What is a “baller”? If you Google the word, you can string together the definition as “a successful person who lives a lavish lifestyle similar to a professional ball player’s, movie stars’ or musical performer’s.” Okay, we can accept that.
But how do YOU become a baller? Unless you have an arm like Patrick Mahomes, legs like Giselle, or pipes like Beyonce - you’re going to have to do it the old fashion way….On a budget!
Here is our definitive guide on how to live the baller lifestyle on a serious budget:
1. Build A RockStar Stock Portfolio With Just $1.00
Ballers like 50 cent, George Clooney and Ashton Kutcher are shrewd investors. Stash is an app that allows you to start investing* just like them! The only difference is that you just need $1 to stock building your empire. Stash allows you to buy fractional shares in public companies starting at $1.00. By purchasing fractional shares in any public companies like Amazon, Netflix, Ford, Apple, Kroger, or Walmart, anyone can afford to build real wealth and own a piece of some of the greatest companies in the world.
You can build a diversified portfolio with very little money. A Stash Invest account allows you to invest with as little as $0.05 (nickel). When you open a Stash Invest account and deposit at least $5, Stash will give you a bonus of $5 to invest.
2. Ballers Usually Have Good Credit - Do This To Boost Yours
It’s tough to “ball out” ball with a 525 FICO. Register for Experian Boost™ and watch your FICO® score take off. Experian Boost™ is a free app by one of the largest credit reporting agencies on the planet.
All you have to do is sign up and verify that you have been paying your bills on time (cell phone bill, streaming services like Netflix, cable bill, or other utilities), and you could get an INSTANT credit score boost. Plus, it’s FREE! There’s no easier way to improve your credit. On average, users see a 13-point increase in their FICO® Score 8, which is based on Experian data.
Registering for Experian Boost is easy. Just connect the bank account(s) you use to pay your bills. Choose and verify the positive payment data you want added to your Experian credit file, and viola, receive an updated FICO score. Results will vary, see Experian’s™ website for full details.
3. Ballers Don’t Swim In Debt - Consolidate Yours With Fiona
Most of us have debt. But finding the right personal loan and getting approved can take months. To live the life you want, you need to manage your debt. That’s why Even, the leading search, comparison, and recommendation engine for financial services, created “Fiona”.
Fiona is the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to search loans and savings accounts from the top providers. By filling out a simple form, Fiona checks if you are pre-approved and gets the best offers from the top providers for you in seconds, so you can get instantly matched with the right personalized offer all in one place. You can borrow as much as $100,000, with loan terms of up to 7 years. The interest rate you’ll pay will depend on your creditworthiness. It will take you less than 60 seconds to apply.
4. Shop Like A Baller, With This $2,500 0% APR Credit Limit
Ballers shop! If you like to shop, you need to shop within your means. Zebit, lets you do just that. Zebit is an online store that offers no interest, no membership fees, and no FICO® score needed.
Zebit allows its customers access to a $2,500 line of credit to shop thousands of products on their site. Zebit offers members the flexibility to pay for anything they buy over time. This includes gift cards! Zebit members can finance gift card purchases to stores like Macy’s, Target, Lowes, Banna Republic, Old Navy, Gap, and more. Plus, you can also finance gift card purchases to some of your favorite restaurants. Members can use these gift cards to shop. It’s that easy.
Zebit offers every type of product you can imagine on their site. Electronics, computers, furniture, jewelry, clothing, baby items, and appliances. Shop directly from Zebit’s website for major brands like Apple, MCM, Samsung, Fitbit, Kitchenaide, Sony Playstation - you’re not getting cheap stuff!
To qualify for a Zebit account, you will need to be over 18, employed, retired, or disabled with benefits.
5. Become A Real Estate Mogul For Cheap
How cool will it be when you tell your friends you own a 25 story high rise in downtown NY? Fundrise lets you do that. Fundrise is a crowdfunding platform that lets you invest in commercial real estate projects all across the US. You can invest in a combination of the company’s two primary investments – eREITS, or electronic real estate investment trusts, and eFunds, or electronic real estate funds.
Instead of needing millions to get involved in these types of deals, you will only need $500 with Fundrise. The Fundrise is not a short term thing. You should expect to have your money tied up for about five years.
Fundrise investments are mostly illiquid. Unlike traditional REITs, this company offers eREITs that aren’t publicly traded on a major stock exchange. This means you won’t be able to sell or cash out your investments as quickly as you could with other assets such as stocks and mutual funds.
Build Your Real Estate Portfolio
6. Ball Out & Pay Less For Your Car When You Join This Credit Union
We all love fancy cars. But can we afford them? You may be able to if you belong to a good credit union. Credit unions were founded on the philosophy of people helping people. Consumers Credit Union (aka CCU) has been serving customers for nearly 100 years. Unlike other credit unions, it’s unique that anyone can join, regardless of where you live or work. CCU has over 1,800 Service Center branches nationwide.
CCU offers some of the most competitive auto loan rates in the nation, even for people with bad credit. Credit unions, like CCU, are more forgiving with their lending requirements than banks and other lenders. CCU even allows some borrowers to finance the full purchase amount, with no downpayment. Plus, you will get 24hr mechanical/emergency repair coverage.
