20 Smart Things To Do With $1,000 Now
Ideas for making a little surplus cash go a long way.
When you find you have some extra money in your pocket, you don’t want to use it merely to pad out your monthly budget, or let it slip away with a few thoughtless purchases. It puts you in mind of bigger goals.
You can think of even $1,000 as a chance to get a fresh start and do something new. That might be a timely financial investment, or an investment in yourself to start a new career or kick-start a passion project. You could begin a fitness program, spruce up your home, or update your tech set-up. Or just recharge with a memorable weekend getaway.
Here are 20 ideas for making a little surplus cash go a long way.
~~~
Ideas for making a little surplus cash go a long way.
When you find you have some extra money in your pocket, you don’t want to use it merely to pad out your monthly budget, or let it slip away with a few thoughtless purchases. It puts you in mind of bigger goals.
You can think of even $1,000 as a chance to get a fresh start and do something new. That might be a timely financial investment, or an investment in yourself to start a new career or kick-start a passion project. You could begin a fitness program, spruce up your home, or update your tech set-up. Or just recharge with a memorable weekend getaway.
Here are 20 ideas for making a little surplus cash go a long way.
~~~
Begin Investing with a Smart Portfolio
APlan ahead with a season subscription for live theater or music and you’re more likely to actually go out. Many cost less than $1,000 for two, so you’ll have cash for dinner too.
Chicago. A pair of Friday-night subscriptions to the Steppenwolf Theatre will run $530 for five plays.
Los Angeles. Two orchestra seats for the L.A. Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella new music series are $530.
Washington, D.C. At the Kennedy Center, you can put together a seven-show season of dance that includes the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and the American Ballet Theater for about $825. low-cost adviser can instantly serve up a diversified mix
If you’ve just started saving, the recent market volatility may make you nervous about taking the next big step into investing. But for those with decades until retirement, stock drops can be good news, since you buy in at a lower price. And you can build a diversified IRA portfolio with as little as $1,000—or less.
Online adviser Wealthfront will put you into a mix of stock and bond index funds with razor-thin fees. You can start with $500, and Wealthfront charges nothing for its advice until you hit $10,000. (Above that, it’s 0.25% of assets.)
Update Your Work Wardrobe
Offices continue to get more casual, which makes keeping up a sharp professional look challenging. Amy Wazer of ClosetSpace, a website and app that help you create a personalized look, offers this plan for $1,000:
Women:
Keen Smart Vents. These replace your existing central heating and AC wall vents. Via Wi-Fi, they communicate with one another to open and close to help keep your home at the perfect temperature and save on energy. $450 for five vents
Amazon Echo. Replace the radio in your kitchen with a Bluetooth sound system that doubles as a voice-activated personal assistant to help you start the busy day. (Think Amazon’s answer to Apple’s Siri.) From across the room, you can check your calendar and to-do list; ask for weather, news, and sports updates; and control and play Internet radio and music. $180
Sengled Pulse JBL Bluetooth Lightbulbs. In other rooms, add inconspicuous speakers anywhere you have a light fixture—and still get light. You can stream tunes from your smartphone and also use an app to control the light dimmer. Since the lights are long-lasting LEDs, they should last up to 20 years. $150
Nest Cam. Keep an eye on your home without breaking the bank. The Nest Cam streams high-quality video to your tablet, smartphone, or computer while you’re away, and it sets up in minutes. It also features motion sensors and night vision. $200
Freshen Up Your Diet
Buy a share of vegetables from local farms through a community-supported agriculture program, or CSA. In season, you pick up produce delivered to your neighborhood every week. “Farmers can plant things that aren’t hearty enough to transfer across the country,” says Paula Lukats of nonprofit Just Food. The novelty alone can make eating your veggies more fun. You’ll pay about $550 for a season; with what’s left over, many farms offer fruit or meat options. Find a CSA in your area at LocalHarvest.
Recharge with a Quick Getaway
Quebec. With the American dollar up 20% over the Canadian dollar, your money goes far, says Ellison Poe of Poe Travel. For $235 U.S. a night for a deluxe room, she recommends a long weekend at the Manoir Hovey hotel on a lake in North Hatley. With autumn and winter coming? Sure—just curl up by the fire.
Wine country. Skip Napa for a weekend in up-and-coming Paso Robles on California’s Central Coast, says Didi Johnson of Camelback Odyssey Travel. Let a driver with UberWINE take you to the wineries, starting at $35 an hour.
