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7 Smart Ways to Invest $1,000
You’d like to learn how to invest $1,000.
Is this possible?
After all, don’t many financial advisers 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.
But, it’s not enough to know some places to invest – you should learn some best investing practices.
I’ll teach you those along the way, too.
So grab your stash of cash, and let’s look at some of the best ways to invest 1000 dollars!
1. Pick investments yourself using an online trading platform.
If you’re the do-it-yourself type, and you have some investing knowhow, you might want to consider picking investments yourself using an online trading platform such as Scottrade.
In my Scottrade review, I found Scottrade to be both user-friendly and to have exceptional tools for portfolio growth.
There are many more discount brokers out there, so you might want to spend a little time researching them and seeing which discount broker is right for you.
Tip: If you’re going to be picking investments yourself using your $1,000, you might want to pick out some exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs are known for their lows costs and diversification benefits.
2. Lend to those in need and earn some interest.
If you want to invest into the lives of others and earn some interest, there’s a new craze that’s both exciting and reasonable: peer-to-peer lending.
Peer-to-peer lending is the practice of lending to borrowers through an online service whose goal it is to bring borrowers and lenders together.
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 $500-million-dollar investment company in just under four 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 it’s getting increasingly so.
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?”
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.
This post originally appeared in Forbes.
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Seven Costly Surprises That Ambushed Our Remodeling Budget
When my husband and I decided to remodel the first floor of our home earlier this year, we wanted to plan for everything. The fact that we were paying in cash meant we had to draw a hard line for our budget if we wanted to avoid going into debt. Plus, we wanted to mentally prepare ourselves for any expenses that would come our way – both the anticipated and the unforeseen.
And, to tell you the truth, both of us absolutely hate surprises – especially the financial kind. To a certain extent, we wanted to budget for the worst-case scenario. In our eyes, it would be much better to prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised by coming in under our budget. At least, that sounded like a good idea at the time.
Here’s the skinny on our project: Since our home was built in the ’80s, it came with a choppy, poorly-built floor plan. Not only did we have two smaller living areas sitting directly next to one another, but we also had an enormous foyer that served no purpose at all.
Our goal with the remodel was to break down all of the walls and create a somewhat open floor plan downstairs, while adding in metal support beams so our house didn’t fall down. In addition to those larger projects, I wanted the contractors to knock out a built-in desk in my kitchen and build a bigger pantry instead.
The Perils of Budgeting for a Home Remodel
Part of our budgeting process was rather simple. When it came to the contractors we used, they offered a firm price that wouldn’t surge unless some unforeseen issue cropped up. In the end, their initial quote asked for $5,115 to demo our walls, put in metal support beams, and add new drywall. Since there were very few material costs for our project, that bill was mostly for labor.
The second component of our project included replacing our entire first floor with hardwood. After some negotiation at Lowe’s – and after I received a discount because the initial flooring I ordered had been discontinued – I wound up paying around $6,900 for 1,000 sq. ft. of wood floors, including installation. Since we planned to keep these floors forever, this is one area where I splurged. Not only did we get something nice and solid that might last forever, but we also paid for professional installation instead of doing it ourselves.
The rest of our budget was comprised of cosmetic touches and furniture; I set aside $5,000 for decorations, paint, a large sectional couch, a new formal dining table, a television stand and occasional tables, and new area rugs for our living space.
This probably sounds like an exceptional splurge on my end, and it certainly was. But, it was also very exciting. I am 36 years old and this is truly my first real “adult” furniture – as in, we didn’t buy it from a clearance sale or out of someone’s garage.
And at the end of the day, our budget was set firm at around $17,000. To save money and keep our budget in check, we chose to complete certain aspects of the job ourselves – namely, some of the demo, the removal of two layers of old flooring, and all of the interior painting, including an entire floor of ceilings.
After talking to some friends and our contractor, however, we did mentally prepare ourselves to spend an extra 20% to 25% on any unforeseen issues that might crop up. While we certainly didn’t want to go over, hearing the experiences of others convinced us it was a real possibility.
Seven Surprise Expenses to Budget For During a Home Remodel
And I’m so glad we listened. Once our project was underway, we uncovered all kinds of problems that needed to be fixed before we could proceed.
As one of my neighbors shared, “You never know what you’ll find once you start tearing up walls and floors.” And boy, was he right. Here are a few surprise expenses that sent our total budget surging:
Additional Paint and Supplies
According to a cost analysis from HomeAdvisor.com, hiring an interior painter can cost anywhere from $400 to $4,000 depending on the area you want painted, the type of materials you use, and the details of the job. So, if you can paint your interior yourself, you can save a boatload of money right away.
