Financial Goals

How do you Value the Future?

Behavioral studies show that people consistently over-discount the future -- spending money today rather than investing it for the future.

By Mary Biggins
| Published: May 23, 2011

Think about this: if you invest $10 today and receive an average annual return of 9% – the market average over the past 90 years – your investment would be worth nearly $25 at the end of 10 years. That same $10 invested in a savings account? Probably won’t keep up with the rate of inflation.

Today, at TechCrunch Disrupt, we’ll challenge conference attendees to make the right long term decisions with their money. We’ll be offering attendees $10 in cash today … or, $25 as a Betterment account bonus if they are willing to wait 50 days.

Attending TechCrunch? Stop by our table to show us how you value the future.

Not attending TechCrunch? We challenge you, too. Where are you spending money today that you could be investing for the future?

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Using Investment Goals at Betterment

Goal-based investing. The idea is prized among financial advisors—and our team at Betterment—but to the everyday investor, it’s often difficult to put into practice.

Explore your first goal

Safety Net

This is a great place to start—an emergency fund for life's unplanned hiccups. A safety net is a conservative portfolio.

Retirement

Whether it's a long way off or just around the corner, we'll help you save for the retirement you deserve.

General Investing

If you want to invest and build wealth over time, then this is the goal for you. This is an excellent goal type for unknown future needs or money you plan to pass to future generations.

Smart Saver

You could earn 20X more than a typical savings account with our low-risk investing account for your extra cash.

Explore your first step toward a better financial future

Save

Put your extra cash to work. You could earn 20X more than the average savings account with Smart Saver, our low-risk investing account.

Invest

Invest without the hassle. We manage your portfolio, offer expert allocation advice, and take care of the manual trading work.

Retire

Whether retirement is a long way off or just around the corner, we'll help you plan for the retirement you deserve.

Learn

Get answers to your questions about Betterment. We can help you become more confident with your money.