Many people put off investing because they think you need a lot of money—thousands of dollars!— to start investing. This just isn’t true. You can start investing for as little as $50 per month. The key to building wealth is developing good habits—like regularly putting money away every month. If you make investing a habit now, you’ll be in a much stronger financial position down the road. You won’t miss the relatively small amounts you put away now, and you’ll thank yourself later. Don’t believe me? Here are five ways you can start investing with very little money:
Try the cookie jar approach
Saving money and investing are closely connected. In order to invest money, you first have to save some up. That will take a lot less time than you think, and you can do it in very small steps. If you’ve never been a saver, you can start by putting away just $10 per week. That may not seem like a lot, but over the course of a year, it comes to over $500.
Marcus Bank currently offers a strong 2.25% APY on its online savings account. There is no minimum deposit required and no monthly maintenance fees associated with a Marcus Savings Account so the yield is earned on all balances.
Stocks, Bonds, and ETFs
Roboadvisors were created to make investing as simple and accessible as possible. No prior investment experience is required and set-up is easy. Let their automated intelligence track your investments in the background, and pay lower fees in the process.
Wealthfront: One great roboadvisor that I recommend to first-time investors is Wealthfront. Their fees are reasonable at 0.25%, but the kicker is that you can get your first $5,000 managed free (specific to MU30 readers). So if you’re looking to start investing with little money, Wealthfront could be the way to go. You will need $500 to get started though with Wealthfront so keep that in mind.
M1 Finance: If you don’t have that $500 starting balance, there are still great options for you in the roboadvising space. M1 Finance charges no commissions or management fees, and their minimum starting balance is just $100. You can choose from one of their pre-made diversified portfolios or customize your own by purchasing stocks and ETFs through their platform. The user interface is super easy to use.
Betterment: If you’re starting out with less than $100, you may want to consider Betterment, which has no minimum starting balance whatsoever. Like M1, it’s also great for beginners as it provides a super simple platform and a hassle-free approach to investing.
Swell: If it’s important for you to invest in a socially responsible way, try Swell Investing. They also have a low minimum (just $50) and never invest in industries like oil, tobacco, weapons, or private prisons. Instead, they have tailor-made portfolios for renewables, green tech, disease eradication, clean water and more.