3 Unbelievably Easy Ways to Snag an Extra $500 Before the End of the Year

What could an extra $500 do for you? Could it be your ticket to paying off a nagging credit card balance? Could it help pay for the new laptop you desperately need? Or could it simply buy you more peace of mind?

Although $500 may not be a life-changing sum of money, it's a pretty significant one in its own right. And the good news is that getting your hands on an extra $500 by the end of the year may be easier than you'd think. Here are some tactics worth trying out.

1. Open a CD

Have you seen what CDs are paying these days? Thanks to a string of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, CD rates are sitting at around 5%. 

If you want to score an extra $500 before the end of the year, you could put $20,000 into a 6-month CD with a 5% APY. And if you can't find a 6-month CD paying 5%, that rate is easy to find with a 12-month CD -- and you should still earn $500 in interest before the end of 2024. 

Our Picks for the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2024

Capital One 360 Performance Savings APY 4.25% Rate info See Capital One website for most up-to-date rates. Advertised Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is variable and accurate as of April 11, 2024. Rates are subject to change at any time before or after account opening. Min. to earn $0 Open Account for Capital One 360 Performance Savings Member FDIC.	APY 4.25% Rate info See Capital One website for most up-to-date rates. Advertised Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is variable and accurate as of April 11, 2024. Rates are subject to change at any time before or after account opening.	Min. to earn $0
American Express® High Yield Savings APY 4.25% Rate info 4.25% annual percentage yield as of July 1, 2024 Min. to earn $1 Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings Member FDIC.	APY 4.25% Rate info 4.25% annual percentage yield as of July 1, 2024	Min. to earn $1
Citizens Access® Savings APY 4.50% Min. to earn $0.01 Open Account for Citizens Access® Savings Member FDIC.	APY 4.50%	Min. to earn $0.01

Of course, many of us don't have $20,000 sitting around to put into CDs. But if you have $5,000, a 6-month CD paying 5% still gives you $125. That's not a terrible consolation prize.

2. Claim your 401(k) match

Vanguard reports that 95% of 401(k) plans offer an employer match. One common formula is for companies to match contributions of up to 3% of salary.

The typical worker today earns about $60,000 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you contribute 3% of your salary, you may be eligible for an $1,800 match from your employer if it uses this formula. If you can't swing an $1,800 contribution over the next six months, put in $500 to get a free $500 back.

3. Chase the right credit card sign-up bonus

It's common for credit cards to offer sign-up bonuses that put a certain amount of cash back or miles in your pocket for meeting a specific spending threshold. If you look around, you may find a card that offers you the equivalent of $500 -- for example, a travel rewards card that gives you 50,000 bonus miles worth $500 in travel for spending $3,000 or $4,000 within three months of opening your account.

Of course, you'll need to be careful with credit card sign-up bonuses. You don't want to spend an extra $700 beyond what you'd normally charge to meet the welcome bonus requirement -- because if the bonus is worth $500, that means you're losing $200. But if you can meet the requirement with ease, and you haven't applied for a new credit card in the past few months, then it could be worth doing.

An extra $500 might do a lot of great things for your finances. Make these moves so you can close out the year just a bit richer.