Still, it can be difficult to estimate how much you’ll spend on paint and supplies when you’re not a professional. In our case, we drastically underestimated how much ceiling paint we would need because it went on so thick (we guessed two gallons and it ended up taking six), and we spent more than we planned buying different types of paint for our kitchen and living area, despite the fact that we were painting everything the same two colors.
While we did save at least $3,000 by painting our entire first floor interior on our own, we spent approximately $250 more than we planned on paint, rollers, and paint brushes.
Floor Vents and Light Switch Covers
Here’s an area that I didn’t even think about during our initial budgeting phase. When you rip out walls and floors, it’s inevitable that you’ll have to replace some of the finishing touches – light switch covers, heating and air vents, and floor vents.
In our case, we had to replace almost all of them – some because they were dingy and others because they got ruined during some phase of our remodeling project. The floor vents we purchased seemed especially expensive to me; in order to find ones that would match our interior, we paid more than $15 for each vent. In total, the vents, light switch covers, and wall vents I failed to plan for cost us an extra $200.
Water Damage
Interior and structural water damage is no joke, and it’s something you might not see until you start ripping out walls and floors. When it comes to the way water damage impacted our plans, however, we got extremely lucky.
After we began ripping out the floors in the front of our home on an exceptionally rainy day, we noticed that some water had managed to find its way in beneath our windows. Once our contractor investigated it, he let us know that some of the wood on the front of our house had become saturated, requiring a complete re-do of the siding on the front of our home. Fortunately, the rest of our home is brick, so this problem was fairly isolated.
While I wasn’t thrilled about the extra expense, I was relieved that we noticed it. Can you imagine putting in new wooden floors and instantly discovering that your siding had sprung a leak?
Our contractor had to remove the old wood on the front bay window of our home, waterproof the area, and replace the siding with a material that had a similar look. To save money we did the cleanup and repainted the area ourselves. Still, this set us back an extra $600.
Poorly-Executed Fixes and Renovations
While remodeling your home can mean improving it in the long run, that doesn’t mean you won’t find your share of shoddy renovations completed by former owners along the way. Whether it’s bad wiring, “quick-fix” solutions, or ugly drywall jobs, it seems like there is always some old work that needs to be fixed when you begin a new job.
During our home remodel, we had several surprises pop up. For one, we discovered that some of the wiring in our living room had been dangerously installed behind the crown molding. Second, we found that the casing on our back door had been glued together at some point and had since fallen apart. Lastly, more rotting wood was hidden behind a layer of caulk below the broken door that led to our deck.
In the end, all of that shoddy work needed to be fixed, and we paid around $400 for a new pre-hung door and several hundred more dollars to fix the electrical wiring and woodwork.
Additional Cleaning Supplies
Nobody tells you just how dirty a home remodeling project can be, but it’s absolutely true. During the course of our remodeling project, I got up early every day to wipe off the layer of dust that settled on every surface in our home.
Our contractor and his helpers did a great job cleaning up each day, but there was only so much they could do to keep the dust and dirt at bay. As a result, I spent a lot more than usual on paper towels, laundry from all of the extra dust rags I used, and, of course, furnace filters! Although we didn’t plan to change our furnace filter every few days at first, we quickly found that was the best way to keep the dust under control and to keep our furnace from getting too dirty. Sadly, those furnace filters cost $7 or $8 each!
Custom Blinds or Curtains
Ahhhhh, the cost of curtains and blinds. As someone who shies away from covering my windows too much, this is an issue I have only confronted once. The last time I shopped for window coverings was when I searched for valances to cover the four windows in my kitchen. At the time, I was shocked to find that some curtains I liked were nearly $100 apiece. Fortunately, I was able to find valances I kinda liked for around $20 at JC Penney. Whew.
This time around, I wasn’t so lucky. In an effort to match the existing blinds in my living area, I was forced to buy custom blinds. And since my windows are huge and oddly-sized, the blinds I ended up with weren’t cheap.
I saved money by using a Lowe’s 10%-off coupon and by buying faux wood instead of the real thing, but they still set me back $200.
Add-On Services
Even when you think the worst is behind you, something else pops up to siphon away even more of your budget. This happened to us near the end of our project. Once our new floor installation was underway, we found that our interior doors needed to be cut to make way for the new transition pieces to fit – that was an extra $150.
Lastly, we discovered that our air vents were downright gross – filled with dust, dirt, trash and, now, pieces of flooring and concrete from our home remodeling project. Our contractor suggested we have them cleaned to improve the air quality in our home, and I was immediately on board.
Fortunately, I received a coupon in the mail that allowed me to have all of my air ducts – and two returns – cleaned for just $50. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but the air ducts do look and appear a whole lot cleaner. With my children breathing in the air that comes from those ducts, the $50 was well worth the peace of mind.
