For those of you starting out on your careers, if you have managed to save 1000 bucks a month or more for more than 3 months, congratulations! 

If our guess is anywhere close to the mark, it’s probably sitting in your bank account. Rs. 1000 probably looks like a small amount these days. But you know what? It’s exactly the right amount to do something smart about. So here are three things that you can do with that Rs. 1000 saving that will make you feel smarter.

#1. Protect against contingencies

Before you can dream about the future, it’s a good idea to have some back up for today. Start by putting away your thousand in either a debt mutual fund or even a recurring deposit with your bank. This money will be there for any contingency you might not have foreseen and will grow at a pace much faster than your savings account will allow. And yes, this isn’t money to be used for having fun! 

Try and boost this fund with any extra money you receive from – say a bonus or incentive.

secure growth nudge
#2. Take the first step towards becoming rich

Once you have a stash of at least Rs. 30,000, you might want to seriously start thinking about becoming rich. You’d be surprised how far you can go with just Rs. 1000 if you put it away in the right investment and leave it there for many years. 

Yes, we know that it’s hard to think long term when we are in our 20s but if you are the exceptional kind who actually thinks beyond the next weekend, you deserve to reward yourself with a smart investment. 

You can start investing in equity mutual funds with just Rs. 1000 which are very good at making people rich, but only if they have the patience to wait for more than 7 years. Why 7 years? The answer is here.

#3.  Keep yourself future ready in your career

This world belongs to those who are constantly evolving in terms of their knowledge and abilities. Just finishing your graduate or post graduate studies is not the end of learning. Real learning begins after you get your degrees.

There are many online resources such as EdX or Coursera which can help you acquire new skill sets every month and every year. These online tools are not very expensive, and cost only a few thousand rupees a month depending on what you need.