With a spare $5,000, you’re going to want to make that last for as long as possible, especially if you’re a freelancer.
Luckily, when it comes to investing, there are lots of options to choose from to try and make a profit. Plus, there are many ways to carry out those options with different platforms designed to help your money grow. On the other hand, before you start investing, you should definitely make sure you have some money to fall back on in the case of an emergency (like a rainy day fund). 
So, whether you’re all backed up with funds or you’re looking for ways to expand the savings you have, here are some of the best ways for you to invest a cool $5,000:

1. Invest with Robo-advisors

With investing, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but fortunately, you have the internet at your disposal and a bunch of great platforms to help you out. 
For example, Sofi Automated Investing is completely free and has no minimum requirement, so you could invest as little as $1 if you wanted. Sofi will also build a stock portfolio for you and do the investing automatically, which is pretty cool for a free platform.
Another option for the Robo-investing route is Betterment. 
This platform isn’t free, but it comes with some eye-opening benefits. Of course, a portfolio will be automatically created for you to fit your specific goals, but you can also create as many portfolios as you want. On top of that, you can see all of your portfolios in one place on the Betterment app or website. Betterment will do everything possible to act in your best interests on each portfolio as well. So, the small management fee is definitely worth it.
One more Robo-advisor to consider is Blooom. 
Blooom is specifically designed to help those when the stock market isn’t up to par. They do this by using trends and sticking to the three O’s of investing during troubling times: Own, Opt, and Odds. 
With logic and stats, Blooom gives you an extra boost towards your retirement, while keeping your $5,000 investment intact during tough economic times. 

2. Invest In yourself

Instead of relying on the free market to make you money, why not use that $5,000 for your own personal gain? 
As a freelancer, you’re probably going to have time to do and try new things at home. For instance, you could pay for an online class that teaches a new skill that could be beneficial to you. As an example, if you’re a videographer, why not try to learn how to add cool special effects to some of your past projects? You can also learn from Fiverr by investing some money on their site. They have plenty of cool and exclusive tutorials, inspiring teachers, and a ton of great crash courses that will suit your interests.
Or once the COVID pandemic is all said and done, maybe you’ll have an interest in going back to school for another degree. The $5,000 will surely help pay for that. Another option could be starting a small business with your nest egg, which could potentially gain you a lot more money than you would make investing in stocks or anything like that. 
Basically, your first $5,000 doesn’t have to go into something you can’t control—it may be better to just use it on yourself for your own personal growth, which is never a bad investment.  

3. Opening an IRA

Retirement is something that everyone should be able to look forward to, and there’s no better way to prepare for a milestone like that than with an IRA. 
An IRA is an account you can use that helps you save for retirement. Luckily, setting one of these up is fairly simple. Nerdwallet has an easy set of steps you can follow that will help you set up your IRA. 
On top of helping your retirement, traditional IRA’s also deduct taxes. However, that’s only if your employers don’t give out a qualified retirement plan. If so, then you need to make below a certain amount of money to receive tax deductions. But on the bright side, another benefit of traditional IRA’s is that it is protected from bankruptcy. 
You can’t go wrong with an IRA. And remember, everyone is able to participate, no matter how much they make!

4. Bonds

Bonds are different from any other kind of investment since it’s actually you lending money over, with an interest rate attached, to a service that is in debt. Once they get back into a stable shape, they pay you back the money you invested along with the money made from the interest. 
Compared to stock investments, bonds are considered to be a more reliable and safer investment since the stock market can change in all directions frequently. However, for a government service you invested in, it is most likely going to be able to pay you back along with the extra cash. 
How do you start to invest in bonds? Well, The Motley Fool’s review on bonds tells you how!
Overall, Bonds are a safe option for investments but often end with less profit than the other investing strategies. 

5. Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs)

ETFs, just like stocks, require you to buy and share part of a company or service, only this time, you don’t technically own part of the company or service. 
This is because you’re actually purchasing from an index fund that is an imitation of the product or service’s progress in the market. Fund providers make this portfolio to gauge how their service is doing, but they also sell shares to new investors like you, within this portfolio. 
So where does the money come from? Well, you trade or exchange the ETF with other buyers and sellers during the day and that’s how you make a profit. 
Keep in mind that you aren’t limited to one type of ETF. In fact, there are actually a bunch of different types of ETFs. There are types you’ve already covered like Bond and Stock ETFs, but also more complex and diverse ones like Sector and Commodity ETFs that can sometimes be pretty risky.
Nerdwallet gives a wonderful review of ETFs and how to purchase them as well. 
Overall, ETFs are a generally safe and risk-free option for new investors that want to get into the game. 

Check Out And.Co

While diving into the investing world may be scary, AND.CO is here to help! 
With plenty of services and tips to help you take control of your financial future, you’ll have all the time you’ll need to earn money and start investing in a plan that works for you. In the meantime, you can use AND.CO to build your nest egg and then strike when the iron’s hot!