Financial Websites: 3 of the Best

It seems like every day we hear about smart, new financial websites and apps designed to change the way we save, shop, bank, invest and more. Here are some of the most interesting; perfect for my clients that own luxury real estate in Santa Barbara:
1) LikeFolio
Designed to allow you to invest in what you like, this website combs through your likes, status updates and check-ins on your Facebook and Twitter pages looking for mentions of brands and products. That info goes through a database of more than 30,000 keywords and phrases that is linked to 2,500 publicly traded companies to find the top five companies you and your friends chat about the most. It also shows your portfolio would have performed had you been investing in them the prior year. The founder believes that knowing about the products and brands that you like will help you be an educated and competent investor. Check out their video.
2) Wallaby
This website and app takes the guesswork out of maximizing your credit card rewards. Users simply load their credit cards into a virtual wallet to receive recommends about which card to swipe based on each card’s rewards program. You can set your own preferences and plans are in the works to introduce a Wallaby credit card next year that will automatically maximize your rewards. When launched, this credit card will be free of charge and more than 20,000 people are already on the wait list.
3)  Simple
Bank without any fees by using this website and app that is a mobile alternative to mainstream banking. Since there are with no branches or branded ATMs, this bank charges zero monthly fees and provides a network of 55,000 free ATMs to customers. You must receive an invitation to join but that’s the easy part. Just request an invite from the website and voila, free banking! Since launching in July of 2013, more than 65,000 customers have joined, and the bank has processed more than $1.5 billion in transactions. Check out this video.
A recent article in CNN Money has a list of even more financial websites and apps to check out. Of course, CNN Money has also featured the Montecito housing market. If you are looking to buy a new luxury home in Montecito, or any of the other upscale communities of Santa Barbara, I invite you to check out my website,give me a call at 805.886.9378 or email me at Cristal@montecito-estate.com. With more than 25 years in the industry, consistently rated in the top 1% of Sotheby’s International Realty nationwide, I have the experience and passion to make your home buying dreams come true!