Below is a list of the “Ivy League” colleges ranked by acceptance rate for incoming freshman using the most recent data available, which means the Class of 2024 (which began in the fall of 2020) in most cases:

• Brown University – 6.9% (2533 accepted for fall 2020 out of 36,794 applications)
• Columbia University – 6.1% (2465 accepted for fall 2020 out of 40,084 applications)
• Cornell University – 10.9% (5330 accepted for fall 2019 out of 49,114 applications)
• Dartmouth College – 8.8% (1881 accepted for fall 2020 out of 21,394 applications)
• Harvard University – 4.9% (1980 accepted for fall 2020 out of 40,248 applications)
• University of Pennsylvania – 8.1% (3404 accepted for fall 2020 out of 42,205 applications)
• Princeton University – 5.6% (1823 accepted for fall 2020 out of 32,836 applications)
• Yale University – 6.5% (2304 accepted for fall 2020 out of 35,220 applications)

Below we list all the Fortune 500 companies from 2020 in alphabetical order:

• 3M
• Abbott Laboratories
• Abbvie
• ABM Industries
• Activision Blizzard
• Adobe
• Advance Auto Parts
• Advanced Micro Devices
• AECOM
• AES
• Aflac
• AGCO
• AIG
• Air Products & Chemicals
• AK Steel Holding
• Alaska Air Group
• Albertsons
• Alcoa
• Alleghany

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

People become millionaires in many ways, but millionaires also have much in common. If you want to know how to become a millionaire, it’s easy enough to give you the formula (or formulas), but if you’re not willing to put in the work, it’s not going to happen.

In general, there are 3 ways to become a millionaire (though there are a few fluke millionaires out there that didn’t follow these paths, such as lottery winners and inherited fortunes):

1. Own a profitable business. (Even better is selling your profitable business.)
2. Work in a high-paying profession, such as doctor, banker, corporate attorney, computer engineer, and others.
3. Work a decent-paying profession making, say, $50,000 per year, and save a huge amount of everything you make while never marrying, never having children, rarely vacationing, and having almost no luxuries.

If being a millionaire, or at least being well off, is important to you, we would suggest one of the first two paths. The last path is no fun, regardless of how much money you amass. Few of us really want to be the schoolteacher who saves 90% of her earnings and puts them in safe stocks for 50 years and leaves $2 million behind at the expense of having really lived a full life. (A caveat here: in households where both parents work, each can have modest incomes and together achieve millionaire status as a household much easier than a single person with a modest income.)

Updated June 13, 2019 – If you’ve ever been pitched on opening a new credit card at a retail store while making a purchase, you know that some stores are more than happy to give you instant credit — you apply on the spot, get approved, and you can use the card immediately. Below we offer a list of such cards, including regular bank credit cards as well as retail credit cards. Apply online and get shopping today. (Note that instant approval is not guaranteed.)

• American Express Cards – Most American Express credit cards and charge cards now offer the possibility of an “Instant Card Number” upon approval. Your “eligibility is based on our ability to instantly validate your identity.” If you are eligible, you’ll get an Instant Card Number that you can use even before you have the physical card in hand. Note, however, that you may not be able to access your card’s complete credit line instantly.
• PayPal Cashback Mastercard – One of our very favorite credit cards on the market also lets you use your card today if you are approved instantly. Here’s the language they use to describe the process: “If you’re approved, in most cases, a temporary credit line will instantly be added to your PayPal account and you can start using it on PayPal right away – – even before you receive your card.” Beyond the instant approval, this card gives you a 2% rebate on everything you buy with it — which is the top of the market for cash-back cards with a flat rate on all purchases.

No credit card reward is more flexible than cash. That’s why cash back credit cards are the favorite type of card for most people. You might prefer a card that gives you a nice, generous flat rate on all of your purchases, as much as 2%, or you might prefer cards that give greater rewards for certain purchase categories. Some people are willing to juggle multiple cards to always get the maximum, as much as 5% on some purchases. Below we offer our picks for the best cash back cards on the market today, starting with flat-rate cards. All of these have no annual fee unless otherwise noted:

• Citi Double Cash – Get 2% cash back on all your purchases. You get a 1% rebate when you make the purchase, and get the other 1% when you pay it off. If you’re paying your balance in full each month (and you should), you’ll get the 2% right away; if not, you’ll still get 2% as long as you eventually pay off your purchases.
• PayPal Cashback Mastercard – Get 2% cash back on all purchases, but note that the 2% rebate is deposited into your PayPal account. It’s easy enough to transfer it out to your bank account if you’d like, but it does require an extra step.

