3 Easy Ways to Start Investing When You Don’t Have Much to Invest
There is always something to be said about starting off small with any goal you set in life. If you have ever wanted to start investing, but you don’t have a lot of money to start off with, there are still options available. Some people who are on strict budgets or trying to pay off debt may still be interested in learning how to invest. By starting small, you will get a feel of how the investing game works without being out much if things don’t go your way. That way you aren’t putting yourself in a hole and straining your finances. Here are a few ways you can invest without taking a ton of money out of your budget:
Let Your Employer Do It For You
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to invest is to put money in a retirement plan provided by your job. If your company provides you with a 401K or pension plan, invest! They take the money directly out of your paycheck, so after the first few times, you will get used to your new paycheck amount and won’t even miss it. If the potential for a smaller paycheck is a deterrent to you, just start small. Invest only 1% and you will barely even notice it’s gone. That 1% will get you in the retirement game just like a larger number. Sure, it will take longer to build up wealth, but it’s definitely better than not investing at all! Plus, once you get used to investing in retirement, or get in a better financial situation at home, you can raise your percentage.
Use An App
There really is an app for everything in today’s society, and investing is right up there with the best of them. There are certain apps like Acorns or Stash that will do the investing for you. You can choose how much to invest, as little as $5. You can also choose to connect your bank account and round-up your purchases to the nearest dollar. Say you spent $2.50 at the gas station, these apps will round that purchase up to $3.00 and take that extra $.50 and invest it. You can watch your accounts through the app and see how your investments are doing. It’s easy, but it does cost $1 per month up to $5,000. After your account reaches $5,000, you have to pay a percentage each month. Still, if you are looking for an easy and “fun” way to invest, an app like this may be for you.
Low Initial Investment Mutual Funds
If you are wanting to go the more traditional route with investing, but don’t have the means to put a lot into it initially, you might want to check out low initial investment mutual funds. Mutual funds like these allows investors to put as little as $25 – $100 into an account and it diversifies it into a pot of securities all at one time. That way you don’t have all your eggs in one basket. This makes it ideal for beginners. However, it is very important to look at the performance track record of the mutual funds before deciding to invest. You don’t want to be part of one that loses money regularly.
So investing, as you can see, doesn’t have to be a daunting task that takes a lot of initial investing money. You can start small today! Once you get in the habit of investing regularly, you will be more comfortable with the process and invest more over time.
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