruiseTour=1&amp;autoPopulate=f&amp;cruiseHotel=1&amp;cruise=1&amp;numberOfGuests=4294953450&amp;pageSize=200&amp;sortBy=Featured&amp;from=resultPage&amp;state=null&amp;currentPage=1&amp;cruiseHotelAir=1&amp;&amp;itineraryCode=GETAWAY7MIARTBBPICMACZMMIA">7-day cruise</a> for $999. Leaving out of Miami, you’ll hit up Roatan, Bay Islands (Honduras), Harvest Caye (Belize), Costa Maya and Cozumel (Mexico). Double bonus: each day you’ll have around 7 hours to explore the different locations. What will you do with the extra cash? Visit some Mayan ruins, kayak, or simply soak up the Caribbean sun? It’s your cruise; do you!&nbsp;Not looking to get away? Not to worry – there is plenty of fun to be had&nbsp;if you keep it closer to home.&nbsp;<h2>Festival Tickets</h2>Always dreamt of a fun festival road trip? Crossing the highways with some of your closest friends, taking turns sleeping in the back of the car, and stopping at historic sights along the way? Once you hit your destination – time. to. dance. Tickets to Bonnaroo are starting around $340 (for a full festival pass), Lollapalooza beginning $365, and Coachella around $540. With all that extra cash, you won’t have to worry about gas money, pitching in for an AirBnB, or splurging at the merch tables. I think this is where we scream YOLO.&nbsp;<h2>Disney World 4 Day Park Tickets</h2>Disney&nbsp;offers specials each year, and typically around this time you can get 4-day park tickets (allowing you to visit a different park each day) for around $300 per adult and $250 per child. There’s truly something for everyone – animal lovers, speedy roller coasters, slower ones for the more faint of folk, and water parks to boot. If you’ve never experienced the magic and wonder (that all ages can enjoy) at the Happiest Place on Earth –&nbsp;you must!&nbsp;<h2>Gadgets</h2>Everyone loves the newest tech toys, and with the raising costs (and constant new releases) they’ve been pretty hard to come by. Luckily, there have been some very solid rumors flying around that Apple will drop the prices of the new MacBook Pro toward the end of 2017. That’s the perfect time to get it, as you’ll have saved up $1378. Toss in a Weekly Set &amp; Forget Rule for a small amount each week, and you’ll have more than saved up for that new shiny computer!&nbsp;Or, skip the computer altogether, and purchase a new phone! Everyone loves a new phone (and all its accessories)! The world is your OS oyster!&nbsp;Hopefully this has&nbsp;sparked some drive in you to get saving in 2017! The 52 Week Challenge truly makes it so easy. Once it’s set up, the work is done for you. And by the end of next year, you could have one of these things! Or pay off a large sum of school or credit debt. If anything, $1378 is always a nice nest egg to fall back on. You can do it! You’ve got 2 days to start that resolution right.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

What You Can Buy With $1378, and How You Can Get There

Recently, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with lifestyle blogger and fashionista Jules Denby (@julesdenby) to go in-depth about her passions, social media presence, and new addition to her family. Witty and real, Jules has created her completely unique,&nbsp;aesthetically-comforting and hilarious <a href="https://www.instagram.com/julesdenby/">Instagram feed</a>. For over an hour, we gabbed about wanderlust, the perfectly curated Instagram, and the honesty and bluntness of Snapchat. Laughed about the intricacies and trials of motherhood, the reality of balancing life and work, and appreciating the humor and happiness within it all. &nbsp;<a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/09/screen-shot-2016-09-21-at-75225-am.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/09/screen-shot-2016-09-21-at-75225-am-300x300.jpg" width="300" height="300"></a> "You feel like you want to do all different kinds of things, but I notice people who stick to one theme...do way better. Fashion is - foremost - what I've done."Jules has worked in the fashion industry most of her life – her first job being at a clothing store, as a stylist at Madewell, and now as a fashion-guru on the 'Gram. "I don't walk around in heels." she says. "I am wearing exactly what I photograph in. The leather jacket with the cutoffs and Converse."<a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/09/IMG_9013.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/09/IMG_9013-254x300.jpg" width="254" height="300"></a> @julesdenby wearing @urbanoutfitters, @madewell, and @levis. So you'd think with Qapital, she'd&nbsp;be saving up for her own boutique, right? Wrong! Instead, her sights are set on a flower truck. She tells a beautiful story, of getting out of New York for a while to her family's home in New Hampshire. Driving through the East Coast looking for a catalog company, getting lost with her sister, and wandering into a coffee shop. The two of them were hired together on the spot, and worked there through the fall. It's there&nbsp;she meets "Paul." She says, upon seeing him, "I'm going to marry that man." Fast forward two years,&nbsp;and Jules is planning their wedding. She speaks with <a href="http://www.ehfloral.com/">Emily Herzig</a> regarding the flowers for the table pieces, and immediately falls in love.<a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/09/screen-shot-2016-09-19-at-81245-am.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/09/screen-shot-2016-09-19-at-81245-am-300x300.jpg" width="300" height="300"></a> "I needed fresh flowers in my house every day. Peony season comes around and I'm like, the first in line at Whole Foods. I was totally obsessed." If I learned anything about Jules in the hour and a half that we spoke, it's that she knows exactly who she is. And she knows what she wants, and wastes no time making it happen. So it's no surprise to hear, when she and her husband happened upon a flower farm in New Hampshire, she immediately wanted to make it happen for the two of them. After some discussion, and a surprise find on Instagram, she changes her focus to a truck. "With a farm, you're tied down. But with a [flower] truck, you can go anywhere, and do anything." So how is she reaching&nbsp;that Goal? With&nbsp;Qapital. The&nbsp;Guilty Pleasure Rule saves Jules&nbsp;money each time she purchases flowers at her local shop. And it&nbsp;also helps her set aside cash each time she stops for gas. It's the perfect combination for saving, and is inspirational in the process. So what had previously been a quick stop to fill up the car is now a reminder that she's funding her dreams. We're thrilled that she's chosen Qapital to help her reach her Goals. And we can't wait to watch as her dreams become a reality. <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/09/screen-shot-2016-09-21-at-75622-am.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2016/09/screen-shot-2016-09-21-at-75622-am-300x300.jpg" width="300" height="300"></a> If you'd like to follow Jules along the road to a flower truck, make sure to follow&nbsp;her Instagram and Snapchat!<h2>Put money in its place</h2>Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

Fashion and Flowers: How Jules Denby is Saving Toward Her Dreams

At Qapital, we’re all about automating finances to help you reach your goals. With our new <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/sneak-peek-meet-payday-divvy/">Payday Divvy</a> feature, you can automate payday and set the right amount aside for savings, investments, and everyday spending – the moment you get paid. And to boost your savings even further, our fun, creative Rules trigger smaller amounts of money that stack up in your Qapital savings account. They put you in control of how and when you save the extras.<h2>Here’s a quick guide: <img src="Rules_6_312c67a816.png" alt="Rules-6.png" width="251" height="252"></h2>&nbsp;Set and Forget: Just set the app to automatically deposit money into your Qapital savings account once a week. Start with just $10 a week and see if you even miss it. <img src="Rules_5_335bdc73e6.png" alt="Rules-5.png" width="251" height="252"> <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/save-your-change-round-up/">The Round Up Rule</a>: Our most popular rule. Qapital users save an average of $44 a month, just by rounding up their change. Round up your change to the nearest $2 or $3 and watch it add up faster. <img src="Rules_2_1144c6b3c5.png" alt="Rules-2.png" width="252" height="252"> The Guilty Pleasure Rule: We all need our morning coffee. Don’t cut it out, activate the Guilty Pleasure Rule and save money every time you buy your iced with skim or double shot of espresso. You can make any place a Guilty Pleasure – it’s up to you. <img src="Rules_7_08fd0628b3.png" alt="Rules-7.png" width="252" height="252"> The Spend Less Rule: Do you always spend $50 at the supermarket? Set the Spend Less rule and then spend $40 the next time you shop. Viola! That $10 is automatically deposited in your Qapital savings account. It pays to come in under budget. <img src="Rules_1_c610d04517.png" alt="Rules-1.png" width="251" height="252"> <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/qapital-freelancer-rule-taxes/">The Freelancer Rule</a>: This simple solution helps freelancers and independent workers stay on top of their taxes and avoid trouble with the IRS. The Rule automatically transfers a percentage of every deposit over $100 into your FDIC-insured Qapital account. <img src="Rules_a02f542c65.png" alt="Rules.png" width="251" height="252"> <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/qapital-52-week-challenge/">The 52 Week Rule</a>: What would you do with an extra $1,378 a year? Our 52 Week Rule automates the process of saving $1 on week one, $2 on week two, $3 on week three for an entire year. <img src="Rules_8_bb5fc4771d.png" alt="Rules-8.png" width="252" height="252"> <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/apple-health-rules-give-financial-rewards-physical-fitness/">Apple Health</a>: Tie your personal fitness goals to your financial goals. Reward yourself with a buck or two of savings every time you walk, bike or run. You’ll feel twice as good when you finish your workout. <img src="Rules_3_34de4f7848.png" alt="Rules-3.png" width="252" height="252"> <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/ifttt-rules-are-supercharging-your-savings/">IFTTT</a>: We’re the first personal finance app that let you save with IFTTT (If This Then That), the wondrous web service that’s been dubbed “digital duct tape.” IFTTT lets you link your Qapital account with many of your favorite mobile apps. You can save with a tweet, an Instagram post or when you hit your step goal with FitBit. Really! The ways to save with Qapital are truly limitless.&nbsp; <a href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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The Rules: How to Save Money with Qapital

Use Apple Health Rules to add more pep to your step! Keep yourself on track with both physical and financial fitness. If you’re anything like me, you’ll take any incentive you can get to help keep you on track with your fitness goals. Sound familiar? Then rejoice - our new <a href="https://www.apple.com/ios/health/">Apple Health</a> Rules are tailor-made for you! Whether you’re hitting the gym, hiking in the woods or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, now you can make it count in Qapital! Use your iPhone to automatically save money toward Goals when you reach your target in Apple Health for Walk or Run Distance, Steps and Workouts. The fitness targets and the amount you save when you reach them are, of course, completely customizable so you can adjust the Rules to your own personal needs. Reach your 10,000 step Goal every day thanks to some great lifehacks? Reward your consistency by chipping away at a big Goal $5 at a time! Trying to work out for an hour four days a week? Pitch in $20 to your vacation Goal when you do! Whatever gets you moving, you’ll be able to save money as you do it. And don’t forget to check out the IFTTT Channels for other fitness trackers like <a href="https://ifttt.com/nikeplus">Nike+</a>, <a href="https://ifttt.com/jawbone_up">UP by Jawbone</a>, <a href="https://ifttt.com/misfit">Misfit</a>, and <a href="https://ifttt.com/fitbit">FitBit</a> if you’re looking for more ways to link your physical fitness goals with your financial wellness! &nbsp;<h3>How to set up Apple Health Rules in Qapital</h3> &nbsp;<ul><li>Open the app and tap the + button in the top right-hand corner</li><li>Tap ‘New Rule’ then scroll down to the Apple Health banner and tap it</li><li>Follow the onscreen prompts to set up your personalized fitness Rule</li></ul> How do you use Qapital to help you reward yourself for meeting your fitness goals? Tell us on Twitter by tweeting to us <a href="https://twitter.com/qapitalapp">@Qapitalapp</a> and we'll share it with the rest of the Qapital community! &nbsp;<h2>Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

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Qapital + Apple Health Rules: Reward your fitness achievements!

