2 Smart Ways To Invest $1,000


 1. 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.


2. 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 $16+ billion dollar investment company in just under eleven 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!


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