I Need To Make 1000 Now
Is this possible?
After all, don't many financial advisors have investing minimums? What if you're new to investing? Where do you start?
Yes, there are places you can invest $1,000. And, some of them are pretty nifty, as well.
Lending Club is one such peer-to-peer lending service I tried out, and I found it to be very easy to use and reliable (see my Lending Club review).As an investor with Lending Club, you can invest automatically using investment criteria. Alternatively, you can manually invest by browsing available loans and picking the ones you like. It's up to you!
Tip: Like any investment, make sure you choose notes that reflect your tolerance for risk. Some notes are riskier to invest in than others, and thankfully, you can see this information at Lending Club's website.
3. Have a popular robo-advisor manage your money.
If you're not very skilled at investing on your own and you're hesitant to loan money out to particular people online, you might consider hiring a robo-advisor.
Robo-advisors are investment companies who create automated software designed to manage portfolios based on certain criteria. For example, when signing up for such a service, you might take a questionnaire to determine your risk tolerance level or investment goals.
Robo-advisors make investment management available to the masses, since they typically have very low (or nonexistent) account minimums.
Additionally, many robo-advisors have slick user interfaces to help you get relevant information about your investment performance, holdings, and more in a snap.
I interviewed Jon Stein, CEO of Betterment, a popular robo-advisor which grew from nothing to a $16+ billion dollar investment company in just under eleven years. Jon believes the markets represent the success of the global economy. Overall, he expects they will improve over an extended period of time. This view is reflected in Betterment's software. It's set-it-and-almost-forget-it investing!
Tip: If you're ready to get a comprehensive, in-depth financial plan in place, you'd probably do better to sit down with a financial planner. If you have your strategy largely in place, try out a robo-advisor. It's worth a look!
4. Invest in your kids' college education.
Every parent wants their kids to be successful in life. One path to success is college.
But, there's a problem. Can you guess what it is? College is expensive and is showing no sign of slowing down. Forbes contributor, Mike Patton, points out that college tuition has been increasing by a whopping 5.2% for the last 20 years.
If you want your kids to go to college, and you aren't rolling in the dough right now, you should probably think about saving for their college education.
A 529 college savings plan is a great choice, as it has tax advantages that encourage individuals to save for college. These plans are sponsored by the states, so be sure to check out your state's 529 college savings plan and see if it makes sense for you.
$1,000 is a great start in one of these plans, and depositing the money in such a plan will help you get the technical details of the account worked out so you can continue to contribute.
For example, you might be held back by the fear of the unknown. Making a decision to start saving for college today will make it much easier psychologically to invest tomorrow.
Tip: If you're going to contribute to your children's college education, it's wise to start as early as possible. The time horizon for college is usually short: a maximum of 18 years. If you're starting when your children are older, you have even less time. I can't stress enough . . . start as soon as possible. You need all the time in the markets you can get.
5. Pay down your debt.
You might find this investment strategy surprising. But think about it for a moment . . . .
Having debt is like the opposite of having an investment. The only difference is that holding onto debt is often more costly than investments are profitable.
For example, you might expect to achieve a 7% or 8% return in the stock market. With credit cards, you might pay in the double digits. Yikes.
That's what makes paying down debt such a great investment idea. What you're really investing into is not having to pay lots and lots of interest.
This is also why some financial gurus recommend paying down non-mortgage debt before investing for retirement. It's that important.
And, $1,000 might make a big dent in your debt. But if it doesn't wipe it out, you should truly focus on paying off your debt as soon as possible.
Tip: Organize your debts. You may choose to organize them from lowest balance to highest balance, or from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate. The former makes sense from a behavioral standpoint and will give you some quick wins while the later will save you the most money. If you still have good credit then you can take out a 0% balance transfer credit card and reduce your interest for 12-18 months while you pay it down.
6. Start a Roth IRA
The Roth IRA, my friends, is one of my most favorite investment vehicles.
Why? Because the Roth IRA allows you to get a tax break on the money you withdraw from the plan during retirement instead of getting a tax break when you put the money in (that means you get some tax-free money).
That's a good thing for many, many people. The other reason is you have a lot of control over your money with a Roth IRA when compared to your employer-sponsored retirement account.
Those are two great reasons to start a Roth IRA. But let's not forget the main reason you should start one: it's important to save for retirement!
You won't be getting a paycheck from your employer in retirement. No income. None. That's obvious, but let it soak in for a moment. You're going to have to rely on other income sources (like your fantastic Roth IRA) in order to survive.
