Back in January I wrote about "John," who was having trouble with past tense verbs, and "Julia," who couldn't quite get future tense down. They both scored around 70%, so on paper they looked about the same, even though they needed completely different things from their teacher. I want to continue speaking about this idea because it's a real problem Investant solves.

So in this post I want to walk through the analytics update we just shipped, which is our biggest step yet toward solving that problem. After that, I'll get into what's coming next with AI, including exactly how we plan to use it.

### What We Built

We rebuilt the analytics in Investant Academy from the ground up, with one goal in mind: every screen should answer the question a teacher actually came there with, before it shows you a bunch of charts.

When you open Analytics now, you start with your classrooms and whatever stands out across them, like which students need attention (and the reason why, such as low completion or a low score), and which questions gave your classes the most trouble. From there you can click into any classroom, then any assignment, then any single question, and each of those screens has its own link, so you can bookmark come back to it later if needed.

![1026AnalyticsOverview.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1792555151/1026_Analytics_Overview_35decb63e7.png)

### Seeing the Wrong Answer, Not Just the Score

Knowing that only 38% of the class got a question right tells you something went wrong, but it doesn't tell you what. So every question now shows which answers your students picked and who picked each one, and when a good chunk of the class lands on the same wrong answer, Investant Academy points it out for you.

Say you asked for the past tense of "bring," and most of Period 3 chose "She brang." Investant will signal to you the misconception the whole room shares, and now you know exactly what it is. You can see which students chose it and how your other classes did on the same question, which makes it a lot easier to decide where to spend your time.

![1026QuestionDrilldown.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1792555151/1026_Question_Drilldown_ea56246886.png)

There's also a grid of every student against every question, so you can take in a whole assignment at a glance. If a column is full of misses, the question (or the material behind it) probably needs another look, and if a row is full of misses, that's a student who could use some extra help.

![1026AssignmentMatrix.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1792555150/1026_Assignment_Matrix_e6d4672bb4.png)

### Spotting Patterns Across Assignments

One wrong answer on its own doesn't tell you much, but the same mistake showing up across three assignments usually does. That's the part I really wanted teachers to be able to see.

You can now tag each question with up to three skills, either from our standard list or ones you create yourself. Every answer then counts toward those skills across all of the assignments and live quizzes in a classroom. If a student scores 50% or below on a skill across two or more assignments, they're marked as "Needs practice," and if the whole class is struggling with a skill, it shows up as that classroom's weakest skill.

Here's an example from our demo classrooms. Maya is averaging over 85% and is on track overall, so by most measures she's doing great. But she's also missed past tense verbs on three separate assignments, and that's something a regular gradebook would never show you.

![1026StudentOverview.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1792555150/1026_Student_Overview_0536cb8ee8.png)

This is the John and Julia problem, solved for every student in every class, without anyone digging through a stack of papers to find it.

Since teachers act on these numbers in front of their students, we've also held ourselves to a few rules:

- Every percentage tells you what it's out of, so you'll see "72% of 18 graded answers" rather than just "72%"
- A student with nothing graded yet shows "no data yet," not zero
- An answer that hasn't been graded is never counted as wrong

### What's Live Right Now

- An overview of every classroom, with the students who need attention and the reason why
- Classroom, assignment, question and student screens, each with its own link
- Every answer choice on every question, with who chose it and the most common wrong answer
- A student-by-question grid for every assignment
- The same assignment or question compared across your classrooms
- A skill library, with up to three skills per question
- "Needs practice" flags for students who keep missing the same skill, plus each classroom's weakest skill
- Live Quiz results included in all of it

If you'd like to try it yourself, our [Academy Demo](https://investant.net/academy/demo) now runs the exact same analytics as the real product, using three sample English and Reading classes. Feel free to click around and see if you can find Maya.

![1026ClassWeakestSkill.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1792555150/1026_Class_Weakest_Skill_3462fadd58.png)

### What's Next: How We'll Use AI

I've mentioned AI in a few past posts, and before any of it ships I want to be specific about what it'll actually do. A lot of companies use "AI" to mean almost anything these days, so here's what it will mean in Investant Academy.

Everything follows one rule: AI suggests, and teachers decide. AI will never put a final grade on a student's work, and nothing it creates will reach a student unless a teacher approves it, either directly or by turning on auto-assign for their classroom.

With that in mind, here's what we're building.

**Review lessons for missed skills.** When analytics finds students who need practice on a skill, AI can draft a short review just for those students. You look it over and decide whether to assign it, and afterwards analytics shows you whether that skill actually improved.

