16 Ways to Invest with Little Money

For many years, I was a low-income earner, and the idea of investing with the little money that I was making was more than ‘just an idea, for me, it was my only way out of financial insecurity.

However, I initially had doubts. I questioned the prospects of investing with little money. Is really worth it? Can investing $100 monthly make any significant difference?

Consider this; A monthly investment of $100 for 10 years at a 10% annual rate of return (which the S&P 500 has averaged historically) would yield $20,000.

In 10 years’ time, you should be able to up your monthly contribution from $100 to $1,000. Starting with $20,000 and consistently investing $1,000 for 20 years at a 10% annual rate of return would yield $905,930 in return.

That’s an IMPRESSIVE, REALISTIC, and quite frankly, CONSERVATIVE NUMBERS.

There are countless true stories of people making over $100,000/year for years and having $0 invested, worst, they are engulfed in a lot of debts.

This goes to show that, a lot of time, it’s not about how much you have but what you do with what you have. A $20,000 investment in Tesla a decade ago when was valued at $3.84 per share would be worth over $2,000,000 today.

Is starting small worth it? I bet my house, it is more than worth it.

And the important thing about starting small, aside from the potential return, is the investing discipline you acquire over time.

Financial discipline is one of the biggest assets of every successful investor. And that is why before you start investing you should consider these 8 factors.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. You can start walking, eventually, you ride on a bike, then a regular car, perhaps a sports car and who knows a private jet. The most important thing right now is START.

If you are looking for investment options with promising potentials but have little money, here are fifteen small investments options to consider:

1. Invest in Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are great examples of high-risk-high-reward investment assets that you can invest in with as little as $10-$100.

Generally, Cryptocurrencies are a form of decentralized virtual currencies that are cryptographically secured, they are designed to be used in the buying and selling of goods and services digitally.

Some cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have gained widespread popularity and the backing of prominent individuals and institutions.

Early this year, online payment powerhouse Paypal (PYPL) announced that it will allow its users to pay in Bitcoin and other cryptos such as Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. Other major companies like Microsoft (Xbox), Twitch, Home Depot, Burger King, AT&T, Overstock.com, and Rakuten are accepting Bitcoin as a payment method.

With over $1 trillion dollars market cap, cryptocurrencies are no joke, they are a big deal.

Nonetheless, not all cryptocurrencies are worth investing in, however, bear in mind that not every stock listed in the NYSE and NASDAQ are worth investing in.

Do you know that a $100 investment in Bitcoin back when it was worth just 6 cents would be worth around $70,000,000? And a $100 investment in Dogecoin early this year would have 10x in value.

There are a lot of cryptocurrencies that are currently under $10 you can invest in that have the potential to bring BIG returns. And because of their low entry point, you don’t need to break the bank to start investing in them.

All you need to do is to know as much as you can about crypto investing, create an account with Coinbase and start investing.

Generally, it is advisable not to go all-in with this type of investment because of its high-risk nature.

2. Invest in Solid Penny Stocks

If I remember correctly, ‘penny stocks’ first can under my radar as an advertisement by one of this so-called ‘trading guru’. It was pitched as the fastest and easiest way to make money.

Of course, the advertisement pitch came with a caveat requiring me to buy a $1,000 trading course, so I can learn the ‘secret’ strategies to making millions trading penny stocks.

DON’T let anybody sell you a pipe dream that trading penny stocks is the easy and fastest way to make money.

Penny stocks are typically shares of publicly traded companies that are valued under $10 – $5 per share. A lot of penny stocks trade over the counter which makes them quite risky, however, there are some penny stocks that are listed in the NASDAQ and NYSE.

The advantages of penny stocks include their unique tendency and potential to bring in mind-blowing returns because they are mostly stocks of small-cap companies with huge growth potentials.

Nonetheless, it is not without its negatives. One of the disadvantages of investing in/trading penny stocks is that it is a highly risky investment, especially those that trade over the counter (OTC penny stocks).

Because of how much it costs to own a share of such companies and their growth potential, it is one of the best small investments for high-reward-seeking investors with little money.

