--- title: 20 Really Smart Things to Do with $1,000 Now description: When you have some extra money to work with, it's a chance to do something new. Here are 20 fresh ideas for how to spend or invest $1,000. authors: - name: Ian Salisbury role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/ian-salisbury-2/ bio: Ian Salisbury was a senior editor at Money, focusing on investing, banks and mortgage. at_money_since: 2013 articles: 91 covers: - Investing - Economy and Politics - Housing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true - name: Doug Aamoth url: https://money.com/author/doug-aamoth/ former_staff: true - name: Kara Brandeisky url: https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 76 covers: - Investing - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/karabrandeisky former_staff: true - name: Sarah Max url: https://money.com/author/sarah-max/ at_money_since: 2015 articles: 90 covers: - Investing - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Housing - Insurance - Personal Finance - Retirement - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2015-09-21T10:00:35.000Z' modified: '2024-05-16T10:29:19.000Z' section: Investing tags: - money magazine - What to do with $1000 word_count: 132 canonical: https://money.com/best-way-to-invest-spend-1000/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![cat batting at $1,000 bill on string](https://img.money.com/2015/09/150921_what1000_lede.jpg?crop=0px%2C158px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85) When you find you have some extra money in your pocket, you don't want to use it merely to pad out your monthly budget, or let it slip away with a few thoughtless purchases. It puts you in mind of bigger goals. You can think of even $1,000 as a chance to get a fresh start and do something new. That might be a timely financial investment, or an investment in yourself to start a new career or kick-start a passion project. You could begin a fitness program, spruce up your home, or update your tech set-up. Or just recharge with a memorable weekend getaway. Here are 20 ideas for making a little surplus cash go a long way. ***Read Next: [15 Totally Realistic Ways to Come Up With An Extra $1,000](https://money.com/15-ways-to-come-up-with-an-extra-1000/)*** ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/best-way-to-invest-spend-1000/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Investing", "item": "https://money.com/investing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Investments", "item": "https://money.com/investments/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "20 Really Smart Things to Do with $1,000 Now" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/best-way-to-invest-spend-1000/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/best-way-to-invest-spend-1000/", "name": "20 Really Smart Things to Do with $1,000 Now", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-09-21T10:00:35.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/best-way-to-invest-spend-1000/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/best-way-to-invest-spend-1000/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-05-16T10:29:19.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "20 Really Smart Things to Do with $1,000 Now", "articleSection": "Investing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/09/150921_what1000_lede.jpg?crop=0px%2C158px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "150921_What1000_Lede" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Salisbury", "url": "https://money.com/author/ian-salisbury-2/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/ian-salisbury-2/#author", "description": "Ian Salisbury was a senior editor at Money, focusing on investing, banks and mortgage.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/06/Ian-Salisbury.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1" }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Doug Aamoth", "url": "https://money.com/author/doug-aamoth/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/doug-aamoth/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2012/01/ugc10114521.jpg?quality=85&w=640&h=640&crop=1" }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kara Brandeisky", "url": "https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2015/01/150107_bio_author_brandeisky_011.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1", "email": "kara.brandeisky@moneymail.com", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/karabrandeisky" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Max", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-max/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-max/#author" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-09-21T10:00:35.000Z", "description": "When you have some extra money to work with, it's a chance to do something new. 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