If You Have More Than $1,000 in Your Checking Account, Make These 6 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. 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.

2. This Website Can Help You Wipe Out Your Credit Card Debt

If you’re carrying around credit card debt, you know how hopeless it can feel. The interest rates alone can make it feel like you’ll never escape.

Meanwhile, your credit card company could care less. They’re getting rich off those sky-high rates, after all.

Luckily, The Rate Chopper could help you start to get rid of all that debt — as soon as a few days from now. Here’s how: The Rate Chopper could match you with a lender and a new loan at a lower interest rate you can use to pay off all your credit card balances. Now you’ll just have one bill to focus on, and with the lower rate, you’ll likely be able to pay off your debt that much faster.

If you have a credit score above 600 and you need to borrow up to $50,000, The Rate Chopper can help you find a loan with rates as low as 5.99% APR.* That’s way better than the 20% or more your credit card is charging you.

It only takes a few minutes to complete the form to get your personalized results —  and checking won’t affect your credit score. Plus, The Rate Chopper keeps your information encrypted and secure.

And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check and see if you match with a lender. You’ll need to enter your Social Security number when you fill out their form, but The Rate Chopper uses data encryption to help keep your information safe.

It takes just a couple minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.

3. 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

4. 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.

5. Let This App Spot You a Few Bucks When You Need It

It’s happened to all of us at some point — the dreaded overdraft. It’s not only embarrassing if your card gets declined at the grocery store over a few bucks, but the fees that come with it only put you further into a hole. Double yikes.

But a banking app called Chime wants to protect you from both of those problems with its SpotMe® feature1. It’s a fee-free overdraft protection that lets you overdraft up to $200 (for eligible members) without penalty.

Yep. Just sign up for a free Chime checking account and set up a qualifying $200 monthly direct deposit to take advantage of this face-saving tool. You’ll also get access to other sweet features, like getting paid up to two days2 earlier with direct deposit, help automatically growing your savings and access to more than 60,000 fee-free3 ATMs.

Signing up takes just a few minutes. You’ll need your Social Security number handy — but don’t worry, your information is protected by bank-level security, FDIC insurance and two-factor authentication.

6. 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.

*The Rate Chopper: Approval and loan terms vary based on applicant qualifications. Not all applicants will qualify for the full amount or lowest available rates.

NerdWallet Compare, Inc. (dba The Rate Chopper) NMLS ID# 1617539

http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/

CA Fin. Lender loans arranged per DFPI, Fin. Lenders Lic #60DBO-74812

*Sofi Active Invest: 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

SoFi Invest refers to the three investment and trading platforms operated by Social Finance, Inc. and its affiliates (described below). Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of the platforms below.

1) Automated Investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser (“Sofi Wealth“). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC.

2) Active Investing and brokerage services are provided by SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA(www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org), (“Sofi Securities”). Clearing and custody of all securities are provided by APEX Clearing Corporation.

3) SoFi Crypto is offered by SoFi Digital Assets, LLC, a FinCEN registered Money Service Business.

For additional disclosures related to the SoFi Invest platforms described above, including state licensure of SoFi Digital Assets, LLC, please visit SoFi.com/legal.

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.

*Chime:

1 Eligibility requirements apply. Overdraft only applies to debit card purchases and cash withdrawals. Limits start at $20 and may be increased up to $200 by Chime. See chime.com/spotme.

2 Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.

3 Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.