You've done it. You've built up a little cushion in your bank account â€" $1,000! It feels good, right? Those days of checking your account balance in a panic are behind you.
Congrats! You're on the right path. Now it's time to think about some longer-term goals. What do you want to accomplish next with your money? Do you need to save more? Do you want to buy a home someday? Invest?
What's the next step you should take? What are some specific things you can do to take your finances to the next level?
We've got some ideas for you:
1. Invest in Real Estate (Even if You're Not a Millionaire)
The stock market can be a scary place. Stock prices shoot up and down like a roller coaster ride, and who knows when the whole thing might crash?
It would be nice to diversify and invest some of your money in real estate, but don't you have to be wealthy to do that?
Now you can invest like the 1% does, and all you need to get started is $500. A company called DiversyFund will invest your money in private real estate â€" specifically, in apartment buildings it co-owns with its investors â€" and you only need $500.
You can see exactly which properties are included in your portfolio through their online dashboard â€" like a 54-unit apartment complex in Salt Lake City, Utah, or a 30-unit waterfront property in Stuart, Florida. And you don't have to experience the headaches that come with being a landlord â€" DiversyFund does all the heavy lifting for you.
Real estate has historically been very stable compared to the stock market. Over the long term, investing in the stock market will earn you an average annual return of 7%, adjusted for inflation, according to a number of studies. DiversyFund can't guarantee how its investments will perform in the future â€" no one can â€" but historically, real estate has outperformed the stock market for the past 30 years.
So you don't need a fortune to invest in real estate. All you need to get started is $500. Sign up here to start investing today.
2. See if You Can Get More Money From This Company
Here's the deal: If you're not using Aspiration's debit card, you're missing out on extra cash. And who doesn't want extra cash?
Yep. A debit card called Aspiration gives you up to a 10% back every time you swipe.
Need to buy groceries? Extra cash.
Need to fill up the tank? Bam. Even more extra cash.
This card used to have a huge waiting list, but you're now eligible to sign up for free.
Enter your email address here, and link your bank account to see how much extra cash you can get with your free Aspiration account. And don't worry. Your money is FDIC insured and under a military-grade encryption. That's nerd talk for 'this is totally safe.'
3. Cancel Your Car Insurance
Here's the thing: your current car insurance company is probably overcharging you.
But don't waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies. Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.Â
EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you'll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.Â
Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.
4. Add up to 300 Points to Your Credit Score
You might not think your credit score is that important. In fact, you might not think much about it at all. But what happens when you want to buy a car? Or a house? Unfortunately, those three little numbers play a huge role in whether you'll be able to do that.
And if you have an error on your credit report (one out of five reports do), that could stand in your way.
Thankfully, a website called Credit Sesame will help you detect any errors â€" for free. It shows you why you have the score you do and gives you personalized tips to steer you in the right direction.
Salome Buitureria, a working mom in Louisiana, found a major error on her report this way. Using Credit Sesame, she was able to fix the mistake and take additional steps to raise her credit score from 524 to nearly 700.
Now she and her husband feel like they're in a better position for their biggest goal â€" purchasing a house. It only takes about 90 seconds to sign up.
5. Own a Piece of a Company for as Little $1 (Even If You're Not a Tycoon)
Take a look at the Forbes Richest People list, and you'll notice almost all the billionaires have one thing in common â€" they own another company.
But if you work for a living and don't happen to have millions of dollars lying around, that can sound totally out of reach.
But with an app called Stash, it doesn't have to be. It lets you be a part of something that's normally exclusive to the richest of the rich â€" on Stash you can buy pieces of other companies for as little as $1.
That's right â€" you can invest in pieces of well-known companies, such as Amazon, Google, Apple and more for as little as $1. The best part? If these companies profit, so can you. Some companies even send you a check every quarter for your share of the profits, called dividends.1
Download the Stash app here and they will give you a $5 sign-up bonus once you deposit $5 into your account.
6. Ask This Website to Help Pay Your Credit Card Bill This Month
No, like… the whole bill. All of it.
While you're stressing out over your debt, your credit card company is getting rich off those insane interest rates. But a website called Fiona could help you pay off that bill as soon as tomorrow.
Here's how it works: Fiona can match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every credit card balance you have. The benefit? You're left with just one bill to pay every month, and because the interest rate is so much lower, you can get out of debt so much faster. Plus, no credit card payment this month.
Fiona can help you borrow up to $250,000 (no collateral needed) with fixed rates starting at 2.49%.
Fiona won't make you stand in line or call a bank. And if you're worried you won't qualify, it's free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.
All that credit card debt â€" and the anxiety that comes with it â€" could be gone by tomorrow.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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