**Drafting lessons and quizzes.** You'll be able to describe what you want, or paste in a reading, and AI will draft the slides and questions for you. The draft opens in the editor without being saved, so you can read through it, change whatever you like, and save it when you're happy with it. It's never published or assigned on its own.

**Grading suggestions for written answers.** For free-response questions, AI will suggest a score, explain its reasoning to you, and draft some feedback for the student. Each suggestion comes with a label showing how certain the AI is, and you can accept it, change it or ignore it entirely. Until you accept a suggestion, that answer still counts as ungraded.

**Auto-assign, if you want it.** Both your organization's admin and the classroom's teacher have to turn this on before it does anything. Once it's on, short reviews go out once a week to the students who need practice. These reviews don't count toward completion rates or averages, there's a weekly limit per classroom, and you'll get an email each week showing what went out, who it went to, and how those students did. You can turn it off at any time.

**A help assistant for teachers.** You'll be able to ask "how do I..." questions and get an answer with a link to the right screen. If you need more help, it can open a support ticket for you, but only once you confirm.

### Keeping Students Safe

This part matters more to me than any of the features above, so I want to be clear about it.

Student usernames are replaced with placeholders like "Student 1" before anything is sent to the AI provider, then put back before you see the result. We use Anthropic's Claude through their commercial API, which doesn't train on customer data. We also keep as little as we can: assistant conversations aren't stored on our servers, and AI drafts are deleted 7 days after they're made unless you save them.

AI features will be included with the Pro and Pro Plus plans, and you'll always see what an action costs before you use it.

Before any of this turns on, we'll update our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to cover AI. The next time you sign in after that, you'll be asked to review and accept the new versions, and you'll always be able to read exactly what changed.

### See It in Action

Investant Academy is in early access, and we're building all of this alongside feedback from real classrooms. The AI features will roll out over the next few months, starting with lesson drafts.

If you want to see analytics that show you *why* students are getting things wrong, check out the [Academy Demo](https://investant.net/academy/demo) or [start a free trial](https://investant.net/pricing). And if you have thoughts on how AI should or shouldn't work in your classroom, I'd love to hear them. You can reach me directly at ryan@investant.net, and I read every email.

---

_Ryan White is the founder of Investant, an all-in-one classroom management platform that helps teachers create interactive lessons, automate grading, and understand student performance at scale._

---

Investant Academy's analytics now show the wrong answers, the students and the skills behind every score. Here's what's live today, and how we'll be building on top of this with AI next.

Analytics Update and How We'll Use AI

I've talked in past posts about how a single score doesn't tell you much about a student. A 70% doesn't tell you whether "John" is stuck on past tense verbs or "Julia" just can't nail future tense. You need to see the specific questions, not just the grade, to actually help students.

Live quiz games have the opposite problem. They tell you plenty, for about ninety seconds, and then it's gone.

If you've ever run a Kahoot in your classroom, you know the feeling I'm talking about. The room lights up. Kids who never raise their hands are suddenly leaning forward, thumbs ready, dead serious about getting question four right. It's genuinely one of the best tools for engagement in the classroom.

But when the final leaderboard fades and everyone moves on to lunch, what's left? A screenshot, maybe. A memory of who won. Not much else. The data that could tell you something useful, like which specific question tripped up half the room, just evaporates.

That bothered me enough to build our own version.

### What We Built

Live Quiz is now live inside Investant Academy. You can start one straight from a lesson module you've already built, or from inside a classroom, pick the other half, and you're running a real-time quiz in under a minute.

![LiveQuizLobby.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1782946031/Live_Quiz_Lobby_6ce6bd8823.png)

The moment-to-moment experience will feel familiar if you've run this kind of game before. Students join from their own devices with the same class code they already use for everything else in Investant Academy. Questions pop up with a timer. Points reward speed and correctness. A leaderboard shows up between rounds if you want it to. It's built to be fun, on purpose, because a classroom that's having fun is a classroom that's paying attention.

And here's the important piece that I really wanted to get in teachers' hands: every single answer, from every single student, gets saved the same way it would if it were a regular assignment on Investant Academy. Sent directly to the Analytics engine.

![LiveQuizAnalyticsScoreDistribution.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1782946031/Live_Quiz_Analytics_Score_Distribution_7f687ed17a.png)

### Why That Matters More Than the Leaderboard

When the game ends, you don't just get a winner. You get the same kind of breakdown you'd get from any assignment in Investant Academy: who got which question right, how long they took, and whether a pattern is forming across your classes.

Say three-quarters of your class missed question six. That's not a "some kids didn't study" problem. That's the material telling you it needs another pass before the test. You'd never catch that from a leaderboard alone, because a leaderboard only tells you who's on top, not why everyone below them is stuck.

