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Imagine you are cleaning your car and you find a $100 bill stashed under the driver’s seat (it happens). What would you do with $100 you did not know you had?
While it is not $1,000 or $100,000, it is something to start investing. The belief that to invest you need to have a lot of money is old news. Nowadays, you can invest $100 in many ways like in the stock market or new skills.
In fact, even if you only have $100 to invest, over the years that money can grow to a few thousands of dollars.
So don’t sweat it if you only have 100 dollars or less to invest. In this article, I will show you how you can invest with $100 and the best ways you can invest your money in addition to the stock market.
1. Self-help books
Many of the life skills I have learned were through books. Entrepreneurship and financial literacy are not taught in school and one of the best ways to gain these skills is by reading books written by experts in these fields.
Books have the power to change lives and are one of the best investments you can make. If you can only invest $100, then consider buying books that will help you in your career. Books are shortcuts to knowledge written by people who want to share their expertise with the world.
These authors tell their story, expertise, or techniques and will give you the advice to help you become successful.
Below are investing and finance books I recommend:
These are classic books that are packed with knowledge.
2. Start an online business
Starting an online business can be one of the best investments you can make. Thanks to technology and the internet, you can start a small online businesswith only 100 dollars.
There are many platforms like Etsy that allow you to create a storefront with very little money. You simply create an account on Etsy, name your store, and list the items you are selling. Etsy charges only $0.20 per listing plus additional fees after your items sell.
Other platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce allow you to create an online store and customize it to match your brand. $100 is a small investment compared to the returns you will make.
3. Peer-to-peer lending
Another option to invest $100 is through peer-to-peer lending. Peer-to-peer lending is exactly what it sounds like: you lend your money to other people. People turn to peer-to-peer lending when they don’t want to borrow money from a bank or a conventional online lender.
Websites like Prosper connect borrowers directly to investors also known as lenders. Prosper provides investors direct and low-cost access to high-yield consumer loans from creditworthy borrowers.
If you are already investing in the stock market, Prosper allows you to diversify your portfolio even more by becoming a lender. With Prosper, you can earn an average of 5.3% return on your investment.
4. Open a high-yield savings account
You probably already have a savings account at your local bank. Savings accounts are a great way to stash some money for emergencies, but you may be missing out on a better return potential.
Banks will pay you interest called APY, or annual percentage yield, for letting them borrow your money (that’s exactly what you are doing). A typical APY is roughly 0.01%, meaning that for every $1,000 you lend to banks, they will pay you $0.10 in one year.
High-yield saving accounts are offered by online institutions and pay as much as 20 times the national average. So for the same $1,000 you put in a high-yield savings account, you will make $2 in return at the end of the year.
Check out CIT Bank and deposit $100 monthly into a high-yield savings account and you will earn higher interest on your savings. CIT Bank offers competitive rates but keep in mind that the interest can change depending on market conditions.
5. Start a blog
The great thing about starting a blog is that it takes less than $100 to get started. This blog started as a hobby and is now a full-time job, but what’s more amazing is that I help people like you generate wealth through entrepreneurship, investing, money management, and side hustling.
A blog is a business that you can start on a low budget, but it does take time to grow and see the financial results. But once you get the ball rolling, you will enjoy the rewards.
Seasoned bloggers can make up to $100,000 per month but it takes years to get to that point. In reality, it can take 12 to 18 months to start making money with a blog. This is what most aspiring bloggers fail to understand and eventually give up on their blogging dreams.
So if you want to invest $100 in a blogging business, understand that it is going to be a long journey, but if you are patient and put in the work, you will enjoy the financial benefits.
6. Take online courses
Taking online courses is a great way to invest in yourself and is also a lot cheaper than getting a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.
Online courses are created by professionals that specialize in specific skills. You can find online courses for less than $100 on Udemy on a variety of topics like entrepreneurship, investing, cooking, marketing, and many more.
You can also look for courses on Skillshare which is a membership-based platform. Rather than paying for one course on Udemy, you will enroll in a monthly membership on Skillshare and take as many courses as you want.
Investing $100 to learn a new skill will open the doors to a promotion or a better job at a different company. So if you are ready to learn something new that will advance your career, then you can’t pass on this investment.
7. Retirement accounts
You may already be investing and you don’t even know it. Many companies offer retirement accounts such as 401(k) where you contribute a percentage of your check into your account.
This is a great investment because companies can match your contribution dollar for dollar. So if you contribute 4% of your paycheck, your employer will add another 4% to your retirement account.
However, not all companies offer 401(k) retirement accounts. If this is your situation, you can look into what is called IRA accounts. This is a private retirement account where you also invest for retirement but since this is not an employer-sponsored account, there is no match.
There are different types of IRA accounts available and each one comes with different interest rates and tax breaks, so shop around and find one that fits your needs.
8. Open a certificate of deposit
Certificate of deposits or CDs, are one of the safest types of investments and a good alternative to high-yield savings accounts if you want your $100 investment to grow a little quicker.
