As one who has moved his own safe by himself several times, I have gained knowledge the hard way.
First of all, you don't lift it, you move it. Sounds simple but this means you don't use a hand truck/two-wheeler, you use a four-wheel applience dolly. Lay the safe down on its back on the dolly & away you go. Golf balls can also be used in a pinch if the floor is level, they will not work on stairs.
Lift one end at a time if you have to go over door stoops. Once the front end is over an obstacle, it's all downhill from there.
Stairs do require a bit of pre-planning going down. Going up stairs requires help. Lay some cardboard down & the safe can be slid up with a bit of rope & use an anchor point to keep it from going back down.
WATCH YOUR FINGERS & TOES! Self-explanatory.
As for your $500 budget, you're not gonna get too fancy a safe or too big of one for that. EVERYONE always buys one too small for their first safe, I don't know why, they just do. Buying a used one is your best bet to get the most bang for your $$, IMO.
Get one with external hinges. This way the door will open 180 degrees, allowing full access to the interior, not just part of it.
Avoid the cheap safes, they're about as secure as a cardboard box. When shopping, imagine you lost your safe key & see how hard it would be to get into the safe with an axe or sledge hammer & chiesel. A thief won't take as long, I assure you.
Hope this helps!