Credit cards from retail stores often give customers instant approval. In fact, they often will approve you instantly, and even incentivize you to use that card the same day by giving you an immediate discount on your first purchase. Below is a list of store credit cards that may approve you instantly, along with information on any extras they might give you as a new cardholder:

• Amazon Rewards Visa / Amazon Prime Rewards Visa – According to the Amazon credit card’s terms, “If you respond via the Internet, the majority of applications are responded to in less than 15 seconds.” Assuming you are approved instantly, you’ll get a $60 Amazon gift card (with the regular Visa) or a $100 Amazon gift card (with the Prime Visa) loaded into your account immediately, and then you’ll also earn rewards on all your purchases: 3% at Amazon and at Whole Foods (5% if you are an Amazon Prime cardholder), 2% at restaurants, gas stations and drug stores, 1% everywhere else.
• Amazon Store Card – This Amazon credit card can only be used at Amazon, and is geared toward financing for large purchases. The website says you can get an “instant credit decision in as little as 15 seconds.” If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll get a 5% rebate on Amazon.com purchases made with the card.
• Apple Card – Apple (and card issuer Goldman Sachs) may approve you and let you use the card instantly, although at first you’ll only be able to use it from your iPhone or other Apple device. (You can also get a physical card but you’ll have to wait for that in the mail.) This cash-back MasterCard gives you a 3% rebate on your Apple purchases, 2% on most purchases when you use the card with Apple Pay (some Apple Pay purchases give 3%), and 1% on everything else.

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 $39 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.)

Updated November 2, 2020 – 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.

What movies make you want to get out there and make something happen? We’re not just talking about great stories of overcoming long odds, but instead movies that make YOU want to do something NOW! Below we offer our list of the 7 best motivational movies of all time:

Rocky – There’s a reason people are still running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, pretending to be Rocky 40+ years later. Even if you hate boxing, the idea of working your butt off to contend on a level where no one believes you have a chance is super motivating. When you are done with Rocky, you are ready to get outside and start being GREAT.

The Shawshank Redemption – Even when you are literally trapped, never stop looking for a way out. Tim Robbins stars as a man sent to jail for a crime he didn’t commit, who then becomes rather valuable to a corrupt warden. Morgan Freeman is Robbins’ jailhouse friend (and movie narrator) in a memorable role.

Below is a list of stores that accept Afterpay for “buy now, pay later’ financing, listed in alphabetical order:

• Adidas
• American Eagle
• Anthropologie
• ASOS
• Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL)
• Bandier
• BCBG
• BCBGeneration
• Birkenstock
• Boohoo
• Carhartt
• Clinique
• Cost Plus World Market
• Cotton On
• Crocs
• Cuyana
• Designer Revival
• Dillard’s
• DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse

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.)

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, 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. Blue Cash Preferred – If you have a big grocery bill every month, this American Express credit card is for you. The card has a $95 annual fee, but it very well could be worth it. You’ll earn a 6% rebate on your supermarket purchases (on up to $6000 per year on groceries), 6% back on streaming services, 3% at U.S. gas stations, 3% on transit (taxis, tolls, trains, Uber/Lyft), and 1% on any other purchases. If you’re spending over $3000 per year on groceries, this is a great rebate on those purchases even with the annual fee. (If you’re not spending that much on groceries, you may want to look at the no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday, which gives you 3% back on those groceries as well as 2% cash back on gas.)

#3. Chase Freedom Flex – Chase took a pretty good card and made it much better in 2020, allowing this card to climb higher on this list. On top of earning 5% cash back in certain rotating purchasing categories each quarter, this card now offers 3% back on dining purchases, 5% back on travel purchased through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards travel site, 3% on drugstore purchases, and 1% everywhere else. The card has also been offering hefty bonuses for new cardholders. Overall, this card got a really nice facelift which makes it a must-have.