Is $1,000 enough to start investing?
It may not seem like a lot, but don't underestimate the power of $1,000. Even a small starting investment can help lay the foundation for a long and profitable journey toward financial flexibility. Put that money to work and add to it as often as possible with your long-term goals in mind.
There's no minimum income you must earn before you can invest. But it's important for your long-term financial security to set aside money for emergencies and to have debt under control. Once you've put those plans into action, you're ready to invest.
In short: Yes. Investing with smaller dollar amounts is possible now more than ever, thanks to low or no investment minimums, zero commissions and fractional shares. There are plenty of investments available for relatively small amounts, such as index funds, exchange-traded funds and mutual funds.
You'd be surprised just how far $500 can go when it's invested in the right way. Not only is it enough to start growing wealth in a meaningful way, but investing even a small amount can help you build positive investing habits that will help you to reach your future financial goals.
Investing $1,000 a month may seem like a big task, as it's a total of $12,000 per year. But the average full-time worker earned $59,540 in the last quarter of 2022. So, investing $12,000 a year would mean putting away about 20% of your annual income if you earn around the average salary.
Though the $1,000 emergency fund isn't enough to cover big emergencies, it's enough to keep you focused on your debt-free goals and cover smaller unexpected expenses. It's an essential part of the Baby Step process that allows you to stay on budget and continually drive forward, no matter what happens!
Investing can change your life for the better. But many people mistakenly think that unless they have 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.
$100 per week adds up to $15,600 in three years
There is no sensible stock that will get you to $1,500 per year with $5,200 invested — that's a 28% yield! — but there are stocks that could get you there after three years of saving. That takes you to $15,600 in cumulative savings.
Generally, experts recommend investing around 10-20% of your income. But the more realistic answer might be whatever amount you can afford. If you're wondering, “how much should I be investing this year?”, the answer is to invest whatever amount you can afford!
Even with just one dollar, you can start building your portfolio. Fractional shares allow investors to purchase a small portion of their preferred companies or funds, without having to buy a whole share.
Is $100 a month good for investing?
Investing $100 per month, with an average return rate of 10%, will yield $200,000 after 30 years. Due to compound interest, your investment will yield $535,000 after 40 years. These numbers can grow exponentially with an extra $100. If you make a monthly investment of $200, your 30-year yield will be close to $400,000.
The $10 a day adds up to $3,650 a year -- which is a pretty good sum of money. And, once you have invested that money, you get to benefit from compound growth. That's when your investments earn returns that are reinvested so you earn even more money going forward.
The short answer to what happens if you invest $500 a month is that you'll almost certainly build wealth over time. In fact, if you keep investing that $500 every month for 40 years, you could become a millionaire. More than a millionaire, in fact. Investing is about buying assets you believe will increase in value.
Length of Investment
For example, an investor who holds their portfolio for 10 years will put $60,000 into it (10 years of investing x 12 months per year x $500 per month), while an investor who holds the same portfolio for 20 years will contribute $120,000 worth of capital.
If you were to invest $200 per month over the course of the next 30 years, that would equate to a total investment of $72,000. That's significant, but it's through the effects of compounding that would get your portfolio to a more than $1 million valuation.
Discount Rate | Present Value | Future Value |
---|---|---|
5% | $1,000 | $2,653.30 |
6% | $1,000 | $3,207.14 |
7% | $1,000 | $3,869.68 |
8% | $1,000 | $4,660.96 |
Investing $1,000 per month for 5 years through a systematic investment plan could have you end up with $83,156.62. We explain how to set up this kind of investment in this article.
The harsh truth is that $1,000 per month is very hard to live on, even if you lower your costs to the bare minimum. With inflation causing the prices of goods and services to increase every year, $1,000 a month will become harder and harder to live on going forward.
Also, nearly one in four (22 percent) U.S. adults said they have no emergency savings. Despite economic challenges, the percentage remains relatively unchanged year-over-year. In 2022, 23 percent of Americans had no emergency savings.
A $100,000 salary is considered good in most parts of the country, and can cover typical expenses, pay down debt, build savings, and allow for entertainment and hobbies. According to the U.S. Census, only 15.3% of American households make more than $100,000 annually.
How to spend $1,000 wisely?
- Spend the money.
- Pay down credit card debt.
- Pay down student loan debt.
- Contribute to your 401(k), Roth IRA or other retirement account.
- Make home repairs.
- Invest in yourself.
- Open a 529 account.
- Refinance your home.
Time invested | Total money invested | Estimated total balance |
---|---|---|
10 years | $12,000 | $17,802.12 |
20 years | $24,000 | $58,052.42 |
30 years | $36,000 | $149,057.67 |
But the more you can contribute, the faster your wealth will grow and the better off you'll be. So, even if you can only start with $1, do it today. Many brokerage firms allow you to buy fractional shares, which are partial shares of stocks or ETFs, so you really don't have to wait long to start buying investments.
In that case, investing $100 a month over 40 years will leave you with an ending balance of around $531,000. Meanwhile, you'll only be contributing a total of $48,000 to get to that point. So all told, you're looking at a $483,000 gain, which is pretty impressive.
For example, if you are able to commit to investing $500 a month in an S&P 500 index fund like the Vanguard 500 Fund (NYSEMKT: VOO), you'll eventually have $1 million, and that includes paying the 0.03% expense ratio in the ETF, meaning you'll pay 3 cents each year for every $100 you have invested in the index fund.
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