Surprise! Watch Groupon.com/getaways, Jetsetter.com, http://ift.tt/W1fnd5, and ShermansTravel.com for semi-last-minute deals. Groupon recently advertised four nights in the Bahamas for $499 a person
Lean in to Market Risk. A Little
As famed investor Warren Buffett says, you ought to be fearful when others are greedy, but greedy when others are fearful. In this anxious market, investors with a little cash to risk could put some in an area that has been especially beaten up. '
Funds that hold small “value” companies—stocks investors aren’t usually willing to pay high prices for—are down 7.7% over the past year, worse than any other broad U.S. stock category. But an index of such stocks earned an annualized 8.6% over the past 15 years, compared with 3.9% for blue chips. The Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR) is a good way to add a small-cap value stake.
Or Buy a Bit of the Future
Picking individual stocks is hard, but it can be engaging to put a modest bet on businesses trying something genuinely new.
One share of Google (GOOG) at $615. It will soon rename itself Alphabet to show that it’s two businesses in one: the core Google operation and another that invests in wild “moon shot” ideas like driverless cars.
Three shares of CVS Health (CVS) at $102. It stopped selling cigarettes in its stores to bolster its credibility in a promising growth business, managing prescription plans.
Reboot Your Laptop
A 13-inch MacBook Air is $1,000, but for $300 less, the Asus Zenbook UX305FA has twice the storage and less weight. With the savings, upgrade your network with the easy-to-use Google OnHub Wi-Fi router ($200) and Seagate’s wireless mobile hard drive for backup ($100).'
Launch a New Enterprise in a Better Home Office
Thinking of starting a business or a side gig? Set up a professional home office without a big-biz price tag.
Work-ready furniture. The Tempur-Pedic 9000 chair ($300) has a memory-foam cushion and a mesh back with good lumbar support. But standing is even healthier, so Ikea’s Bekant sit-stand desk ($500) converts to give you both options.
Essential gear. A Brother wireless laser printer ($100) pulls triple duty because it also copies and scans.
Help Employers See You in a Better Light
Budget for six $50 networking lunches. Take connections to a nice meal, not a noisy coffee shop. “It shows you care about their time when you pick a restaurant with waitresses and cloth napkins,” says career consultant Maggie Mistal.
About $700 for a business writing or speech course. It may pay off more than those hot coding classes. Recruiters tell the Graduate Management Admission Council that the top skills MBAs need are oral communication, listening, and writing.
Hire a Semi-Personal Trainer'
Group training studios, from strength circuits to spin classes, have sprung up around the country—and for good reason: The camaraderie (and friendly competition) can spur you on to a better workout. And working out with others is more cost-effective than a solo session with a personal trainer.
The free MINDBODY Connect App links users to gyms and fitness studios in more than 4,600 cities. Average price for 10 group-training sessions: $150. For $900, you can book 60 sessions, ensuring a dose of healthy peer pressure at least once a week.
Get a Jump on an MBA
Via sites like Coursera, top universities let you try free, noncredit versions of their courses. Now the University of Illinois is delivering a real MBA via Coursera. It’s not free, but for about $1,000 anyone can take a fully graded course in topics including accounting and digital marketing. If you like it and decide to apply to (and get into) the online MBA program, the class counts toward your degree.
Start Each Day Right…
By getting a good night’s sleep. Nix glowing phones and tablets, says National Sleep Foundation expert Natalie Dautovich, and make sure your room is dark, quiet, and cool. Fabric black-out shades from TheShadeStore.com run $340 for two standard windows.
Mask bothersome sounds with the $50 Marpac Dohm, which generates white noise. To stay cool, be sure to have breathable cotton sheets, about $150 (don’t sweat the thread counts). That leaves about $250 for good pillows and $200 for a memory-foam mattress topper
Clear Up Your Money To-Do List
Get an estate plan. For $1,000, expect to get a will, a power of attorney, and an advanced medical directive, says estate attorney Bill Sanderson.
Ask for a retirement checkup. Book a few sessions with a planner who charges by the hour to learn if you are saving enough to retire when you want to.
APlan ahead with a season subscription for live theater or music and you’re more likely to actually go out. Many cost less than $1,000 for two, so you’ll have cash for dinner too.
Chicago. A pair of Friday-night subscriptions to the Steppenwolf Theatre will run $530 for five plays.
Los Angeles. Two orchestra seats for the L.A. Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella new music series are $530.
Washington, D.C. At the Kennedy Center, you can put together a seven-show season of dance that includes the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and the American Ballet Theater for about $825. low-cost adviser can instantly serve up a diversified mix
If you’ve just started saving, the recent market volatility may make you nervous about taking the next big step into investing. But for those with decades until retirement, stock drops can be good news, since you buy in at a lower price. And you can build a diversified IRA portfolio with as little as $1,000—or less.
