Stash

In a MOAT first, I’m about to gush about an app, a micro-investing app no less. It’s called Stash, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Investing's traditionally a walled garden for most artists, what with our lacking the mullah to, you know, pay rent and stuff. Consequently, anything involving money's an emotional trigger, so right out of the gate I feel like I need to say…

DON’T WORRY

All you need’s $5 to get started. Five whole bucks. Oh yes - sacrifice one hipster coffee and - hey presto - you’ve unleashed the mythical beast that is compound interest! 

Stash is an EXTREMELY user friendly mobile app that connects to your bank account. Each week (or month), you stash some cash away (ie save) and the app invests it for you in a portfolio of funds it puts together based on your investment interests. Again, relax - we’re talking beyond user friendly here. You can also invest in companies directly, and the app selects several solid, millennial-friendly crowd pleasers to choose from.

Here’s, in part, my current Stash portfolio:

I’m new to the app and still feeling my way through, so I opted to one-time buy several stocks and funds rather than set up weekly or monthly transfers. We artists typically don’t have a ton of disposable income, and Stash’s perfect for getting used to the market's rollercoaster ride without having too much skin in the game. It’s also ideal for swines like myself, willing to reallocate a few hundred bucks gathering dust in a conventional savings account. Fun money fund, baby! Cancun, here I come (eventually).

Stash makes saving and investing affordable for everyone, and with traditional safety nets going the way of the DoDo it's important we do what we can, however humble our means.