In a CD, you deposit your money for a predetermined period of time and the bank will pay you an agreed interest. At the end of the CD term (once the CD matures), you will get your original investment back plus accrued interest.
Keep in mind that you cannot take your money out before the CD matures otherwise you will incur fees for retrieving your money before maturity. So if you want to invest $100 or more in a CD, make sure that this is money you will not need in a number of years.
The term of a CD varies from a few months to 5 years, and the longer the term, the higher the interest you will earn. And since there are no minimum requirements, your $100 investment can grow quite a bit over the term of the CD.
9. M1 Finance
M1 Finance is a great app that lets you invest $100 or less in stocks and ETFs without paying any fees. If you want to create your own investment portfolio but would like to get some assistance from a robo advisor, then this might be a good investing app for you.
With M1 Finance, you can customize your portfolio and invest in individual stocks and ETFs, and the app will do all the management for you. This app will not offer any portfolio advice or recommendations, so it is best for investors who have an idea of how investing works and what they want to invest in.
While the nice perk is paying $0 commission or management fees, there is a $100 minimum account requirement to start investing, which is perfect if $100 is all you have.
10. Acorns
Acorns is one of the best investing apps that lets you invest your money on autopilot. If you want to invest $100, then Acorns is an app you will love.
Acorns automatically invests your spare change by rounding up your expenses. For example, if you purchase a cup of coffee for $1.50, Acorns will round up your purchase to $2.00 and deposit $0.50 into your investment account.
The best way to increase your nest egg in Acorns is by automating your savings. This means that your spare change will be added to your Acorns account automatically instead of making transfers manually.
Oh, and did I mention that you earn a $10 bonus just for signing up? Yup, that’s right, Acorns will give you $10 just for creating an account.
11. Robinhood
Robinhood is a free investing app dedicated to beginner investors and offers free stock, options, cryptocurrency, and ETF trades. A great thing about this app is that there are no trading fees, making it one of the go-to investing apps for beginners.
Robinhood will give you a free stock when you open your account. There is no minimum requirement to open an account, so you can start investing with $100.
The great thing about Robinhood is that you can start investing with little money. Once you create an account, you can find stocks that fit your investment amount.
Robinhood also offers a cash management account that currently pays 0.03% APY. When you open your cash management account, you will receive a debit card that comes with free ATM withdrawals from more than 75,000 ATMs, and is also FDIC insured for accounts up to $1.25 million.
12. Stash
The goal of Stash is to make the investment process quick and easy for beginner investors. This investing app is packed with a great of tools to help new investors navigate the investment world.
When you create an account in Stash, you will answer a series of questions to determine your risk tolerance and investment goals. The app will then suggest a few investment options like ETFs based on your financial situation and risk tolerance.
There is no minimum to open an account and you can start investing with small amounts of money thanks to fractional shares. Fractional shares let you buy a fraction of a stock, this means that you can create a diversified portfolio with very little money.
This is another great app to invest $100 if this is all you have. Remember, investing takes time and as long as you invest consistently, your money will grow exponentially over the years.
This app does come with some fees. Expect to pay anywhere from $1 to $9 depending on the account type you choose.
13. Personal Capital
Over two million people use Personal Capital to manage their finance and investment accounts all in one place. Personal Capital has become the go-to investing app for many investors.
The tools offered by Personal Capital will help you monitor your net worth, budget, and improve your investment allocation, and the retirement planner will help you make realistic retirement goals.
While Personal Capital is not for the beginner investor, this is definitely an investing app that you must consider once you begin to create wealth. You still get free management tools and dedicated financial advisors, but there is a $100,000 account minimum and the fees start at 0.89%.
14. Wealth Simple
Wealthsimple is a robo advisor that started in 2014 in Canada and made a move to the United States in 2017. With over 100,000 clients, Wealthsimple is one of the largest wealth management platforms.
Wealthsimple provides long-term investment management with a $0 minimum to get started. The app lets you create a diversified portfolio composed of low-cost index funds across major sectors around the world.
With their socially responsible investing (SRI) portfolio options, Wealthsimple invests in companies that promote and further socially responsible initiatives like lowering carbon emission.
While the $0 minimum investment is a great perk, the app does come with account management fees. Expect to pay a 0.50% management fee for account balances of less than $100,000 and 0.04% for accounts over $100,000.
15. eToro
Broker eToro operates in 140 countries and has over 13 million users. This investing platform has an innovative tool that allows investors to copy the trades of other investors, a process known as copy trading.
This investing app allows users to trade cryptocurrency with less than $100, making it a great trading platform if you are low on cash.
If you live in the United States, eToro is limited to trading cryptocurrency every though equity trading and forex are available in other countries.
As you can see, you can start investing with only $100. Not having a lot of money is not an excuse to skip investing because as I mentioned earlier in this article, small amounts of money can grow to a fortune over the years.
If you have $100 stashed in the bank or under the seat of your car, put it to work for you. If you are not ready to invest in the stock market, then take advantage of high-yield savings accounts and let your money grow.
Now I want to hear from you:
- Which of these investing methods will you try next?
- Are you going to invest in books or courses that will help you learn new skills?
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