Tip: Check out some of the best places to open a Roth IRA and start one today! You'll be glad you did.
7. Diversify your money
One of the worst mistakes financial advisors see is when clients don't diversify their money. Don't be like those clients. Be awesome and diversify your money.
And yes, you should diversify your $1,000. With ETFs, it doesn't cost much to diversify your money and make sure you don't ride the single-stock roller coaster.
You might be thinking, 'But Jeff, it's only $1,000. Can't I buy some [insert favorite company here] shares?'
Childish gambino this is america meaning. Well, you could, but you sure wouldn't be setting yourself up for making smart investment decisions in the future. Be smart with your money even if it's being smart with just a little bit of money. Practice now for the future.
Tip: As you build your portfolio over time, make sure to rebalance it as certain investments within the portfolio will rise and fall in value. Never be overweighted or underweighted in an area. Learn all you can about proper diversification and stick to those best practices.
Concluding Thoughts
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. You know what it means that you read this article? It means you care about doing the right thing with your money.
$1,000 might not be much to invest, but starting on the right foot now will lead to numerous rewards in the future. Just imagine how that one little act of investing $1,000 will grow into years and years of interest and sound financial choices.
And, don't forget the power of compound interest. Exponential growth of money is awesome, and you should take advantage of it as soon as possible.
While there are so many ways to invest your $1,000, just make sure you do so. Do some research before you invest, but don't drive yourself crazy considering all of the options. Make a reasonable, but timely choice. The last thing you'd want to do is neglect investing at all because of information overwhelm.
Invest today for a better tomorrow.
A blogger who was able to quit her job after earning £100,000 from online money making schemes has revealed how anyone can make an extra £1,000 before Christmas from the comfort of their own home.
Emma Drew, 29, from Littleforth, Cambridgeshire has created a free 10 week challenge, which she promises can earn you an extra £100 a week if you start on 16th October.
Her suggestions are all things you can do from the comfort of your own home or build into your day, such as being paid to watch videos and being a virtual assistant.
'This year I want to help people who worry about the cost of Christmas, giving them real, practical advice and suggestions to make money for the big day,' she explained.
Emma herself now makes around £3,000 a month from activities such as mystery shopping, risk-free betting and online lotteries, after seeking out other sources of income when she was unemployed.
In November 2015, she was able to give up her job as a website administrator as she was earning almost twice her previous £1,600 a month take home pay, while her husband Tony has also been able to quit his role to work alongside her.
Emma has lots of money-making tips so you can pick those that suit your lifestyle, but if you take on some of the challenges below from mid-October onwards she's certain you can make at least £1,000 by the time Father Christmas arrives.
Blogger Emma Drew, 29, from Littleforth, Cambridgeshire says her tips can earn you an extra £100 a week between now and Christmas
The money-making blogger has created a free 10 week challenge, which she says can earn anyone an extra £1,000 before Christmas through 'side hustles'
MYSTERY SHOPPING
'I love mystery shopping, and every month it makes a hefty chunk of our online income,' Emma said.
'It's not only a way to make extra money, but it is also great for the free items we get, such as groceries, toiletries and Christmas shopping, which in turn helps to reduce our budget elsewhere.'
If you have a healthy credit rating and about an hour to spare, you can sign up for a banking assignment with Ragdoll Research.
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They will pay you £50 to act as a banking 'mystery shopper' by going in to apply for a financial product such as loan or credit card and then rating the process.
You will be provided with all the information you need to give for the application, and afterwards they can even cancel the financial product if you don't need it, as well as removing traces of it from your credit report.
As well as shopping in popular high street stores or restaurants, there are mystery shopping companies who only focus on online assignments if you're stuck for time.
How to become a mystery shopper
MARKET FORCE: I have completed hundreds of jobs for them and they are a great company to sign up for. With lots of clients, you are sure to recognise many of them. You are able to select a few areas, perhaps where you live and where you work, and search for jobs. I would strongly recommend that you join Market Force as your first mystery shopping company.
GRASSROOTS: I have completed over 50 jobs with them. Ranging from getting my groceries free to test out click and collect to asking about travel currency, the jobs have been varied and well paid.
RED WIGWAM: At the moment they seem to be focused on one supermarket, but this might just be the area that we are in. They send detailed pay slips and take care of your tax, leaving you with your take home pay.
E-DIGITAL: Perfect if you are looking to exclusively mystery shop online. E-digital has regular mystery shopping including purchasing items online (reimbursed) and testing apps. You will need to invoice them monthly once your balance has reached the payment threshold.
