right now just put it in a brokerage account and earn 4.1%
read about investing and see which funds will be good for you
put a bit in the fund of your choice whenever it’s RED.. think of buying what you want when it’s on sale
if you want to invest in individual stocks. play the stock simulator game provided by investopedia..
play around with fake money first before going in picking individual stocks with your real money
$500 could become $0 if you don’t know what you are doing
investing can be rewarding if you know how to do it yourself.. you get extra income + save a lot of fees by doing it yourself