Image source: The Motley Fool/Upsplash
What could an extra $500 do for you? Could it be your ticket to paying off a nagging credit card balance? Could it help pay for the new laptop you desperately need? Or could it simply buy you more peace of mind?
Although $500 may not be a life-changing sum of money, it’s a pretty significant one in its own right. And the good news is that getting your hands on an extra $500 by the end of the year may be easier than you’d think. Here are some tactics worth trying out.
1. Open a CD
Have you seen what CDs are paying these days? Thanks to a string of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, CD rates are sitting at around 5%.
If you want to score an extra $500 before the end of the year, you could put $20,000 into a 6-month CD with a 5% APY. And if you can’t find a 6-month CD paying 5%, that rate is easy to find with a 12-month CD — and you should still earn $500 in interest before the end of 2024.
Of course, many of us don’t have $20,000 sitting around to put into CDs. But if you have $5,000, a 6-month CD paying 5% still gives you $125. That’s not a terrible consolation prize.
2. Claim your 401(k) match
Vanguard reports that 95% of 401(k) plans offer an employer match. One common formula is for companies to match contributions of up to 3% of salary.
The typical worker today earns about $60,000 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you contribute 3% of your salary, you may be eligible for an $1,800 match from your employer if it uses this formula. If you can’t swing an $1,800 contribution over the next six months, put in $500 to get a free $500 back.
3. Chase the right credit card sign-up bonus
It’s common for credit cards to offer sign-up bonuses that put a certain amount of cash back or miles in your pocket for meeting a specific spending threshold. If you look around, you may find a card that offers you the equivalent of $500 — for example, a travel rewards card that gives you 50,000 bonus miles worth $500 in travel for spending $3,000 or $4,000 within three months of opening your account.
Of course, you’ll need to be careful with credit card sign-up bonuses. You don’t want to spend an extra $700 beyond what you’d normally charge to meet the welcome bonus requirement — because if the bonus is worth $500, that means you’re losing $200. But if you can meet the requirement with ease, and you haven’t applied for a new credit card in the past few months, then it could be worth doing.
An extra $500 might do a lot of great things for your finances. Make these moves so you can close out the year just a bit richer.
Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until 2025
This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!
Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.
We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