<a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2023/02/09/americans-are-sticking-new-years-resolutions">About one-third of Americans</a> made a new year’s resolution in 2023. Among the top goals? Saving money.&nbsp;According to Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Psychology &amp; Behavioral Economics at Duke University, saving toward a goal is the key to successfully saving money. Dan told&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/540024/we-dont-save-for-the-future-because-we-lie-to-ourselves-this-app-might-change-that">Quartz</a> that people need to set money aside for a specific goal if they want to succeed in saving. You’re less likely to touch your saved money if you have an emotional connection to what you’re saving for.&nbsp;Whether you love new year’s resolutions or hate ’em, we’ve come up with five ways you can use Qapital to successfully save money for the things you want in 2024! You only need to call it a resolution if you want to.&nbsp;<h2>Save for taxes</h2>Use our automated Freelance Rule and never get caught short on your estimated taxes again. With just a few taps, you can set aside a percentage of each paycheck for Uncle Sam.&nbsp;<h2>Save while staying fit</h2>Qapital connects to Apple Health, FitBit and Strava. Each mile, step and target can translate into savings in your pocket.&nbsp;<h2>Save together using Dream Team</h2>If you have a goal you’d like to fund with a partner (like a down payment on a new home) you can invite them to join you. You can both track your progress, see how much money you need to reach your goal, and track how your money grows over time.&nbsp;<h2>Save while being unproductive</h2>Spending too much time on Facebook or Twitter? Take advantage of your social media addiction and save when you post on Facebook or when a user you follow tweets. It’s possible with Qapital’s IFTTT rules!&nbsp;<h2>Save $1,378</h2>Qapital uses automation to make the 52 Week Challenge a snap! During the first week of the challenge, you save $1. During the second week, you save $2, etc… At the end, you’ll have saved $1,378 without breaking a sweat. You can even reverse the challenge in the app!&nbsp;What are you planning on saving for in 2024? We’d love to hear about your financial goals for the year ahead. Tell us on Facebook or Instagram, tweet it to us @qapitalapp!&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

Save More Money in 2024 - With or Without a Resolution!

We know that Qapital is the best way to save money for all the things we want to do in life. But the things we buy are just a small part of&nbsp;the equation.&nbsp;Staying on top of expenses and taxes might not seem glamorous but it's those things that give us the feeling&nbsp;that we're taking control.Meet Randi Newton, a 37 year-old journalist and sober companion who works with addicts in recovery <a href="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2015/11/unnamed.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2015/11/unnamed.jpg" width="200" height="300"></a><h2>Tell us what you've been saving for.</h2>I’m always saving for something on Qapital. &nbsp;My top goals for now are saving for tax time, since I'm a freelancer and saving for a rainy day.&nbsp;<h2>How has saving money been difficult for you in the past?</h2>I’ve tried different ways of saving. I've&nbsp;literally put money in a jar, aka the piggy bank method. It was too accessible, sometimes I’d turn to the piggy bank rather than run to the ATM.&nbsp;<h2>What's your savings strategy with Qapital?</h2>I started saving small with Qapital. &nbsp;At first I used <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/save-money-qapital-rules/">Set and Forget</a> to deposit $5 into each goal. &nbsp;Then once the money started adding up, I upped it&nbsp;to&nbsp;$10 a day. Then I started using the Guilty Pleasure rule since Starbucks, Uber and Seamless Web are repeat offenders in my life. But I actually didn’t feel bad using them, knowing that money would be put into my account toward my Goal. It didn’t take long at all for me to start saving and notice my savings building up.&nbsp;<h2>Do you feel the money leaving your account?</h2>Sometimes I do feel it, but I know it’s going into another account toward my goals. And I know I can access if I need it, so no matter where the money ends up, I know it’s mine.&nbsp;<h2>Why do you think that the money advice you've been given in the past has let you down?</h2>Different strategies work for different people. As much as I’ve loved saving and it’s something I’ve had an interest in, I’m bored by conventional “how to save” articles. Qapital makes saving fun, it’s that simple. I attribute this to the variety of ways you can save money.&nbsp;I really like the&nbsp;colorful graphics on the Qapital app and the sense that I’m doing something to help my future.&nbsp;&nbsp;It makes it all easy to keep track of and fun.&nbsp;<h2>What are you saving for next?</h2>I’m always saving for something. &nbsp;I’m dreading tax time, but the <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/qapital-freelancer-rule-taxes/">Freelancer Rule</a> has made it a little more bearable.&nbsp;<h2>Any advice for new users?&nbsp;</h2>Saving money is something that a lot of people make excuses for being they “can’t afford to do.” Qapital takes&nbsp;the&nbsp;daunting thought of saving and turn it into something you might actually enjoy doing. No amount you try to save is too small, because it all really adds up over time. &nbsp;I say start saving slowly and small if you’re intimidated, then after you see the results, push yourself to save more. The person it benefits the most is you.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

Savings Stories: "Qapital makes saving money fun"

The leaves have only just begun to fall — is it too early to think about holiday shopping?&nbsp;Before you groan, “It’s not even Halloween yet!” think about this: If you start saving for those holiday gifts now, you can end 2023 in the black, without adding a sleigh-full of credit card debt.&nbsp;According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lendingtree.com/credit-cards/study/holiday-debt/">LendingTree's holiday debt survey</a>, 35% of Americans took on yuletide debt in 2022. The average debt taken on reached $1,549, most said they didn’t intend to take on any debt, and more than 1 in 3 said their debt would take at least five months to pay off.&nbsp;Set a new savings goal in Qapital now and you’ll have enough money to pay cash for your holiday presents. Now that’s a reason for good cheer.&nbsp;Here are five ways to grow your holiday savings without spending all your gingerbread:&nbsp;<h2>Easy Does It</h2>Use the Set and Forget Rule to automatically put aside $50 every two weeks and you’ll have $200 by December 1. Add the Round Up Rule to round-up your change and you can add about $80 to that.&nbsp;<h2>Seasons Tweetings</h2>Social media savvy? Use our IFTTT rules to trigger savings every time you post on Facebook or when a user of your choice tweets. Example: Program Qapital to save $2 every time you post to Facebook. If you post 20 times a week for eight weeks, you’ll have $320 in time for holiday shopping.&nbsp;<h2>Climb the Chimney</h2>Use Apple Health to tie your fitness goals to your holiday shopping goals. Try saving $3 for every mile you walk for the next eight weeks. If you walk 2 miles a day, you’ll have $336 in your pocket — plus you’ll look great in that sweater your grandma always knits you.&nbsp;<h2>Slim down, Santa</h2>If you always end up spending more than you want to at your favorite lunch place, use the Spend Less rule. Set a budget of $20 (or whatever you find yourself normally spending) and every time you come in under that amount, the change goes straight into your holiday savings goal.&nbsp;<h2>Best holiday ever</h2>Want to get a big head start on Christmas 2024? Put the 52 Week Rule in place and you’ll have $1,378 by this time next year. That’s enough for plane tickets home, presents and even something nice for you. C’mon, you deserve it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

5 Ways to Save Money For Holiday Gifts with Qapital

Hey, freelancer! Congratulations on taking the world by storm and deciding that you hold the key to your professional destiny.&nbsp;At Qapital, we know that money, whether you’re making it or saving it, is an everyday issue. We created&nbsp;<a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/budget-instantly-with-payday-divvy/">Payday Divvy</a> and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/qapital-freelancer-rule-taxes/">Freelance rule</a> to help you put aside money for taxes, but there’s so much more to the app that can make your life as a freelancer better.&nbsp;Once you sign up for Qapital and link your checking account and credit cards, you can start saving while you’re spending money and time growing your business — and living your life.Here are four ways you can use Qapital to stay both independent and wealthy while you’re freelancing:&nbsp;<h2>Save your change</h2>When you’re freelancing, there’s no supply closet or in-office expense account. So whether you’re picking up supplies for a presentation or grabbing a snack at the airport on the way to a meeting, use the Round Up rule to save your change toward your goal every time you swipe your card at the register.&nbsp;<h2>Cash in on your coffee</h2>Personal finance experts are always telling you to stop buying coffee in the morning if you want to save money. We disagree — we need our coffee. Get the most out of each double shot of espresso, latte, red eye, or plain cup of joe by setting your favorite coffee shop as your Guilty Pleasure. That way, you’re saving for something special every time you caffeinate.&nbsp;<h2>Power your walk</h2>Connect Qapital to Fitbit through our IFTTT rules, set the Fitbit rule, and you can save every time you reach your daily step goal. That includes pacing the carpet brainstorming new ideas, taking the stairs instead of an elevator or parking your car at the farthest spot in the lot to get those extra steps in.&nbsp;<h2>Sell and Save</h2>Speaking of our IFTTT rules, put money aside when you make a sale. Connect Qapital with Square and your sales become personal. Simultaneously achieve your professional and personal goals – how’s that for efficiency!&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

Freelancers: How to Use Qapital to Save Money

Caught short paying the IRS? Never get blindsided by taxes again.&nbsp; Qapital, the banking app that lets you save according to you everyday habits, now has a new functionality that lets you automatically put aside money for your annual or quarterly estimated taxes without breaking a sweat. We call it the Freelancer Rule. Here’s the thing. &nbsp;Life as a freelancer can be pretty great. You're your own boss. The hours are flexible. And best of all, relief from (most) office politics. The downside? Taxes. If you're a freelancer, there's nothing worse&nbsp;than an unexpected bill from the IRS. A better tax solution for an evolving workforce The American workforce is changing. By 2020, independent contractors will comprise 40% of the workforce by, according to a recent study by <a href="http://http-download.intuit.com/http.intuit/CMO/intuit/futureofsmallbusiness/intuit_2020_report.pdf">Intuit</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/07/opinion/help-for-the-way-we-work-now.html?_r=0">New York Times</a>, the self-employed economy, approximately 53 million Americans, is being fueled by young professionals. In the U.S., 38% of Americans under the age of 35 presently work as freelancers.&nbsp; At Qapital, we believe this growing workforce deserves a better way to &nbsp;manage the responsibility that comes with being part of the freelance economy. The Freelancer Rule is&nbsp;innovative and mobile to align with the we work now. How the Freelancer Rule Works Here’s how our &nbsp;simple solution helps freelancers and independent workers stay on top of their taxes and avoid trouble with the IRS. 1. Connect your regular bank. Download the Qapital app and connect your checking account to an FDIC-insured Qapital account. We integrate with nearly 20,000 banks in the U.S. 2. Set a percentage.&nbsp;Choose the income percentage you’d like to set aside. For example, if you want&nbsp;to put aside a third of your income for your taxes, set the Freelancer Rule to 30%.&nbsp; 3.&nbsp;Sit back and relax. Qapital's free app will automatically transfer that amount out of every deposit over $100 into your FDIC-insured Qapital account. 4. When you're ready to pay your taxes. Simply transfer that money back into your checking account to pay the IRS.&nbsp;Need to take it out before? You have full access to your Qapital account, whenever you need it. Try Qapital Whether you work with an accountant or file yourself, the Freelancer Rule will become the easiest part of your life as an independent contractor. &nbsp;<h2>Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a> Already use Qapital? Click <a href="http://get.qapital.com/m/0TmefcXrRm">here</a> to set up the Freelancer Rule.

