If You Have More Than $1,000 in Your Checking Account, Make These 7 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. Invest in Real Estate Without the Volatility — You Only Need $500

You’re not the only one who daydreams about making money in your sleep. Investing in real estate is one of the best ways to earn passive income. The only problem? You need to have lots of money.

Well, you used to…

With a company called Connect Invest, you can get your foot in the door for just $500, investing in what are called short notes. And, if you make your first investment before December 31st, you can earn a $20 bonus.

Basically, you’re buying the debt that wealthy developers take on to fund their real estate projects — and they have to pay you back, with up to 9% (annualized rate) in interest… while you sleep.

With Connect Invest, you’ll invest for terms of 6, 12, or 24 months, during which you’ll receive monthly fixed-interest payments between 7.5% and 9% (annualized rate). You could earn a legit passive income with those rates — and it’s way higher than what you’d earn with your savings account!

Connect Invest carefully vets each real estate project and borrower. And don’t worry, all loans are backed by real estate collateral. In the rare event of a default, Connect Invest’s sister company will foreclose on the property with the investors’ approval and sell it to recover your investment.

It’s super easy to set up your free account and start investing. To earn your $20 bonus, select “Penny Hoarder” as a referral source and apply promo code “PH20.”

2. Drop Your Overpriced Car Insurance

Does your car insurance company love you back? If you’re like most of us, your loyalty to your car insurance company is costing you money.

They’ll toss you a few discounts occasionally, but that’s just to keep you distracted from an open secret: you can save hundreds of dollars by regularly comparing insurance providers.

A company called QuoteWizard makes it easy to click or tap your way to competitive car insurance quotes just for you.

You don’t have to know your exact mileage, trim, or even your VIN to get a good idea of how much your loyalty has been costing you every month.

QuoteWizard says its average user saves about $65 a month on auto insurance premiums, which adds up to $780 a year!

See how much you can save with QuoteWizard. It’ll only take a minute to enter details about your vehicle and see how much your current insurer has been getting away with charging.

3. Get Paid up to $360/Year With This Free Debit Card

Wouldn’t it be nice if you got special treatment wherever you went? You can actually get rewards wherever you shop, using this free debit card from Discover.

You’ll earn 1% cash back on every single purchase you make using your Discover® Cashback Debit account, on up to $3,000 monthly.* There’s no impact on your credit score for signing up and no minimum balance requirements ever.

Need groceries? Tap your card for cash back. You can also get paid sooner with Early Pay direct deposit, protect against overdrafts and access to over 60,000 ATMs without fees. You can handle all of your banking needs through the app and connect a virtual wallet like Apple Pay to amplify your rewards. And on top of all that, checking-account deposits are FDIC-insured up to the maximum amount allowed by law.

Does your bank do all that? If not, open a free Discover checking account to get special treatment from a bank that will actually put money back into your account.

*See website for details.

4. Slash Your Credit Card Debt — Unlock Up to 21 Months of No Interest Payments

Struggling with credit card debt? You’re likely also dealing with high-interest charges that can significantly impact your financial situation — it’s a tough problem to sort out.

But where to even start?

If you have good to excellent credit, switching to one of these top-tier 0% intro APR cards from The Ascent’s carefully curated list could help you consolidate payments and cut your interest for up to 18 months. You could not only fast-track your debt repayment but also save thousands in interest.

The Ascent is picky, meaning they’ll only highlight cards that really stretch your dollar and cut down on costs. Plus, they break down everything you need to know: from intro-rate deals and welcome bonuses to rewards and fees — no surprises, just clear info.

So if you’re looking for a financial lifeline without the drag of accumulating interest, check out The Ascent’s list of best cards with 0% Intro APR offers, and wave goodbye to interest for up to 21 months.

5. This App-Debit Card Combo Earns 5.00% APY on Savings, 3% Cashback at Walmart

This sounds an awful lot like a credit card, right? It’s not, but this account rewards you like it is, minus all the ticky-tacky fees.