Expert Tip: If you open a “Membership Share/Savings Account” with just a $5.00 deposit, CCU may provide you with up to 0.5% rate reduction on your auto loan.
Being a member starts your relationship and can provide you access to mortgages, credit cards, or student loans at lower APRs. Checking your rate now will NOT affect your credit score! Rates start as low as 2.6% APR.
7. Get $100 To Open A No Fee Bank Account
Ballers love “black cards”. Black cards come with hefty annual fees. Avoid the fees and open an account with Aspiration Bank.
Aspiration is an online-only bank offering most of the services your big bank does, without any of the fees.
What makes Aspiration different? There are zero minimum balance fees, overdraft fees, and ATM fees when you use your Aspiration Bank Debit MasterCard. Your debit card also gets you 0.5% cashback on all purchases - making it a cash-back-card! You get this debit card when you open the Aspiration Summit Checking Account. A checking account with NO monthly fees.
The Aspiration Bank Summit Account is an interest-bearing checking account that you can open with as little as $10. According to the bank’s website, the account earns an APY of 1%, which is up to 100 times better than the interest rate offered at big banks. Open your account to boost your score and save on fees!
8. Most Ballers Have Life Insurance - You Should Too
Bestow offers instant term life insurance policies online, up to $1,000,000 so there are no appointments or delays. You simply visit their website to get started. You can get same-day/immediate coverage if you qualify. Yes, you could have full coverage in 10 minutes. Plus, you don’t have to take a medical exam.
Answer a few questions on Bestow’s mobile-enabled website, and the company uses data and algorithms to make decisions and set prices. Bestow offers term life insurance with terms of 10 or 20 years.
North American Company for Life and Health Insurance® issues the policies sold by Bestow. For over 130 years, North American has been a provider of life insurance in the United States.
They carry an A+ rating from A.M. Best. A.M. Best’s Financial Strength Rating is an independent opinion of an insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations. A rating of A+ by A.M. Best means North American Company for Life and Health Insurance® has a superior ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations.
So basically, it means your loved ones will get paid if anything were to happen to you.
9. Have A Crew To Take Care Of The Little Things
Ballers have a full staff to take care of all the “little things”. Well, BillShark can now be your crew to take care of the little things. BillShark, backed by Shank Tank star Mark Cuba, is a bill negotiating tool that will negotiate savings on your monthly bills. If they can’t negotiate any savings for you, you don’t pay. BillShark claims to have an 85% success rate.
They are professional bill negotiators and have experience negotiating savings on monthly bills at top companies such as Cox, ADT, Comcast, Time Warner, DirecTV, Verizon, and many more.
BillShark works because you open an account with them, download their mobile app, snap photos of your bill, and then upload them to BillShark. You’ll input some info about yourself as well. BillShark will ask what parts of your statement are okay to negotiate.
10. Ballers Don’t Mind Paying Full Price - You Should Use Coupon Codes
There’s no shame in saving money. That’s why Capital One created Capital One Shopping to help you save when you shop online.
Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension that allows you to use available coupon codes for thousands of shopping websites. It will show if lower prices are available on another site and then provide a working coupon or promo codes so that you can save even more.
It even works on Amazon! When you’re browsing on Amazon, Capital One Shopping works in the background, checking prices at hundreds of other retailers and sellers.
The plugin adds a widget directly to the Amazon page that tells you whether there’s a lower price in its extensive database of retailers.
You can also qualify for Capital One Shopping Credits, which can be redeemed for gift cards.
When you’re on a partner’s site, the extension button will show the percentage of Credits you can earn. All you have to do is “activate” the offer by clicking the button — it’s basically free money.
Add Capital One Shopping To Your Computer
11. Stop Paying Insurance Agents & Save About $800/Yr
What if someone offered you $825.00 in cash? Would you take it? We would! Gabi, an insurance shopping comparison engine, is an essential app that allows average users to save $825.00 a year.
Gabi can help you find and switch to a cheaper insurance rate within minutes - for free! Just download the app, and follow the instructions. Once you’re registered, you will need to allow Gabi to scan your current online insurance account Gabi is 100% safe and secure.
Gabi will do the rest. Gabi can compare your current rate with other insurance companies like Progressive, Travelers, Nationwide, Kemper, Safeco, and many more.
12. Ballers Plan Ahead, If You Get Sick Or Hurt You Need A Plan
Nowadays, we all need a plan if we can’t work. 25 % of Americans suffer a disability before retirement. These disabilities could affect your income-earning ability. If you can’t earn, you can’t be a baller. Life events such as these can be catastrophic, but they do not have to be if you use Breeze Disability Insurance.
No one enjoys buying disability insurance, but Breeze offers an easy online solution. You tell Breeze a little about yourself, select your coverage, and then apply. There are no agents with high-pressure sales tactics, and you are in control of the decision that best meets your need. Breeze starts at just $9.00 a month.
*Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This material has been distributed for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Investing involves risk. This material is not intended as investment advice and is not meant to suggest that any securities are suitable investments for any particular investor. Investment advice is only provided to Stash customers. The offer is subject to Promotion Terms & Conditions.