Online adviser Wealthfront will put you into a mix of stock and bond index funds with razor-thin fees. You can start with $500, and Wealthfront charges nothing for its advice until you hit $10,000. (Above that, it’s 0.25% of assets.)
Update Your Work Wardrobe
Offices continue to get more casual, which makes keeping up a sharp professional look challenging. Amy Wazer of ClosetSpace, a website and app that help you create a personalized look, offers this plan for $1,000:
Women:
- Handbag: $200 to $300. Go for one with a classic shape and room for a laptop, like a Michael Kors small leather satchel.
- Dress: $300 to $400. A Diane von Furstenberg silk dress goes from day to night.
- Shoes: $100 to $150. Pointed-toe booties work with pants or a dress.
- Jacket: $100 to $200. Calvin Klein’s peplum faux-leather jacket is a creative twist on an old standby.
- Accessory: $50 to $100. Splurge on stylish reading glasses, like $68 Corinne McCormack Sydney glasses.
- Jacket: $500 to $600. Boxy is out. Go for slimmer shoulders, like those in a wool blazer from Club Monaco.
- Pants: $200 to $300. Lose the wide-leg pant for a few pairs that are streamlined but not skinny, like Bonobos’ $98 “Weekday Warriors” straight-leg cotton pants.
- Shoes: $100 to $200. Cambridge chukka boot, Cole Haan.
- Get an Instant Smart Home
- No wiring required…
Keen Smart Vents. These replace your existing central heating and AC wall vents. Via Wi-Fi, they communicate with one another to open and close to help keep your home at the perfect temperature and save on energy. $450 for five vents
Amazon Echo. Replace the radio in your kitchen with a Bluetooth sound system that doubles as a voice-activated personal assistant to help you start the busy day. (Think Amazon’s answer to Apple’s Siri.) From across the room, you can check your calendar and to-do list; ask for weather, news, and sports updates; and control and play Internet radio and music. $180
Sengled Pulse JBL Bluetooth Lightbulbs. In other rooms, add inconspicuous speakers anywhere you have a light fixture—and still get light. You can stream tunes from your smartphone and also use an app to control the light dimmer. Since the lights are long-lasting LEDs, they should last up to 20 years. $150
Nest Cam. Keep an eye on your home without breaking the bank. The Nest Cam streams high-quality video to your tablet, smartphone, or computer while you’re away, and it sets up in minutes. It also features motion sensors and night vision. $200
Freshen Up Your Diet
Buy a share of vegetables from local farms through a community-supported agriculture program, or CSA. In season, you pick up produce delivered to your neighborhood every week. “Farmers can plant things that aren’t hearty enough to transfer across the country,” says Paula Lukats of nonprofit Just Food. The novelty alone can make eating your veggies more fun. You’ll pay about $550 for a season; with what’s left over, many farms offer fruit or meat options. Find a CSA in your area at LocalHarvest.
Recharge with a Quick Getaway
Quebec. With the American dollar up 20% over the Canadian dollar, your money goes far, says Ellison Poe of Poe Travel. For $235 U.S. a night for a deluxe room, she recommends a long weekend at the Manoir Hovey hotel on a lake in North Hatley. With autumn and winter coming? Sure—just curl up by the fire.
Wine country. Skip Napa for a weekend in up-and-coming Paso Robles on California’s Central Coast, says Didi Johnson of Camelback Odyssey Travel. Let a driver with UberWINE take you to the wineries, starting at $35 an hour.
Surprise! Watch Groupon.com/getaways, Jetsetter.com, http://ift.tt/W1fnd5, and ShermansTravel.com for semi-last-minute deals. Groupon recently advertised four nights in the Bahamas for $499 a person
Lean in to Market Risk. A Little
As famed investor Warren Buffett says, you ought to be fearful when others are greedy, but greedy when others are fearful. In this anxious market, investors with a little cash to risk could put some in an area that has been especially beaten up. '
Funds that hold small “value” companies—stocks investors aren’t usually willing to pay high prices for—are down 7.7% over the past year, worse than any other broad U.S. stock category. But an index of such stocks earned an annualized 8.6% over the past 15 years, compared with 3.9% for blue chips. The Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR) is a good way to add a small-cap value stake.
Or Buy a Bit of the Future
Picking individual stocks is hard, but it can be engaging to put a modest bet on businesses trying something genuinely new.
One share of Google (GOOG) at $615. It will soon rename itself Alphabet to show that it’s two businesses in one: the core Google operation and another that invests in wild “moon shot” ideas like driverless cars.
