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“Make your money work for you” is such common personal finance advice that it borders on being cliché.But what does it actually mean? And more importantly, how can you do it?

  1. Open a high-yield savings account.
  2. Store it in retirement accounts.
  3. Invest it in the market.
  4. Choose credit cards with rewards you’ll actually use.
  5. Invest in real estate.
  6. Pursue a professional degree or certification.

This linked article is an excellent overview of how to make your money work with you.

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Holiday shopping isn’t what it used to be.

A National Retail Federation survey on Sunday found that more people shopped online than in stores during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend, a sign of how quickly and deeply American shopping habits have changed.

This year, crowds at malls were thinner and stores were calmer over the Black Friday weekend. But online shopping, especially on mobile phones, surged as more retailers offered the same promotions online, often before items became available in stores and shoppers relished the joy of grabbing a deal while lounging at home.

Consumers spent an estimated $4.45 billion online Thursday and Friday, with Black Friday sales rising 14% from a year ago, according to Adobe Systems Inc., [stckqut]ADBE[/stckqut] which tracks purchases across 4,500 U.S. sites. It estimated that more than half of Black Friday shopping came from mobile devices. At Wal-Mart Stores Inc. [stckqut]WMT[/stckqut] about half of online orders since Thanksgiving have been placed on mobile devices, almost double the amount last year, according to the retail chain.

Source: Online Shopping Tops Stores on Black Friday Weekend

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Cummins Inc. [stckqut]CMI[/stckqut] serves a well-established and growing market, a market that is central to our goods and economy. The company has a healthy financial situation in all aspects including debt and a well-covered dividend. The market is currently pricing in a dramatic decrease in revenue and income for the next year but estimates are predicting a much more muted decrease.

With diesel prices at levels lower than recent years, it allows the company to serve a more enticing market. Any slowing found in international markets is outdone by the massive growth seen in domestic markets which makes up a majority of the revenue anyway.

With cash steadily flowing in and a dividend that has plenty of room to run, I see this as an opportunity to initiate and accumulate shares of the company. The stock has fully valued share price of $130 while the market currently is pricing it in the high $90s. This separation of market pricing to valuation confirms for me that now is a time to add CMI to my portfolio.

Source: An Analysis Determining If Cummins Inc. Should Motor Its Way Into My Portfolio

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There are many options out there for borrowing money, but which ones take the longest to pay off the debt? How much total interest will you pay? What if you pay a bit more each month—does it really matter? This infographic outlines the basic principles to consider when it comes time to pay down your debts.

Repaying Debt

From Visually.

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Video will comprise 70% of the total mobile traffic, up from 50% estimated earlier. Though Alphabet, Inc.’s [stckqut]GOOG[/stckqut] YouTube will account for 70% of the total video traffic in most mobile networks, Netflix [stckqut]NFLX[/stckqut] has the potential to reach 20% in the regions it operates.

Another report that got Netflix shares soaring this week came from “Land Down Under”.  Per a report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, Netflix attracted 2.5 million subscribers in the first six months of 2015, making a grand entry in Australia.

Per the report, nearly 17% Australians or 3.2 million consumers used streaming services in the first six months of 2015, of which a major chunk (78%) belongs to Netflix Australia. For the seven-day period prior to Jun 2015, 2.2 million consumers subscribed to streaming services, of which 88% used Netflix Australia, outpacing local streaming service providers like Stan, Presto and Quickflix.

We believe Netflix has tremendous growth opportunities. The company is aggressively expanding internationally, especially in emerging economies where the potential for subscriber growth is high. The company plans to cover 200 countries by 2016. Currently, it is available in over 50 countries apart from the U.S., including 13 European nations. Netflix entered Canada in late 2010 and has since expanded its business to Latin America & the Caribbean (Sep 2011), the U.K. and Ireland (Jan 2012) and the Netherlands (Sep 2013). In 2014, Netflix expanded its services to six new European countries — Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Source: Netflix Continues to Gain: Will it Sustain the Momentum?