It’s a wonderful feeling to look at your bank statement and find out you have $1,000 in your account. But now that you have some extra cash, it doesn’t really make sense to leave it earning minimal interest.
You’ve worked hard to make an extra $1,000, and you want to put that money to work earning you even more money. Here are eight simple moves you can make to keep growing your savings and get on the path toward building wealth.
Earn 15X More Interest With This Bank Account
First things first. If you have extra money in your checking account, you’re probably earning a tiny amount of interest (like 0.01% or less).
In order to stash some money away for a rainy day, it could be a good idea to start an emergency fund. But you’ll want to shop around for a better place to park your cash that can earn you a lot more money.
Start with a high-yield savings account through a bank like CIT Bank. With their Savings Connect account, you can earn 15X the national average interest rate!
Because savings accounts are easy to access and FDIC insured, you can have easy access to your money in case of emergency, while also earning a decent interest rate.
Start earning more money with CIT Bank
Earn Passive Income Investing in Real Estate With Just $10
It used to be that in order to invest in real estate, you had to be a millionaire, own rental properties, and deal with tenants. Not anymore.
Now almost anyone can invest passively in real estate with just a few clicks, thanks to crowdfunding websites that allow you to invest alongside thousands of other people in all types of real estate.
How does it work? The crowdfunding sponsor buys and manages the property, and you, the investor, provide part of the capital required to purchase it. The sponsor earns part of the cash flow for doing all the work, and the rest goes to the investor.
One of the best things about passive real estate investing is that you can get started for as little as $10. Two platforms that are open to all investors are Fundrise and Grounfloor.
- Fundrise: Invest in a portfolio of commercial real estate, with many different options depending on your risk tolerance.
- Groundfloor: Invest as little as $10 in short-term, high-yield real estate debt and earn interest on your money.
Get a $10 bonus when you invest $10 with Groundfloor
Make Extra Money Watching Videos on Your Phone
If you aren’t ready to start a full-on side hustle, there are plenty of apps that pay you to do stuff you’re already doing anyway, such as playing games or watching videos. Many of these apps even give you a sign-up bonus just for giving it a try.
For example, Swagbucks gives you a $10 bonus for signing up, and lets you earn points (called “swagbucks”) for watching short video clips on topics ranging from sports recaps to cooking tips.
You can easily cash out your swagbucks to get free Paypal money or gift cards from Amazon and dozens of other stores.
Sign Up for Swagbucks and Get a Free $10 Bonus
Earn Money Every Time You Win This Viral Game
Sometimes you just want to have a little fun. With Blackout Bingo, you can earn real cash prizes while having fun in the process.
Blackout Bingo is a modern twist on the classic fun of bingo. You can start playing for free, or get paid to play bingo with real money.
The game is a “fresh, social competitive twist to the classic game where you can win real world rewards and cash prizes.” Cash out your earnings easily via Paypal and other methods.
Please Note: Cash tournaments are available in most of the world. Cash tournaments are not enabled in the following states: AZ, AR, CT, DE, IL, IN, LA, ME, MT, SC, SD, and TN. If you don’t live in a prize-enabled region, you can still play for free.
Play Blackout Bingo and Win Real Money
Pay Off Your High-Interest Debt
If you’ve got some extra money in the bank, consider paying off high-interest debt such as credit cards, student loans, and personal loans.
The average credit card interest rate is almost 17%. If you have a credit card balance, this debt should probably be your number one priority to pay off.
Think about it – your money is sitting in your checking account earning next to nothing. If you used it to pay off your credit cards, that is the equivalent of a guaranteed 17% return on your money! That is one of the best investments you could make toward your financial future.
Invest in Apple, Tesla, or Amazon for Only $1
Have you wanted to get started in stock investing, but weren’t sure how to diversify your portfolio with $1,000 or less?
M1 Finance can help. It is a revolutionary platform that allows you to buy fractional shares of stock in increments as low as $1.
Probably the most expensive stock in the market is Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares. As of this writing, they are worth over $450,000 per share. While that’s an extreme example, many popular tech stocks trade in the hundred of dollars to thousands of dollars per share.
However, with M1 Finance, you can own a piece of all of these companies for as little as $1.
Learn more about investing with M1 Finance
Trim Your Budget by $620 a Month With This App
Instead of making more money, one way to add to your bank account balance is to cut your spending. It might sound painful at first, but there are some easy ways to lower your monthly bills without any extra work on your part.
Appropriately named, the Trim App can do the hard work of negotiating your monthly bills for you. According to their website, users save an average of $620!
How does it work? Trim analyzes your spending patterns and identifies areas where you can save money. Trim will then negotiate cable, internet, phone, phone bills, and more on your behalf to lower your monthly payments. All without you having to sit on the phone with customer service for hours.
See How Much You Can Lower Your Bills with Trim
Start a Side Hustle
So you have $1,000 in the bank and you want to turn it into more? One of the best ways to double 1,000 dollars (or triple it, or 10X it) is to start a business.
There are endless ideas for side jobs with low start-up costs that can earn you extra money every month. You just have to decide what interests you.
I know one teacher that started a bookkeeping side hustle that eventually allowed him to quit his job. If numbers aren’t your thing, you could become a virtual assistant to help busy business owners with administrative tasks.
There are also tons of local service businesses you could start such as landscaping, power washing, or delivering food through Uber Eats or a similar service. The sky is the limit!
Final Word
Amassing $1,000 in your bank account is no small feat. If you made it this far, you are already on your way to a solid financial future. By taking a few of the steps above, you can begin paying down debt and building lifelong wealth.
Andrew Herrig is a finance expert and money nerd and the founder of Wealthy Nickel, where he writes about personal finance, side hustles, and entrepreneurship. As an avid real estate investor and owner of multiple businesses, he has a passion for helping others build wealth and shares his own family’s journey on his blog.
Andrew holds a Masters of Science in Economics from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University. He has worked as a financial analyst and accountant in many aspects of the financial world.
Andrew’s expert financial advice has been featured on CNBC, Entrepreneur, Fox News, GOBankingRates, MSN, and more.