And it doesn't stop at that one quiz. Because Live Quiz results land in the same analytics as your regular assignments, you can look back weeks later and see that a student has now missed the same kind of question three times across two quizzes and a homework set. That's the kind of pattern that tells you exactly where to spend your efforts instead of guessing.

I want teachers to get the fun part of a live quiz and the useful part of an assignment, at the same time, without having to choose.

![LiveQuizAnalyticsItemAnalysis.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1782946018/Live_Quiz_Analytics_Item_Analysis_4362cfdf8b.png)

### What's Live Right Now

- Launch from any lesson module or any classroom, whichever you happen to be in already
- Fifteen seconds per question by default, adjustable up to two minutes if your questions need more room to think
- Leaderboard on by default, easy to turn off if you'd rather less competition
- True/false, multiple choice, select-all, and drag-and-drop questions all play live. (Free-response questions get set aside automatically since they're not quite fair for a fast-pace live quiz)
- Every response feeds straight into the same analytics you already use to track your classrooms

### See It in Action

Investant Academy is in early access, and I'm still building this alongside real feedback from real classrooms. If you want to see what a live, competitive quiz looks like when it's plugged into the same analytics engine as the rest of your content, I'd love to show you.

[Start a free trial](https://investant.net/pricing) to try it out, or email me directly at ryan@investant.net. I read every email.

---

_Ryan White is the founder of Investant, an all-in-one classroom management platform that helps teachers create interactive lessons, automate grading, and understand student performance at scale._

Live Quiz is now live inside Investant Academy. You can start one straight from a lesson module you’ve already built, or from inside a classroom, pick the other half, and you’re running a real-time quiz in under a minute.

Introducing Live Quiz

According to a [RAND Corporation](https://www.rand.org/about.html) survey reported by the National Education Association, teachers work an average of 53 hours a week, with a significant portion of that uncompensated time going to grading outside of school hours. Breakdowns from education researchers estimate that grading alone can consume anywhere from 5 to 15 hours per week depending on the subject and level of feedback provided. 

That time spent grading can make up an entire extra workday! Many teachers signed up for this profession because they have a passion for helping others learn and connecting with the students. Not for spending their evenings at the kitchen table marking wrong and right answers.

### Why a Score Alone Doesn't Tell You Much

I wrote about this [in my last post](https://investant.net/blog/InvestantAcademy), but it's worth repeating because it's central to the value I believe Investant Academy brings.

Say you have a handful of students who all scored around 70% on a Spanish quiz. On paper, they look the same. But "John" might be struggling with past tense verbs while "Julia" can't get future tense down. "Sarah" has a limited vocabulary and "Eric" keeps misspelling words he actually knows. A 70% doesn't tell you any of that. It just tells you something went wrong.

When grading is manual, most teachers don't have the bandwidth to dig into every wrong answer for every student across every class. There aren't enough hours in the day. So the insights stay buried in the stack of papers, and the next unit starts whether everyone's ready or not.

That's the gap I want to close with automated grading and real-time analytics.

![investant_analytics_example_1.webp](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1772936805/investant_analytics_example_1_73bdd10dbd.webp)

### What Happens When Grading Is Instant

When students complete assignments through Investant Academy, their responses are captured the moment they submit. For objective question types like multiple choice, true or false, and select all that apply, grading happens automatically. No waiting. No manual entry. The scores are there, and more importantly, the data behind the scores is there too.

Teachers can see which specific questions students missed, how the class performed overall, and whether a pattern is forming. If 80% of your students got the same question wrong, that's probably not a student problem. That's a signal that the material needs another pass.

This is the kind of insight that turns grading from a chore into something genuinely useful. Instead of just knowing *that* a student is struggling, you can see *where* they're struggling and start building a plan around it.

### Automated Grading Doesn't Mean Removing the Teacher

Automated grading works well for objective questions. Right or wrong, black or white. But not everything in education fits into that box.

A student writing a paragraph about the themes in *To Kill a Mockingbird* deserves more than a checkbox. That kind of work requires a teacher's judgment, their understanding of the student, their ability to see effort even when the execution isn't perfect. That's irreplaceable.

That's why we're building AI-assisted grading for free response questions. The system provides a suggested grade and feedback, then sends it to the teacher for review before anything is finalized. This takes the mechanical, repetitive parts out of the equation so teachers can focus on the work that actually requires them.

### What Teachers Do With the Time They Get Back

We trust that teachers are here to help their students. And if we provide them with more time and tools, they will take advantage and more students will be positively impacted.

When you give a teacher back even a few hours a week, the ripple effects are real. That's time to pull up a student's performance data and actually build a personalized review plan. Time to rethink a lesson and try a new approach. Time to grab coffee with a colleague and swap ideas. Or honestly, time to just leave school at a reasonable hour and be present at home.

