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Make (safe) investments

Investing is a crucial strategy for growing your wealth — but you definitely don’t want to end up losing everything, like our unfortunate Reddit mom.

Consider lower-risk assets, especially if you’re new to the game, and make sure you’re building a diversified portfolio to avoid relying too heavily on one sector.

There are a number of alternative assets you can invest in that have a low correlation to the stock market and have historically generated steady returns.

For example, fine art is an asset class valued at $1.7 trillion.

With Masterworks, you can buy shares of iconic works by artists like Banksy for just a fraction of what it would cost to buy a single painting. Masterworks users have seen returns of up to 39%, depending on the specific artwork sold. To put that into perspective, the average stock market return for the S&P 500 is around 10% per year. Another alternative asset class that has recently opened up to individual investors is commercial real estate. Thanks to First National Realty Partners, you you can invest in institutional-grade commercial properties without having to be a real estate expert. FNRP’s team will find and vet the deals for you, so you can just sit back and enjoy their quarterly returns.

If you’re hesitant about investing too much of your money, you can always start small — even as small as a few dollars a day. An app called Acorns will round every purchase you make on your debit or credit card up to the nearest dollar, and invest the spare change in a diversified portfolio. It takes less than five minutes to sign up for an account, and you can start investing automatically for just $3 a month.

Invest in real estate without the headache of being a landlord

Imagine owning a portfolio of thousands of well-managed single family rentals or a collection of cutting-edge industrial warehouses. You can now gain access to a $1B portfolio of income-producing real estate assets designed to deliver long-term growth from the comforts of your couch.

The best part? You don’t have to be a millionaire and can start investing in minutes.

Learn More

Talk to a certified financial professional

If you’ve got limited knowledge and experience with handling money (like the aforementioned Reddit mom), or if you just aren’t sure where to start when it comes to planning for your retirement, it’s a good idea to speak to an expert.

The tricky part is finding someone who’s the right fit for you and your financial goals. Cold-calling financial advisers and checking their credentials can be exhausting, but you can use a website called WiserAdvisor to save yourself some time and energy.

WiserAdvisor will match you with multiple vetted financial advisers and allow you to compare them based on your own unique needs.

Once you find the right match, you can book a free no-commitment call with them to help you decide if you want to move forward.

Settle your debts

Before splurging on the retirement home of your dreams, get your debts out of the way first (so you’re not emptying your kid’s education fund to do it).

Whether you’ve got credit cards to take care of or loans that are languishing behind, make a plan to pay them off.

If you’ve got multiple debts weighing you down, it might be easier to consolidate them into a single loan.

Using a free service called Credible, you can comparison-shop for loans to find the option with the lowest interest rate.

Credible will find you loans of up to $100,000 with no collateral, which means you can potentially pay off all your other debts immediately. You’ll only have one monthly payment moving forward, and you’ll likely save a ton in interest.

This 2 minute move could knock $500/year off your car insurance in 2025

OfficialCarInsurance.com lets you compare quotes from trusted brands, such as Progressive, Allstate and GEICO to make sure you're getting the best deal.

You can switch to a more affordable auto insurance option in 2 minutes by providing some information about yourself and your vehicle and choosing from their tailor-made results. Find offers as low as $29 a month.

Find the best rate for you

Work longer, or get a side hustle

With many soon-to-be retirees concerned about how much money they’ll need to spend their golden years in comfort, you may want to consider other ways to boost your savings.

You could push back retirement and work an extra year, or take on a side gig outside of your regular 9-to-5.

You can even maximize your income from home by doing something inconsequential like taking surveys.

Survey Junkie is a free online platform that gives you rewards for providing feedback on the products you use and the places you go. Once you’ve accumulated $5 in rewards, you can redeem them for gift cards or cash payouts via PayPal. Even just filling out your profile and confirming your email address will earn you points that count towards your first reward.

Another option for earning cash from home is Swagbucks, which offers rewards for a variety of simple tasks, like surfing the internet, watching videos, and shopping online — things you were probably going to do anyway. There are no time limits, so you can go at your own pace, but if you sign up and earn 2,500 points within your first 60 days, you’ll get a $5 bonus.

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Moneywise Moneywise Editorial Team

The Moneywise Editorial Team is a group of passionate financial experts, seasoned journalists, and content creators who are deeply committed to providing unbiased, relevant, and accurate financial information. With years of combined industry experience, our team is dedicated to maintaining the highest journalistic standards and delivering informative and engaging content. From personal finance and investing to retirement planning and business finance, we cover a broad range of topics to suit the financial needs of our diverse readership. You can trust the Moneywise Editorial Team to empower you with the knowledge and tools necessary to make wise financial decisions.

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