January is a fantastic month for sign-up offers, and I came across a couple of fresh ones I wanted to pass along!
Both of these opportunities require a modest cash outlay, but you can still walk away with roughly $175.20 for about 20 minutes of effort. Additionally, either option would make a solid place to start saving for 2015.
Note – both accounts need an initial deposit, so if you can’t be without the funds for a few months, you might want to skip these.
Also, I typically recommend putting surprise windfalls like these into a retirement or emergency savings account. It’s an easy way to build savings, and if you take advantage of the bonuses posted throughout the year, it can add up to a few thousand dollars in extra savings annually.
Here’s the breakdown…
1. Open an Account at TradeKing & Receive $100
The team at TradeKing is offering new U.S. customers a $100 incentive when you open an Individual or Joint account and execute three stock trades. I love referral bonuses like this because they’re quick and usually profitable. This one took me roughly 10 minutes to finish.
TradeKing charges $4.95 per trade, so after completing three trades I still cleared $85.15 in extra cash. If you want to try it, here’s what to do…
1. Open a new Individual or Joint account (IRAs, other tax-exempt, linked, or shared accounts are excluded). Be sure to use the promo code “2015” when opening the account and fund it to qualify for the $100 reward.
3. Make at least three trades within 90 days of opening the account. I’m not planning to trade volatile stocks since I don’t want to risk losing money. This isn’t investment advice, but I selected a conservative Vanguard mutual fund (VWINX). It’s traded in a narrow band around $24.50–$25.50 for much of the year, so it’s fairly stable and minimizes risk.
4. The $100 bonus will be credited to the account within 90 days. Nice! It’s not immediate cash, but I don’t mind. It’s headed straight to long-term savings.
2. Open an Account at MotifInvesting.com & Get $100
Update: This offer has expired.
Motif Investing also ran a promotion this month where you could earn an extra $100!
Motif stands out among online brokers because instead of selecting single stocks you invest in a themed bundle of companies (usually 20–30) from the same niche. It’s similar to a mutual fund, but motifs cover topics from Clean Energy to Republican Companies to Healthy and Tasty to Obamacare. Basically, whatever sector or trend you’re interested in can likely be found on Motif…
Motif charges $9.95 per trade, so after making a qualifying trade you’d net $90.05 in bonus cash.
(Editor’s Note: The sign-up bonus is no longer available, but you may still qualify for three months of Motif service free.)
Need Extra Motivation?
Put this bonus money into an IRA for retirement. LendingClub is a personal favorite (I’m earning about 14% annually), but any solid option will work.
If you can keep adding $175 each month into this account for 30 years, assuming a 10% annual return, you’d finish with about $364,054! Imagine that — which is why I’m a big believer in taking small money-making chances when they present themselves.
Your turn: Did you grab any of these bonuses? Are you saving it or treating yourself to something nice?