My favorite teachers growing up were the ones who poured everything into their work and took the time to connect with me personally. If the repetitive stuff was handled for them, how much more of their energy could have gone toward helping and connecting with students?

This is where Investant helps.

### See It in Action

Investant Academy is in early access and we're building it alongside feedback from real educators. If you're a teacher who wants to see what automated grading, real-time classroom analytics, and interactive content delivery look like in one platform, I'd love for you to check it out.

Visit our [Academy Demo](https://investant.net/academy/demo) to explore the tools, or reach out to me directly at ryan@investant.net. I read every email.

---

*Ryan White is the founder of Investant, an all-in-one classroom management platform that helps teachers create interactive lessons, automate grading, and understand student performance at scale.*

Teachers spend 5 to 15 hours a week grading. Automated grading tools can give that time back. Here's how Investant Academy handles it.

How Automated Grading Gives Teachers Their Evenings Back

Hey, my name is Ryan and I am creating Investant Academy.

When I was in school, the teachers I appreciated the most were the ones who engaged with me at an individual level. It was rewarding and unexpected when a teacher clearly put thought and effort into what I needed, what Ryan needed. Today I look back and think about the extra blood, sweat, and tears that goes into understanding every individual student's strengths and weaknesses and addressing them personally.

If we look at a handful of students who might be underperforming in Spanish class, "John" might be having issues with past tense verbs while "Julia" struggles with the future tense. "Sarah" might lack a wide vocabulary while "Eric" has trouble with spelling. When it comes time for review before an exam, a teacher might be able to create personalized plans for each of these students, but how does that scale across 5 or 6 full classrooms with multiple grade levels and parts of the curriculum? Most teachers want to do this, but can't. It's not that they don't care but that there simply aren't enough hours in the day.

My vision is to deliver teachers a modern solution for their curriculum and classroom management. From creating lessons, quizzes, and assignments to delivering this curriculum to students to receiving automated analytics about student and class performance, Investant Academy will help every step of the way.

### Giving Teachers Superpowers

I aim to give superpowers to all teachers, from content creation for lessons and assignments to understanding individual student needs and being able to address them in real time. Our lesson module creation tool allows teachers to create both lessons and quiz assessments in a familiar slide-based editor. I will be adding AI auto-generation to this tool to save time by automatically creating lesson and quiz slides. In addition, completed lesson modules will be able to be made public for any other teacher on Investant to browse a library of high quality content.

Investant Academy will provide multiple ways to deliver this content, including:

1) A sleek presentation tool that acts as an interactive slideshow allowing question slides to be weaved into content slides during a live-classroom setting
2) Directly assign content to students who can join the online classroom and complete their assignments
3) Create a Live Quiz where students in class can join and compete to answer questions in real time
4) Send your content to Investant Island, our custom game where we inject your questions seamlessly into the game while students play

As students answer questions and complete your content, you can see how they are doing in real time. We capture student responses and provide automated analytics to teachers about the performance of individual students, classrooms, and the performance of the curriculum itself! I will also be adding support for free response question types with the ability to have AI auto-grade student responses and send it to their teacher for review.

Students have their own dashboard where they can see their progress, upcoming assignments, and engage with the content their teacher has prepared for them.

### Why Investant Academy?

I watched my favorite teachers stay up late grading papers, and I watched them light up when they actually got to *teach*. I remember my teacher calling me out of class one day to hand me a website written down on a piece of paper because he and I had connected about philosophy and he wanted to share more with me. To feel seen and cared for at an individual level by your teacher like that is an extraordinary moment. That's what I'm building towards.

With an online platform like Investant, we can build a network of teachers who can contribute to a public library of high quality class content. Through Investant Academy, we can deliver automated tools at scale to any teacher who wants to do more for their students and reclaim time outside of the classroom.

### Doing What's Right

If I can give teachers back even a few hours a week to actually *teach* instead of drowning in admin work, that's worth it.

Learn more [About Us](https://investant.net/about-us) and feel free to reach out anytime by submitting our [Contact Us](https://investant.net/?modal=contact-us) form or email me directly at ryan@investant.net.

Hey, my name is Ryan and I am creating Investant Academy.

Investant Academy

One of the most important financial decisions you will make in your life is the purchase of a home. Should you keep renting and invest your additional cash? Should you buy a property now to beat inflation and home prices in the future? What are some of the decision factors - financial and lifestyle - that you should consider before purchasing a home? We’ve developed the [Investant Rent or Buy Tool](https://investant.net/tools?block=RentOrBuy) to help answer some of these questions!

