Found yourself holding a nice crispy Benjamin? Want to invest in your future, but not sure where to start?
Fear not.
I’m going to walk you through the 9 best ways to invest $100. While $100 doesn’t seem like a lot of money to start investing, it’s a great place to start. Every journey begins with one small step or something like that.
The list of investments below not only includes ways to invest in the stock market but also includes non-traditional ways to invest like peer-to-peer lending and investing in yourself through education.
Depending on your situation, you may get a bigger return on your one-hundred dollar bill by spending it on yourself!
Here are some good ideas of how you can invest $100 to gain an immediate return.
Contents
1. Further Your Education With An Online Course:
Furthering your education is one of the best investments you can make. Lifelong-learners tend to make a higher income than those who don’t further their skills once in the work-force. Technology is moving at such a fast pace that many skills are becoming obsolete overnight. It’s important to acquire new knowledge to remain competitive and demand a higher wage.
One of the best ways to increase your knowledge is through online courses. Sites like Lynda and Udemy host thousands of different online courses on a variety of subjects.
Are you a web developer? Learn a new programming language!
Want to start a photography side hustle? Learn the basics of photography before you start.
2. Buy Individual Stocks With No Fees:
Starting to invest with $100 can be frustrating since most brokerages charge a transaction fee. This means every time you buy or sell the stock, you’ll pay anywhere between $9 and $50 to make that trade. This kind of fee will wipe out ANY profit you make by investing your $100.
Luckily, there are ways to invest without paying transaction fees. Robinhood is a zero-commission trading app for iOS, Android, and the web. All you have to do is sign up, link your bank account with the $100, and start buying stocks. Unlike some brokerages that require $1000 to open an account, Robinhood doesn’t have an account minimum.
Watch this video to learn more about the Robinhood app.
This is a great way to get started investing in the stock market without losing all your gains to fees.
3. Invest with Stash:
Stash is another app that allows you to start investing with a small amount of money. You only need 5 dollars and 2 minutes to get started on your path to financial independence.
When you sign up, Stash will ask you a few questions about your risk tolerance and what you’re interested in and then builds an investment profile around that.
For example, they offer an investment profile called “the activist” which is focused on investing in companies that bring up positive social and technological change – like green energy companies. This is great if you want your money to make you more money AND make a positive difference in the world.
4. Pay Off Your Debt:
Paying off your debt faster is a great investment. Interest rates on credit card debt averages around 14%.
You’ll be hard-pressed to make a 14% ROI by investing in index funds. By putting your $100 bill towards your credit card debt, you’re saving yourself $14 of interest.
That’s an immediate return on your investment!
5. Get a Gym Membership:
Investing in your health has a huge impact on your life. What’s the point of being retired if you can’t walk up the stairs without needing a 5-minute break once you reach the top?
But investing in your health isn’t just about being able to walk up the stairs. Being fit and healthy can save you thousands in health care costs during your lifetime. The first step to becoming healthier is to eat well and exercise.
Most gym memberships cost well under $100 so take some time to learn what you want out of a gym and find the best gym for you.
6. Become a Lender:
If you’ve ever wanted to switch roles with your mortgage lender, you can do so by lending money to your peers.
Prosper allows you to lend money to other people through peer-to-peer lending – also known as P2P lending.
Here’s how it works: When someone needs a personal loan, they can apply for that loan through Prosper. You can sort through the loans and choose which ones you want to fund.
You can invest anywhere between $25 to the whole amount of the loan. It’s best to diversify your investments though. With $100 you can invest $25 in four different loans.
Your return on investment will include the repayments of principal and interest on the loan. Return on investment can range between 4% and 10% annually depending on a few factors.
P2P lending can be a great investment vehicle and also a great way to help people who need loans.
7. Buy a Book:
Earlier we discussed the importance of furthering your education by taking online courses.
The original way to gain knowledge is by reading books. Self-help and non-fiction books can provide you with the knowledge that will save you from making costly mistakes.
Reading one personal finance can change your whole outlook on money and can be the difference between saving hundreds and saving thousands of dollars a year.
A 14 dollar book can give you thousands of dollars worth of knowledge.
Some of my favorite personal finance books include Rich Dad Poor Dad, the Millionaire Next Door, and Your Money or Your Life. All three of these books have made a huge impact on my money-management philosophy.
8. Start a Side Hustle:
Out of all the options on this list, building a second income stream has the potential for the biggest return on your $100 investment.
There are tons of side hustles that can be started with $100 or less. If you own a car, you can start driving for Uber or Lyft. If you enjoy writing, take some freelance writing gigs on the weekends.
My favorite side hustle is blogging. $100 is more than enough money to buy hosting and get a blog launched. You’ll even have some money left over to invest in a good book or two.
9. Let a Robot Invest For You:
Betterment is a great way to invest your $100. They treat you the same whether you invest $100 or $100,000.
