Compounding is one of the most important terms for a beginner investor to understand. Compounding is the process where any return earned on an investment gets added to the principal amount invested. The interest rate is then applied to that new, larger principal amount. Simply put, compounding is like earning interest on interest—similar to the snowball effect.

Over time, compounding could have an exponential effect on your money. That’s why it can be important to start saving and investing as soon as possible, to let the power of compounding work to its full advantage.

Investing can be a critical part of building wealth. As time passes, inflation can eat away at the value of your saved cash—making it worth less over the years. On the other hand, the average annual return of the S&P 500 has been around 8%, historically. Even if it’s just $1 at a time, it’s important to start investing as soon as possible so you can maximize your money’s growth potential and take advantage of compound returns over the years.

Stash is a personal finance app that can help anyone improve their financial life.

From budgeting to saving for retirement, Stash features banking, investing, and advice all in one app. We’ve helped millions of Americans reach their financial goals–all for one low monthly price.

Stash can give you everything you need to build wealth for the long-term. Here’s how Stash works.

1. Answer a few questions.

   When you first join Stash, we’ll get to know you by asking some questions. These help us understand your financial goals and provide useful, specific advice for things like investing and budgeting.

2. Pick a plan.

   Then, you’ll choose your subscription plan, starting at just $3/month.^†
   With Stash, you'll have access to a personal brokerage account, a retirement account, and a Smart Portfolio. You’ll also receive the Stock-Back^® Card that lets you earn stock when you spend. And there’s even more benefits depending on the plan you choose, like budgeting and saving tools, advice and education and more.

3. Add money to Stash.

   You can add money to Stash automatically or manually. It only takes 5 minutes to set up direct deposit to send either all or a part of your paycheck straight to Stash. You can even receive your paycheck up to 2 days early.³

4. Budget, save, and create goals

   Use our automatic budgeting and saving tools to organize your cash and track your spending.

5. Invest your way.

   You’ve got options. Choose to invest in fractional shares with $5 or less—you can pick from thousands of stocks and ETFs. You can also shop and earn stock with the Stock-Back^® Card .¹

   
   

   Stash is built for long-term investing, not day-trading, so all of our market transactions execute during four trading windows each weekday. (Note: Availability of trading windows is dependent on market conditions and may be subject to limitations.)

Stash is 100 percent legit. From investments made to cash set aside, you can feel confident in the security of your money.

• Stash uses cutting-edge security features.
• Stash is a registered investment advisor with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

  While such registration does not imply a certain level of skill, it does require us to follow federal regulations that protect you, the investor. By law, we must provide investment advice that is in the best interest of our client.

• Stash offers access to FDIC-insured banking accounts through Stride Bank N.A., member FDIC.¹

Learn more about how we protect you and your assets →

We offer two affordable monthly plans, Stash Growth and Stash+.

Stash Growth costs $3/month. Ideal for first-time investors, this plan includes a personal investment account, the Stock-Back® Card,¹ and saving tools. You’ll also get personalized advice geared toward your goals, along with a Roth or Traditional retirement account (IRA),⁴ an automated investing account (Smart Portfolio),⁷ and $1,000 of life insurance coverage through Avibra.^‡

Stash+ costs $9/month. It’s a great choice for savvy wealth builders and debit card spenders. It includes a personal investment account, and a Stock-Back^® Card that earns 1% back in stock on every swipe, up to $1000 per month.¹ Stash+ also gives you access to investment accounts for kids,⁵ a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA retirement account,⁴ and an automated investing account (Smart Portfolio)⁷. That’s in addition to personalized advice, an exclusive monthly market insights report, savings tools, and $10,000 of life insurance coverage through Avibra.^‡