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Freelancers Rule: Qapital Makes Saving for Taxes Automatic (Finally!)

Trying to save your change? Don't let it&nbsp;gather dust in a jar, put those pennies and nickels to work. It's easy to funnel your those coins&nbsp;toward your Goal&nbsp;with the Round Up Rule. Fact: Qapital users save $44 a month just by rounding up their change. Here's how the Round Up Rule&nbsp;works:&nbsp;We round up each of your transactions to the nearest dollar and put the change into your FDIC insured Qapital account. Simply connect your&nbsp;checking account and bank-issued credit cards, and set your&nbsp;savings&nbsp;Goal. Here are four easy strategies to get you started: Start small&nbsp;Set the Round Up Rule to round up your change to the nearest dollar. Check your Qapital account in a year and you'll save $528. Dial it up&nbsp;Feeling no pain? Try setting the Round Up Rule to round up your&nbsp;change to the nearest $2 or $3 and transform those coins into green. Combine and conquer&nbsp;Add the Set and Forget Rule to your save&nbsp;your&nbsp;change strategy&nbsp;to grow&nbsp;some serious stacks. Start small and schedule a $5 automated weekly transfer and see how it feels. All Together Now&nbsp;Saving for a bachelor party or girls-only weekend? Create a Shared Goal and everyone's loose change will go to fund a fantastic&nbsp;weekend. (Don't worry, your fellow savers can only see activities around your&nbsp;Shared Goal, they won't see your personal savings profile or accounts). &nbsp;<h2>Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

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The Round Up Rule: Save Your Change, Watch it Grow

Trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle is a lot like saving money. It can feel thankless sometimes.&nbsp;We do the work day in and day out but it’s tough when we don’t see results right away. We know we’ll look and feel better in six months, but dang if it doesn’t feel like we’ve been on that treadmill for years and our jeans still fit the same. Same with saving money — we know we’ll get to our savings goals if we just keep plugging away but it can seem like a lot of effort for a small result.&nbsp;Some days, we need incentive to put on our sneakers or choose a veggie burger over a cheeseburger. It’s easier to run toward something — like a new wardrobe or a great new set of headphones — when you’re excited to get there.&nbsp;Here are 4 ways that Qapital’s Rules can help you kickstart your healthy lifestyle:&nbsp;<h2>Step it up with Apple Health</h2>We’ve got the Apple Health app built in. Select Apple Health from our Rules and tap in how much you want to save for every mile you walk. Reward yourself with $3 every time you hit your 10,000 steps and you’ll have enough money saved for those new running shoes in a matter of weeks.&nbsp;<h2>Slim down your grocery list</h2>Trying to resist those last-minute impulse buys at the checkout counter? Use the Spend Less Rule at your favorite grocery store and every time you come in under budget, you save the difference.&nbsp;<h2>Reward Yourself for Eating Healthy</h2>Will you choose to buy a salad today instead of a burrito? Swipe your card, use the Round Up Rule, and reward yourself with a few bucks at the register.&nbsp;<h2>Fine Yourself for Eating Not-So-Healthy</h2>Sometimes you need that burrito. Designate that delicious Mexican restaurant as a Guilty Pleasure and fine yourself $5 for indulging. Add some extra guac, you earned it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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4 Ways to Boost Healthy Savings + Healthy Lifestyle

We know how important your financial goals are to your future, and we want to make your journey reaching them as smooth as possible.&nbsp;When you can’t reach a finish line overnight — especially for those big goals like saving for retirement, paying off student debt, buying a new car, or putting a down payment on that dream cabin — it’s not always easy to stay motivated.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/10/progress-goals#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%94%20If%20you%20are%20trying,by%20the%20American%20Psychological%20Association.">Studies show</a> that monitoring the progress you make toward your goals increases your chance of achieving them. But it’s not always easy to keep track of the headway you’re making, so we’re here to help.&nbsp;With our Weekly Insights feature, you can see your spending and saving highlights from the week. You may discover ways to tweak your spending and saving to help achieve your goals faster. Or you may just give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.&nbsp;Your personal Weekly Insights will automatically pop up in the app at the end of every week. At a glance you can feel good about all that you’ve accomplished with Qapital for the week and catch any giant red flags — say, if you’re spending more money at your favorite vendor than you’d like to.&nbsp;It’s motivating to know where you’re at, and whether you think you had a fabulous week or not, you can always learn something that makes you more prepared for the future.&nbsp;Keep your spending habits in check, adjust your rules when you need to, tweak your budget, and think about whether you prioritize and spend your money on things that are important to you.&nbsp;Of course, the more you use Qapital, the more insights you have at your fingertips! If you use Qapital Spending, your Qapital Visa® Debit Card* can tell you exactly where you’re at with saving and spending any day, anytime.&nbsp;Don’t have a Qapital Spending account? Sign up today in-app, and get a whole new view of your personal finances. The more you know, the more you can do to reach your goals.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**The Qapital Visa® Debit Card is issued by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC.Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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Recap Your Week At A Glance With Qapital Weekly Insights

When was the last time you checked in on your budget? If it’s been a minute since you’ve thought about your spending plan or you’re not feeling in control of your money at the moment, it might be time to make some adjustments. Life happens! And when things change, it’s perfectly normal to give your budget a tune-up. So how do you know when it’s time to hit refresh.<h2>You have to spend more on non-negotiables because of inflation.</h2>Are some of your bills – like rent, groceries, or fuel – more expensive than they used to be? It’s no secret that inflation has been tough on everyone’s wallet. Inflation reached 8.3% in April 2022, which means a basket of goods that cost $100 in April 2021 costs an average of $108.30 in April 2022. So, a budget that was a perfect fit a few months ago may not be working today.<h2>You tend to run out of cash between paychecks.</h2>Do you find yourself constantly transferring money from your savings account to your checking account, spending more than you earn, or losing track of the rest of your paycheck after bills get paid? It could mean that your current budget isn’t working.<h2>You had to cover unexpected expenses.</h2>Emergencies or unexpected income loss can turn any good budget upside down. You might have needed to use cash from your emergency fund or rely on credit cards more than usual to get by. If you’re looking to replenish those funds or pay down that debt, working those goals into your regular budget can make catching up much less stressful.<h2>You have new priorities or routines.</h2>Ready to save to buy a house, add to your family, or bump up contributions to your retirement fund? Or maybe your daily routine has shifted, and your budget doesn’t reflect that yet. For example, you could be back to working in an office and eating more lunches out. When you create a plan with these changes in mind, it can help you enjoy spending on things that matter most to you and have a strategy for those long-term goals.&nbsp;<h2>You got a windfall and want to use it wisely.</h2>Did you recently get a raise, a bonus, a tax refund, or a new job? It’s a great time to evaluate your budget to make sure you’re still hitting your goals and getting ahead of lifestyle creep. (Lifestyle creep, when a higher income gradually leads to increased discretionary spending, can eat away at your newfound gains.)<h2>Do any of these sound familiar?</h2>It’s time for a good old-fashioned reset. Take a look at your bank statements from the last several months. Have you noticed any new trends and patterns? While we love automation here at Qapital, (it’s our not-so-secret weapon that helps our users save so much money), it’s still important to manually check on your money.&nbsp; And if you’re looking for a way to make budgeting easier, we have something for that. <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/weekly-spending-target-budget/">Spending Sweet Spot</a> guides you to create a weekly budget that fits your spending habits and income. It notifies you about your progress throughout the week, and you can adjust your budget amount at any time as you figure out what fits you best. When you pair Spending Sweet Spot with the <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/meet-the-new-improved-qapital-visa-debit-card/">Qapital Visa® Debit Card</a>*, you’ll get a powerful duo that will help you keep track of where your money goes. Anytime you use your Qapital Visa® Debit Card with Spending Sweet Spot, you’ll get real-time alerts about how much money you’ve spent and how much you have left for the week. You can set up your Spending Sweet Spot by tapping your Spending Account in the “My Accounts” section. The Qapital Visa® Debit Card and Spending Sweet Spot are exclusively available for Complete and Premier members.Ready to build a better budget? Log in to your Qapital account and get your Qapital Visa® Debit Card today.&nbsp;&nbsp;*The Qapital Visa® Debit Card is issued by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC.Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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5 Reasons to Rethink Your Budget

2020 was… a year. A fresh start for 2021 is looking quite appealing. A <a href="https://people.com/human-interest/most-americans-are-ditching-traditional-new-years-resolutions-for-2021-survey-finds/">recent survey</a> asked 2,000 Americans about their plans for the new year in light of the stress from 2020 and found that they’re looking to take control of their finances – to save money for future expenses (62%), better budget their finances (54%), and pay down debt (49%).&nbsp; There’s never been a better time, or tool, to help with your money goals. “We live in a world that makes it easy to spend without thinking, and few of us have the time or tools to consider the <a href="https://vimeo.com/226792730">opportunity cost</a> of those financial decisions,” says our Chief Behavioral Economist, Dan Ariely. “Qapital aims to make saving as easy as spending, and to incentivize good behavior and feelings when it comes to money.” Harnessing behavioral science, Qapital is about more than just taking charge of your money – it’s your plan for money happiness. You start planning for money happiness by setting specific Goals. You don’t save for the sake of saving, rather you choose meaningful Goals that we’ll help you commit to. You’ll save for things like an emergency fund, new laptop or post-pandemic vacation. And if you’re dreaming big and long-term – like a down payment or college fund – you can invest in one of our pre-built portfolios that are ideal for budding investors. <img src="Home_7a0b03958e.png" alt="Home.png" width="1200" height="702"> The smart part? It all happens automatically thanks to our fresh take on budgeting automation – Payday Divvy – plus fun automated everyday Rules you can layer on top of it. With <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/sneak-peek-meet-payday-divvy/">Payday Divvy</a>, you decide how much you want to allocate to your Goals, and what to set aside for bills. Then, every time you get paid, your money flows where it’s needed – no more juggling funds from account to account every other day. <img src="Payday_Divvy_81fa21d47d.png" alt="Payday Divvy.png" width="1200" height="702"> Plus you can throw a bunch of <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/save-money-qapital-rules/">Rules</a> – on top of Payday Divvy – into the mix. <img src="Rules_b6efe51023.png" alt="Rules.png" width="1200" height="702"> The money that’s left after your Payday Divvy allocation and triggered Rules is yours to use at your discretion – but if you need a helping hand, sign up for our <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/meet-the-new-improved-qapital-visa-debit-card/">Qapital Visa® Debit Card</a> and <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/weekly-spending-target-budget/">Spending Sweet Spot</a> will help you track how you’re spending now, so you can spend happier in the future. <img src="Spending_0c3e7b0880.png" alt="Spending.png" width="1200" height="702"> And because sometimes money’s a team game, Qapital <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/sneak-peek-meet-dream-team/">Dream Team</a>™ makes it easy to couple up and conquer your Goals together. Designed for collaboration, Dream Team gives couples the tools to talk about, manage and make decisions about their finances – all without giving up their individual accounts. <img src="Dream_Team_80bd68f102.png" alt="Dream Team.png" width="1200" height="701"> Our members have already saved more than $1 billion toward 3 million Goals and they’ve given the app more than 100,000 5-star store reviews. Find your money happiness with Qapital – join today!&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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Achieve Your 2021 Money Goals with Qapital

