What Would You Do With $1,000?

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Seeing as how we're now nearly debt-free (only a student loan and the mortgage) I think I'd treat a windfall a little differently than I would the stimulus check, or my regular earnings.
My stimulus check will go straight to savings, and for my regular earnings, I put 30% into savings (20% to my 401K and 10% to ING) with the rest applied to bills and daily expenses.
For a $1000 winfall, I think I'd put 30% to savings and surrepticiously apply the remaining 70% to my parents' credit card debt. Mom had a major surgery about a year ago that wasn't fully covered by insurance. They wouldn't accept it if I tried to give them the money directly, but the bills are eating them up. This way I can say I kept some for myself, which will make them happy.

Gayle of CA 3:42PM May 08, 2008

Whenever I receive a windfall of any amount, I put it into a high yield savings account. If the savings account reaches a certain amount, I will move a portion of that money into CD's to earn a higher rate.
Currently, though, I am making a few life changes and am working to make some of my dreams into realities. One of those dreams is to sell my own artwork. Since I'm just testing the waters, I would not run out and purchase gallery space or spend all the money on supplies. Instead, I would do some research and make a few informed decisions on the best way to invest a portion of that money into this goal.
I would probably take 20% of the money to invest in supplies and an additional 10% for marketing (such as setting up a web site) while saving the rest and looking for free avenues to market and sell my work. I would set aside an additional 20% into a separate high yield savings account to be used if I felt spending that money would be beneficial in the long term.

AA of VA 2:14PM May 08, 2008

I would either:
A) The grocery stores are doing a deal where if you buy a $1200 gift card, they add $120 to the value on the card. I'd add $200 to the $1000 and buy one of those. The 10% immediate bonus is better than any savings account can give, and we'll use that money on groceries before the year is out anyways.
If I didn't do that, I'd
B) Buy a 1 year CD which expires right before we start paying interest on our student loans. Then in a year, I'd use that money to pay off the student loans.
Either way, I'd be trying to maximize its usefulness

stuporglue of UT 1:49PM May 08, 2008

I would either:
A) The grocery stores are doing a deal where if you buy a $1200 gift card, they add $120 to the value on the card. I'd add $200 to the $1000 and buy one of those. The 10% immediate bonus is better than any savings account can give, and we'll use that money on groceries before the year is out anyways.
If I didn't do that, I'd
B) Buy a 1 year CD which expires right before we start paying interest on our student loans. Then in a year, I'd use that money to pay off the student loans.
Either way, I'd be trying to maximize its usefulness

stuporglue of UT 1:48PM May 08, 2008

I just heard about a way to send money directly to Burmese monks for cyclone aid--allowing the donor to bypass the government--so I'd probably look into that and send them $100 if it seems feasible; otherwise, I'd donate that money to another charity. My boyfriend, who's Tibetan, wants to set up a non-profit organization to build an orphanage school in his hometown, so I'd donate $100 toward that, and I'd spend another $100 on an online course, such as grant-writing, that would help me help his future non-profit and would also be useful in my post-grad-school career. I'd put $300 towards my credit card debt, and save the remaining money (ideally toward a research trip--it would be helpful to do fieldwork overseas for my dissertation--but more realistically/immediately, in my currently non-existent emergency fund).

Leah of MA 1:33PM May 08, 2008

I was raised that with any "gravy" (unexpected income) money, you allocate half to stuff you don't want to pay and the other half you get to spend however you want.
You use half off it to pay bills/debts and then have fun with the rest. This way you don't feel guilty about spending money on things you want, and at the same time you don't get burned out on sticking to a budget.
I already max out my Roth IRA annually, and since this isn't a payroll entitlement, I cannot add it to my 401(k).
So, I would pay $500 to my HELOC, or buy some index funds.
Then, I would spend, or save in a High-Yield Savings Account, the other $500 towards the purchase of some solar panels for my house. After I tinkered around with the solar panels for a bit, I would look into providing installation for renewable energy products in my area. I figure I could start with installing solar panels, and move towards wind generators or other alternative energy sources, to do my part to help reduce our country's dependence on foreign oil.

Rob M. of UT 11:52AM May 08, 2008

I'd spend $990 on booze, cars, and women... and then I'd just blow the rest.

Anthony 11:52AM May 08, 2008

If I received an unexpected $1000, I know it would be split into two places. $500 would go into my son's college savings plan, and the other $500 would go towards the principal on my mortgage. Paying down my principal and saving money for college are the two biggest financial concerns for me right now. Of course, if the mortgage was paid off, my answer would change to $500 for college and $500 for retirement. That will have to wait until another unexpected $1000 comes my way. =)

Dana S. of IL 11:49AM May 08, 2008

When we bought our house, unfortunately at the height of the bubble in 2005, we took out a heloc in order to have a 20% downpayment and also to pay for some deferred maintenance that needed immediate attention.
Finally the end is in sight for the heloc and we are becoming impatient to pay it off, which will definitely happen this year. Our rebate check will definitely go to the heloc along with any extra pennies we can squeeze out. An extra $1000 would bring us that much closer.
After the heloc I will work on my Roth IRA contribution for 2008. And after that, building up the emergency fund. And after that, a little boost to our son's 529. And after that, we have home improvement plans for the kitchen, bathroom and living room. So whenever an extra $1000 falls into our laps, we have lots of plans for it.

EP of VA 11:24AM May 08, 2008

I would use $100 and treat myself to video games or fancy foods. I'd like to use it all to pay for debt but I know I would end up indulging myself so better to set a limit. The rest then would go to pay back my credit card debt.

Richard of NY 10:57AM May 08, 2008