How to invest with little money - Times Money Mentor (2024)

There is a popular myth that investing is for those with lots of knowledge and a tonne of money. This is simply not true. There are a number of investment platforms where you can get started investing for as little as £1.

One trick is to get in the habit of saving little and often, while taking advantage of tax-free wrappers like ISAs.

This article will cover:

  • Six ways to invest with little money
  • What is the best investment for a beginner?
  • What’s the best way to invest money for the short term?
  • Should I use a savings account instead?

Read more: Investing for beginners course

This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue.*

Six ways to invest with little money

The first step is to sign up to a low cost investment platform. See here for our guide to the best online investment platforms. Most will allow you to open a stocks and shares ISA to protect your profits from the taxman.

Once you have done that, you need an investment strategy.

Below are some tips to invest.

1. Drip-feed your cash into investments

You don’t need to have a lump sum to start investing. Actually, investing small amounts of money regularly can be better than investing a large lump sum in one go.

By investing a small amount of money each month you are relatively less vulnerable to market fluctuations. You are also likely to end up buying more shares when they are cheap and fewer when they are expensive (which is known as pound-cost averaging).

2. Buy an index tracker

Exchange-traded funds or index funds track the performance of a stock market or asset class. We explain more on ETFs here.

ETFs tend to be much cheaper than actively managed funds (where a stock picker selects investments on your behalf). They are a simple and cost-effective way to build a portfolio with little money.

You can put your money in an exchange-traded fund via an investment platform such as AJ Bell Youinvest, Hargreaves Lansdown* or Interactive Investor.

3. Use a robo-adviser

If you invest via a robo-adviser, you let an algorithm do the hard work for you in deciding where your money should be invested.

You can invest through an online fund platform such as Nutmeg* or Evestor, which will create a portfolio for you (capital at risk, tax treatment depends on your individual circ*mstances and may change in the future).

The minimum investment with Evestor is just £1. For Nutmeg customers, the minimum investment is £100 or £500 depending on which types of investment account you choose.

It’s called a robo-adviser because it’s not a human fund manager or financial adviser looking after your money, making it a cheaper option.

Check out our guide here to the best robo advisers.

4. Mitigate your risk

Diversify your assets; in other words, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

This means spreading your cash across different asset classes, market sectors and countries. This can help level out any fluctuations in prices.

5. Invest for the long-term

Investing small amounts of money every month might seem insignificant. But over 20 or 30 years, you could have built a very significant pot.

If you intend to keep your money invested for decades, you can afford to take more risk than someone who might need access to their cash in the next few years.

Investing is ideally for the long-term because the longer your investment horizon, the more time you have to ride out the bad times as prices tend to recover.

Investing in a pension is a great way to do this because they attract tax relief from the government (and additional contributions from employers for those in workplace pension schemes).

If you’re looking for a ready-made personal, we have given Nutmeg* and Fidelity* five stars in our round-up of the top pension providers.

6. Open a high-yield savings account

While lots of savings accounts are currently paying around 4% interest on your deposits, you could get a better deal if you don’t mind tying your money up for months or even years.

The best rates tend to come from regular saver accounts but they often have conditions attached, such as saving up a certain amount each month.

Here, we list the top savings accounts for 2023.

What is the best investment for a beginner?

If you’re just getting started, you might want to read our beginner’s guide to investing.

The best investment is one that you feel comfortable with considering your:

  • Timeframe
  • Goals
  • Attitude to risk
  • Experience

If you know you want to invest in the stock market, but don’t feel confident investing in individual shares, it may be best to let a platform choose for you.

What’s the best way to invest money for the short term?

If you are likely to need your money in less than five years, it may be best to leave the money in an accessible cash savings account rather than invest.

The stock market could fall in the short term, meaning you would lose money on your investments if you needed to take it out when the market was down.

Tie up your money in a fixed-term cash ISA of between one and five years, or put it into a higher-interest account like a regular savings account, for a chance of a slightly better return.

Should I use a savings account instead?

While it is prudent to have a pot of easily accessible cash in a savings account for emergencies, your money won’t grow beyond the interest offered by the bank.

While leaving your money in a cash savings account may feel like the safest option, the value of your pot is actually being eroded over time. That happens if the interest rate on the account does not keep up with inflation, which is the case with many accounts right now.

If you have more money to invest, read how to invest £10,000

Investing for beginners

If you want to know more about investing check out our free investing for beginners course. Over five modules, our course will give you a better understanding of how investing can benefit your wealth, the different investment strategies, and how to get started.

