If You Have More Than $1,000 in Your Checking Account, Make These 8 Moves
You’ve done it. You’ve built up a little cushion in your bank account — $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. This Free App Will Give You up to $1K in Free Stock Just for Signing Up and Funding Your Account
Inflation is doing a great job of making it really difficult to buy, well… anything. And that includes stocks.
Luckily, when you open a free SoFi Invest account and fund it with at least $10, they’ll give you free stocks in return — worth up to $1,000.
With SoFi, You can buy full or fractional shares of popular stocks, plus you can invest in exchange-traded funds — or collections of stocks.
If you’re new to investing, SoFi has automated investing tools to help simplify things. Plus, they won’t charge you any SoFi management fees.
It only takes a minute to open a free account and get started. Then, once you fund it with at least $10, SoFi will reward you with your free stock — which could be worth up to $1,000.
*See terms
2. Get $150 When You Slash Your Home Internet Bill to as Little as $30/Month
There are some bills you just can’t avoid. For most of us, that includes our internet bill. You can’t exactly go without it these days, and your provider knows that — that’s why so many of us are overpaying.
But with T-Mobile, you can get high-speed, 5G home internet for as little as $30 a month. They’ll even guarantee to lock in your price.
You’re probably thinking there’s some catch, but they’ll let you try it out for 15 days to see if you like it. If not, you’ll get your money back. You don’t even have to worry about breaking up with your current provider — T-Mobile will pay up to $750 in termination fees.
Even better? When you switch now, you’ll get $150 back via prepaid MasterCard.
Just enter your address and phone number here to see if you qualify. You could be paying as low as $30 a month for high-speed internet.
3. Let This Account Give You $300 Just for Keeping Your Money There
Here’s the deal: If you’re not banking with a credit union called PSECU, you’re missing out on extra cash. And who doesn’t want extra cash right now?
Yep. PSECU will give you $300 after just a few months of keeping your money there.
They’ll pay you $100 when you sign up, another $100 when you set up direct deposit within 90 days of opening your account, and another $100 when you keep direct deposit active for three months.*
It’s free to open a checking account, and there’s no minimum deposit or fees. Plus they have more than 70,000 surcharge-free ATMs and rebates for non-network ATMs. You’ll also get no-fee overdraft protection if you have a backup source of funds.
Credit unions sometimes have waitlists, but PSECU doesn’t right now. Apply to join PSECU here and start earning your $300 in free cash.
*Offer valid until 12/31/23
4. Don’t Leave Money on the Table: Let The Experts At This Company Find and Roll Over Your Old 401(k) — For Free
Did you know there are more than 24 million abandoned 401(k)s in the U.S.? Even more shocking — an old or forgotten 401(k) could cost someone up to $700,000 in foregone retirement savings.
Imagine losing hundreds of thousands of dollars just because you didn’t roll over a 401(k).
The truth is, most of us don’t really know the best options for our 401(k)s when switching jobs. One of the smartest options is a tax-free transfer from your old 401(k) to an IRA — but the rollover process can be frustrating and time-consuming.
That’s where a free platform called Capitalize can help. It will find your old 401(k)s, help you compare new IRAs from leading financial institutions, and make sure your old account is transferred correctly to your new IRA. You don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting — they’ll handle the transfer for you.
It only takes five minutes to fill out a form on its site, and then Capitalize financial experts can take it from there — they’ve successfully handled thousands of rollovers amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Regardless of whether you have a traditional or Roth 401(k) plan, Capitalize will make sure your money is transferred quickly and accurately. You can also be sure your data is safe with bank-level encryption — they won’t sell your data, either.
Don’t leave your retirement savings in the dust. Get started here to let the experts at Capitalize help you find the best rollover option for your 401(k) — for free.
5. Invest in Famous Art (Even if You’re Not a Millionaire)
Here’s the deal: If you’re not investing in contemporary art, you might be missing out on an asset whose prices have outpaced the S&P by 164% from 1995 to 2020. (FYI, the S&P tracks 500 of the largest companies in the stock market)
You’re probably thinking you need at least a few more zeros in your checking account before you can even start thinking about investing in Warhols and Monets, right?
But a company called Masterworks lets normal people like us invest in multimillion-dollar works of art — something typically only available to the super rich.
You don’t need hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a masterpiece outright; with Masterworks, you can invest in multimillion dollar paintings with only $1,000.
It takes less than a minute to sign up for a free account.
Investing in contemporary art is a long-term strategy, so patience pays off here — literally. But once your piece of art sells, you get your share of the potential profits.
6. Stop Paying Your Credit Card Company
If you have credit card debt, you know. The anxiety, the interest rates, the fear you’re never going to escape…
And the truth is, your credit card company doesn’t really care. It’s just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates — some up to 36%. But a website called AmOne wants to help.
If you owe your credit card companies $50,000 or less, AmOne will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every single one of your balances.
The benefit? You’ll be left with one bill to pay each month. And because personal loans have lower interest rates (AmOne rates start at 5.99% APR), you’ll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.
You don’t need a perfect credit score to get a loan — and comparing your options won’t affect your score at all. Plus, AmOne keeps your information confidential and secure, which is probably why after 20 years in business, it still has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
It takes less than a minute and just 10 questions to see what loans you qualify for — you don’t even need to enter your Social Security number. You do need to give AmOne a real phone number in order to qualify, but don’t worry — they won’t spam you with phone calls.
7. Get Paid While You’re Already Out Driving (Cash Out Today)
When we mention driving with Uber, we know the first thing that probably runs through your head: Drunken strangers piling into your car, loudly reminding you “This is the best night of my life!” — and maybe even vomiting in your back seat.
Gross. We know.
But we’ve talked to several drivers who use Uber who told us a different story. For them, Uber is the perfect way to make some extra money — on their own terms.
One driver, Nureka Chapman-Henderson, a mother of five in Humble, Texas, says she started driving with Uber because of its flexibility. As a chef and restaurant owner, she doesn’t exactly have a lot of free time.
“I turn the Uber app on when I’m running errands,” she says. That way she can make some extra money while she’s already out and driving.
Driving with Uber remains one of the most legitimate, flexible ways to make some serious extra money. And with its Instant Pay feature, you can cash out up to five times a day.
Plus, it takes just minutes to sign up — fill out a couple quick boxes and you’re done. So if you’ve ever been curious about driving with Uber, see how much you could earn in your city.
8. This Free Tool Finds The Perfect Credit Card for Your Needs — And You’re Already Qualified
Credit card companies will court you the old-fashioned way, loading your mailbox and inbox with offers for all sorts of credit cards. It’s just marketing to them, but it’s a huge hassle to apply for cards you don’t even qualify for — not to mention the impact it could have on your credit score.
There’s a better, more modern way to find the perfect credit card — it’s called Credit Sesame. Its card-match tool is the perfect matchmaker for anyone looking for the right card.
This tool will analyze your credit profile and show you precise approval odds, so you can apply for your next card with confidence. You can compare your credit card matches by their perks, interest rates, fees and introductory offers — you can even read user reviews about them.
Ready to find the right credit card? Get started here to get matched with the right credit card.
*Sofi: Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $10 within 30 days of opening the account. Probability of customer receiving $1,000 is 0.028%.
Terms for ‘Claw’ Promotion: https://www.sofi.com/invest/clawpromotion/rules
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Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform. Information related to lending products contained herein should not be construed as an offer or pre-qualification for any loan product offered by SoFi Bank, N.A.