We’ve harnessed behavioral science to revolutionize the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/52-week-money-challenge#adjust-the-52-week-challenge-to-fit-your-needs">52-week money challenge</a>.&nbsp; The 52-week money challenge is a strategy that helps you save nearly $1,400 over the course of a year. With the most popular version, you save $1 on the first week and work your way to saving $52 on the last week. This adds up to $1,378 for the year! The behavioral science nerds love this strategy of making saving a habit. But we’ve taken it a step further and removed some of the behavioral obstacles – like remembering – that can make completing this challenge, well, a challenge. By activating Qapital’s 52 Week Rule, you can move the money to your Goal automatically each week. Just set it once, and let Qapital do the work. Challenge accepted… To get started, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/5zj06l8_zl1a4bt?campaign=Get_the_app_button&amp;adgroup=Header&amp;creative=Top&amp;fallback=https%3A%2F%2Fapp.qapital.com%2F&amp;engagement_type=fallback_click">download the app</a>, create an account, and connect your checking account.&nbsp; Set a Goal Your Goal can be anything – a trip to Paris, your dream wedding, a down payment for a new home – the sky’s the limit. Once you’re all set up (don’t forget to add a photo of your Goal to inspire you), it’s time to add the 52 Week Rule. Activate the 52 Week Rule Tap the ‘Add Rule’ button, then select ‘52 Week Rule.’ Choose your strategy Decide whether you want to start small and work your way up ($1 for week one, $2 for week two, etc.) or if you want to start big and work backwards ($52 for week one, $51 for week two, etc.). Want to ramp it up? Try saving your change by using our Round Up Rule while using the 52 Week Rule – you’ll finish out the year with almost $2,000 in your pocket! What would you do with an extra $1,378 a year? Tweet us at <a href="https://twitter.com/qapitalapp">@qapitalapp</a> and tell us what you’re saving for. <a href="https://app.adjust.com/5zj06l8_zl1a4bt?campaign=52weekBlog&amp;adgroup=Blog&amp;creative=Blog&amp;fallback=https%3A%2F%2Fapp.qapital.com%2F&amp;engagement_type=fallback_click">Create account</a> <img src="Group_43955_905df25480.png" alt="Group 43955.png" width="721" height="1452">

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Take the 52-Week Money Challenge, with a Qapital Twist

Qapital Dream Team™ is the ultimate way for couples to collaborate on their finances.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just invite a partner, team up, and meet money goals faster. You decide what’s shared and what’s private, always.&nbsp;<h2>Who is Dream Team for?</h2>&nbsp;Dream Team is for couples that want to manage their money together, but prefer to bank separately.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>How does Dream Team work?</h2>&nbsp;Dream Team allows you to see all your savings and investment accounts in one place, so you can visualize your goals together. You set personal and combined financial goals, and fund your accounts using “rules”. You’ll get instant notifications of milestones and goal completions to keep you both on the same page. And you can instantly transfer money to your partner (and vice versa).&nbsp;But you choose how much, or how little, you want to share. Qapital displays all of your individual and shared finances in one place, and you can decide how much information you want to share with your partner – from account balances to transaction history.&nbsp;&nbsp;And if you decide to fly solo, you can opt out of shared accounts anytime.&nbsp;<h2>What can I use Dream Team for?</h2>&nbsp;If you have a goal you’d like to fund with a partner (like a down payment on a new home) you can invite them to join you. You can both track your progress, see how much money you need to reach your goal, and track how your money grows over time.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>Ready to try Dream Team?</h2>&nbsp;To get started with Dream Team, open the Qapital app and head over to the Profile tab. Tap on the section that says Dream Team. You will then be guided through a short setup where you’ll select which goals and permissions you’d like to share with your partner. The final step is to invite your partner.&nbsp;&nbsp;You can invite anyone you want, whether they already have Qapital or not!*&nbsp; (If your partner is new to Qapital, don’t forget that you’ll each be eligible for the referral bonus when they join!**)&nbsp;You’ll be notified once your partner accepts the invite. Once you confirm, you are all set!&nbsp;*You must be a US resident over 18 and have a valid checking account supported by our data provider to open a Qapital account.&nbsp;**See&nbsp;<a href="https://www.qapital.com/terms/qapital-everyday-referral-program/">Terms and Conditions</a>. Qapital Dream Team™ enables you to share your Goals and Spending Account information with other Qapital account holders, such as family members. If you decide to do so, such Qapital account holders may import and view your account information. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND ASSUME ALL RISK ARISING FROM SHARING ACCOUNT INFORMATION WITH OTHER QAPITAL USERS. QAPITAL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENCE OF ANY USE OR DISCLOSURE OF YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION BY YOU OR ANY QAPITAL USER WITH WHOM YOU SHARE YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION. Dream Team also allows you to send money from your Qapital Spending Account to your Dream Team partner’s account at your initiation. You understand that when you send the payment, you will have no ability to stop or cancel it.

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Sneak Peek: Qapital Dream Team™

Qapital was built on the idea that it should be easier to make smart money decisions. We started by helping members save toward their personal Goals in new and creative ways. We called them Rules. Our members called them awesome. With more than 70,000 five-star reviews and over $1 billion collectively saved, it seems automation goes a long way when it comes to helping people meet their money Goals. Automating savings was a fantastic start. However, we always knew that to deliver on our promise of helping members make smarter money decisions we had to aim higher. Talking to our members, we saw a need for applying the convenient "set and forget" approach of Rules to more than just savings. This, combined with insights from our behavioral science team, made it clear where we had to focus our efforts – payday. By automating payday, our members can truly take control of their day-to-day finances the second they are paid. And we know our members want this kind of automation – a recent survey revealed that Americans are more likely to automate their day-to-day finances than rely on technology to get food delivered!*<h3>What's so special about payday?</h3>Aside from giving you that sweet, life-affirming bump in your balance, payday is your best shot at making a money plan you’ll actually stick to. But the truth is that most of us don’t prepare a detailed household budget.** Let’s face it – spreadsheets aren’t much fun, and it can be tedious juggling money from account to account. So how does Qapital make budgeting less dry than the Moab desert? By taking it off your plate.<h3>Meet Payday Divvy</h3>Payday Divvy comes with all the benefits of budgeting but none of the hassle of setting up and maintaining a budget. <img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2020/09/payday-divvy-2x.png" width="1600" height="960"> &nbsp;<h3>How does Payday Divvy work?</h3>Automatically, every time you get paid. Just tell us once how to divvy up your paychecks, and we take care of the rest. That means we calculate the right amounts and make transfers in the background to keep it out of mind – but never out of sight. That's right, you can always adjust, pause, or stop Payday Divvy whenever life gets in the way.<h3>What can I use Payday Divvy for?</h3>Payday Divvy helps you get your $$$$ together. More specifically, it automatically sets the right amount aside for savings, investments, and everyday spending – the moment you get paid. The rest? It stays securely in your linked bank account for the expenses and bills you haven't moved over to Qapital.<h3>What is the right amount to set aside with Payday Divvy?</h3>The amount set aside will be unique to you – it will depend on your short-term Goals, long-term investment strategies, recurring expenses and bills, and the size of your paychecks. But we are excited to see that, on average, our early beta adopters have been setting aside almost a quarter of their paychecks!<h3>When is Payday Divvy available?</h3>Soon-ish. We're rolling it out slowly in beta to select members right now. But if you can't wait to try it, e-mail our team at <a href="mailto:support@qapital.com">support@qapital.com</a> and we'll put you on our priority list. Once you've given it a go, we’d love to get your feedback and suggestions on how we can make Payday Divvy even better for you. *<a href="https://www.aboutschwab.com/consumer-digital-demands-survey-2018">https://www.aboutschwab.com/consumer-digital-demands-survey-2018</a> **<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/162872/one-three-americans-prepare-detailed-household-budget.aspx">https://news.gallup.com/poll/162872/one-three-americans-prepare-detailed-household-budget.aspx</a>

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Sneak Peek: Meet Payday Divvy™

Starting last week, Qapital users have been receiving envelopes in the mail containing the new &amp; improved Qapital Visa® Debit Card*.&nbsp; This small yet mighty card has it all: Top-notch security, supercharged savings, smart budgeting, convenient withdrawals and contactless tap-to-pay technology. Qapital is proud to be among the first to provide its members with access to this advanced payment tool, particularly at a time when contactless checkout is imminent to public health. Here’s a list of everything you can expect from the game-changing Qapital Visa® Debit Card:<ul><li>Tap to pay: Checkout safely and securely wherever contactless-payment is enabled. Simply bring your card within a few inches of the contactless payment device (tapping is optional).&nbsp;</li><li>Avoid overspending (and underspending): By setting up <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/weekly-spending-target-budget/">Spending Sweet Spot</a>, you’ll get real-time notifications to help you stay within a weekly budget that doesn’t make you feel guilty or deprived.</li><li>Supercharge your Savings: Your new card can be used to trigger your Savings Rules, so you reach your Goals faster. For instance, set up a Rule to save every time you use your card to pay at Starbucks.</li><li>Withdraw cash on demand: Enjoy no-fee withdrawals from <a href="https://www.allpointnetwork.com/locator.aspx">over 55,000 ATMs</a> across the United States and around the globe.</li><li>Stay safe: Thanks to Visa’s <a href="https://usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/visa-chip-technology-consumers/zero-liability-policy.html">Zero Liability Policy</a>, you won’t be responsible for fraudulent use of your card.</li><li>Digital payment friendly: Use your card with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.</li></ul>&nbsp;&nbsp;* The Qapital Visa® Debit Card is issued by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and is available with Qapital Complete and Qapital Master membership plans.Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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Meet the New & Improved Qapital Visa® Debit Card

