By Linda Ray

What would you do with an extra $1,000? Okay, let’s be honest. “My first reaction is to go buy shoes,” says Laura Webb, a certified financial planner and president of Webb Investment Services in Asheville. (So there you have it—even the financial planners have weaknesses. The rest of us feel better already.) Most women’s paychecks these days go straight into their checking accounts. As Linda Saylor of Wachovia Securities jokes, “You can barely buy a tank of gas with $1,000 today.” The best overall strategy, according to Rob Simon of Asheville’s Wessel Investment Counsel, is to get rid of your debt. “Boring as it may sound, pay off your credit cards,” he says. Still, if you can sock away an unexpected grand for the long term, these experts offer a handful of ways to turn it into a much bigger pot. 

Linda Saylor - Certified Financial Planner, Wachovia Securities:

At 20: Be bold. The best bet is a fairly aggressive  mutual fund. Even if it tanks in the first few years, you’ll have plenty of time to weather the storm. At 30: Hire a professional to look at your financial situation. With a family in tow, a 30-year-old is likely to need a little conservatism and could invest the $1,000 in a good life insurance policy.  At 40: Spread your investment around into some stocks and a few bonds. Choose only two or three high-risk stocks to be safe, and don’t put it all in one place. 50+: Bland as it sounds, look into a long-term care insurance policy. Contribute to a grandchild’s 529 savings plan.

Laura A. Webb - Certified Financial Planner, president of Webb Investment Services, Inc:

At 20: $1,000 can produce a pile if you leave it in a diversified asset-allocation mutual fund, which spreads investments around between high-and low-risk stocks and  bonds. Review your portfolio every three to five years. At 30: Pay down your debts. Young mothers concerned about their children’s educations should set up an IRA or a 529 college savings plan for their kids.  At 40: Start separate money market accounts and make them untouchable. Use one for vacation, one to grow your business, one for retirement and one for that new sports car you’ve been eyeing. 50+: Always dreamed of eating escargot in Paris? Start an investment account to fund that dream—there are no penalties on withdrawing money after age 59 and a half. Put $1,000 into an IRA for approximately ten years, and by the time you’re 60, you’ll be munching snails to your heart’s content. Bon appétit!

Rob Simon - Registered Investment Advisor, Wessel Investment Counsel, LLC:

At 20: Invest in one of two flavors of IRAs: A Roth IRA uses money that’s already been taxed, and withdrawals are completely tax-free—as long as you play by the rules. If you don’t want to pay taxes on the thousand now, put it in a traditional IRA. Also, get crazy and buy an extremely aggressive stock. At 30: Make sure your retirement accounts are in order and start thinking about a 529 plan for a college fund. At 40: Replace that old, ugly, inefficient avocado refrigator. Recouped electricity costs from replacing old items could be as much as $6 a month, or $72 a year. 50+: Make a catch-up contribution to your 401(k) account. And, tame the risk in your life—or at least in your investment strategy. Put your money into a balanced or target-date retirement fund. Target-date funds will decrease the weighting to stocks (risky) and increase the weighting to bonds (safer) as retirement approaches.