3. Exchange Traded Funds

An exchange-traded fund, commonly called ETF for short, is a collection of different types of or similar securities (such as stocks, bonds, and commodities) that can be bought or sold on an exchange.

ETFs typically track an index, sector, or specific investment strategies. For example, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) tracks the S&P 500 index and Ark’s Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) tracks selected stocks in the Space sector.

There are many ETFs that are priced under $200 and even more priced under $100. Investing in a solid ETF will give you exposure to different stocks, bonds, and/or commodities, thereby reducing your risk through diversification.

Do you have strong reasons to believe that a particular sector is set to blow up and are unsure about which company to invest in?

With ETFs, you can simply just bet in favor of the sector in general, rather than picking one stock that might end up not being the winning pick.

Or perhaps you don’t want to go through the headache of actively managing your portfolio. ETFs are a great way to passively invest in diversified securities.

Check out these top three technology Indexes and their ETFs.

4. Peer to peer lending: 

To invest using this option, it is best to know what it is all about. Peer lending is a way for people to lend money to individuals or businesses.

You receive as the lender–receiver interest and you get your money back when the loan is repaid.

When one is interested in investing or becoming a lender, you can open an account on the P2P website and transfer the money you want to invest as low as $25.

However, just like most businesses, there are advantages and disadvantages of P2P lending.

Advantage

• You can access a higher rate of return than any current investment like deposit accounts or bonds.
• You can choose the level of risk you are ready to agree on .

Disadvantages

• If a borrower is unable to pay that loan, you will suffer a financial loss as the loan you make are not covered by financial services compensation schemes.
• If a borrower repays a P2P loan early, returns may be lower than expected.

5. Equity Crowdfunding:

This option for a small investment entails exchanging a relatively small amount of money allowing investors to own a proportionate slice of equity in the business.

Since crowdfunding is the raising of money from the public, especially through the use of social media or other crowdfunding websites, there is a potential for high returns.

Advantages

•  Because of the high risk involve, there is also huge returns. A mere investment of $250 may result to proceeds of $36,000 to $50,000.
• This option gives investors satisfaction since investor can choose to focus on business that resonates with them.
• It lacks security sometimes because of hackers who will break into leading companies and steal credits cards.
• It offers wide-reach and ease of record keeping but these same features also set up naive investors for fraud.

6. High Yield Savings Account:  

This is a beautiful option for those that want to grow their savings while they can also have fast and easy access to their money in case of emergencies.

It also may offer you a sign-up bonus or investment rate bonus, however, you will likely have to balance in the account to earn the higher rate.

This investment option offers investors safe federal insurance. When the yield is higher than your savings account, you could potentially earn from riskier investments.

However, this option is poor for long-term goals because they don’t pay interest or keep up with inflation.

7. Treasury Securities:  

Treasury Securities are debt issued by the US government, which means you are loaning the federal government.  

This option has been there for a very long time because the guarantees that stand behind these securities are regarded as one of the principal keys of the both domestic and international economy, plus it is backed up by the US government.

Treasury securities are used by almost every type of investor in the market.

Why you should invest using this option?

• Investors are assured of the return of both their interest and the principal that they are due.
• Investors hold the bonds until maturity are guaranteed their initial investment.

Disadvantages

• They are open to inflation and changes in the interest rate.
• They no longer come with call features which commonly are attached to many corporate and maniacal offerings.

9. Buy fractional shares with M1 Finance:  

With M1 Finance, investors purchase fractional shares of over 7,000 options so you can go into an investment of any size.

The minimum deposit an investor can make using M1 is $100 and can buy fractional shares of stock with just $1.

When your cash balance reaches $25, you can choose to automatically invest in your assets. Signup on M1 Finance now and start investing.

Advantages of M1 Finance

• You can open an account with as low as $1
• Investors may borrow against their assets

Disadvantages of M1 Finance

• During a trading window, shares are sold
• It does not allow access to financial advisors

10. Real Estate Crowdfunding:  

With crowdfunding, many people invest a small amount, from which a large sum can be raised.  