Creating and sticking to a budget can be hard. During a <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/stay-rational-during-pandemic-dan-ariely/">pandemic</a>, many of us are feeling overwhelming financial anxiety - adding to the stress of budgeting.&nbsp; Qapital has stepped up with a simpler, more effective way to budget; one that's rooted in behavioral science.<h2>Find your Spending Sweet Spot</h2>Thinking of a budget as restrictive is the first step to making it feel restrictive. Recently, our Chief Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely <a href="https://bit.ly/3evClD1">spoke with Qapital users via Instagram</a> about the <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/stay-rational-during-pandemic-dan-ariely/">financial implications of COVID19</a>, stating “this is an opportunity to reexamine what are the things that give us joy." Then, take on the challenge to create a new sustainable budget.&nbsp; A sustainable budget will comfortably pace how you spend your paycheck. This is opposed to an ineffective budget, that encourages you to overspend or underspend, thereby steering you away from the quality of life you want and holding you back from financial freedom.&nbsp; That’s why we designed our Spending Sweet Spot to let you customize a budget that fits your spending habits and income. It will automatically send you notifications that keep you updated throughout the week so you always know how you’re doing. You can adjust your budgeted amount at any time so you have the flexibility to learn and grow with your spending habits. You can also rate how your weekly spending made you feel and use that rating to adjust your weekly spending goal until you find the spending amount that makes you happiest -- your own Spending Sweet Spot. &nbsp; Through use of the Spending Sweet Spot tool, included with your Qapital Complete and Qapital Master membership, you'll be able to build a balanced budget that finally gives you control of your finances - allowing you to&nbsp;make the most of your government stimulus payment, unemployment check, diminished salary, or any income.&nbsp; We'll let Professor Dan Ariely delve deeper into the science behind this innovative budgeting tool. Qapital: Should I split my budget by category? Dan Ariely: “While it’s reasonable to have a budget for multiple categories, most people won’t stick to them. You don’t want to go for something that’s perfect, you want to go for something that is doable. For that, I recommend the strategy of creating one budget for all your discretionary spending.” “Think about all the things you could live without. For example, grocery shopping is not one of those things. You can’t live without food. But take all the things you could live without, put them in one bucket, then think about what amount you want to spend on that category per week — coffee, drinks, going out, entertainment — and then think of that as a separate category, as a holistic category, without breaking it into components.” Qapital: Should I create a weekly, monthly or yearly budget?&nbsp; Dan Ariely: “If we have a yearly budget — let’s say $50,000 — we’ll run out of that money way too soon. A monthly budget makes sense for some things — it fits the bill of rent and so on — but most of our discretionary expenses* are either weekly or daily.” “We certainly need a monthly budget for monthly expenses — rent and so on — but for discretionary spending*, it’s much much better to have a weekly budget. In fact, some studies show that even if you have a two-week budget, people spend way too much in the beginning and don’t have enough by the end. So if we want to spread our money correctly, the right framework is to think about a week.” Qapital: When should the week start, for budgeting purposes? Dan Ariely: “Should the week start on Friday or should the week start on Monday? Well, on the weekend we have more discretion. We can expand our spending [because] there are so many more things to do on the weekend. In fact, when you work, life is quite cheap; you don’t have enough time to spend all your money. But on the weekend, when you have more [free] time, you can expand your spending dramatically. It’s something to look forward to.” “So what’s the right approach? If our week starts on Friday or Saturday, we end up spending way too much on the weekend and are left with no money by Wednesday or Thursday. But if we start on Monday we save some of the money because we want to keep it for the weekend, and then if we don’t have that much leftover it’s easy to shrink our amount spent over the weekend.” The Spending Sweet Spot tool is available for users with a Qapital Visa® Debit Card. Sign up for a Complete or Master membership today to get a Qapital Spending Account and set a budget you can feel confident about. <a href="https://app.qapital.com/">GET STARTED &gt;</a> This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. *Discretionary expenses/spending: non-essential purchases for things like leisure and entertainment. The materials and content discussed in these sessions and on the Qapital app and website are opinions for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to be tax, personal financial planning, investment or financial advice. Please consult a licensed qualified professional about your personal situation.

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COVID19 Throwing Off Your Budget? Make Your IRS Stimulus Last Longer

Have you tried setting IFTTT (If This Then That) rules to your goals? They work by connecting Qapital to other apps you love and make it even easier to save with Qapital. For instance, you can connect Qapital to your Fitbit app so that you save a set amount every time you reach your daily step goal. Simple, right? Even more simple – saving with it!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Users with IFTTT rules save almost double over a 30-day period than those without them. In dollar terms, IFTTT users save an average of $407 in a month while for non-users the figure is $235.&nbsp;It’s a two-horse race for the most popular IFTTT rule, with Fitbit just edging out Uber. But it seems you guys like taking rides a little more than you like working out as Uber leads the way when it comes to the total number of actual savings events.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="Review_c02bf14764.png" alt="Review.png" width="498" height="263">&nbsp;There are nine ways to save with IFTTT:&nbsp;<ul><li>Facebook: Take advantage of your Facebook fixation by saving every time you post.</li><li>Fitbit: Reward yourself by saving toward a goal every time you hit your daily step goal.</li><li>Twitter: Give your goal a boost every time your favorite user tweets.</li><li>Square: Save toward a big dream every time you make a little sale.</li><li>Strava: Save for a vacation whenever you workout (you’ve earned it).</li><li>YouTube: Killing time watching videos? Now you can save every time you like one.</li><li>Finance: Playing the markets? Play to win by saving when the S&amp;P 500 Index falls.</li><li>Google Assistant &amp; Amazon Alexa: Say a certain phrase, save a certain amount. Certain savings!&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;&nbsp;If you haven’t tried our IFTTT rules yet, it’s super easy to get started:&nbsp;<ol><li>Make sure you’ve signed up for our Complete or Premier membership</li><li>Choose one of your savings goals and tap “Add Rule”</li><li>Select one of the IFTTT Rules from the list and tap “Set up”</li></ol>&nbsp;Happy saving!&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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IFTTT Rules are supercharging your savings!

We’ve just added two new Money Missions to our collection. Created in collaboration with our Chief Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely, Money Missions are fun challenges that help you unlock helpful insights into how you use your money now so you can use it better in the future. In that sense, Missions are not about success or failure, but about helping you learn more about what matters to you.<h3>New Mission 1 – Make Sunday your meal-prep day</h3> At Qapital, we believe it’s never too late to build better habits. This Mission is a great way to start and it can help save you time and money. Team up with a partner, friend or roommate and decide which meal you want to prep: breakfast, lunch or dinner. Think about when you typically struggle for time. Find it hard to get out of bed in the morning? Having a ready-made breakfast like overnight oats could be the answer.&nbsp; Once you’ve agreed on the meal, decide what you want to eat. Pasta dishes are good options for dinner as they’re relatively easy to make in large batches and then divide into meal-sized portions. Dish picked, all that remains is buying the ingredients and preparing the food. If time is really tight, consider having the ingredients delivered. Then it’s time to cook!&nbsp; Before starting the Mission, make a note of what you spend on groceries for a week or two and then compare with what you spend when you meal prep. If you save some cash while saving time and improving your health, consider putting the difference toward one of your Goals.&nbsp;<h3>New Mission 2 – Cancel a subscription and put the money toward a Goal</h3> The subscription economy is booming these days – and it’s not just your favorite streaming services that are cashing in. More and more of us are paying hundreds of dollars every month for everything from software to shaving blades.&nbsp; Our latest Mission is designed to make you reflect on which subscriptions make you happy, and which you can happily live without.&nbsp; So take a quick audit of the services you’re paying for and commit to cancelling one or two. Allocate the money you save to one of your Goals instead and then sit back and evaluate if it was worth it. If nothing else, it will help you figure out which subscriptions are worth the money. All Money Missions are available now for Qapital Master members.&nbsp;<h2>Put money in its place</h2>Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

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Two new Missions to make mastering your money fun

There’s nothing better than reaching your goals. You’ve been effortlessly putting money aside for the things you really want. Maybe it’s taken a while to get there… especially if it’s a big goal like a down payment. So when you do get there, wouldn’t it be great to be able to pay for it right away?&nbsp;With Qapital’s Express Withdrawals, you can! For a fee of just 2% of the transfer amount (and never more than $10), you can transfer money from your Qapital savings account to your linked bank account on the same day. You’ll find Express Withdrawals in the Transfer tab before 12pm ET Monday through Friday on non-bank holidays.&nbsp;&nbsp;And, of course, our standard withdrawal is available 24/7 to transfer funds at no charge in 1-2 business days.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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Get Your Savings Even Faster with Express Withdrawals

When we launched in 2015, our tagline was: Save Small. Live Large.® It summed us up perfectly so we used it on everything from our mugs to our mousepads. The tagline reflects the great things that can happen with a little effort. The approach has been transformative for our members. Today, they save an average of $3,000 a year, which is impressive given that four in ten adult Americans can’t come up with $400 in the event of an emergency. But now, as well as saving with us, our members can invest with our personalized portfolios and they can spend with our checking account. In the past year we’ve introduced some of our most ambitious tools. Payday Divvy to help members budget more intelligently. Spending Sweet Spot to help members find a better balance between what they want now and what they’ll need in the future. And Money Missions, our fun challenges that help members build better money habits. As exciting as it is to add new features, sometimes you need to take a step back and make sure the foundations are still solid. As the app evolved, we realized our design system needed to evolve with it. Our design team set about the task of reimagining a simpler, pared down look and feel with more focus on your Goals and greatly improved accessibility. <img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2019/03/spending-account-2-1024x630.jpg" width="1024" height="630"> Our new Spending account view (left) with the previous version on the right. The reduced visual noise is a recurring theme throughout the updated design. <img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2019/03/transaction-2-1024x630.jpg" width="1024" height="630"> The updated transaction view on the left, with the old version on the right. We’ve implemented a modular system that can adapt to various merchant &amp; transaction data. You might have noticed some subtle but important changes already and there’s a lot more to come. The team’s ambition, besides creating a more refined look &amp; feel, is to explore a more personalized experience around setting up and reaching your Goals. In principle that meant taking practical steps like consolidating our color palette, streamlining our typography and overhauling key screens and features including Goals overview, Rules and transaction lists. It’s an exciting time for the team with a lot of changes under the hood of the app as well. While we’re focusing on rolling out the updated design system, our product roadmap is taking shape, too. As well as refining our budgeting tools, we’re hard at work on making Qapital a more social experience for our members. More about that soon! <img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2019/03/peek-pop-1024x630.jpg" width="1024" height="630"> <img src="https://cdn.qapitalapp.net/wp-uploads/2019/03/user-2-1024x630.jpg" width="1024" height="630"> The upcoming iteration of your profile view is shown on the left with the current version to the right. There’s now a clearer emphasis on your actions. <h5>- George Friedman, Co-founder &amp; CEO</h5> <h2 class="h3">Put money in its place</h2> Master your money with the app that makes it easy to divvy up every dollar so you can balance what you want with what you need. <a class="btn" href="https://app.qapital.com/">Create account</a>

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More functionality, less friction - how we're updating Qapital's look and feel

