Begin Investing with Less Than $100!

Hi Money Masters!

When you hear the word “investing”, what do you think of? Does it conjure up visions of the Monopoly guy peering through his monocle at you or do you imagine people sitting in mansions looking at the stock market in the newspaper with fuzzy slippers and a butler?

Or do you picture everyday folks working hard and trying to find a way to make that hard-earned money work for them in return? A lot of people think that investing is a long way off for them; that you have to be rich to get richer. I am here to tell you that you can INVEST ANY AMOUNT of money. The process is the same whether you invest $5 or $5000.

“INVESTING: expend money with the expectation of making a profit.”

Here are ways you can start investing with less than $100…

Super Simple Saver

A good place to start is developing the HABIT of saving. This approach is great for beginners who may only have spare change to work with right now. Even saving money in a jar or piggy bank is a start. Make it a habit to put all your spare change in one place. Once you have a nice little sum, take it to the bank and ask about an account with an APY (annual percentage yield).

Another way to invest spare change is by using a spare change investment app, such as Acorns or Clink. These apps are connected to your debit or credit cards and round up the change on each purchase you make to the next dollar amount and invest it for you. This is called “micro-investing”. Micro-investing is for those who want to dip a toe into the stock market investing pool but not too far. This is the first step in building your portfolio.

Mid-Level Investing

A CD, or certificate of deposits, is a good option for a beginner investor who is not averse to slow growth and low risk. A CD essentially means you give a bank your money, like a loan, and the bank pays you interest on that loan. The interest is not often higher than that of a savings account. Also, there usually is a specified amount of time in which that money is not available to you.

Some people know they have a 401(k) but not everyone knows exactly what it is and what it can do. A lot of employers offer this retirement savings account as a benefit to full-time employees. If you haven’t already taken advantage of this, ask your employer when the next opportunity is for taking part.

With a 401(k) you specify how much of your income goes into savings. You can start low, say at $25 or $99 (remember, we’re starting with less than $100 for the purpose this article 😉 and increase if need be. Also, it’s automatic every pay date! Easy. Some employers even offer a match: meaning they give you the same amount that you are putting in. Win/win.

Bam! Taking It Up a Notch.

Now, if you are ready to get into more serious investing, then you might want to consider a “robo-advisor”. This is a fancy word for an online financial advisor or app (example, Betterment). This next level form of investing allows you to set up recurring transfers and offers guidance and recommendations on which stocks and funds to choose.

From there, once you have a bit more extra money to “play” with and more knowledge of the concepts and terminology of investing you can dive deeper into the market and see what your options are.

Investing is not only for the wealthy. Each investor has to start somewhere, whether it’s a piggy bank full of pennies or a lottery ticket for $1 million. Just don’t forget to pass GO and say HI to the Monopoly guy on your way to the bank!

Blessings to you all,

-Helen