The Bottom Line
While you can (and should) do your best to create a budget for any home remodeling project, there are some things you just can’t plan for. I suppose that’s why nearly every professional contractor and home websites like House Logic and Houzz recommend taking your initial budget and adding 20%.
You may not be able to plan for everything, but by adding that 20% contingency, you’ll be in a better position to fix any problems that arise without blowing your budget out of the park.
I’m so glad we listened to that advice and mentally prepared ourselves for extra expenses. And, on top of that, I’m glad we keep a stocked emergency fund that can cover us in our time of need.
And now that our project is behind us, I’m thrilled with the results and relieved that we discovered and fixed the problems we found during our project — and that we avoided any serious water damage by waterproofing and replacing the siding on the front of our home.
All things considered, the ordeal was worth it. But I have to say, I hope I never have to spend that much money on anything ever again.
Have you ever remodeled your home and gone over budget? What expensive discoveries have you made when remodeling or upgrading your home?
Related Articles:
- What Common Home Repairs Cost (and How to Budget for Them)
- The Basic Toolbox Everyone Needs to Handle Simple DIY Tasks at Home
- Why Dump When You Can Donate? Salvage These Items During Remodeling
The post Seven Costly Surprises That Ambushed Our Remodeling Budget appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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How This Mom Helped Her Son Win $100,000 of College Scholarships
When her son Josh started looking at colleges in 2008, Monica Matthews and her family faced a tough reality check.
“It was like, oh my gosh, we had no idea how much colleges cost, and we hadn’t saved for a college education,” she says.
A stay-at-home mom to two other young boys, Matthews didn’t want to go back to work. Looking for a way to fund Josh’s education, she found another solution: scholarships.
And it proved to be a pretty good idea.
Matthews eventually helped Josh win over $100,000, and now shares her strategies on her website How to Win College Scholarships.
Since I know many of you are worried about the cost of your children’s college education, I decided to pick her brain.
Here’s what I learned about winning college scholarships…
How She Helped Her Son Win $100K of Scholarships
After Josh applied for his first scholarship — and didn’t get it — Matthews decided to find out as much about winning as she could.
“I thought: I’m either going to have to go back to work, or I’m going to have to help him win scholarship money,” she says.
“I dedicated myself to figuring out what scholarship judges look for in their winners.”
A former teacher, Matthews created a system that allowed her and Josh to work together on his applications. The first year, she devoted four to five hours each week to scholarships.
“All of a sudden, he started winning,” she says. “It just kept coming and coming, and we had enough [money] for the first year.”
Before he even set foot in his college dorm, Josh had applied for about 35 scholarships — and won 13.
While studying aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan (go blue!), Josh continued applying for scholarships on his own.
In the four years between his senior year of high school and senior year of college, he won more than $100,000 — enough to cover his entire education.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Matthews says of their scholarship success.
“I was able to stay home and help my other sons,” she says. “I never had to go back to work. I never really had to worry about what we were going to do if we didn’t have the money for school.”
How to Get a Scholarship
Pretty incredible, right?
Since her process clearly works, Matthews created a business helping others emulate her scholarship success.
Below, she shares eight tips from her How to Win College Scholarships parent guide.
Keep reading to see how you could help your child win college scholarships — and hopefully graduate debt-free.
1. Start Scholarship Prep Early
It’s never too early to get ready for scholarship applications.
This “scholarship prep” involves helping kids gain experience with leadership and volunteering — both subjects they could discuss in an essay.
Not only that, those supervisors will “be the best ones to write your letters of recommendation because you’ll have volunteered there for years,” Matthews says. “Establish those relationships.”
Matthews’ youngest son, for example, is 14 years old and wants to major in engineering. So he joined a local robotics team — but Matthews didn’t stop there.
“There was a position open called ‘safety captain’ on our team,” she explains. “I jumped on it… That’s leadership already as a freshman in high school.”
2. Always Be on the Hunt
Thanks to the Internet, you have a wealth of scholarship resources at your fingertips.
Here are a few Matthews recommends:
Fastweb
This scholarship search engine should probably be your first stop.
Just be thorough when setting up your profile: Matthews says it’ll help you “weed out scholarships you aren’t eligible for.”
She also recommends setting up a separate email address, so your personal account doesn’t get spammed.
Scholarship Books
Scholarship guides provide a ton of information — the most well-known being The Ultimate Scholarship Book.
“I would take those books everywhere with me,” Matthews says.
“If I was waiting for my kids to get out of practice or whatever… I would page through them. You can buy them, but I checked them out from my local library.”
Scholly
Yes, there’s even an app to help you find scholarships.
Scholly is a “simple, accurate and comprehensive scholarship matching solution that was created by students for students,” according to its site.