*All products, brands or properties mentioned in this article are selected by our writers and editors based on first-hand experience or customer feedback, and are of a standard that we believe our readers expect. This article contains links from which we can earn revenue. This revenue helps us to support the content of this website and to continue to invest in our award-winning journalism. For more, seeHow we make our moneyandEditorial promise.

How to invest with little money - Times Money Mentor (2024)

FAQs

How to invest $1,000 dollars and double it? ›

How to Invest $1000: 7 Smart Ways to Grow $1K in 2023
  1. Deal with debt.
  2. Invest in Low-Cost ETFs.
  3. Invest in stocks with fractional shares.
  4. Build a portfolio with a robo-advisor.
  5. Contribute to a 401(k)
  6. Contribute to a Roth IRA.
  7. Invest in your future self.
Jan 29, 2023

How much do I need to invest to make $1,000 a month? ›

Reinvest Your Payments

The truth is that most investors won't have the money to generate $1,000 per month in dividends; not at first, anyway. Even if you find a market-beating series of investments that average 3% annual yield, you would still need $400,000 in up-front capital to hit your targets. And that's okay.

How can I invest $100 for quick return? ›

11 Ways to Invest $100
  1. Build a portfolio.
  2. Trade fractional shares.
  3. Earn interest with a high-yield savings account.
  4. Start an emergency fund.
  5. Start a brokerage account.
  6. Open a robo-advisor account.
  7. Consolidate and pay off debt.
  8. Start a retirement account.
7 days ago

How to invest your first $5,000? ›

What's the best way to invest $5,000?
  1. Invest in your 401(k) and get the matching dollars. ...
  2. Use a robo-advisor. ...
  3. Open or contribute to an IRA. ...
  4. Buy commission-free ETFs. ...
  5. Trade stocks.
Apr 28, 2023

Where to invest $5,000 for 1 year? ›

Six Best Investment Plans for One Year
  • Liquid funds. These are one of the most popular methods of parking short term funds up to one year. ...
  • Ultra-Short Duration Funds. ...
  • Low Duration Funds. ...
  • Money Market Funds. ...
  • Floater funds. ...
  • Arbitrage funds.

How to turn $1000 into $10 000? ›

  1. Invest In Yourself. It's possible that you could learn something that will allow you to increase your earning potential by $10,000 per year. ...
  2. Buy Products and Resell Them. ...
  3. Start a Side Hustle. ...
  4. Start a Home Business. ...
  5. Invest In Small Businesses. ...
  6. Invest In Real Estate.
5 days ago

How to flip $1,000 dollars in a day? ›

How To Flip 1,000 Dollars
  1. Buy And Resell Clothing. One popular option for flipping 1,000 dollars is to buy clothing to then resell online. ...
  2. Buy & Sell Collectibles. ...
  3. Start An Online Business. ...
  4. Amazon FBA. ...
  5. Invest In Real Estate. ...
  6. Invest In Dividend-Paying Stocks & ETFs. ...
  7. Stake Crypto. ...
  8. Rent Out Assets.
Mar 14, 2023

How to invest $100 000 to make $1 million? ›

Invest $400 per month for 20 years

If you're earning a 10% average annual return and investing $400 per month, you'd be able to go from $100,000 to $1 million in savings in just over 20 years. Again, if your actual average returns are higher or lower than 10% per year, that will affect your timeline.

How much will I have if I invest $500 a month for 10 years? ›

If you invested $500 a month for 10 years and earned a 4% rate of return, you'd have $73,625 today. If you invested $500 a month for 10 years and earned a 6% rate of return, you'd have $81,940 today.

Is investing $200 a month good? ›

Investing as little as $200 a month can, if you do it consistently and invest wisely, turn into more than $150,000 in as soon as 20 years. If you keep contributing the same amount for another 20 years while generating the same average annual return on your investments, you could have more than $1.2 million.

How long will it take to become a millionaire if I invest 1000 a month? ›

If You Invest $1,000 per Month

It will take less than 24 years to arrive at $1 million when you invest $1,000 each month. If you have a baby today, you'll be a millionaire just after your child's college graduation.

How to invest $500 to make money fast? ›

The 8 Best Ways to Invest $500 Right Now
  1. Invest With a Robo Advisor. ...
  2. Contribute to a 401(k) or IRA. ...
  3. DIY With Commission-Free ETFs. ...
  4. Buy Fractional Shares of Stocks. ...
  5. Buy Bonds. ...
  6. Invest In Real Estate. ...
  7. Pay Off Your Debt. ...
  8. Beware of Trying to Invest $500 For a Quick Return.
Feb 23, 2023

What investment has the fastest return? ›

The U.S. stock market is considered to offer the highest investment returns over time. Higher returns, however, come with higher risk. Stock prices typically are more volatile than bond prices.

