9 Brilliant Ways to Build Wealth After 50

SAVING & SPENDING
Last updated July 16, 2024 | By FinanceBuzz Editors
lady of 50s in plaid blazer having online meeting

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Your 50s are a great time to get serious about building wealth. Your career has likely taken off, and you're probably earning more money than you ever have. But with upcoming expenses like college for your kids and retirement for yourself, investing and saving are more important than ever before.

Now is the time to put your money to work for you — here are some of our favorite ways to do it: 

Pay no interest on balance transfers until nearly 2026

Imagine getting 15 months with 0% intro APR on a balance transfer (APR then 18.24% - 28.24% Variable). Sounds great — right? You could dramatically change your financial picture with this industry-leading card — the Discover it® Cash Back(Rates and fees).

If you want to kick high-interest credit card debt to the curb, this is one of the leading get-out-of-debt cards available. Transfer your high interest debt to this card with a 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers. Cardholders also get a generous intro APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases. After the intro period for balance transfers and purchases, the APR is 18.24% - 28.24% Variable. Your payments can go directly to paying down your balance without incurring a pile of additional charges. That could save you hundreds of dollars in interest!

It doesn't stop with balance transfers and purchases though. Cardholders can earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.

The best part? There's no annual fee with the Discover it® Cash Back.

Click here to apply now for the Discover it® Cash Back Card

Ask this company to pay off your credit card debt

If you have a lot of debt, getting out of it can feel stressful (and nearly impossible). Here’s the problem: the longer you put off tackling it, the harder it gets to fix. If you don’t take control of it early on, it can add undue stress to your life for years. But what if there was a way to get out of debt once and for all?

Simple Debt Solutions could help. If you have more than $20,000 in debt from credit cards, medical bills, collections, or personal loans, their representatives might be able to assist you in resolving it.

Best of all? There are zero fees until your debt is resolved, and you could be debt-free in 24-48 months. To get started, just answer a few simple questions. It only takes five minutes or less to see if you qualify!

Try Simple Debt Solutions

Meet a perfect-fit financial advisor to help you reach your goals faster

Do you know if you have enough saved to retire early? More importantly, do you know how to properly manage your savings to maximize your retirement income? A study by legendary investment firm Vanguard found that, on average, a $500,000 investment over 25 years would grow to $1.7 million if you manage it yourself, but more than $3.4 million if you enlist professional help.1

Our advice: Take our quiz to get matched with the best financial advisor for you. In just a few short questions, it can help you find qualified, vetted financial advisors who serve your area based on their cost and specialty. 

Here's how to get matched with the perfect advisor:

1. Take this 3-minute quiz. (Yes, there are a fair amount of questions but they are all easy.)
2. Choose the advisor that's right for you based on your current financial picture
3. Once you’ve got your matches, get a free consultation with each!

Take the quiz

If you’re over 50, take advantage of massive discounts and financial resources

Over 50? Join AARP today — because if you’re not a member you could be missing out on huge perks. When you start your membership today, you can get discounts on things like travel, meal deliveries, eyeglasses, prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance and more.

How to become a member today:

  • Go here, select your free gift, and click “Join Today” 
  • Create your account (important!) by answering a few simple questions 
  • Start enjoying your discounts and perks!

You’ll also get insider info on social security, job listings, caregiving, and retirement planning. And you’ll get access to AARP’s Fraud Watch Network to help you protect your money, as well as tools to help you plan for retirement.

Important: Start your membership by creating an account here and filling in all of the information (Do not skip this step!) Doing so will allow you to take up 25% off your AARP membership, making it just $12 per year with auto-renewal.

Become an AARP member now

Turn Your Home’s Value into Extra Cash

If you want to pay a large expense now, like a home improvement project or credit card debt, you may have considered using your home equity as leverage to borrow a large sum of money.

But with interest rates rising in recent years, a cash-out refinance or home equity loan may not make financial sense.

Here’s a potential solution: Get a home equity line of credit (HELOC) instead.

Using LendingTree’s simple HELOC matching tool2 (yes, the company from the commercials), you can compare rates and see what works for you.

How a home equity line of credit is different: Your line of credit acts similar to a credit card, where you can withdraw funds when you need them, and you’re only responsible for minimum monthly payments for what’s called the “draw period,” which is usually 10 years. After this borrowing period ends, you pay off the rest of your balance during an extended repayment period, which is usually 20 years.

Plus, as a revolving line of credit, rates are usually variable, so you won’t be locked into a fixed rate if they ever go higher.

To get started:

  1. Check out LendingTree’s HELOC matching tool.
  2. Answer a few questions.
  3. Be matched with personalized offers for you.

Visit LendingTree

Earn up to $360 with this cash back account

We hate to tell you this, really, but if you aren’t banking with Discover, you could be missing out on tons of cash back — up to $3603every year!

Earn up to $360 in cash back: With the Discover®️ Cashback Debit Checking account, you can earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month! Member FDIC. See website for details.

This account allows you to earn cash back just like a credit card, even though it’s a debit card. But unlike a credit card, you earn cash back on everything (not just certain purchases)! And it has other great perks too … enjoy Early Pay (get your paycheck up to 2 days early), no minimum deposit or monthly balance requirements, and over 60K fee-free ATMs.

Apply for an account here. Then, fund your account and start using your card immediately after receiving it — that’s the best way to start earning cash back quickly. This is a powerful way to earn up to $360 every year without much extra work!

Open your new Discover®️ Cashback Debit Checking account here

P.S. Discover will close your account if you don’t fund and use it within 45 days. Since we don’t know how long this 1% cash back benefit will last, you should take advantage of it as soon as possible.

Ohio homeowners: Save potentially $1,000 or more on home insurance

If you live in Ohio, you could be throwing away money on outdated home insurance rates.

Here’s a little-known fact: At this very moment, the market for Ohio is highly competitive, but it may not stay that way.

There is ONE thing to do to take advantage and get a better rate: Get multiple options from a variety of home insurance providers. Too many homeowners skip this step — not realizing that they could save potentially $1,000s over the lifetime of owning their house just by switching.

Provide Home Insurance will help you find out if you’re overpaying for home insurance just by answering a few questions.

And don’t worry about timing — they’ll walk you through how to switch from your current policy no matter when you got it.

Enter your zip code to get started