It’ll cost you $2.99 — a worthwhile investment considering the value of the scholarships you’ll find.
Your Future Alma Mater
If you already know which college or university your child is going to attend, be sure to look into its affiliated scholarships.
“The college itself is really a great way to help win scholarships,” Matthews explains. “They have endowment funds and money to give out for their own students.”
3. Focus on Your Strengths
You don’t need to be a perfect student to win scholarships.
If your child doesn’t have great grades, Matthews recommends applying for scholarships for leadership or volunteering.
“Look for scholarships that are based on skills — like photography, or making a video — rather than grades,” she says.
“Some scholarships — or actually a lot of them — don’t even ask for your GPA, or the minimum is a lot less than you’d think,” she says.
“There are some scholarships that don’t want the 4.0 kids. They want regular kids who have done something great for their community.”
She recommends a book called “The ‘C’ Students Guide to Scholarships,” since it focuses on highlighting leadership skills and other abilities.
4. Forge a Partnership With Your Child
One thing Matthews stresses? The scholarship process needs to be equally shared by both you and your child.
“Students are so busy,” she says. “That’s why this partnership thing works; you’re taking a lot of the pressure and time commitment off the students.”
Let them know, “I just spent all this time finding this scholarship — this is what you need to do,” she says.
That way your child knows you’re on their team, and doesn’t feel forced to write an essay without any guidance.
5. Complete the Applications in Small Chunks
Nobody wants to sit down knowing they’re about to spend hours on an essay.
So Matthews suggests completing the application in chunks.
“If you just ask for 15 minutes, most kids are gonna say, ‘OK, I can do 15 minutes,’” she explains.
And, after those initial 10-15 minutes, your student may want to keep going and finish, according to Matthews.
6. Use Money as Motivation
With Josh, Matthews says it was helpful to focus on the numbers.
“I kept his eye on the prize,” she explains. “I kept saying, ‘You know what, this college costs this much money. You can’t go there unless you win these scholarships.’”
She also used an hourly rate as additional motivation.
You can tell your child, for example, “If you win this scholarship for $1,000 and you worked on it for four hours, that’s like making $250 an hour,” she says. “Money speaks to kids.”
7. Make Your Essay Shine
Matthews offers several tips for the essay, which she calls the “heart of the scholarship application” and a “way for judges to get to know students on a deeper level.”
Start With a Hook
As with any piece of writing, a captivating introduction is essential.
“Get them to want to read to the very end,” she says. “Don’t start your essay with, ‘I need this scholarship money because…’ So many kids do that.”
“You need to start with something shocking like ‘My alarm rang at 5 a.m. I threw off the covers and I stomped into the bathroom to get ready to go to work.’”
Tell the Truth
Make it detailed, but don’t embellish, says Matthews.
Talk about your personal experiences and “show how you overcame an obstacle.”
Highlight the Organization
Show you’ve done your research by including the organization in the essay.
“Read the mission statement of that organization,” she says, “and align yourself to what they’re looking for. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you believe in it.”
Read Through Winning Essays
A lot of websites share the essays of former scholarship winners.
“Read through the essays,” she says. “I’m not saying to copy — but get an idea of the kind of student they’re picking.”
8. Polish Your Online Presence
Though most scholarship applications are online these days, there are still ways to make your application stand out.
“Never leave any extra boxes,” she says. “Develop some Pinterest boards or a free website; Wix is great… You can have a link to your scholarship resume on there.”
Since online applications often have strict word count limits (which you should never go over), having a website allows you to provide more information.
“You can put in your link on the very bottom; it only takes up 20 characters and judges can click on it and find out a ton more about you,” Matthews explains.
If the application happens to require printing and mailing, make sure everything’s in the correct order and not folded up.
“Spend a dollar and put it in a nice envelope,” she says.
It Sounds Like a Lot of Work… But Is it Worth it?
There’s no doubt about it: Successfully applying for scholarships is a lot of work.
But Matthews firmly believes it’s worth it.
“You put in the work now, and then while you’re in college, you’re not working,” she explains.
That’s in stark contrast to Matthews’ college experience, when she worked “all the time.” Her biggest motivation was (and is) the fact she doesn’t want her kids to have to do the same.
If you don’t think you have time to pursue scholarships, she recommends starting slowly.
“You’re watching TV and a commercial comes on,” she says. “Grab that scholarship book or your cell phone, and start looking through and jotting down notes.”
“When you’re surfing on the internet, spend 15 minutes a day looking for scholarships,” she urges. “You can make the time if you really try… It’s all about priorities.”
Your Turn: Will you help your child with their scholarship applications?
Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.
The post How This Mom Helped Her Son Win $100,000 of College Scholarships appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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