In Real Estate crowdfunding, investors with little money can buy a property and become a shareholder.

Crowdfunding provides investors with the capital that they may never be able to raise, invest it in real estate and become a shareholder there.

Real estate crowdfunding helps investors to diversify the risk in their investment assets by not having all their funds in the equity market

Advantages

•  Those that are not accredited investors can participate in crowdfunding for real estate transactions.
• An investor does not need to buy an entire property, instead earn a portion of the profits gotten from the real estate investment.

Disadvantages  

•     There are imposed investment limits for non-accredited investors

11. Low –Minimum Mutual Funds under $100:   

This is the smallest dollar or share quantity an investor can purchase when investing in a particular fund.  

Finding mutual funds to invest for $100 can be difficult but can be easy if you know where to look.

Some mutual fund companies fund offer a lower minimum initial investment of $100 only when investors create an individual retirement account and set up a systematic investment plan that automatically withdraws at least $100 per month out of a bank account for deposit into the IRA.

12. Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP):   

Dividend Reinvestment Plan allows investors to reinvest their cash dividends into additional shares of the underlying stock on the dividend payment date.

It uses the proceeds generated from dividend stock to acquire more shares of a company.

It gives shareholders the option of reinvesting the amount of a declared dividend into additional shares, which are bought directly from the company.

Advantages

• It allows investors to add up their returns over time by accumulating mores which themselves pay dividend that will be reinvested.
• There is the effect of automatic reinvestment on compounding returns. When dividends are increased, shareholders receive an increasing amount on each share.

 Disadvantages

•  Dividends investment happens automatically without planning.
• It represent an opportunity cost since the money reinvested can’t be spent elsewhere

13. Certificate of Deposits:   

this is an investment option that is a savings account that holds a fixed amount of money for a fixed period of time like six months, one year or so and in exchange, the issuing bank pays you interest.

You can receive the money you originally invested plus any interest when your cash is redeemed.

This account is usually issued by a commercial bank, which restricts your access to the money invested but offers a much higher interest rate than those associated with a regular account

Disadvantage

• The inflation will grow faster than your money, and lower you real returns over the time.

Advantage

• Since they are guaranteed by the bank that offers them, they are legally required to pay you exactly the amount of interest and principal agreed on.
• They are insured by the federal government even in a case of bankruptcy your principal will be repaid.   

14. Municipal and Corporate Bonds: 

These are bonds issued by local governments, generally on the state or country level.

They are either revenue bonds which are issued by a municipality that are backed by the revenue generated from a specific project or general obligation bonds which are backed by the taxing authority of the issuers at hand and paid back with tax dollars paid for local income taxes, sales or any other tax revenue received by the local authorities that issued the municipal.

Corporate Bonds:

Investors who buy corporate bonds or stocks are lending money to the company issuing the bond.

In return, the company takes legal commitment to pay interest on the principal.

Corporate bonds make up one of the largest components of the bond market which is considered the largest securities market in the world.

Investors can use the proceeds from these bonds sales to buy new equipment, invest in research or buy back their stock.

15. Starting Your Own Business:  

Start-ups can be very challenging, however, you can use a small amount of money as seed capital to startup and develop a small business.  

Before starting a business you need to create a viable business plan, therefore, consider the following:

• Make research about the business
• Set a vision and goal
• Set up management
• Have a market strategy.

Since start-ups are founded by one or more entrepreneurs, it is available to look for capital from a variety of sources such as venture capitalists to avoid high risk of failure. Invest in a product or service that you would want to bring to the market.

Investing in your business gives you chance for growth which can create jobs. Also, investors can give you funding to start your business in the form of venture capital.

16. Invest in Yourself: 

A lot of people have diverse investment options maybe on real estate, the stock market, and a lot more.

However, one asset we have to make is investing in ourselves first. For your financial investment to succeed, you must invest in yourself in terms of putting your time, money, and other resources to better your current life and future.

What to invest in?

• Time
• Knowledge
• Physical health
• Emotional health

Investing in yourself there is an impact on your finances, career, hobbies and you will generally be happy. Investing in yourself pays a high dividend for you.