Do you lately feel like the money is really tight and you simply cannot get a grasp on things? Well, here are top 3 ways that will show you how you can start your investment plan with very little money and, hopefully, help you claim big rewards.
If you feel like you cannot afford to invest, you are not alone. A lot of people believe that they need a lot of money to get into that game. This is not quite true since you do not need thousands of dollars to start investing. It is actually better played as a slow game. You can start investing with no more than 50 dollars per month. The key?
Developing habits. You cannot build your wealth without good habits. The general advice is to put away some money every month, not much. The sooner you start, the better your financial position will be in the future. So, to get on with it, take a loot at those top 3 tips. They will help you start investing if you cannot afford to spend large sums of money.
“In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” – Robert Arnott
Try the famous cookie jar method
If you really want to make money from your investments, you will need some money. If you don’t feel like you have enough, try saving some. People usually surprise themselves when they see how much money they can save by using this method.
Don’t throw change away, put every penny you get into a box somewhere and count them at the end of the week. If it is under 10 dollars, add the difference and put those $10 in the jar. It does sound silly, but for a lot of people, it worked as a first step.
Soon, you will develop a habit of trying to live on a little bit less money than you earn and watch your cookie jar grow. You can start with very small figures, go out to eat one time less than usually and put the difference in the jar. Pass on going to the movies and simply stash that money away. If you do not have enough fate in yourself to not touch the stash, you can always use some of the various methods of making the process automatic or even instantly investing some of the money.
Join the retirement plan your employer offers
When you are on a tight budget, enrolling in the 401(k) seems impossible. But some ways will help you begin investing in a retirement plan even if you have very little money. For example, you can set up that plan in a way that only requires you to invest a single percent of your salary.
And, one percent of a difference is something almost everyone can live through. In fact, you will most probably even fail to notice the difference. And, since you will get a tax deduction, the contribution will be even smaller than that. Of course, you shouldn’t keep it as one percent contribution. You should work to increase it every year at a pace you are comfortable with.
Put your money in low-initial-investment mutual funds
Mutual funds are investment vehicles that consist of a pool of funds that are being collected by multiple investors with the purpose of investing the funds in stocks, bonds, money market instruments, etc.They are considered to be great for new investors as they allow you to start your investment with a single transaction.
Unfortunately, a lot of these companies have a required minimum that goes between 50 dollars and 5,000 dollars. This sounds too much. However, some of them are willing to disregard those if you offer to make your monthly investments automatic and keep them at or above 50 dollars. It is a good idea to check for companies that allow for automatic investing since it is not very common with taxable accounts.
The Bottom Line
Now, more than ever, there are multiple ways to start your investing with a very little starting money. Online platforms and applications are making it easier than ever, and abundance of free information flows all over the internet. All you have to do is decide to start. Start saving your money and investing. It does get easier with time, and it feels incredibly rewarding to see how much money you can accrue with a small salary.