How to invest $10K to make money fast? ›

The Best Ways to Invest 10K
  1. Real estate investing. One of the more secure options is investing in real estate. ...
  2. Product and website flipping. ...
  3. Invest in index funds. ...
  4. Invest in mutual funds or EFTs. ...
  5. Invest in dividend stocks. ...
  6. Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) ...
  7. Invest in cryptocurrencies. ...
  8. Buy an established business.

Is $5 000 enough to start investing? ›

$5,000 is certainly enough to begin building a firm financial foundation. But as your portfolio and your investment experience grow, you should look at other opportunities to improve your long-term investment performance.

How should a $1000 beginner invest? ›

Here are nine top ways to invest $1,000 and the key things to know about them.
  1. Buy an S&P 500 index fund. ...
  2. Buy partial shares in 5 stocks. ...
  3. Put it in an IRA. ...
  4. Get a match in your 401(k) ...
  5. Have a robo-advisor invest for you. ...
  6. Pay down your credit card or other loan. ...
  7. Go super safe with a high-yield savings account.
Feb 1, 2023

What should I invest $500 in? ›

This could include stocks, bonds or alternative investments, among others.
  • Investing In Stocks. To get started, you don't have to spend $500 on one stock. ...
  • Investing In Bonds. ...
  • High-Yield Savings Account. ...
  • Certificate of Deposit (CD) ...
  • Commission-Free ETFs. ...
  • Mutual Funds. ...
  • An IRA or Roth IRA.
Mar 18, 2023

What is the safest investment with highest return? ›

High-quality bonds and fixed-indexed annuities are often considered the safest investments with the highest returns. However, there are many different types of bond funds and annuities, each with risks and rewards. For example, government bonds are generally more stable than corporate bonds based on past performance.

What if I invest $100 a month for 10 years? ›

But by depositing an additional $100 each month into your savings account, you'd end up with $29,648 after 10 years, when compounded daily.

What is the best way to invest $10,000 short term? ›

Here are a few of the best short-term investments to consider that still offer you some return.
  • High-yield savings accounts. ...
  • Short-term corporate bond funds. ...
  • Money market accounts. ...
  • Cash management accounts. ...
  • Short-term U.S. government bond funds. ...
  • No-penalty certificates of deposit. ...
  • Treasurys. ...
  • Money market mutual funds.
Jun 1, 2023

How to make $10,000 immediately? ›

16 Legit Ways to Make $10000 Fast
  1. Get a Side Hustle.
  2. Sell Unwanted Jewelry.
  3. Sell Your Unwanted Stuff.
  4. Rent Out Your Spaces.
  5. Rent Out Your Stuff.
  6. Set up Passive Income Streams.
  7. Invest in Real Estate.
  8. Invest in the Stock Market.
Apr 26, 2023

How to double $2000 dollars in 24 hours? ›

The Best Ways To Double Money In 24 Hours
  1. Flip Stuff For Profit. ...
  2. Start A Retail Arbitrage Business. ...
  3. Invest In Real Estate. ...
  4. Invest In Dividend Stocks & ETFs. ...
  5. Use Crypto Interest Accounts. ...
  6. Start A Side Hustle. ...
  7. Invest In Your 401(k) ...
  8. Buy And Flip Websites And Domain Names.
Dec 23, 2022

How to flip $5,000 dollars fast? ›

19 Easy Ways to Make $5,000 Fast
  1. Rent a Home, Car, or Storage Space.
  2. Make Deliveries.
  3. Drive for Uber or Lyft.
  4. Sell High-Value Items.
  5. Invest in Stocks.
  6. Sell Stuff Online.
  7. Freelancing.
  8. Real Estate Investing.
Apr 20, 2023

How to make $200 dollars fast in one day? ›

8 Ways To Make $200 in Just a Day
  1. Freelancing. Many skills can make you money as a freelancer. ...
  2. Drive for Uber or Lyft. ...
  3. Deliver Food. ...
  4. Complete Tasks on TaskRabbit. ...
  5. Pet Sitting or Dog Walking. ...
  6. Sell Items Online. ...
  7. Participate in Paid Focus Groups or Surveys. ...
  8. Rent Your Space.
May 5, 2023