#### Rent or Buy Methodology

From a financial perspective, there are two main components to the decision to Rent or Buy: Expenses and Opportunity Costs. Using [our tool](https://investant.net/tools?block=RentOrBuy), in the graph on the right can be seen the average monthly expense by year if the home were to be purchased versus if you were to rent. This includes all of the forecasted expenses for each year over the course of the scenario, distributed across 12 months per year.

Try adjusting the mortgage term to 15 years, and entering that you will live in the home for 25 years to see how your monthly expense to live in the home completely falls away when the mortgage is paid off while renting prices continue to climb!

Directly below the graph lies more information on the cumulative costs of buying versus renting and the opportunity costs of each. If you were to rent, as an example, you will likely have additional cash on hand from smaller monthly payments and not needing to make the down payment on a mortgage loan. This additional cash can be invested and the proceeds from doing so can be seen as an opportunity cost to purchasing the home. However, buying the home will allow you to build equity through paying off the principal of the loan and through the appreciation of the home’s value. This can be seen as an opportunity cost to renting.

## How to Use the Tool

#### Decision Inputs

The first section contains the essential inputs for your analysis:

- Property Value: Enter the price of the home you're considering
- Down Payment: Input how much you plan to put down
- Living Years: Specify how long you plan to stay in the home
- Monthly Rent: Enter the comparable rental cost in your area

Growth Rates | These optional inputs help forecast future values:

- Annual Home Growth Rate: Expected appreciation of the property
- Annual Rent Growth Rate: Projected increase in rental prices
- Annual Investment Return: Expected return on invested savings

Other Expenses | These optional details help refine the tool to your situation:
For Renting:
- Monthly utilities
- Broker fees
- Rental insurance

For Buying:
- Mortgage rate and term
- HOA fees
- Property tax rate
- Maintenance costs
- Purchase and selling costs
- Homeowner's insurance
- Tax considerations
- Renovation budget

![InvestantRentOrBuyToolCoverImage.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1737402716/Investant_Rent_Or_Buy_Tool_Cover_Image_f0d8c3a0bd.png)

#### Understanding the Results

The tool provides several key insights:
- A comparison of average monthly cost based on how long you’ll live in the home
- An interactive graph showing the cost comparison over time
- Total costs for both renting and buying scenarios
- Investment returns from renting vs equity gained from buying

#### Beyond the Numbers: Lifestyle Considerations

While financial analysis is crucial, the rent or buy decision extends beyond pure economics. Home ownership can provide:
- Stability and control over your living space
- Freedom to customize and renovate without landlord approval
- A sense of community and belonging
- Pride of ownership and accomplishment
- Protection against rent increases and potential eviction

However, renting offers its own advantages:
- Flexibility to relocate for career opportunities
- Less responsibility for maintenance and repairs
- Lower upfront costs and financial commitments
- Simplified budgeting with predictable monthly expenses

Your decision should ultimately align with both your financial goals and personal values. Use our tool to understand the financial implications, but remember to consider how each choice fits into your broader life plans and aspirations.

![OriginalLogoInvestantTHIN.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1701147178/Original_Logo_Investant_THIN_1c2347d933.png)


One of the most important financial decisions you will make in your life is the purchase of a home. What factors should you consider?

Rent or Buy Guide

#### Building a time machine to your financial future through responsible input/output

Most things we deal with can be broken down to simple input/output. Your financial future is no exception. By understanding this principle and applying it to your finances, you can build a metaphorical time machine that transports you to your desired financial future.

>Act simply, think largely, invest responsibly.

Not sure where to start? You're not alone. Every financial journey begins with a single, intentional step.

### Building Your Financial Time Machine

In personal finance terms, simply put, your income is your input while expenses are your outputs. The beauty of this system lies in its simplicity: consistent, responsible control over your inputs and outputs will lead to significant and predictable financial growth.

1. Set your destination before you start your journey. You need to know where you're going. Do you want to retire at 50? Buy a house in 5 years? Have $1 million in investments by 45? Be specific and realistic.
2. Calculate your route. It's time to map out how to get there. Again, BE SPECIFIC. Use math to complete a top-down approach to this plan. We can start from the goal and back into exactly what it means for our day to day budget and required weekly/monthly savings.

![investant-financial-planners-theme-stock-photo.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1714544567/investant_financial_planners_theme_stock_photo_57ff6eaffb.jpg)

### Calculate your route

The [Investant Savings Calculator](https://investant.net/tools?block=SavingsCalculator) is designed to transform your financial goals from abstract dreams to concrete plans. Let's walk through how to use it:

Let's build out a goal for a 25 year old to reach $1 million invested by age 45.

