While I have a history of working in financial institutions prior to having children, I have always been a bit confused and intimidated by the stock market and the trading industry. Trying to figure out how to make a purchase and what the minimum investment amounts of various stocks are, was challenging at best. In my office, we had one licensed investment broker, but his minimum investment amount was significantly more than the amount of money I had available at the time, so I never took the plunge and invested through his services. Now that my children are getting older and college is in their not too distant futures, it’s past time for me to get serious about saving for my future, and investing is something I’d like to be a part of that process.
“In exchange for my honest and unbiased review, I received a $25 gift card to try out Stockpile. This post contains a referral link and you & I will receive $5 of stock if you sign up via my link. I am not a market professional and not responsible for gains or losses that you may experience. I am not affiliated with or own an investment in any company or brand mentioned and have no plans to do so. Securities products are not FDIC insured. Not bank guaranteed. May lose value.”
When I received my $25 gift card, I set up my Stockpile account in just a few minutes. It was a very user-friendly process. I redeemed my gift code and used it to purchase a fractional share of Apple Stock 0.17084 shares to be exact 🙂 Over time, as the stock value changes, my investment will hopefully increase. It’s very easy to purchase additional fractional shares by transferring cash in via your bank account. I also like that you can send a gift card or shares of stock to someone from any one of thousands of companies. I think this would make an EXCELLENT gift idea for anyone from a newborn (so the stock has years to grow and compound) to high school or college graduates, newlyweds, etc. Buying and selling stock costs just $0.99 if you pay with cash, so if you chose to make a $25 investment it would cost $25.99. The website is so easy to navigate and they have a FAQ page that answered all of my questions.
I really enjoyed browsing the Stockpile Website and educating myself on how easy and affordable they’ve made investing. I am excited to gift some stock to my kids this year. I’m planning to let them select the company THEY want to invest in, purchase the shares, and then follow the progress with them. If they can get started investing now, in middle and high school, understanding how the process works while growing and acquiring stocks of their own, I feel like they’ll be better prepared to make wise financial investments when it’s time for them to leave the nest.
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