Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
Start with the fact that $500 is not a huge amount amount of money. That being said, it's not zero either.
Traditionally the usual thing that was done was to put the money in a bank. If you live anywhere but the United States, that would not be a great idea. Even American Banks should be handled with care; you might just think about putting it in a bank. The effect would be that the bank would generate income for them and interest from them to you. The interest would be a very small part of what they take in, but it would be something. In the 1990's had an interest rate of over 20% which nothing to sneeze at. That no longer is a wise thing to do. I don't really think that banks are totally stable. So I wouldn't choose the first one.
You could buy computer equipment. I think I'd be tempted to do that. I would benefit because (if this is my first computer, I'd learn how to use it properly), and as mentioned before $500 is not a huge amount of money. I would benefit by learning a computer's virtues; the economy would benefit by creating how money gets around.
The most useless thing to do is put the money in a sock and put the sock in your closet. You don't get any benefit. The money becomes paper and you are getting nothing for it. So don't do this. It's pointless.