I talk (or write, if you prefer) a lot about rewards credit cards, and how I try to use them as much as possible, simply, because I like the rewards! But what I don’t talk much about is staying on a budget while using only those credit cards. Today that’ll change. Because that’s exactly what this post is about.

Benefits of credit cards

Using credit cards for most of your spending can be very beneficial. I’ve touched on it before. You can earn hundreds of dollars a year in points. And how can I forget about the sign-up bonuses? Most of the time just signing up for a good travel credit card can mean a free round trip flight, or a free night or two at a hotel.

Dangers of credit cards

Investing your money is not always easy. If you're just getting into it you probably are thinking about nightmare scenarios where the stock market crashes and you lose all your money. Is that kind of thing possible? Sure. Likely? No. That's why it makes headlines when it happens. Because it doesn't happen very often. 

By investing your hard earned money you're taking more of a risk, but the reward is far greater. For example, if you keep your money in a normal savings account (we'll pick on Chase today), you'll actually lose money. Chase has an interest rate of 0.03%. That's embarrassingly pathetic. The reason you're "losing" money is because of inflation. In other words, your money (however much you "saved") will buy less this year than last year.  Even a savings account that has a better interest rate (like Capital One 360, which I use) is more than likely less than the yearly inflation rate. 

On the other hand, if you had any money in, say, an investment account that puts your money into ETFs (which is similar to an index fund) last year, it probably would have grown by about 11%. That's some good growth! Over the long term, you can expect a 6-7% return on their money. This, according to Warren Buffett in a Bloomberg article. I would argue he knows what he's talking about, no?

You can (and should) have both a savings and investment account. I think of an investment account as more of a semi long term thing. As an example, if you have cash you don't plan on spending right now, and you want it to grow, an investment account is the way to go. 

Let's say you've decided to open an investment account. Where do you start? There are several ways you can go about opening one. I'll go through three different ways you can get your money invested.  

As far as I'm concerned travel and money go hand in hand. You can't do one without the other. Unfortunately, those that have the worst reputation when it comes to finances are those who are my age. They're in their 20s and early 30s. For the most part, I'd agree with that assessment. No doubt, my generation (millennials) has had it rough. However, what generation hasn't?