Most people assume that you need a lot of money to start investing, but the opposite is actually true. It’s possible to begin investing even when you don’t have much money, and you can even grow your wealth over time.
The key is to be consistent, and increase the amount of money you invest when you’re able to— or you can keep it small. Starting small also helps you get into the habit of investing, and here’s a look at four different types of investments to consider if you don’t have much money to invest with.
1: Buy Fractional Shares of Stocks
Some of the best stocks on the stock market are also the most expensive stocks. The good news is that you can buy partial stocks, which are more affordable than buying a full stock.
You can buy half a share, a quarter of a share, or even an eighth of a share— whatever you can afford. Certain online stock brokers like SoFi Active Trading and Stockpile allow you to buy fractional shares instead of the entire stock.
Again, this can get you into the habit of investing, as well as introduce you to the world of investing in stocks. When the time is right, you can start investing in whole shares.
2: Try Microinvesting
Microinvesting is essentially putting change into a savings account and letting the amount build up over time. There are even apps that can do this for you, such as the Acorns app. This app connects to your bank account, and every purchase you make gets rounded up to the next dollar— with that additional change being deposited into your Acorns account.
You can also double these round-ups, get cash back when shopping with certain retailers, and set aside a contribution every week to save more money.
This method is a great way to begin investing because you’re using change to build up a stash of money, as opposed to dollars. It does take longer to build up savings, but it does add up over time. Again, starting small isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and you can always put back more money when you’re able to.
3: Look Into Real Estate
Real estate is an expensive investment, but it also has the potential to produce the most ROI (return on investment). First and foremost, residential real estate is much more affordable than commercial real estate (e.g., hotels, restaurants, malls, warehouses, factories, etc.), so investing in a single-family home or a multi-family home is the way to go.
Renting your residential property to a tenant/tenants allows you to earn passive income or income that you don’t have to work hard for. So even though real estate is a much more expensive investment— although the majority of people take out loans for real estate investments— you have the potential to earn a steady stream of income.
On the other hand, investing in REITs (real estate investment trusts) is a much more affordable option. These are similar to mutual funds, and you can receive a steady income from this type of investment
4: Start a High-Yield Savings Account
A high-yield savings account is essentially a savings account that pays more interest on the money you save. Traditional savings accounts allow you to earn interest on your savings, but it’s usually at a low rate. As the name suggests, high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts, and other similar accounts allow you to earn more interest on your savings.
Online-only banks are typically high-yield savings accounts, but you can find some traditional banks that offer higher interest on the money in your savings account.
Keep in mind that this is different from a certificate of deposit or CD. A CD is a type of savings account, but you don’t have access to this money in the same way you would with a regular savings account. However, CDs usually pay more interest than savings accounts and the interest rate is fixed, meaning that it won’t change.
Any of these four investments is with looking into, especially starting a savings account and/or microinvesting. Putting money back in any way is an investment in yourself and your future, and it also lets you pull from this investment whenever you need to.
Investing in stocks and real estate are more tedious tasks and take a longer time to see an ROI. Still, these investments have the potential to be very fruitful.