- Initial Deposit: How much can you invest right now? This is your launch pad. Let's start with $5,000.
- Monthly Contribution: Commit to a consistent monthly investment. For our $1 million goal, let's aim to invest $1,850 monthly (Come back and change this value to see how it impacts your end result!).
- Time Period: We recommend setting this in years. For our example, that's 20 years (from age 25 to 45).
- Annual Interest Rate (%): Currently, high-yield savings accounts are offering between 4% and 4.25%. Check out our detailed guide on [The High Yield Savings Account in 2024](https://investant.net/blog/TheHighYieldSavingsAccountIn2024) to maximize your returns. The average retirement account makes between 5% and 8% annually. Let's use 7.5% as though we are depositing these savings to an aggressive (stock heavy) retirement account.

>Starting at 25 vs 30 can mean a difference of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars! See how adding 5 years can make a dent on the [Investant Savings Calculator](https://investant.net/?block=SavingsCalculator)!

With a $5,000 initial deposit and $1,850 monthly contributions across 20 years at 7.5% annual interest rate, we will have a Total Investment of $1,015,218.58 at the age of 45!

If you're just getting started, you may be thinking that $1,850 invested per month is not doable right now. But, we can make a plan to get there. Your next steps to meet this goal should be to take a total look at your income and expenses today, and use this new understanding of what monthly savings are needed to decide where your income and expenses need to be. To comfortably put away $1,850 per month while living a [middle class lifestyle](https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/average-monthly-expenses/) in America today (average monthly expenses of $6,081), you would need to make $7,931 per month or $95,172 per year.

A $95,000 salary is in the [74th percentile](https://dqydj.com/salary-percentile-calculator/) of American Workers based on full-year 2023 and a completely achievable wage which can be surpassed through hard work, dedication, and discipline.

Pro tip: This isn't just a number. This is your potential. Whether you're a recent grad, a new professional, or someone looking for the next promotion, this goal is within reach.

### Periodic Calibration

Your financial time machine isn't a set-it-and-forget-it device. Schedule quarterly or semi-annual reviews to:

- Assess your progress
- Adjust monthly contributions
- Rebalance investments
- Account for life changes

Start small, but start now. These periodic reviews are a great chance to have a conversation with yourself and/or your partner about where you financially stand and the actions you're going to take going forwards. If you don't like what you're seeing, have the tough conversation then and there.

>Your financial future is not about timing the market, but time in the market.

![OriginalLogoInvestantTHIN.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1701147178/Original_Logo_Investant_THIN_1c2347d933.png)

Building a time machine to your financial future through responsible input/output

The Financial Time Machine

While many view patience as "taking things slow", the truth is that patience has nothing to do with speed and everything to do with mindset. Practicing patience as an investor is vital for long term financial health and well being. Here is how we can all be The Patient Investor.

>Investant Definition of Patience: "The ability to endure stressful and uncomfortable circumstances **with calmness**."

### Market In Distress

Whether the market is trending up or down, the patient investor will make consistent contributions and trust the process.

It can be difficult to keep calm in turbulent markets - especially when the majority of our wealth is held in securities and instruments directly tied to market performance. This is why our recommended approach to personal finance management - including holding 3 to 6 months of expenses in a high yield savings account ([HYSA](https://investant.net/blog/TheHighYieldSavingsAccountIn2024)) - is intended to help alleviate any stress from investments. The patient investor is not worried about short term market movement as they can be confident they are properly positioned for long term financial health.

[Read More](https://investant.net/blog/CreatingaFinancialSystemforyourMoney) About The Investant Approach To Personal Finance Management

### Set Up For Success

As mentioned earlier, the patient investor is setup with a financial system that promotes long term confidence. While those with strong patience can maintain the calm in any environment, it helps to create an environment with peace in mind. In our day to day lives, this might mean choosing to take the back roads instead of the highway every now and then or staying in on a Friday night. In personal finance, this can be created by having a healthy savings and refraining from keeping all your eggs in one basket.

When you have a healthy savings, it's not worrisome when the car needs to be repaired or the hot water heater needs to be replaced. If you lose your job, you're prepared! The day to day stress of these life events don't weigh over you because your financial system accounts for the bad just as much as it does the good.

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Practicing patience as an investor is vital for long term financial health and well being.

The Patient Investor

I’ve known many financially successful individuals throughout my lifetime. It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in the idea that more money will make you happier. After all, more is better than less isn’t it? The irony of life, is the harsh reality of it. Money can remove unhappiness and relieve stress but overall does not have a large impact on day-to-day happiness. If it did, you would think that the celebrities you read about who blew up their lives and are living in misery would be happier than us. But the law of diminishing returns and hedonic adaptation can be easy to understand but hard to accept. 