Three shares of CVS Health (CVS) at $102. It stopped selling cigarettes in its stores to bolster its credibility in a promising growth business, managing prescription plans.
Reboot Your Laptop
A 13-inch MacBook Air is $1,000, but for $300 less, the Asus Zenbook UX305FA has twice the storage and less weight. With the savings, upgrade your network with the easy-to-use Google OnHub Wi-Fi router ($200) and Seagate’s wireless mobile hard drive for backup ($100).'
Launch a New Enterprise in a Better Home Office
Thinking of starting a business or a side gig? Set up a professional home office without a big-biz price tag.
Work-ready furniture. The Tempur-Pedic 9000 chair ($300) has a memory-foam cushion and a mesh back with good lumbar support. But standing is even healthier, so Ikea’s Bekant sit-stand desk ($500) converts to give you both options.
Essential gear. A Brother wireless laser printer ($100) pulls triple duty because it also copies and scans.
Help Employers See You in a Better Light
Budget for six $50 networking lunches. Take connections to a nice meal, not a noisy coffee shop. “It shows you care about their time when you pick a restaurant with waitresses and cloth napkins,” says career consultant Maggie Mistal.
About $700 for a business writing or speech course. It may pay off more than those hot coding classes. Recruiters tell the Graduate Management Admission Council that the top skills MBAs need are oral communication, listening, and writing.
Hire a Semi-Personal Trainer'
Group training studios, from strength circuits to spin classes, have sprung up around the country—and for good reason: The camaraderie (and friendly competition) can spur you on to a better workout. And working out with others is more cost-effective than a solo session with a personal trainer.
The free MINDBODY Connect App links users to gyms and fitness studios in more than 4,600 cities. Average price for 10 group-training sessions: $150. For $900, you can book 60 sessions, ensuring a dose of healthy peer pressure at least once a week.
Get a Jump on an MBA
Via sites like Coursera, top universities let you try free, noncredit versions of their courses. Now the University of Illinois is delivering a real MBA via Coursera. It’s not free, but for about $1,000 anyone can take a fully graded course in topics including accounting and digital marketing. If you like it and decide to apply to (and get into) the online MBA program, the class counts toward your degree.
Start Each Day Right…
By getting a good night’s sleep. Nix glowing phones and tablets, says National Sleep Foundation expert Natalie Dautovich, and make sure your room is dark, quiet, and cool. Fabric black-out shades from TheShadeStore.com run $340 for two standard windows.
Mask bothersome sounds with the $50 Marpac Dohm, which generates white noise. To stay cool, be sure to have breathable cotton sheets, about $150 (don’t sweat the thread counts). That leaves about $250 for good pillows and $200 for a memory-foam mattress topper
Clear Up Your Money To-Do List
Get an estate plan. For $1,000, expect to get a will, a power of attorney, and an advanced medical directive, says estate attorney Bill Sanderson.
Ask for a retirement checkup. Book a few sessions with a planner who charges by the hour to learn if you are saving enough to retire when you want to.
Get Your Culture On'
Plan ahead with a season subscription for live theater or music and you’re more likely to actually go out. Many cost less than $1,000 for two, so you’ll have cash for dinner too.
Chicago. A pair of Friday-night subscriptions to the Steppenwolf Theatre will run $530 for five plays.
Los Angeles. Two orchestra seats for the L.A. Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella new music series are $530.
Washington, D.C. At the Kennedy Center, you can put together a seven-show season of dance that includes the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and the American Ballet Theater for about $825.
Finish That Big Project
Maybe you have a business plan to write or a big proposal for work. Carve out time by getting help with routine home chores, from picking up dry cleaning to hanging shelves. The website TaskRabbit connects you with helpers charging $15 to $35 an hour, so $1,000 frees up the equivalent of three to eight workdays.
Refresh Your Commute
Since 2000, as cities have added paths and lanes, bike commuting has grown 62%, says the League of American Bicyclists. Join in and you’ll spend less on gas and get a pleasant workout to boot. For most commuters, Patrick Croasdaile with Western Bikeworks suggests this gear.
Ride. The eight-speed Bianchi Milano, $530, has enough gears for all but the hilliest commutes. Add a pump, a spare tire, and tools for $40 and a lock for $35.
Safety. The $80 Giro Sutton helmet’s brim pays when it rains. See and be seen with the $50 PDW Spaceship 3/Radboot 500 light set.
Wear. Pick up merino-wool gloves, about $30, for cold days, a Banjo Brothers Metro Backpack ($65), and the $175 Showers Pass Rogue Hoodie, which you can wear off-bike “and not look goofy,” says Croasdaile.
