Financial Literacy with Mike

    Have you ever wanted to earn more on your money? Have you wondered how to go about doing it? Don't know where to start? Well in this post, I'm going to explain some of the easiest ways to have your money earn for you, suggest the options I would use to get started, and explain the important tools to have in your arsenal in order to take full advantage of getting your money to earn more.

    Let's start off by listing some of the more common ways to earn more money: 

• High Yield Savings (HYS) - these can be great options because they afford you the option to retain your money in a savings account that you can access. They can grow the money that you contribute typically between a 3.00% - 4.00% rate per month. (There are higher rates such as 5.00% and up - however - these are few and far between.) (Saving)
• Stocks (Stock Market) - having stock in a company gives you part ownership in that prospective company (like Amazon, Google, or Netflix) or commodity (such as gold, silver, or oil). No it doesn't mean you get to have it on demand, but there is value in having a precious resource that people could potentially use and need somewhere down the line. That gives you an upper-hand in the supply and demand chain. Stocks and commodities can go up and down in value due to the increase or decrease in the demand for them. The higher the demand, typically the higher the valuation for the stock and the more price that the stock or commodity is tracked at. Some companies may also elect to sharing profits. This is known as paying dividends.(Investing)
• Retirement Accounts (Through Your Company) - When you reach the age of 21 years old, some companies allow you to contribute into a retirement account. This means that you elect a portion of your paycheck, usually a percentage, into the companies retirement program. (Read your companies policies regarding this and what options they have available - Whether they match up to a certain percent, whether you are gradually vested or fully vested, how much of a minimum needs to be contributed in order to get the match - to name a few questions). The human resources director at your company should be able to guide you along with the process should you have any outstanding questions. Companies usually make it pretty easy to take advantage of these opportunities and are able to suggest, but not elect what is done with your money. You ultimately have the say in where it gets elected to (not them). They will have several options that they offer and can inform you on what they have and what has been performing well. They can also let you know if things have been growing stable or have been volatile. Go with the stable and try to stay away from the volatile. (Investing)

 Now these are just some of the options, that are available. There are other options but these are some of the most common ways to grow your money.