Creating and sticking to a budget can be hard. If you’ve ever felt too intimidated, too anxious, or too lazy to budget your money, you’re not alone. That’s why, with the help of Qapital’s behavioral economists, we designed a simpler, more effective way to budget. The results? <h2>Spending Sweet Spot</h2> Do you ever contemplate what you should spend instead of what you could spend on a regular basis? A sustainable budget will comfortably pace how you spend your paycheck. But ineffective budgets that encourage you to overspend (paying for unnecessary expenses) or underspend (limiting your ability to sustain the quality of life you want), hold you back from financial freedom. If you don’t feel balanced or in control, then you can’t be honest with yourself about your money. That’s why we designed our Spending Sweet Spot to let you customize a budget that fits your spending habits and income. It will automatically send you notifications that keep you updated throughout the week so you always know how you’re doing. You can adjust your budgeted amount at any time so you have the flexibility to learn and grow with your spending habits. You can also rate how your weekly spending made you feel and use that rating to adjust your weekly spending goal until you find the spending amount that makes you happiest -- your own Spending Sweet Spot.   How are we so sure we’ve made smart spending easier? Because we asked our Chief Behavioral Economist, famed researcher and professor Dan Ariely. If you have budgeting questions, he has the answers — and we built our Spending Sweet Spot feature with those answers in mind. Qapital: Why should a budget be weekly? Why not set it monthly or yearly? Dan Ariely: “If we have a yearly budget — let’s say $50,000 — we’ll run out of that money way too soon. A monthly budget makes sense for some things — it fits the bill of rent and so on — but most of our discretionary expenses* are either weekly or daily.” “We certainly need a monthly budget for monthly expenses — rent and so on — but for discretionary spending*, it’s much much better to have a weekly budget. In fact, some studies show that even if you have a two-week budget, people spend way too much in the beginning and don’t have enough by the end. So if we want to spread our money correctly, the right framework is to think about a week.” Qapital: When should the week start? Dan Ariely: “Should the week start on Friday or should the week start on Monday? Well, on the weekend we have more discretion. We can expand our spending [because] there are so many more things to do on the weekend. In fact, when you work, life is quite cheap; you don’t have enough time to spend all your money. But on the weekend, when you have more [free] time, you can expand your spending dramatically. It’s something to look forward to.” “So what’s the right approach? If our week starts on Friday or Saturday, we end up spending way too much on the weekend and are left with no money by Wednesday or Thursday. But if we start on Monday we save some of the money because we want to keep it for the weekend, and then if we don’t have that much leftover it’s easy to shrink our amount spent over the weekend.” Qapital: Should my budget have categories? Dan Ariely: “The answer is yes only if you’re perfectly rational and if you enjoy budgeting. While it’s reasonable to have a budget for multiple categories, most people won’t stick to them. You don’t want to go for something that’s perfect, you want to go for something that is doable. For that, I recommend the strategy of creating one budget for all your discretionary spending.” “Think about all the things you could live without. For example, grocery shopping is not one of those things. You can’t live without food. But take all the things you could live without, put them in one bucket, then think about what amount you want to spend on that category per week — coffee, drinks, going out, entertainment — and then think of that as a separate category, as a holistic category, without breaking it into components.” The Spending Sweet Spot tool is available only for users with a Qapital Visa® Debit Card. Sign up for a Complete or Master membership today to get a Qapital Spending Account and set a budget you can feel confident about. To find your Spending Sweet Spot, download the <a href="https://app.adjust.com/5zj06l8_zl1a4bt?campaign=Blog&amp;adgroup=Dan Ariely&amp;creative=SpendingSweetSpot&amp;fallback=https://get.qapital.com/download">Qapital app today</a>! This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. *Discretionary expenses/spending: non-essential purchases for things like leisure and entertainment.

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Spending Sweet Spot: Why a weekly spending target is the best budget to have

When creating Qapital Invest, we were determined to offer an investment product that would be embraced by both experienced and new investors for its robust features and accessibility. Knowing this would be the first investment account for many Qapital members, we focused on making Qapital Invest familiar and easy to use, without compromising on flexibility.&nbsp;Whether you’re new to Qapital or a seasoned user, we’ll show you how you can start investing with the app and how we designed our investment strategy with you in mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>How to invest with Qapital</h2><h2>&nbsp;</h2>We take a long-term approach to investing and encourage our members to do the same. Qapital members can invest for Qapital Goals just like they can save for them. For Invest Goals, members choose a target amount and a Time Horizon, which is when they’ll need the money for their Invest Goal.&nbsp;We ask for a Time Horizon because not every goal is on the same timeline. For example, you may be saving for a down payment and for retirement — both are long-term goals, but vary as to when you would need the money. Once you’ve set your Time Horizon, we’ll recommend a portfolio in line with your goals.&nbsp;If this is your first time setting up an Invest Goal with Qapital, you’ll receive a few questions that will assess your risk tolerance. This assessment is coupled with the Time Horizon you choose for your Invest Goal to drive our portfolio recommendation. Our recommendation is selected from five different portfolio options differentiated by how conservative or aggressive they are. Qapital recommends the most optimal portfolio likely to help you reach your goal in time.&nbsp;From there, members just set Rules and start funding their investment accounts!&nbsp;Unlike other investment providers that lock you into one portfolio for your entire account, each Qapital Invest Goal has its own recommended portfolio and can be customized with a unique set of rules that work with your financial lifestyle. We value flexibility and know your goals come in all shapes and sizes.&nbsp;<h2>Our investing strategy</h2><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h3>Diversification</h3>&nbsp;Our investment strategy is based on Modern Portfolio Theory, developed by Nobel Prize winning economists. This portfolio theory is rooted in diversification, which refers to investing in different kinds of asset classes (which include stocks, bonds, real estate, and more). Asset classes are similar groupings of investments that, for the most part, move up or down as a whole. Some of the asset classes we invest in are:&nbsp;<ul><li>large-cap stocks, such as Google or Apple.</li><li>international stocks, such as Nestle.</li><li>investment grade bonds, such as from companies like Coca-Cola.</li></ul>&nbsp;Diversification is a way of managing your risk by investing across a variety of different asset classes. Making investment decisions by trying to predict how a single stock or bond will perform can lead to big problems if you predict incorrectly. A diversified portfolio, on the other hand, can protect you from big losses suffered by a single asset class. This means a negative performance from some investments may be offset by the positive performance of others. Basically, with diversification, you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket. While it’s not a guarantee (few things in investing are), it’s agreed that diversification is one of the best ways to reduce risk in the long-term.&nbsp;At Qapital, we invest in&nbsp;12 different asset classes that have varying degrees of correlation with each other. This is important — if all your investments have the same correlation with each other, then you’re not really diversifying your risk.&nbsp;Side note: Asset correlation refers to how the stock market performance of different asset classes relate to each other. Some asset classes have high correlation with others, meaning their performance, whether up or down, will affect that correlated asset class. In order to better spread out your risk, it’s often a good idea to invest in asset classes that have little correlation with each other.&nbsp;Each portfolio is designed to help you benefit when the market, as a whole, is on an upward trend, and tries to protect you from losses if the market is on a downward trend.&nbsp;<h3>DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging)</h3><h3>&nbsp;</h3>DCA refers to an investment strategy that eschews trying to “time the market,” which, depending on who you ask, is an impossible feat for many investors. Rather than timing investments and buying or selling when a stock is predicted to go up or down, investors practicing DCA will invest set amounts of money at regular (often short) time intervals.&nbsp;Again, this strategy is designed to protect against a market drop while still retaining the potential to maximize investment earnings. Take lump-sum investing, which is the opposite of DCA. Let’s say you invest $100 in a stock all at once. If it drops 10 percent by the end of the week, you’re entirely exposed to that risk and lose $10 as a result. That’s the downside to lump-sum investing.&nbsp;But if you spread out the $100 investment and invest $25 weekly as directed by DCA, you’re only down $2.50 after the first week’s 10 percent drop. If the stock increases, you’re ready to reap those rewards without changing how much you invest in that stock.&nbsp;This is why Qapital recommends you start every Invest Goal with the Set &amp; Forget Rule. This ensures you invest on a regular basis to reduce your overall risk and to take advantage of market volatility (swings in the market).&nbsp;<h2>Ready to invest?</h2><h2>&nbsp;</h2>People can get intimidated by investing, and for good reason. If you’re not sure whether you’re ready to invest, check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/how-can-i-tell-if-im-ready-to-start-investing/">this article</a> as a guideline. Our belief is that if you have long-term goals you can save toward, it makes sense to turn those into investment accounts. By putting your money to work and growing it via dividends, interest payments and more, you may be able to reach your goals faster than if you just saved for them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns or projections are hypothetical and may not reflect actual future performance. Investments in securities are not FDIC-insured and may lose value. This is not a complete description of Qapital Invest’s investment advisory services. For more details, click <a href="https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/283762">here</a>. Brokerage services provided to Qapital Invest clients by Apex Clearing Corporation, an SEC-registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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Qapital Invest: Making investing accessible to everyone