Get Luxe for Less
For years the boom in China drove up the cost of luxury goods. Now that China’s growth is slowing, prices are heading down too. This is especially the case for diamonds, which have also suffered from a product glut. “You see a lot of supply coming on the market, and global consumers aren’t as motivated to buy,” says David Binder, chief financial officer at Blue Nile, an online retailer. Blue Nile’s recent price for two 0.36 carat diamonds with gold settings for stud earrings: $1,025, down 33% from $1,529 in 2014.
Begin a Wine Collection
Food & Wine executive wine editor Ray Isle recommends five affordable bottles worth aging.
Red. A 2012 Vietti Perbacco Nebbiolo ($25), a 2012 Château d’Aiguilhe ($25), and a 2010 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva ($26).
White. A 2014 Jim Barry the Lodge Hill Riesling ($18) and a 2012 Qupé Marsanne ($20). You can buy four of each to sample in different years as they mature for $456. A wine cooler that stores 32 bottles, so you have room for more everyday wines too, will cost you about $500.
Give Better This Year
Looking to make a difference with your cash? Plan a gift before the holiday season, suggests Katherina Rosqueta of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy. In 2014 almost a third of charitable contributions were made in December, and 12% were made in the last three days of the year, according to Network for Good.
Giving earlier means your good intentions don’t get lost in the holiday rush. Plus you have time to learn more about which charities use your money effectively. Research nonprofits at CharityNavigator.org,Guidestar.org, and GiveWell.org.
http://ift.tt/1FGdxFk
Plan ahead with a season subscription for live theater or music and you’re more likely to actually go out. Many cost less than $1,000 for two, so you’ll have cash for dinner too.
Chicago. A pair of Friday-night subscriptions to the Steppenwolf Theatre will run $530 for five plays.
Los Angeles. Two orchestra seats for the L.A. Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella new music series are $530.
Washington, D.C. At the Kennedy Center, you can put together a seven-show season of dance that includes the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and the American Ballet Theater for about $825.
Finish That Big Project
Maybe you have a business plan to write or a big proposal for work. Carve out time by getting help with routine home chores, from picking up dry cleaning to hanging shelves. The website TaskRabbit connects you with helpers charging $15 to $35 an hour, so $1,000 frees up the equivalent of three to eight workdays.
Refresh Your Commute
Since 2000, as cities have added paths and lanes, bike commuting has grown 62%, says the League of American Bicyclists. Join in and you’ll spend less on gas and get a pleasant workout to boot. For most commuters, Patrick Croasdaile with Western Bikeworks suggests this gear.
Ride. The eight-speed Bianchi Milano, $530, has enough gears for all but the hilliest commutes. Add a pump, a spare tire, and tools for $40 and a lock for $35.
Safety. The $80 Giro Sutton helmet’s brim pays when it rains. See and be seen with the $50 PDW Spaceship 3/Radboot 500 light set.
Wear. Pick up merino-wool gloves, about $30, for cold days, a Banjo Brothers Metro Backpack ($65), and the $175 Showers Pass Rogue Hoodie, which you can wear off-bike “and not look goofy,” says Croasdaile.
Get Luxe for Less
For years the boom in China drove up the cost of luxury goods. Now that China’s growth is slowing, prices are heading down too. This is especially the case for diamonds, which have also suffered from a product glut. “You see a lot of supply coming on the market, and global consumers aren’t as motivated to buy,” says David Binder, chief financial officer at Blue Nile, an online retailer. Blue Nile’s recent price for two 0.36 carat diamonds with gold settings for stud earrings: $1,025, down 33% from $1,529 in 2014.
Begin a Wine Collection
Food & Wine executive wine editor Ray Isle recommends five affordable bottles worth aging.
Red. A 2012 Vietti Perbacco Nebbiolo ($25), a 2012 Château d’Aiguilhe ($25), and a 2010 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva ($26).
White. A 2014 Jim Barry the Lodge Hill Riesling ($18) and a 2012 Qupé Marsanne ($20). You can buy four of each to sample in different years as they mature for $456. A wine cooler that stores 32 bottles, so you have room for more everyday wines too, will cost you about $500.
Give Better This Year
Looking to make a difference with your cash? Plan a gift before the holiday season, suggests Katherina Rosqueta of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy. In 2014 almost a third of charitable contributions were made in December, and 12% were made in the last three days of the year, according to Network for Good.
Giving earlier means your good intentions don’t get lost in the holiday rush. Plus you have time to learn more about which charities use your money effectively. Research nonprofits at CharityNavigator.org,Guidestar.org, and GiveWell.org.
http://ift.tt/1FGdxFk
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