If You Have More Than $1,000 in Your Checking Account, Make These 5 Moves

What do you want to accomplish next with your money? Do you need to save more? Invest?
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: 
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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 commercial real estate — specifically, in apartment complexes that it owns — and you only need $500.
Real estate can potentially earn you more money than 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 — no one can — but historically, it has earned an annual return of 17% to 18%.
So you don’t need a fortune to invest in real estate. All you need to get started is $500.

2. Secure Up to $1 Million in Life Insurance; Rates Start at Just $5/Month
​Have you thought about how your family would manage without your income after you’re gone? Chances are your checking account balance won’t last forever.
Now’s a good time to start planning for the future by looking into a term life insurance policy. 
You’re probably thinking: I don’t have the time or money for that. But your application can take minutes — and, if you’re approved, you could leave your family $1 million by spending a low monthly fee on term life insurance with a company called Bestow.
The peace of mind of knowing your family is taken care of is priceless.
If you’re under the age of 54 and want to get a fast life insurance quote without a medical exam or even getting up from the couch, get a free quote from Bestow.

3. Ask This Website to Help You Pay Your Credit Card Bill This Month
You’ve finally got some money in the bank, but do you still have some lingering debt? We found a company that will pay your credit card bill this month. No, like… the whole bill.
Your credit card is getting rich by ripping you off with insane rates, but a website called Fiona wants to help.
If you owe your credit card companies $100,000 or less, Fiona 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, you’ll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.
Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call your bank, either. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could help you pay off your debt years faster.
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4. Grow Your Money 11x Faster — Without Risking Any of it

You’ve probably heard the best way to grow your money is to stick it in the stock market and leave it there for, well, ever.
But maybe you’re just looking for a place to safely stash it away — but still earn money. Under your mattress or in a safe will get you nothing. And a typical savings account won’t do you much better. (Ahem, .09% is nothing these days.)
But a debit card called Aspiration lets you earn up to 5% cash back and up to 11 times the average interest on the money in your account. Plus, you’ll never pay a monthly account-maintenance fee. 
Aspiration also shares part of its earnings with environmental charities, among other worthy causes. So you can stick up for the planet — without even having to write a check.
It takes just five minutes to sign up for an Aspiration Spend and Save account.

​5. Withdraw $5 and Buy a Piece of a Corporation
​Take a look at the Forbes Richest People list, and you’ll notice almost all the billionaires have one thing in common — 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.
That’s why we like the app Stash. It lets you be a part of something that’s normally exclusive to the richest of the rich — buying pieces of other companies. But Stash lets you start with as little as a $5 investment.

You can buy pieces of well-known companies, like McDonald’s, Apple, Tesla* and more. The best part? When these companies profit, so can you. Some companies even send you a check every quarter for your share of the profits, called dividends. 
It takes two minutes to sign up, plus Stash will give you a $5 sign-up bonus. (You just doubled your money!) You might not be in the next issue of Forbes, but this is a great way to get started.

This article originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder

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