That's basically what they do. Robinhood used to be the most accessible platform out there, with only $100 required. Same for eToro.
But now Acorns lets you invest in index funds for just $5. They heavily market to young people, who don't earn much yet. Like me! And all my friends & family...
Acorns is made for people investing for the first time. As a result, they simplified everything they could. You sign up, choose how aggressive you want to be and put some money in. That's all, now it grows automatically.
It's a big contrast with other platforms, especially if you're a finance nerd like me. I LOVE it. So many people are scared of investing, it sounds intimidating when finance is not your thing. On my other brokerage platforms, I can go for heavy graphs and constantly moving tickers, on Acorns I just see a screen with how much money I put in & how much it has grown.
Acorns is an investment platform, not a savings account. This means you see fluctations of your money. Instead of getting $ every month or year, Acorns goes up a bunch, then drops and then rises again.
Here's an article on BizBeginner that explains more about it.
This is important, because if you withdraw your money during a drop, it cannot go up anymore. Acorns is meant to be kept invested for several years to maximize your profits.
That said, I do use it as a savings account. On my own, I'm too lazy to save up pennies. Acorns does it automatically so I went from saving nearly nothing, to savings happening on their own. Easy peasy!
The best about Acorns is the extra cash. This won't happen for everyone! If you do affiliate marketing, you can go for their monthly referral bonuses. Last month you got $1000 for signing up 12 people. This month it will be $500 for signing up 5 people to Acorns later. I hit 25+ sign-ups, but criteria are strict and people cheat. In the end, I think exactly 12 people qualified - just enough to get the $1000 bonus. That will be the topic of my next post!
If you want to sign-up, use a referral link to get a free $5 sign-up bonus: https://acorns.com/invite/BV2FXE
