THE POWER OF $1,000

AS the end of the year rolls around, you may have some cash to spare-perhaps an annual bonus from your employer or money you've been stashing away to give to charity or buy holiday gifts. Whether you want to improve your savings and investments, make smart charitable donations, boost your career, upgrade your home, or treat yourself to a vacation, we've found great ideas to use a thousand bucks.

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INVEST IT

Create a one-and-done portfolio.

The slogan “VTI and Chill” has reached meme status on Reddit, YouTube and other websites. It suggests that all you need to do is stash money in Vanguard’s Total Stock Market exchange-traded fund (symbol VTI) and then leave it untouched. Variations substitute Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO) or its Total World Stock ETF (VT). The index funds make fine core stock holdings, though the meme arguably takes a simple, buy-andhold philosophy to an extreme.

Jon Luskin, a San Diego–based certified financial planner, says to truly “chill” over a long investment horizon, choose a target-date fund, which adds bonds and cash to the mix and automatically becomes more conservative over time. He likes iShares LifePath ETFs. The series of 10 funds charge an average 0.1% in annual expenses; returns for six of the 10 rank in the top 40% of their categories for the year to date through September.

Take a moonshot.

Consider a “moonshot” on a high-risk but potentially rewarding investment on the bleeding edge of technology. Limiting your investment to $1,000 is a good idea with these more-speculative offerings.

One literal moonshot stock is Rocket Lab USA (RKLB, $10), which launches satellites into space. As a pioneer in the nascent commercialization of space, Rocket Lab is not yet profitable. But CFRA Research analyst Keith Snyder notes the company has a $1 billion order backlog. He projects revenue growth of 73% in 2024 and 38% in 2025. On average, analysts who follow the company expect it to reach profitability by 2027.

To spread your risk, consider an exchange-traded fund that bets on many companies.