How to make $500 dollars fast in a day? ›

How to Make $500 a Day
  1. Work As an Influencer.
  2. Become a Freelance Writer.
  3. Monetize a High Traffic Website.
  4. Start a Service-Based Arbitrage Business.
  5. Rent Out Space In Your Home.
  6. Flip Stuff.
  7. Create a P.O.D product.
  8. Amazon FBA.
Apr 26, 2023

How can I legally flip money? ›

11 Real ways to flip money
  1. Real estate flipping. ...
  2. Flip websites or domain names. ...
  3. Resell goods online. ...
  4. Bank account churning. ...
  5. Traditional investing. ...
  6. Non-traditional and alternative investments. ...
  7. Flip money by fixing physical items. ...
  8. Invest in land.

What is the best way to invest $5 million dollars? ›

How to Invest $5 Million for Income
  1. Dividend Stocks. Companies that offer dividend-paying stocks pay a portion of profits to stockholders. ...
  2. Certificates of Deposit and Money Market Accounts. ...
  3. Annuities. ...
  4. Real Estate. ...
  5. Master Limited Partnerships. ...
  6. Bottom Line. ...
  7. Investing Tips.
Jul 12, 2022

Is it good to have 100k in savings? ›

But some people may be taking the idea of an emergency fund to an extreme. In fact, a good 51% of Americans say $100,000 is the savings amount needed to be financially healthy, according to the 2022 Personal Capital Wealth and Wellness Index.

How much monthly income will 100k generate? ›

A $100,000 annuity would pay you approximately $508 each month for the rest of your life if you purchased the annuity at age 60 and began taking payments immediately.

How much is $10,000 invested in Apple 20 years ago? ›

As a result, $10,000 in AAPL stock purchased 20 years ago would be worth about $7.51 million today, assuming reinvested dividends.

What if I invest $300 a month for 5 years? ›

But if you wait even five years to start saving that $300 a month, you'll end up with roughly $719,000, instead. To be clear, that's still a respectable amount of savings to kick off retirement with. But let's face it -- it's not $1 million.

What if I invest $50 a week for 30 years? ›

If you were to save $50 each week, that would result in an annual savings of $2,600. Over the span of 30 years, that's $78,000.

Is investing $20 a week worth it? ›

Small amounts will add up over time and compounding interest will help your money grow. $20 per week may not seem like much, but it's more than $1,000 per year. Saving this much year after year can make a substantial difference as it can help keep your financial goal on your mind and keep you motivated.

Is investing $25 a month worth it? ›

The Bottom Line

Putting aside $25 a month to invest in a savings account, mutual fund, or individual retirement account is a worthwhile venture. However, pay extra attention to make sure profits counteract fees. The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation.

Is investing $50 a month worth it? ›

Although $50 a month may not get you to retirement completely, it's a good start. $250 a month is even better, and can get you to a minimum retirement income level of about $2,000 a month. Every little bit helps.

At what age can you retire with $1 million dollars? ›

A recent analysis determined that a $1 million retirement nest egg may only last about 20 years depending on what state you live in. Based on this, if you retire at age 65 and live until you turn 84, $1 million will probably be enough retirement savings for you.

What is the average salary of a millionaire? ›

How much does a Millionaire make? As of May 24, 2023, the average annual pay for the Millionaire jobs category in the United States is $47,712 a year.

How much will $1 million dollars be worth in 10 years? ›

That would translate into $5,000 of interest on one million dollars after a year of monthly compounding. The 10-year earnings would be $51,140.13. The rates on both traditional and high-interest savings accounts are variable, which means the rates can go up or down over time.

How much is $500 a month for 20 years? ›

$500 per month invested for 20 years is about $430,000. $500 per month invested for 30 years is about $1,400,000. $500 per month invested for 40 years, is about $4,300,000. The power of investing is compound interest.

How to invest with only $100 a month? ›

How to Invest $100 a Month Wisely
  1. Build your emergency fund. Having some cash set aside for those rainy days that always seem to pop up is one of the most basic lessons of Personal Finance 101. ...
  2. Pay down student loans. ...
  3. Open an IRA Add-on CD. ...
  4. Increase 401(k) contributions. ...
  5. Start a Sharebuilder account. ...
  6. Buy I-bonds.
Oct 6, 2022

What is the #1 safest investment? ›

Treasury Bills, Notes and Bonds

U.S. Treasury securities are considered to be about the safest investments on earth. That's because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Government bonds offer fixed terms and fixed interest rates.