Whether you’ve dreamed of flying to Mars or buying the house down the street, you’ve probably realized that all of your dreams have one thing in common — they require money. But here’s the deal: saving money is often difficult. In fact, nearly half of adults in the U.S. would be <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2017-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201805.pdf">unable to cover a $400 unexpected expense</a>. So if you’ve struggled to save money in the past, you’re not alone. (And if you’ve had a hard time saving <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/27/13078690/elon-musk-mars-mission-cost-per-person-spacex">the estimated $200,000 it would cost to visit Mars</a>, you’re definitely not alone.) But with the right savings app and some perseverance, you’ll be able to hit your savings goals. Thanks to Qapital, these three millennials went from spenders to savers as they accomplished their unique savings goals. Here’s how they did it, and more importantly, how you can too. <h2>Matt A., project manager in Denver, Colorado</h2> <h3>“Last February, I went to Japan and got back from the trip, paid all the bills and still had $800 in my Qapital account.”</h3> Before using Qapital, Anderson struggled to save money for short-term goals. Even though he had an emergency fund in a separate savings account, he still identified as a “terrible” saver. But here’s what Anderson learned: he’s able to save more when the money is stored in a separate account. The fact that he can’t see his Qapital account when he logs into his checking account has been a game-changer — for both his finances and his mindset. “For my trip to Japan, I had a rule set up [through Qapital],” Anderson explained. “I had $20 per week transferred from my checking account. I also used the Round Up Rule and had it set to <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/save-your-change-round-up/">round up my purchases to the nearest $5</a>. So if I spend $11 on something, it will round up to $15 and transfer $4 to my Qapital account. I saved for [my trip to Japan] for about a year. “It felt awesome to hit my savings goal. Japan was the best couple days of snowboarding I’ve had in twenty years. As we were flying home from Japan, my friends and I were talking about where we wanted to go next and it felt super satisfying to come back home and have nearly $1,000 already saved for my next trip.” Savings tip: If it feels like you’re always “stealing” from your savings account, try implementing a complete separation between savings and checking. <h2>Amanda R., interior designer in Lafayette, Louisiana</h2> <h3>“Since I’ve started using Qapital, I’ve saved over $10k towards various goals.” </h3> One of the first things Reviere tried when she joined Qapital was the 52-Week Challenge for Christmas savings, which <a href="https://www.qapital.com/blog/qapital-52-week-challenge/">gradually increases savings until you’ve saved a total of $1,378.</a> Thanks to Reviere’s competitive nature, the challenge was a success and she learned something important: she loves to compete against herself. Since then, she’s been able to harness her competitive spirit to complete multiple savings goals. As soon as Reviere finishes one goal, she immediately begins the next and constantly pushes herself to save more, which has allowed her to treat herself and her family to special gifts. “At any given time, I have three to four active goals. I use Qapital to help save for the fun — and sometimes not-so-fun — stuff,” Reviere said. “I always name them something interesting and add a quirky image to keep it exciting. Right now I have ‘Giving Season’ for Christmas, ‘Pay the Man’ for taxes, ‘Everywhere’ for spontaneous trips and ‘Slushy Money’ for things that I see and that I have to own right now.” Most of Reviere’s goals have been for big trips or events and Christmas splurges for the family. “Just in the last two years, I’ve managed to use my Qapital goals to go to the Dominican Republic, Breckinridge, New York City, Disney, and ride in the Muses Mardi Gras Parade in New Orleans,” Reviere said. “My husband and I are going to France in October 2019 for our anniversary. We’ve been putting money into a joint savings account each month for the last three years to pay for the trip. My Qapital goal will be used to surprise him with an extra excursion or a night at a vineyard.” Savings tip: If you’re a competitive person and hate losing, focus your energy on savings “games.” Set goals and challenge yourself to hit them faster than projected. Even if you lose, you’ll still win. <h2>Sean M., Strategic Partnerships in Denver, Colorado</h2> <h3>“I set my engagement ring goal to $5,000 and when I hit the goal it felt excellent… It felt liberating.”</h3> Before using Qapital, Marrero had a “poor” relationship with money and struggled to make progress toward his savings goals. But the fix was surprisingly simple: separate accounts for saving and spending. Once he separated his accounts with Qapital, he focused on his “why.” “The [engagement ring] was the first goal I ever set,” he said. “I was like, ‘I really need to start saving money for this ring. How am I going do that?’  It was a mixture of a monthly savings and a round up rule. It took about a year and a half of saving to make it happen. The great thing is that when I hit the goal, there was a family ring that we ended up using instead. So I was able to use the money I had saved and transition it to other joint goals — a down payment for a car and a housing move.” He now has a “Love Cash” savings goal for his wife and their life together.   “I use the Round Up Rule, so I round up to the nearest $5,” he said. “What’s good about that is that you really don’t notice the money leaving your account, but the more you spend, the more you save. Recently, we used money from that fund to buy a new couch. “My next goal is a $5,000 emergency fund for our house. That goal will probably be funded in April 2019,” Marrero said. “I think that I feel more protected by having savings…It’s like having insurance. My savings goals have alleviated a lot of my daily stress.” Savings tip: Make saving personal. It’s hard to feel motivated if you aren’t clear about why you’re saving money. Use creative names for your Qapital accounts and add pictures that remind you of your purpose. <h2>Bottom line</h2> Whether you identify as a bad saver or a money genius, there’s always room from improvement when it comes to saving. With a few simple changes — separating your accounts, making it a game or focusing on your purpose — you’ll be able to hit your money goals, no matter how simple or outlandish they may seem. No matter how big or small your goal is, Qapital can help you achieve it. <a href="https://app.adjust.com/5zj06l8_zl1a4bt?campaign=Blog&amp;adgroup=Qapital Ideas&amp;creative=VacationOnMars&amp;fallback=https://get.qapital.com/download">Download the app</a> today and get started

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Saving for a vacation on Mars? No matter your goal, we have an app for it.

Today marks a pivotal moment in the Qapital journey. We’re launching a new Qapital that delivers on the vision we originally had when we started the company years ago. We’ve created the first fintech app that is a holistic and integrated goal-based experience that serves the financial life of our members over the short, medium, and long term. This complete experience empowers our members with services, resources, and tools to help them find fulfillment and happiness with their finances. Qapital was born on a simple idea that saving for all the wonderful things you want to experience shouldn’t come at the price of something else. In the past, saving money had always felt like a chore. We believed that wasn’t the saver’s fault — the system was failing. So, we designed a more intelligent and empathetic savings solution to empower individuality. And people who never had much luck saving before began putting away $1,500 or more a year without even thinking about it. Qapital’s modern banking experience was based on goal setting and making saving effortless, motivating, and even a little fun. Now, we’re expanding that thinking with a full suite of intelligent money management tools that bring goal-based banking to your entire financial life, so what you earn and how you save, spend, and invest, all work together to meet your life goals. Investing has been intimidating in the past. So, we got rid of the jargon and went with a simple way to plan for life’s big goals. With as little as $10, anyone can start investing with Qapital. Our pre-built portfolios are easy to understand and match your risk tolerance. "The new Qapital is a complete financial solution—a holistic look at financial well-being that puts your interests and passions first, so present happy you and future happy you can become one." With the new Qapital, members have three memberships to choose from, packed with inspiring new features and financial insights. We’re the only ones simplifying traditional banking tools into one platform and we know that better banking begins with understanding your relationship with money. In order to help you find more meaning and fulfillment with your money, we developed tools and resources that will help you learn and be more financially mindful. Here’s what you can expect from the new Qapital: Payday Divvy A smart tool that helps you pay yourself first. Prompted when a deposit hits, this feature helps you set aside money for your needs and commitments (think rent, utilities, etc) and then you can determine how much of what’s left is for living in the now, the near future, or investing in your long-term goals. Spending Sweet Spot We’ve upgraded Weekly Spending Target and renamed it Spending Sweet Spot. This tool re-thinks budgeting for your everyday expenses on a weekly basis to help you discover and stick to the amount that’s best for you. Money Missions Rooted in behavioral science, this is one of the tools we’re really excited about. These fun challenges help you get long-lasting happiness from every dollar. We designed this tool to help you learn about yourself and help you spend in new ways that are optimized for your happiness. And this is just the beginning of what we have planned for Qapital. We hope you explore the new Qapital app, enjoy the simplicity and ease of everyday spending, saving and investing, and drop us a line to share your goals. We’ll keep empowering you toward greater money happiness. To try the Qapital app for yourself, download it <a href="https://app.adjust.com/5zj06l8_zl1a4bt?campaign=Blog&amp;adgroup=News&amp;creative=QapitalJourneyContinues&amp;fallback=https://get.qapital.com/download">here</a>.

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The Qapital journey continues

Investing — These nine letters can send anyone into a tailspin or make them giddy with excitement.&nbsp;Here’s the truth, investing can be as difficult or as simple as you want it to be. But one of the more difficult hurdles is figuring out if it makes sense for you in the first place. There are plenty of arguments for and against the idea. And while they might all be true, that doesn’t mean investing is right (or wrong) for your unique situation.&nbsp;The real question is: are you ready to invest? If you’re still sitting on the fence, read on for some clues to point you in the right direction.&nbsp;<h2>Your job offers an employer match program</h2>&nbsp;Many jobs offer a 401(k), which is a type of retirement account that gives you some control over how your money is invested. These can include mutual funds, stocks, bonds and money market accounts.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sometimes your company will offer an employer match program. This means your company will match your contributions capped up to a certain percentage of your paycheck. For example, if there’s a 6 percent maximum contribution and you set aside 5 percent of your paycheck of $2,000 a month, it’ll match the $100 you invest. However, if you contribute 10 percent of your paycheck, the company will contribute $120, not $200, because of the contribution cap.&nbsp;Yes, we’re talking about free money right there! Even if you don’t think you can contribute a lot, even a little is better than nothing. As for how much you stand to gain, it’s best to check with your employer to learn how its specific plan works.&nbsp;<h2>You don’t have any short-term savings</h2>&nbsp;Life happens. You blow out a tire, you need emergency dental repairs, or your roof sprung a leak. Unexpected expenses will happen and without an emergency fund in place, you’ll struggle to pay for them. And paying for those expenses can lead to long-term financial issues if you need to go into debt to do it (which is a sign you may not be ready to invest).&nbsp;If you don’t have any money set aside for life’s unpredictable moments, then hold off on investing until you’ve built up that emergency fund.&nbsp;<h2>You’re a budgeting ninja</h2>&nbsp;Setting aside money for daily expenses, short-term savings, and long-term savings requires you to be pretty darn good with your budget. You must know where your money is coming from and where it’s going and understand the need to cut back certain expenses. Only then can you plan for now while saving for the future.&nbsp;If you’ve been fairly good with budgeting, have an emergency fund and can find some wiggle room to set aside money each month, then you’re in a great position to start investing.&nbsp;<h2>You have a ton of consumer debt</h2>&nbsp;Experts disagree as to whether you should invest when you have debt – some are for it, others against it. However, not all debt is created equal, and that’s where the argument requires more thought.&nbsp;Time is compound interest’s best friend, which is a smart and compelling argument for investing early. Think of compound interest as interest you earn on interest. Let’s say you invest $1,000 and you earn $80 in interest, then you’ll start earning interest on $1,080.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;However, if you’ve got high-interest debt — like personal loans and credit cards — it may be a better idea to take care of those first before investing.&nbsp;Investing can help you earn money, but the interest you pay on your consumer debt may negate all those savings. For example, if you have a $10,000 credit card balance at 16 percent interest and you make a $200 payment each month, you will still pay $952 in interest.&nbsp;It’s difficult to find an investment that’ll give you a rate of return higher than that amount. Plus, investment does carry some risk. You really don’t know how much you will earn, and sometimes you may lose money.&nbsp;<h2>You’re willing to do the work</h2>&nbsp;Investing doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, Qapital makes it easy. But putting money aside for retirement does require you to look at your goals and, frankly, just start. It’s about whether you’re willing to put in the upfront work to do your due diligence and find the right investment options that work for you. That includes understanding the kind of investor you are — do you like to take risks, or do you prefer a more conservative approach? You should also consider what you’re investing for and what your timeline is. Are you investing for a down payment in 5-7 years or retirement in 20-30 years?&nbsp;If you’re ready to invest, one of the biggest mistakes is to not start investing! But if you’re not ready, give yourself a target date or set a benchmark, such as paying off your credit card debt or setting aside a certain amount in your emergency fund.&nbsp;In either case, you’re making the best decision based on your current financial situation. You can’t do much better than that. Well, except maybe winning the lottery.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns or projections are hypothetical and may not reflect actual future performance. Investments in securities are not FDIC-insured and may lose value. This is not a complete description of Qapital Invest’s investment advisory services. For more details, click <a href="https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/283762">here</a>. Brokerage services provided to Qapital Invest clients by Apex Clearing Corporation, an SEC-registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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How can I tell if I’m ready to start investing?