The One Cash debit card and app* will pay you up to 5.00% APY on savings1, and it comes with plenty of cashback offers to help you grow your money even more.

You can get 3% cashback on purchases at Walmart (up to $50 annually) with eligible deposits2 and up to 5% cashback on select brands.3

One Cash’s focus is on giving you more than you expect. One Cash won’t charge you monthly fees or impose minimum balance requirements.

There are even more perks for getting a One Cash account:

• Get paid up to two days early with direct deposit.4
• You can get 10% cash back at Walmart on your first purchase up to $20 (limited-time offer).5
• You can get free Bill Pay to settle monthly bills with eligible deposits.6

And if you have a family or friend you want to share funds with and they have One Cash, too, you can quickly and easily send them money with the “One to One” feature.

Ready for a debit card that spoils you like a credit card? It’s easy to sign up for a One Cash account today. Just enter your phone number to get started.

6. This App Can Help you Build Wealth – Even if You’re Broke

You already have a job, so investing your money shouldn’t feel like working overtime. And why’s there so much jargon? And hidden fees? And minimum deposits?

It’s almost like they don’t want non-rich people to invest with them. 

A company called Moby can help you build wealth through the stock market without requiring a $10k investment or using industry jargon to discourage people who work for a living.

You can even see the trades politicians are making and do the same.

Here’s the rundown: You can potentially earn 12% on whatever you invest with Moby. And a subscription to their plain-language insights and recommendations only costs about $8 a month.

Whether you want to learn the market or just grow your money, a Moby subscription arms you with as much or as little information as you want:

• Morning newsletter and end-of-day report
• The Flagship podcast and audio/video reports
• Market reports
• Online courses to learn more about trading
• Hedge fund tracker
• Political trade tracker
• And much more

This could be the money-making opportunity you’ve been looking for. So, jumpstart your investing journey with a Moby account and start growing your money for $8 and change per month.

7. Let Your Family Inherit $250k or Much More

We never seem to have enough savings or investments. But there’s one particular way to make up for that shortfall: life insurance.

None of us like to think about what happens to your family if you pass, but this is a smart way to free them from a burden – and give you peace of mind.

With NerdWallet, you can get multiple life insurance quotes all in one place and find a plan that’s probably far more affordable than you think.

You can choose whole life plans if you want to do it once, forget about it and have coverage for the rest of your life. Or you can pick from term life plans to get even lower rates with coverage that can last a few decades.*

Is it finally time to get covered? It’s easy to get life insurance quotes from NerdWallet to see just how affordable a good policy could be for you.

*One is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC.

15.00% annual percentage yield (APY) applies to the total Savings balance of customers who either (i) received $500 or more of eligible direct deposits in the previous month or (ii) have a total daily account balance of $5,000 or more. Customers can also earn 5.00% APY on Pay Autosave balances without these deposit or balance requirements. In all instances, 5.00% APY is limited to a total Savings balance of up to $250,000. All other Savings balances will earn 1.00% APY. APYs are as of 4/17/2024 but may change at any time before or after account opening.

2To receive 3% cash back, eligible customers (at the time their purchase settles) must (i) have received $500 or more of eligible direct deposits in the previous month or (ii) have a total account balance of $5,000 or more. 3% cash back is limited to up to $50 per year and applies only to purchases made at U.S. Walmart locations and on Walmart.com. This promotion may not be combined with other One promotions that offer cash back on purchases at Walmart. Terms Apply.

3Cash back can be earned through the Debit Rewards Program. Individual offer details can be found in the One app. Terms apply.

4Direct deposit may be available up to 2 days in advance but depends on when your employer sends paycheck data.

5Only available to consumers who initiate their account application through certain channels from 8/8/24 – 10/31/24.  See terms for details. 

6Bill pay transactions are fee-free for accounts with eligible direct deposits totaling at least $500 in the previous month. Otherwise, a $3 Bill Pay Fee applies for each bill paid. 

*NerdWallet believes everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. And, while our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward – and free.