What is Rule number 72? ›

The Rule of 72 is a calculation that estimates the number of years it takes to double your money at a specified rate of return. If, for example, your account earns 4 percent, divide 72 by 4 to get the number of years it will take for your money to double.

What is the best investment without losing money? ›

Here are the best low-risk investments in June 2023:

Short-term certificates of deposit. Money market funds. Treasury bills, notes, bonds and TIPS. Corporate bonds.

How to turn $100 K into $1 million in 5 years? ›

Consider investing in rental properties or real estate investment trusts (REIT). The real estate market is a fertile setting for a $100k investment to yield $1 million. And it's possible for this to happen between 5 to 10 years. You can achieve this if you continue to add new properties to your portfolio.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? ›

How to invest $1,000 right now — wherever you are on your financial journey
  • Build an emergency fund. An emergency fund is crucial to your financial health. ...
  • Pay down debt. ...
  • Put it in a retirement plan. ...
  • Open a certificate of deposit (CD) ...
  • Invest in money market funds. ...
  • Buy treasury bills. ...
  • Invest in stocks.
May 8, 2023

How to turn $25,000 into a million? ›

Based on an investment of $25,000 today, it'd take a return of 13.08% per year to transform into $1 million in 30 years. If you require a shorter time to grow your investments, you'll need a higher return to arrive at $1 million sooner.

Can I invest as little as $100? ›

Investing can be life-changing, but it's a common misconception that you need to have thousands of dollars to begin investing. In reality, you can get started with just $100 or even less. If you have $100 on hand that you want to invest, there are some great opportunities for you out there.

Is $100 too little to invest? ›

Investing can change your life for the better. But many people mistakenly think that unless they've got thousands of dollars lying around, there's no good place to put their money. The good news is that's simply not the case. You can start investing with $100 or even less.

Is $1,000 too little to invest? ›

Bottom line. Investing $1,000 may be just the start for your investing career, but make it count by taking the time to understand the available options and how to really make that money work for you. You can add to your account over time and build real wealth for yourself and your family.

How much is $100 a month for 30 years? ›

You plan to invest $100 per month for 30 years and expect a 6% return. In this case, you would contribute $36,000 over your investment timeline. At the end of the term, your bond portfolio would be worth $97,451. With that, your portfolio would earn more than $61,000 in returns during your 30 years of contributions.

Is $10,000 too little to invest? ›

$10,000 is an excellent amount to start investing in individual companies. For example, you could buy $1,000 of stock in 10 companies or $500 of stock in 20 companies. However, self-directed investing requires you to do your research to make informed decisions.

Is $1 enough to invest? ›

Investing in the stock market doesn't mean you need to have millions, thousands, or even hundreds of dollars to get started. Even if you have just one extra dollar, you can begin building your portfolio.

Is investing $50 a week good? ›

If you were to save $50 each week, that would result in an annual savings of $2,600. Over the span of 30 years, that's $78,000. That's not something you can retire on. But if you invested those savings into a safe growth stock, you could potentially have $1 million by the time you retire.

Can you invest with $50 dollars? ›

You can invest as little as $50 in your long-term financial future. Invest in high-yield savings or stocks for compounding growth.

What is the lowest amount I can invest? ›

Yes, it is possible to start investing with as little as $100. There are a few options you can consider: Open a brokerage account: Many online brokerages allow you to start investing with small amounts of money, including as little as $100.

What is the least amount of money needed to invest? ›

You don't need a lot of money to start investing. In fact, you could start investing in the stock market with as little as $1, thanks to zero-fee brokerages and the magic of fractional shares. Here's what you need to know about how to transform even a small amount of money into the beginnings of an investment empire.

What is the #1 rule of investing? ›

1 – Never lose money. Let's kick it off with some timeless advice from legendary investor Warren Buffett, who said “Rule No. 1 is never lose money.

Is it worth it to invest 200 dollars? ›

Investing as little as $200 a month can, if you do it consistently and invest wisely, turn into more than $150,000 in as soon as 20 years. If you keep contributing the same amount for another 20 years while generating the same average annual return on your investments, you could have more than $1.2 million.

How to make $1,000 in 24 hours? ›

10 Legit Ways to Make $1,000 in 24 Hours
  1. Sell Your Stuff.
  2. Freelance.
  3. Get a Side Hustle or Part-Time Job.
  4. Start a Blog.
  5. Start an E-Commerce Store.
  6. Invest in Real Estate.
  7. Set up Passive Income Streams.
  8. Make Money Online.
Mar 22, 2023

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