You finally did it. You conducted your market research, wrote the perfect email asking to meet with your boss, and successfully negotiated your salary to get paid what you’re worth. Feels amazing, right?

So…what do you do, now that those biweekly paychecks finally look the way you’ve always wanted them to? First: Celebrate a job well done. And second: Get smart about how you’re putting this newfound extra income to work.

Because your money can (and should!) work as hard as you do. Today, I’m breaking down three super-savvy ways to make your money go the extra mile.

First up: Make a plan.

Just like you write out what to say before you ask your boss for a raise, you should write out the money journey you want to go on. Before you make any investments or open any new accounts, think about the answers to some big questions:

• How much extra money do you have to invest per pay period, once you’ve handled regular expenses like rent, groceries, gas, etc.?
• What’s your risk tolerance as an investor? Do you like the bigger swings, or are you looking for more stability?
• What are your goals as an investor? Are you saving for retirement, trying to make some side income, putting money aside for a big purchase, or just getting your feet wet?

And it never hurts to familiarize yourself with the basics of investing—stocks, bonds, ETFs, 401(K)s, the works. Our friends at Public (an investing platform where you can build a portfolio with stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and more all in one place) have some great pointers for beginners here.

Next: Explore different investing options (like in bonds with Public*).

Public is one of the only modern brokerages to offer self-directed investing in bonds—aka bond investing actually designed in the 21st century. This is not your grandfather’s bond account.

And we bet you’ll want in. After all, bonds are one of the best-kept secrets for super-successful investors. Why? They’re another way to deposit cash and earn yield—bonds are loans to governments, corporations, or other orgs that pay interest to investors.

Public has tons of options to start investing in bonds. We’re talking…

• Thousands of corporate and Treasury bonds—so you get a wide array of choices, from your favorite big company to Uncle Sam
• Fractional bonds—so you can start investing in bonds for as little as $100 (FYI: Before Public, you had to buy bonds for $1,000+ and in $100 increments—wild!)
• A sleek, intuitive bond screener—so you can either build your own bond search or jump into preselects
• An AI powered bond search—so you can find the perfect investment to fit your criteria and investing goals
• A dedicated Bond Account – learn more below on how this works.

Here’s how investing in a Bond Account works on Public:

1. Invest your cash.
2. Your investment is allocated to a portfolio of 10 investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds.
3. You get to decide whether you want to hold the bonds to maturity to maximize returns, or sell when you’re ready. You’ll also receive regular interest payments throughout the year.

And you can earn a yield of up to 6% or more on your investment. Even the best high-yield savings accounts can’t promise that kind of return these days. 

I’ve loved exploring my investing options on Public, including kicking off my own bond journey. You can check out Public’s bond offerings right this way.

Finally: Set it and forget it.

Investing may sound like something that requires a ton of time and attention. But in reality? Automation is your friend.

Because realistically, the stock market and the economy will always have their ups and downs. Trying to get in front of every economic ebb and flow is a one-way ticket to burnout—and one you certainly don’t need.

All you need to do is:

1. Some homework to make sure your investing game plan is right for you
2. Some diversification to ensure you’re not putting all your eggs (aka that hard-earned cash!) in one basket
3. Some long-term planning. Beyond that, you can then look to review your portfolio bi-annually.

Bottom line: Making more money isn’t the only goal once you understand what you’re worth at work—you want that money to stretch as far as possible, and you can start investing intelligently at a brokerage like Public.

*Paid endorsement for Public Investing, Inc. Not investment advice. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for US Listed and registered securities, options and Bonds in a self-directed brokerage account are offered by Public Investing. ETFs, options and Bonds are available to US members only. 

*The 6.8% yield is the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across all ten bonds in the Bond Account, before fees, as of 10/24/2024. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bondA Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds.. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. 

Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See Bond Account Disclosures to learn more. Fractional Bonds are offered by Public Investing. They are exposed to various risks typical of bond investments, including liquidity risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, inflation risk, and potential tax liabilities. 

Fractional  Bonds also carry additional risks including that they are only available on Public and cannot be transferred to other brokerages. The value of these investments may be less than the original cost at the time of redemption. Typically, bonds with higher risk yields carry greater risk of default. Fractional Bonds are only bought and sold by a single market participant, Moment Markets.  Bonds may be available from different brokers or dealers at prices different than those displayed.  All prices are subject to change without prior notice. Public Investing earns a fee on every fractional bond trade. Trading 6 Month Treasury Bills through Fractional Bond investing offered by Public Investing is separate from the Public Treasury Account offered in partnership with Jiko. See risks: public.com/disclosures/apex-fractional-bond-disclosure.

Alpha is an AI research tool powered by GPT-4.  Alpha is experimental and may generate inaccurate responses.  Output from Alpha should not be construed as investment research or recommendations, and should not serve as the basis for any investment decision. Public makes no warranties about its accuracy, completeness, quality, or timeliness of any Alpha out. Please independently evaluate and verify any such output for your own use case.