A few years ago, in honor of my mom’s pseudo-retirement, my mom, big bro and I pooled our money together for an epic family vacation to Hawaii. While it was awesome and many Instagram-worthy moments were had, I ended up dipping into my credit cards. No bueno.&nbsp; Flash forward to the present, as my partner and I plan to take a trip this December to The Aloha State to help celebrate his milestone birthday. With the trip just a month away, I’m dead-set on not accruing any debt this time around.&nbsp; Here are some key lessons you can learn from how I am saving—and splurging—on a trip to Hawaii:<h2>Consider your goal</h2> While on a road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, earlier this year, my partner mentioned, out-of-the-blue, how he wanted to check out the Big Island and the massive lava flows.&nbsp; “Well, how about we go for your birthday?” I asked.&nbsp; “Let’s do it,” he responded. How amazing would it be to traverse the tropical terrains of Hawaii in the winter?&nbsp; And as his birthday is in December, it was a totally doable savings goal. &nbsp;<h2>Identify your budget</h2>We’ll travel to two islands—Oahu and the Big Island—over the course of 10 days. My partner and I sat down a few months ago to figure out exactly how much our trip would cost.&nbsp; Here’s roughly what it came down to:&nbsp;<h3>Big-ticket items</h3>When it comes to the large, anticipated expenses, I’ll handle airfare and the car rental. My partner has agreed on footing the bill for accommodations. While on the island, we’ll switch off paying for things. &nbsp; Our two plane tickets came to a little under $1,100. Since we’ve decided to take a ride-share and public transport while in Oahu, where it’s a little easier to get around, we’ll rent a car during the six days we cavort around the Big Island. Car rental will cost roughly $200. And we estimated about $200 a night for the hotel, which adds up to $1,800 for nine nights.&nbsp; Airfare: $1,100&nbsp; Car Rental: $200 Hotel: $1,800 Total: $3,100<h3>Variable expenses</h3>While there are certainly knowns, such as food, entertainment, and transportation, the exact costs will vary. I’m thinking roughly $150 a day for food and another $100 for entertainment and transport, which is probably more than we’ll need. Since we’ll travel for 10 days, that racks up to about $2,500 for food and fun.&nbsp; Food: $1,500&nbsp; Entertainment + Ride Share: $1,000&nbsp; Total: $2,500&nbsp;<h3>Allow for splurges</h3>I’m somewhat of an anti-budgeter, which means I pay myself first (i.e., sock away money toward my saving goals) then spend what remains. And because I don’t assign a job to every dollar in my budget, I like to add a bit of money cushion here and there. That’s why I’ve included a bit of a “Splurge Fund” into my Hawaii vacation fund. Having “extra” money makes you feel like you’re on top. In turn, it provides a psychological lift of sorts.&nbsp;<h3>The big number</h3>I decided on saving $3,000 for my share of the entire trip. After after paying for airfare, car rental, and my half of food and entertainment, which tallies up to $2,550, that leaves about $450 to spend on whatever I please. I imagine I’ll spend that dough on some island snacks for my family or on a whimsical tchotchke.&nbsp; My Share: $3,000&nbsp; My Partner’s Share: $2,600&nbsp; Grand Total: $5,600 If that seems like a lot for a 10-day trip to Hawaii, it is. This is more than we probably need, but it allows for a bit of padding so we have room to splurge. That way we don't have to "count beans" and stress about spending too much during our trip. And if there’s anything left over from my portio of the trip, I plan on rolling it over to my next fun, big-ticket savings goal.&nbsp;<h2>Decide on the right savings tactic for you</h2>In 2016, I simply paid for my share of the trip—airfare and splitting the costs of food and entertainment—from a designated “fun fund,” and came up a little short. This time around, I’ve saved well in advance for my Hawaii trip.&nbsp; Truth be told, I started a vacay fund in my Qapital account last year to tour Berlin with my dear Chicago friends. I set an arbitrary goal of $2,000 simply because it “felt right” and hey, it was better than having zilch.&nbsp; And when it became apparent that our soft plans to visit Germany would fall by the wayside, I changed the name of my Qapital goal from “Berlin 2018” to “Hawaii 2018,” swapped out the cover photo and upped the goal from $2,000 to $3,000.&nbsp; The fun part was in deciding which rules to set in my Qapital account to hit my goal: Here are the rules I set:<h3>52-Week Rule</h3>How this rule works: You start by saving $1 on Week 1, $2 on Week 2, and eventually $52 by the last week. After a year, you’ve saved up $1,378. Qapital features two options: You can start with $1 on Week 1, then work your way up to $52. Or you can start with $52 the first week.&nbsp; I started by socking away $52 during Week 1. After finishing up my first cycle, I’ve just kick-started my second cycle for the 52-Week Rule.&nbsp;<h3>Round up Rule</h3> How this rule works: Every time you make a purchase, the remainder is rounded up and put towards your savings account. You have options to round up to the next $1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.&nbsp;I linked my debit cards and credit cards so that for every transaction, it’s rounded up to the nearest dollar.&nbsp;<h3>Guilty Pleasure Rule</h3> How this rule works: Every time you spend money at a specific merchant (say, a restaurant or retailer), you save an amount set by you.I set a rule that every time I spent money at In-N-Out Burgers and enjoyed an Animal-Style cheeseburger and fries, I would sock away $10 each time.&nbsp;<h2>Boosting your savings to hit your goal.</h2>I’m not at $3,000 (yet!). Granted, I wish I had a bit more focus on hitting my $3,000 mark. For instance, when I started last year, besides setting up the 52-Week Rule, where I saved around $1,400 in a year, I could’ve set up an auto-save of an additional $20 a week or so to save $1,040 in a year’s time. The Round-up Rule and Guilty Spending Rule could top me off at $3,000 to help me hit my goal earlier.&nbsp; As I get nearer to the trip, I’ll aggressively put money into my designated Hawaii trip fund.&nbsp; As you can see, it’s pretty fun and motivating to save for a major expense like a trip. You won’t be worried whether you can afford that vacation, or that you’ll need to dig a little debt hole to have fun. Tropical getaway, here we come! &nbsp;Looking to save for an upcoming trip? <a href="https://app.adjust.com/5zj06l8_zl1a4bt?campaign=Blog&amp;adgroup=Travel&amp;creative=GuideToHawaii&amp;fallback=https://get.qapital.com/download">Download Qapital</a> and set up a goal to start saving immediately!

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The Qapital User’s Guide: Saving and splurging on a trip to Hawaii

Qapital helps thousands of users travel to amazing places! The money management tools you have come to know and love for smart saving and spending in your everyday life can help you achieve the same control and freedom when you take off on an adventure.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether it’s a solo hiking trip halfway across the world, a romantic getaway in a foreign city with your beau, or a road trip upstate to your aunt’s farm with the whole family… Qapital has your back.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Here are some handy tips to help make your next vacation a success.&nbsp;<h2>Pack your Qapital Visa® Debit Card.</h2>&nbsp;No matter where you choose to go, make sure you bring your Qapital Visa® Debit Card* with you. We charge ZERO foreign transaction fees** for using your Qapital Visa® Debit Card abroad.&nbsp;And you can use your Qapital Visa® Debit Card’s Spending Sweet Spot tool to stay on budget. Just adjust your target amount to fit your travel budget and the Qapital app will automatically track what you spend on your Qapital Visa® Debit Card. We’ll send you routine notifications so you know exactly how much you’ve spent and how much you have left to spend at anytime with the swipe of your finger. (You can even exclude purchases unrelated to your budget!)&nbsp;Built-in fraud monitoring keeps your chip-enabled debit card safe 24/7. And if you think your card may be lost or stolen, you can remote lock it at any time within the app.&nbsp;If you don’t yet have a Qapital Visa® Debit Card, sign up today!&nbsp;<h2>Set up a goal for yourself with an image that excites you. You’ll be twice as likely to reach it!</h2>&nbsp;Numerous&nbsp;<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-leaders-code/201401/why-a-picture-is-worth-1000-words-lessons-for-goal-setting">research studies</a> have shown that visualizing a goal increases your likelihood of achieving it. That’s why we let you choose your own goal photos to remind yourself exactly what you’re saving for and why. It’s so much easier to save when you are looking at an image of something that matters to you — like a snapshot of that villa on the Amalfi coast you want to visit again — rather than a number on a screen.&nbsp;Stay excited. Stay motivated. Stay on course.&nbsp;<h2>Set up a shared goal with your Qapital Dream Team™ partner and reach your destination even faster.</h2>&nbsp;Traveling with your special someone? As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work.&nbsp;With Dream Team you can set a shared goal and invite your +1 to join you. You can both track your progress, see how much money you need to reach your goal, and track how your money grows over time. You can even chat with your partner right in the goal!&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>Go somewhere amazing. Go somewhere unforgettable.&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>&nbsp;Don’t know where you want to go? If you need a little inspiration, take a peek at the most popular overseas travel destinations among Qapital users so far this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;FIJI ⬥ COLOMBIA ⬥ VIETNAM ⬥ JAPAN ⬥ FRANCE ⬥ HAITI&nbsp;Don’t want to leave the country? There are plenty of thrilling trips to take right here in the States! In fact, most Qapital users’ top travel spots this year were right here in the U.S. of A.&nbsp;PORTLAND ⬥ BOSTON ⬥ NASHVILLE ⬥ NEW YORK&nbsp; ⬥ LAKE TAHOE ⬥ DENVER ⬥ LOS ANGELES ⬥ ATLANTA ⬥ SAN FRANCISCO&nbsp;&nbsp;Happy travels!&nbsp;&nbsp;*The Qapital Visa® Debit Card is issued by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC.**Qapital does not charge foreign transaction fees on purchases you make abroad with your Qapital Visa® Debit Card, however Visa® and international vendors sometimes do. Please note that if you use your Qapital Visa® Debit Card internationally, Visa® may include an International Service Assessment (ISA) fee of up to 1% of the total transaction amount.Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.

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These Qapital Travel Tips Will Save You Time and Money

Automation has always been core to what we do. We started by helping members save toward their financial goals effortlessly. After more than 100,000 five-star reviews and over $3 billion saved to date, we knew we were on to something.Qapital® Payday Divvy™&nbsp;takes our “set and forget” approach beyond saving, and makes budgeting a no-brainer, too.<h2>How does Payday Divvy work?</h2>Automatically, every payday. Tell us how often you get paid and how you’d like to divide your income, then set it and forget it. It takes just a few minutes to get started, and you can pause or make changes anytime.<h2>What can I use Payday Divvy for?</h2>Payday Divvy helps you get your $$$$ together. More specifically, it automatically sets money aside for savings, investments, and spending when you get paid. You decide how much moves to your Qapital goals, and the rest of your paycheck stays in your linked bank account.<h2>What is the right amount to set aside with Payday Divvy?</h2>The amount to set aside will be unique to you, depending on your short-term goals, long-term investment strategies, recurring expenses, and bills. Start with a comfortable amount that you know you can afford. You can always adjust it later.<h2>Ready to try Payday Divvy?</h2><a href="https://app.adjust.com/5zj06l8_zl1a4bt?campaign=Get_the_app_button&amp;adgroup=Header&amp;creative=Top&amp;fallback=https%3A%2F%2Fqapital.com%2Fdownload%2F&amp;engagement_type=fallback_click">Download the Qapital app</a>, if you haven’t already, and give it a go. It takes just a few minutes to get started.&nbsp;&nbsp;Qapital, LLC is not a bank; banking services provided by Lincoln Savings Bank, Member FDIC, and other partner banks. Advisory services provided by Qapital Invest, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. The information provided herein is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice. Copyright © 2023 Qapital, LLC - All rights reserved.