The most dangerous assumption to carry, in my opinion, is the idea that more money = more happiness. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a larger nest egg, but I’ve seen money come with a range of problems. 

One individual I met (we will call them Jane) was an extremely intelligent lawyer who was a partner at a small firm. Jane made very good money. However, in her mind it wasn’t a lot. She knew people she worked with who were far wealthier. This became a big source of misery for her. She ended up taking it out on her family and friends and burning bridges in her personal life. Behaviorally, we can see that although reality shows she is by all metrics (successful) in her career, due to social comparison and an inflated sense of self, she robbed herself of enjoying the fruits of her labor. In this situation I would define a loose equation for happiness as:

**Happiness = Income - expectations**

_by inputting your numbers you can see where you fall on the happiness spectrum._


**Jane’s Happiness**

>$150,000 (income) - $170,000 (expectations) = negative (happiness)

One other individual I met (we will call him Steve) was Jane’s boyfriend and an extremely content individual. He loved his office job. He was less financially successful than Jane, but much happier. He always underspent his income, had low expectations, and was intrinsically motivated to work hard for himself and his team. His hobbies were inexpensive and valued relationships over material goods. They were financially incompatible individuals which later showed when they broke up. 


**Steve’s Happiness**

>$90,000 (income) - $60,000 (expectations) = positive (happiness)

It is extremely easy for an individual to attribute their financial success solely to their skill or intellect and ignore or dismiss any factors that were outside of their control. Some factors being: who they were born to, the people they met in their career, their ability to pay for expensive schooling, etc. Successful individuals can quickly fall into the trap of falsely assuming that their financial success was solely due to their abilities. This is a prime example of survivorship bias and overconfidence and can lead to successful individuals perceiving themselves as subsequently better than less successful individuals and inadequate in respect to their peers.

Money as financial writer Morgan Housel put it is “[The Greatest Show on Earth](https://collabfund.com/blog/investing-the-greatest-show-on-earth/)” and reveals a lot about human nature and behavior. Re-examining your beliefs around money is incredibly important. There are so many ways to view it. Some people view money as a tool to build and live a better life, while as others use it as a benchmark of success to compare themselves against others. Your relationship with money will have a huge impact on your day to day happiness. 

![OriginalLogoInvestantTHIN.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1701147178/Original_Logo_Investant_THIN_1c2347d933.png)

Exploring the relationship between money and happiness.

Money and Happiness

Worrying about finances can be mentally taxing. More people spend hours micromanaging their finances than they do enjoying the things they love. In this blog post, we will be walking through how to set up a system that works for you so you can spend less time focusing on money management, and more time on the things you love. Here is a personal finance waterfall that you can implement into your financial system.

### 401k
If you have a 401k through your company, the money contributed to this account will be taken out of your paycheck before the money hits your checking account. It is recommended that you contribute up to the employer match if your employer offers one (more if you're able). Check with your HR department to get this set up. 

### Checking Account
The first account we will start with is a Checking account. This will be your financial “home base.” On payday, your salary will be deposited into your checking account, and from there we will tell our money where to go. You can use any traditional or online bank for this account.

### High-Yield Savings Account
The next account type that we want is a “high-yield savings account.” This account will be your emergency fund. It is recommended that you keep 3-6 months of living expenses in this account in case you lose your job or your car breaks down. You can also save up for big purchases here, as this account will earn more interest than your checking account. You will set up a recurring transfer to this account and fund this first before moving on to investments. I personally use Wealthfront for my HYSA (high-yield savings account). 

### ROTH or Traditional IRA
If you are in a low tax bracket, a ROTH IRA will be the next account you’ll want to contribute to. Contribute as much as you can afford, the goal is to have monthly transfers going into this account. You can later up the amount you contribute as you earn more money later in your career. I personally use Vanguard for my ROTH IRA. You'll need to set up recurring transfers on the platform your ROTH is on and link your checking account to the platform. 

### HSA
If you are young and healthy you may want to consider sending money to a HSA. This account requires you to have a high deductible health plan but is triple tax-advantaged. You can contribute extra money here for medical expenses and some HSAs allow you to invest and grow your money tax-free. This can be used as an additional retirement account as well. Talk to your HR department to see if your company offers an HSA and ask them how to enroll. 

> Here is an example of the financial system I use for my own money.

![Personal Finance Waterfall](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1725229248/Artboard_1_78986396c8.png)

![OriginalLogoInvestantTHIN.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1701147178/Original_Logo_Investant_THIN_1c2347d933.png)

Create a financial system and automate your money.