By ProudMoney.com Staff

This is the cut-to-the-chase list of our Top 10 credit cards (actually 13, oops), based on overall quality, which could mean any combination of rewards, low interest rates, or other features that we choose. Which is the best credit card? We’ll give you our #1 choice, but you’ll be proud to go into financial battle with any of the others, too:

#1 PayPal Cashback Mastercard – You get 2% cash back on every purchase with this card, which is accepted anywhere that takes Mastercard, both online and offline. Your cash rebates are deposited straight to your PayPal account (you’ll need to establish a PayPal account if you don’t already have one), where you can use that cash toward online purchases or have it moved to your bank account. No annual fee and a generous, easy-to-understand rebate formula puts this newer credit card right up at the top as the everyday cash-back choice in today’s market. No foreign transaction fees, either. (The only downside is high interest rates over 20%, so don’t carry a balance!)

#2 Citi Double Cash Card – Citi unnecessarily complicates this offer, which fools some into not realizing how good it is. Bottom line: You get 2% cash back on all your purchases, provided you eventually pay them off. What that means: You get 1% cash back on the purchase as soon as you make it, then you get 1% cash back on your card balance payments. 1% + 1% = 2%. No annual fee.

Updated May 12, 2020 – Most savings accounts aren’t throwing off gobs of interest payments. But if you’re willing to look — and we are — you can find online savings accounts giving you more than the paltry rate your local bank is probably giving.

Below is our list of the best online savings accounts based on annual percentage yields (APY). Most have no monthly fee, but may limit the number of monthly withdrawals or have minimums to open or maintain an account.

• SFGI Direct — 1.56% APY, $500 minimum opening deposit, no monthly fee.
• Live Oak Bank – 1.55% APY, no minimum balance, no monthly fee.
• American Express Bank — 1.50% APY, no monthly fee, no minimum deposit
• Dollar Savings Direct – 1.50% APY, no minimum balance, no monthly fee.
• Citizens Access – Offers a 1.50% APY, but note the $5000 minimum to get and keep that rate.
• CIBC US – Earn a 1.45% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on your savings. Requires $1000 minimum deposit to begin, but any positive balance after that will continue to earn you the 1.45% rate.
• The CIT Savings Builder Account gives you a 1.45% APY, but only if you meet one of the following two requirements: maintain at least a $25,000 balance or deposit a minimum of $100 each month. If you can’t do that, you might still consider a CIT High Yield Savings Account that gives a 1.25% APY without having to do anything more than an initial $100 deposit.

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

When people find out I write about credit cards (and make videos about credit cards), they always ask, “What’s the best credit card?” And I always say (of course), “That depends.” There is no “best” credit card that fits every single person. However, there is a way to help you figure out which credit card will be best for you.

Who are you?

First you need to discover who you are as a credit card user. Specifically, how do you answer these questions:

• How is your credit history?
• Do you carry a balance on your credit cards?
• How much do you spend with your credit cards?
• What rewards fit your preferences and your lifestyle?

These questions are almost like a decision tree. Going from top to bottom in that list, the way you answer each question will tell you either what type of card to get or whether you should move on to the other questions. Let’s take them one by one and you’ll see what I mean.

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

Consumer Reports has long been a respected name when it comes to reviewing consumer products and choosing the best of the options in the marketplace. Its coverage of cars & trucks is especially well respected, because it offers reviews of new vehicles as well as used vehicles, including information on which cars have the most problems (and fewest problems) and how long you can expect a certain make and model to last.

To us, it is established that Consumer Reports provides value. But the question is: how much value? Is it worth it to be a paid subscriber?

How much is a subscription?

Let’s talk first about what Consumer Reports actually costs. You can get an online subscription for $35 per year, or you can choose to get that online subscription at $10 per month if you want to test it out for a shorter term. (But note that it will automatically renew each month unless you stop it.)

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

Originally published February 21, 2018 – Kevin Costner has only spoken to me once. His words weren’t important, though.*** Instead, what I learned about value came from watching him.

In the spring of 2013, the movie Draft Day was filmed in Cleveland (where I live), and I ended up with a front row seat to much of the filming, getting to watch Kevin Costner, Denis Leary, and Jennifer Garner work (not to mention Black Panther‘s Chadwick Boseman). In an unlikely stroke of luck, I got to be Denis Leary’s stand-in during the filming, essentially pretending to be him while the crew set up cameras and lighting for each scene.

(I was also an extra in the airport scene; you won’t want to miss me driving a golf cart both forward and backward.)

Draft Day centers around the general manager of the Cleveland Browns (played by Costner) as he wheels and deals on the day of the NFL Draft. Denis Leary plays the new Browns coach who doesn’t see eye to eye with his GM. Jennifer Garner is the team’s salary cap expert and Costner love interest. Boseman is a potential draftee.

What you realize when you’re on the set of a film starring Kevin Costner is how much pressure is on Kevin Costner. He is in almost every scene, filming is virtually non-stop for 6 weeks or so, and he has to deliver over and over again. Almost every eye is on him no matter where he goes on the set. It’s not far-fetched to say the movie only exists because Kevin Costner was willing to do it, so in many ways he was like the film’s CEO, with the responsibility of making it work so everyone else can get paid. That’s a lot to take on. (For those under 30, Kevin Costner may just seem like an older actor, but he was THE movie star of the late 1980s and ’90s.)