Introduction

When you get money, it’s easy to just see it as a windfall. You’ve worked hard for that cash, but what do you actually do with it? If you’re like most people, the answer is “not much.” But if your financial situation has changed recently or you want to ensure that your current income remains stable for years to come, then there are some smart things you can do with that extra cash. Here are 15 ways to upgrade your life once the money starts coming in:

Learn how to invest

Investing is a key component of financial freedom, but it’s also one of the most intimidating parts of personal finance. The sooner you start investing, the more money you’ll have in the future–and learning about investing now will make it easier for you when it comes time for your first real job and 401(k) plan. Whether it’s through an online course or just reading books on Amazon Prime (which is free with an Amazon Prime membership), there are plenty of ways to learn how stocks and bonds work without spending any money at all!

Get out of debt.

• Pay off your credit cards.
• Save for retirement.
• Save for kids’ education.

Automate your finances and payments.

• Set up automatic payments. If you’re paying for a service on a recurring basis, like your phone bill, set it up to be paid automatically each month. This will help prevent late fees and keep things running smoothly without having to worry about remembering what needs to happen and when.
• Set up automatic savings: If there are certain amounts that come in every few months (such as tax returns), use those funds immediately to open an interest-earning savings account or invest them with one of our favorite robo-advisors like Wealthfront or Betterment. You can also use this strategy if there’s an irregular income stream in the form of freelance work–just make sure not to spend too much right away!
• Set up automatic bill pay: It’s easy enough these days–just log into whichever services you use most often (Netflix? Hulu?)and set up recurring monthly payments so they’ll never get behind again!

Pay off your student loans.

Paying off your student loans as soon as possible is a good idea for many reasons. First, the student loan interest is not tax deductible. Second, student loans are generally not dischargeable in bankruptcy (although this may change). Third, you can lower both the monthly payments and interest rates by deferring or consolidating your debt and refinancing it with another lender.

Save for retirement.

• Whether you’re a new or seasoned investor, the best thing you can do with your newfound wealth is to put it toward your future self. You need to save for retirement, not just in any old way. Ensure that every dollar of your paycheck goes into an investment account, whether a 401(k) or an IRA (individual retirement account). If you don’t have access to either of those options, consider opening up an individual brokerage account with a firm like Schwab or Vanguard; they offer low-fee index funds that track the market without charging commissions on trades.

Save for a rainy day fund.

If you don’t have an emergency fund, save as much money as possible. You can save for the fund by setting aside money each month or by putting aside some of your salaries at the end of each pay period.

Money saved in a rainy day fund should be kept somewhere safe and secure; if you don’t have access to it when an emergency happens, it isn’t helping anyone! A good place might be an online bank account with no fees or minimum balance requirements (like Capital One 360). This way, you’ll always be able to get at least some money from this account when needed without worrying about hidden fees taking away from what’s important: keeping yourself safe from harm!

Set up a retirement pot for yourself and your family.

• Set up a retirement pot for yourself and your family.
• Decide how much you need to save for retirement and take steps accordingly.
• Invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds if you have the time horizon to ride out market fluctuations over the long term (10+ years). If not, then invest in real estate or gold/precious metals instead of stocks because they are more stable than other asset classes during times of crisis due to their liquidity characteristics like being able to sell them anytime without restrictions on short selling, etc.

Get life insurance and disability coverage if needed (get a quote on life insurance).

If you’re like most people, you don’t think about life insurance until something bad happens. But it’s important to get coverage before then. Life insurance can help your family if you die or become disabled, and it could also be a financial lifeline if they lose their income because of unexpected circumstances like illness or injury.

If you have kids and want them to go to college someday, consider buying term life insurance while they’re young enough that the premiums will be relatively cheap (and they’ll thank you when they’re older). That way, even if something were to happen to both parents at once–which would leave the family without income–the children would still have enough money set aside for education costs until they turn 18 years old (when student loans kick in).

Review your health insurance plan to ensure that it meets your needs as well as possible (get a quote on healthcare plans).

You should also review your health insurance plan to ensure that it meets your needs as well as possible (get a quote on healthcare plans). Health insurance is an important part of financial planning, but it’s not something that people often think about until they need it. Be sure you have the right coverage for your family and any pre-existing conditions.

It’s important to do some research and find the right health insurance plan for your needs. You can get a free quote on healthcare plans here.

Consider buying a house or condo if you don’t have one yet (research real estate agents in your area).

• Don’t buy a house or condo that is too expensive for you.
• Decide if it’s worth paying more for something newer, better located, and/or bigger than what you want now because it may become easier to sell later on when prices rise again.

If you have a lot of debt, pay it off as much as possible before investing in real estate.

Find a good real estate agent who can help you find the right house or condo. Don’t pay more than what is fair for the area, but don’t settle for anything that looks like a fixer-upper either. Get pre-approved for a mortgage before making an offer on a property to avoid getting into any awkward situations where you may have to back out due to a lack of funds or credit.

Make sure you have adequate liability insurance coverage in case someone damages your property or business while using it – get a quote on property liability insurance (purchase commercial liability coverage).

Property liability insurance is a type of coverage that protects you from claims made by others who have been injured or suffered property damage on your premises. It also covers you when someone gets hurt while visiting your business as a customer, such as if they slip and fall in the store or catch their sleeve on something sharp at the counter. Property liability insurance does not cover losses that are caused by natural disasters like fires, floods, and earthquakes, nor does it cover losses resulting from war or terrorism (though some companies offer optional terrorism coverage).

Property liability policies typically include three types of protection: bodily injury liability, property damage liability, and personal injury protection (PIP). Bodily injury refers to compensation paid out by an insurer after someone has been physically injured due to negligence on your part–for example, if they trip over uneven flooring in one of your stores.* Property damage refers to any financial loss suffered because someone else was hurt while visiting/working at one of your premises.* Personal injury protection covers medical costs associated with injuries sustained during an accident.* There may also be additional coverages available depending upon what kind of business you own and how much risk exposure exists within its scope – these might include workers’ compensation insurance coverage for employees who get hurt on the job as well as product recall insurance policies which help businesses recoup losses due to defective merchandise being sold under their brand name.”

Purchase adequate business liability insurance coverage if you have any type of business where people may be injured by products or services provided by the company – contact an agent for more information about commercial liability coverages (purchase commerciCommercial liability insurance is a type of business insurance that protects you from being sued if someone is injured by your products or services. This could be something as simple as someone slipping on your floors, to something more serious like poisoning from contaminated food.

It’s important to have commercial general liability coverage because even though you might not think there’s much risk involved with running a small business, the truth is that anything can happen when people are around your business. If an accident happens,( general liability), and someone gets hurt while they’re on your property–or even off-site but using one of your products, they’ll likely sue you for medical bills and other damages related to their injury (like lost wages). Commercial general liability coverage will reimburse those costs if needed.

Conclusion

This is a great time to upgrade your lifestyle, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. If you’re looking for good ideas on spending your money wisely, check out this article.