Market Performance: March 26, 2024.

US stocks reversed gains late in Tuesday's trading day as markets continued to take a breather from a record-setting run that's become the story on Wall Street during the first quarter of the year.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), which was on pace for a record close, fell late in the session to close down roughly 0.4%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped nearly 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped about 0.1%.

On Tuesday, the focus turned to economic data. Durable goods orders rebounded during the month of February, rising 1.4% last month amid increases in transportation equipment and machinery orders, according to the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

Pros and Cons of 'Cash Stuffing' to Save Money in 2024

"Loud budgeting" isn't the only big TikTok personal finance trend. Some Gen Zers are also using social media to proclaim their enthusiasm for a way of budgeting that is much more old fashioned. Older generations might know it as "the envelope method."

But Gen Z calls it "cash stuffing."

Cash stuffing advantage No. 1: Seeing is believing

There's an old saying that "out of sight is out of mind." Sometimes the convenience of credit cards and online bill pay causes people to lose track of their spending -- before you know it, you're spending more than you can afford. Cash stuffing lets you literally see and handle your money, right before your eyes. Seeing an entire paycheck as a pile of cash might feel more "real" than just another number in a bank account. Some people might find that they're less likely to impulsively spend cash.

Cash stuffing advantage No. 2: Setting goals

Another trend in the TikTok videos about cash stuffing is that many of these Gen Zers like to use multiple cash stuffing envelopes for specific goals. They're stuffing money into a wide range of categories, some short-term like "paying off my phone" or longer-term like "saving for a deposit on a new apartment." Cash stuffing can be a useful way to salt away some extra cash for specific purposes, like a vacation or fun spending money.

Cash stuffing advantage No. 3: Flexible, targeted spending (and saving)

A big advantage of cash stuffing as a budgeting method is that it's flexible. This makes it a good choice for gig workers, people who get paid in cash, who work multiple jobs, have inconsistent work schedules, or otherwise have paychecks that aren't the same from month to month.

Cash stuffing disadvantage No. 1: Your money could get lost or stolen

Do you really want to have hundreds or thousands of dollars sitting in your home? What if your cash gets lost, stolen, or destroyed in a house fire or natural disaster? Hopefully none of those misfortunes will happen to you, but if they do, you're out of luck.

Cash stuffing disadvantage No. 2: Binders and envelopes don't pay interest

If you're saving for a long-term goal, or even a shorter-term goal like a vacation or a new car, why not keep your money in a high-yield savings account? You deserve to earn interest on your savings. Putting your savings in an interest-bearing savings account can help your money grow faster -- and watching that number get bigger each month feels really good.

Cash stuffing disadvantage No. 3: Paying in cash doesn't build credit

If you want to build credit history and improve your credit score, you can't just use cash -- you need credit cards or other credit accounts. If you want to use cash stuffing to get your money organized each month and make sure you have enough for your bills, that's great. But consider using credit cards to actually make some payments and increase your FICO® Score.

Best Investments in 2024

The term “investing” may conjure images of the frenetic New York Stock Exchange, or perhaps you think it’s something only meant for those wealthier, older or further along in their careers than you. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Many types of investments are accessible to virtually anyone regardless of age, income or career. Such factors will, however, influence which investments are best for you at this particular moment.

High-yield savings accounts

Online savings accounts and cash management accounts provide higher rates of return than you’ll get in a traditional bank savings or checking account. Cash management accounts are like a savings account-checking account hybrid: They may pay interest rates similar to savings accounts, but are typically offered by brokerage firms and may come with debit cards or checks.

Certificates of deposit

A certificate of deposit, or CD, is a federally insured savings account that offers a fixed interest rate for a defined period of time.

Bonds

Bonds can offer a relatively safe form of fixed-income to their investors. Lower risk bonds tend to pay lower interest than higher risk bonds, including government or corporate bonds.

Money market funds

Money market mutual funds are an investment product, not to be confused with money market accounts, which are bank deposit accounts similar to savings accounts. When you invest in a money market fund, your money buys a collection of high-quality, short-term government, bank or corporate debt.

Mutual funds

A mutual fund pools cash from investors to buy stocks, bonds or other assets. Mutual funds offer investors an inexpensive way to diversify — spreading their money across multiple investments — to hedge against any single investment’s losses.

Index funds

An index fund is a type of mutual fund that holds the stocks in a particular market index (e.g., the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average). The aim is to provide investment returns equal to the underlying index’s performance, as opposed to an actively managed mutual fund that pays a professional to curate a fund’s holdings.

Exchange-traded funds

Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are like mutual funds in that they pool investor money to buy a collection of securities, providing a single diversified investment. The difference is how they are sold: Investors buy shares of ETFs just like they would buy shares of an individual stock.

Alternative Investing