Creating a Financial System for your Money

You should have opened a high yield savings account (HYSA) yesterday. Here's why.

As of August '24, the average bank savings account offers 0.46% ([FDIC](https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps/monthly-update-august-2024)) while USD inflation stands at 2.9%, slowly recovering from the recent 9.1% high in June '22 ([YCharts](https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_inflation_rate)). Even with these inflation levels and 2-year treasury bills paying 3.99% on an inverted yield curve ([YCharts](https://ycharts.com/indicators/10_2_year_treasury_yield_spread)), many large banks are not passing these higher rates on to their common account holders.

### The Big Bank Problem

>"The truth is, Big Banks don't feel the need to compete."

Bank of America and Chase Bank offer just 0.01% yield on their consumer savings accounts with numerous stipulations on withdrawals, minimum deposits, and even fees. Many online banks, however, are offering upwards of 5% APY on a HYSA. So why is it that many big banks don't offer High Yield Savings Accounts?

Some argue that big bank operations are too expensive compared to online banks, which can provide services to customers without brick-and-mortar locations or expensive sponsorships like NFL stadiums. It is true the big banks have higher operating expenses and their physical branch networks are becoming less efficient than in previous decades. Through July '24, 539 branches across the US had closed ([Daily Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-13621197/bank-branch-closures-wells-fargo-chase-bank.html)). And now through August '24, 277 branches have closed in the state of California alone - the most closures since 2020 ([FrankNez](https://franknez.com/more-massive-california-bank-branches-are-now-closing-for-2024/)) with the pandemic event.

>Efficiency Ratio = Noninterest Expense ÷ Total Net Revenue

>Long Term Debt Ratio = Long Term Debt ÷ Total Assets

In their 2023 annual report, Bank of America reported a 66.79% efficiency ratio and a long-term debt ratio of 9.50% ([Bank Of America](https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_56c90f1f1d2a491bf6829a320ac7580a/bankofamerica/db/867/10038/annual_report/BAC+2023+Annual+Report.pdf)). Ally Bank, one of the most popular online banks, reported a 2023 efficiency ratio of 62.86% and a long-term debt ratio of 40.99% ([Ally Bank](https://www.ally.com/content/dam/pdf/investor-relations/2023-10k.pdf)) - a much riskier position than BOA. Based on this, we can say that the online banks spend less to make their revenue likely in relation to their operating in riskier environments.

However, these factors aren't the primary reason Chase and Bank of America don't offer competitive HYSAs. The truth is, big banks don't feel the need to compete.

![investant-money-roll-lincoln-face-wrapped.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1724455892/investant_money_roll_lincoln_face_wrapped_a795b4102c.jpg)

### Lack of Competition

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo alone hold 41.8% of the US market share ([FDIC Data via Wallet Hub](https://wallethub.com/edu/bank-market-share-by-deposits/25587)). The larger banks have earned customer trust and built their enormous market shares through decades of consistency and convenient banking practices for both consumers and enterprises. Many of us hold accounts with the same banks our parents used and are unlikely to switch. A Frost Bank Survey found that 44% of participants responded to have no plans to change their bank ([Frost Bank](https://www.frostbank.com/dam/Docs/Newsroom/NewsRelease/FinancialBelonging.pdf)). But why?

>"I think the biggest reason people don't change banks — and of course, I'm biased on this, but I believe it in my bones — they just don't know what some banks offer."
-Phil Green, Frost Bank CEO

While online banks are competing for consumer deposits through lower fee structures, higher returns, and more convenient practices, many big banks are happy to stay still because their clients are unaware of their competition.

### Take Action

At investant.net, we're urging you to take action by getting informed and opening a HYSA if you haven't already! Taking advantage of a HYSA to earn upwards of 5% returns on your savings and cash reserves is crucial in today's inflationary environment.

Some of our favorite options today in August '24 (who Haven and I use ourselves):

- Wealthfront  |  [5.0% Cash Account](https://www.wealthfront.com/cash)
- M1 Finance  |  [5.0% Savings Account](https://m1.com/earn/high-yield-savings-accounts/)
- SoFi Bank     |  [4.6% Savings Account](https://www.sofi.com/banking/savings-account/)

For more options, checkout [BankRate](https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/best-high-yield-interests-savings-accounts/) to select and compare some other HYSA offerings! Whoever you choose, ensure they are FDIC insured and make the most of it!

![OriginalLogoInvestantTHIN.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/dnmr13rcg/image/upload/v1701147178/Original_Logo_Investant_THIN_1c2347d933.png)

Big Banks aren't cutting it. Why you should have opened a high yield savings account yesterday.

Modern Education,Improved.