A haul of free products from one of Emma's mystery shopping trips, which she also gets paid for
BECOME A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
Virtual assistants offer a wide variety of services remotely including carrying out administrative tasks, writing blog posts or scheduling social media content.
Some VAs charge up to £100 an hour but Emma recommends new starters go for £15 to £20 an hour.
To get started with clients she suggest using People Per Hour where you can advertise as well as bidding on existing jobs.
You can search for broad phrases such as “virtual assistant” and then narrow it down by the services you can offer.
AUDIO TYPING
Sign up with a company such as TakeNote and you can earn up to £25 per hour of full transcription audio.
It typically takes three to four times the length of the audio to type the full transcription, and you need to be able to type 65 words per minute and have at least a grade C in English GCSE.
Emma has been able to give up her job and work from home thanks to earning more than £3K a month from online money making activities and mystery shopping
ONLINE SURVEYS
Anyone who promises that you will make mega money completing online surveys is lying.
Surveys often pay mere pennies for a lot of work, and you may find yourself completing most of the surveys only to be screened out and not receive any payment.
However, there are some good survey websites out there, that can earn you a respectable return.
TOP-EARNING ONLINE SURVEYS
PROLIFIC ACADEMIC: You will never get screened out of a survey and if you wait until you've earned £20 before taking your cash, there's no PayPal fees.
VALUED OPINIONS: 75p-£2 is the average payout and you can redeem your earnings for gift cards for retailers such as Sainsbury's, Amazon and M&S.
INSTAGC: Complete surverys in exchange for vouchers for a wide variety of retailers including, ASDA, ASOS, B&Q, Groupon, iTunes, Starbucks and Amazon.
ONEPOLL: The surveys are short and sweet to complete and OnePoll offer fantastic bonuses along the way. You earn £2.50 for registering, 50p for connecting your Facebook account, 50p once you complete 10 surveys and many more. Payout is at £40 via cheque, BACS or Paypal. OnePoll also offer a generous referral program, earning you up to £4 for each successful referral – 50p once someone registers under you and answers a survey, £1 when they earn £20 and another £2.50 when they reach £40.
VIEWSBANK: Offers short surveys on a regular basis, with the chance to participate in higher paying market research, such as ringing companies for insurance quotes. The payout is just £6 via Paypal, paid monthly.
PINECONE: One of the highest paying survey websites out there, paying out £3 for each survey. You can also use your points towards other rewards such as homewares, iPads, magazine subscriptions, Amazon gift cards.
MAKING MONEY FROM YOUR SMARTPHONE
There are countless apps you can install to help you earn extra cash on the go.
Getting paid for shopping might sound too good to be true, but apps such as ReceiptHog, ClickSnap and CheckOut Smart give you cashback simply for uploading your receipts after you've been shopping.
Or oyu can play Snatch a virtual treasure hunt using augmented reality like Pokemon Go, where players grab parcels virtually and protect them from other players who are trying to take them away.
Simply keep hold of your parcel for 6 hours and you can keep the contents, which can be anything from cash to Now TV passes to a free holiday.
Emma's husband Tony has also been able to give up his job to work with her, thanks to her success at 'side hustles'
MATCHED BETTING
This trick involves making use of bookmaker’s free bets to get a guaranteed profit, tax free.
Let's say Red Rum is running a race got to the bookies and bet that he's going to win and that he's not going to win using your free first bet. So either way you get money.
'During Cheltenham I made £550 in four days using special offers. Then there's the Grand National, the premier league - there are always offers,' Emma said.
WATCH VIDEOS AND PLAY GAMES
There's lots of ways to earn money through the SwagBucks site, including surveys and polls.
You can also earn by watching short video clips and playing games and convert your SwagBucks into vouchers or cash.
You'll need 849 for a £5 Amazon voucher, and Emma usually gets one or two a week, while 1,049 gets you £5 cash via PayPal.
Emma has won a Best Money Making Blog award thanks to her savvy tips on how to earn extra cash
GENERATE PASSIVE INCOME
Passive income is an income that you don't directly work for, or you do the work once and keep getting paid. For example, any interest you earn on investment would be a passive income, or if you wrote a book then your royalties would also be passive income.
It's probably not realistic to start earning money from a blog or buy a rental property before Christmas.
However, if you can think of something that you only have to create once that people will keep buying you could be on to a winner.
Are you a pro at making a budgeting spreadsheet? Or perhaps you can create some Christmas craft printables?
'If you can create a downloadable product that there is a demand for then you can set up an automated process where a buyer purchases your product and then receives a digital copy as soon as they have paid,' Emma said.