Betterment is a ‘robot-advisor’ which basically means they’ll personalize your investing based on a complex algorithm. When you sign up they ask you a bunch of questions – like your risk tolerance. The “robot” then creates a custom portfolio for you based on your answers.
We’ve come a far way from having to meet with a financial advisor in person and paying for their advice.
Join Betterment to get your own personalized investment portfolio.
Those were 9 great tips on what to do with $100. Whether you invest in yourself or the markets, $100 can go a long way.
At the end of the day, what can be done if you don’t have this money? Read how to earn 100 dollars fast.
10. Buying and Selling:
This is a basic trick to earn some extra money. Remember when we used to sell our classmates some of our cool yet cheap stuff. And since they didn’t know its actual price, they would be buying it on any random amount.
That’s all you have got to do here. Just be smart and buy products that are cheap but of good quality. Then you need to work on its presentation and BOOM. You made a few extra dollars.
There was a guy who earned millions of dollars with this trick. All he used to do was purchase items from Walmart and then sell them. And with that profit, he ended up opening his own company.
However, our goal here is not to make millions but enough to get by. You can sell your products online and earn. However, it’s not just products that you can sell.
There is a rising market for website domain names. You can work on that too. Just be smart, and you’ll find so many ways to earn money.
You need to make sure that if you’re good at something don’t do it for free. If you are good at giving advice, sell your ideas. If you’re good at writing, write novels online. If you’re good at styling, let the world know. This will open so many opportunities for you.
11. Open A Retirement Account:
You have got two types of IRA to invest in, the traditional one or the Roth one. Either way, it is quite beneficial for you since you can invest your money as per your choice.
However, I will advise going with the Roth IRA since it is tax-free, and you are allowed to withdraw money any time you want. It is a super smart plan for the long run.
But you’d need to consult a broker or even a robot-advisor for this. As you are not an expert, so they can guide you on what plan to choose.
Moreover, the plan is very easy going, they have no minimum required. You can start investing with the as little amount as you want. However, make sure you are paying enough monthly, to let your plant grow faster.
Now when all of this will be done, you just need to sit back and relax. Wait till your age, and then Voilà! Enjoy your savings.
If you have invested in a traditional retirement plan, then you are permitted to withdrawal at the age of 59 ½. However, if you have gone with the Roth one, you are free to withdraw many at any time without any restrictions. Though some income tax process might be applicable.
12. Buy a Portfolio with Index-Based ETFs:
If you’re interested in investing in the stock market, but don’t have enough money. Then, with Index based ETF you have an opportunity to buy a whole stock market for $100. I know it sounds lunatic but this is true.
If you are familiar with mutual funds I’ll let you know that they are exactly like it. However, in this investment, you won’t need to pay charge loads or any of the crap. Even the fees that they require are comparatively lower than mutual funds.
Think of it as a passive investment. However, you won’t be able to surpass the market, but it won’t be a complete loss either.
Now all you have got to do is find an investment broker that arranges the purchase for you. It is simply the smart yet wisest choice to go for. But investing is obviously a big deal. So, whenever you invest in something, make sure you’re making the right decision.
13. Online Savings Accounts:
Since it’s 2021, you have a lot of ways of building a business online. You can go for literally anything and end up earning. However, you need to be a very smart and keen observer too. So that you don’t end up getting scammed.
There are a variety of banks online that can provide you a much better and safer saving plans. Moreover, they provide you a much higher yield as compared to the local banks.
While they often offer large yields on money markets and deposit bonds, the minimum initial investment on any of these items is typically well over $100.
However, there are many savings yields to an account that require no minimum initial investments. So you can look into it and with the help of someone smart, choose a perfect plan for yourself.
There are 3 banks that right now secure and perfect for savings.
The first one is CTI Bank, which offers a savings builder account. The main advantage of this savings account is that it doesn’t require any minimum initial investments. Moreover, they don’t ask for any monthly fees either. So this is a perfect choice.
The second one is Discover Bank, they offer a saving account that will work the best in your case. The main advantage of this savings account is that it doesn’t require any minimum initial investments. Moreover, they don’t ask for any monthly fees either.
The third one is UFB Direct, this bank offers you savings and MMA accounts. And the perfect thing about this is that they don’t require any initial minimum requirement for investment, as well. Moreover, they don’t ask for any monthly fees either.
So, you can choose one of them and invest your money in the right way.
Conclusion!
Since it’s 2021, everyone is trying new and inventive ways to earn money. The time we are living in is constantly evolving and no one wants to be left behind.
And since, money is the most important factor, so the smart thing is to invest and enjoy the reaper fruit later.
These were all the smart choices that you need to take if you want to earn big from a little amount. Moreover, go for an option that’s applicable in the long run.
Don’t select a plan just because it’s easy, and you will get the money. Select a plan that will help you in your future as well.
Recommended article: How to make $200 fast
What would you invest in with $100? I’d love to hear your answer in the comments below!
For less than 5 minutes of your time, earn yourself a random stock whose value is anywhere between $5.00 and $200. It is possible through an investing app called Robinhood.
