At its core, investing is an incremental game: you build a portfolio bit by bit rather than all at once. Find out how you can invest $1, and get the most bang for your buck.

Dealing with Debt and Building Emergency Funds

Paying off debt is always the best guaranteed return. The interest you save by paying debt down faster is essentially risk free. So the boring answer to “how should I invest $1,” is always “pay off your debt first.” Even if you are debt free, there is a strong personal finance argument for socking the $1, away in an emergency fund by way of a higher yield savings account because this will reduce your likelihood of taking on debt in the future.

In real life, however, there are many scenarios where you end up investing while carrying debt. These scenarios are often based on rational decisions, such as taking advantage of employer matching in a retirement account or saving for an inevitable future cost like a child’s education.

Simplicity and Diversity for Cheap

For the vast majority of investors looking to put $1, to work, the best investment has to be simple, low risk and cheap with respect to fees. If we want a decent return, then the risk must be lowered through diversifying the investment. And the best option for that are low or no fee funds.

Invest $1, in an ETF or Index Fund

Exchange-traded funds and index funds are an excellent way to invest with a relatively small amount of money. These funds also have the advantage of being very transparent investments. You can learn all you need to know about a particular ETF or index fund in a few paragraphs, including its holdings, any commissions, and the expense ratio. You can also pick the best broker for buying ETFs from our list of Best Brokers for ETFs.

Index funds are essentially a passive, broad market investment through the major indices, while ETFs can offer more choices to customize a portfolio. With $1, you can pile together ETFs with different risk profiles. For example, you could split the money into $ in a higher risk, growth-oriented ETF, $ into a dividend ETF and put the remaining $ into a bond ETF. Or you can reverse that mix or even put it all into the growth ETF. It all depends on your time horizon and your risk tolerance.

Invest $1, in a Target-Date Fund

Target-date funds offer similar diversity to ETFs, but these require less effort than picking your own ETFs. A target-date fund may have a higher expense ratio than your basic ETF, but in return you won’t have to worry as much about allocating your money or rebalancing the portfolio over time. Target-date funds are further down the spectrum of being actively managed and active management costs more in fees.

Invest $1, With a Roboadvisor

With $ to invest, the fees that come with active management can be hard to swallow, especially given that performance often lags passive index or ETF options. That said, robo-advisors like Betterment, Acorns and Asset Builder have hit the market offering active management at lower expense ratios than prices offered by human fund managers. This has prompted traditional advisors like Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab to jump on the AI bandwagon for some of their offerings. You can get the benefits of active management, particularly more frequent rebalancing of the portfolio during market events, without having to pay the traditional price.

Invest $1, in Low-Risk Debt Instruments

The funds mentioned above generally carry higher risk and return profiles than investments in debt instruments. If your main goal is preserving $1, rather than growing it, then debt investments may be your best choice.

Treasury securities, certificates of deposit and savings bonds are not the most exciting ways to invest $1, They do, however, have the benefit of very low risk and a modest return. There are bond offerings direct from companies that offer much higher interest rates, as well as bond ETFs, but these both require a bit more research and a lot more risk than simply putting the $1, into a US Treasury Bond. On top of the security, Treasury bond income is exempt from state and local taxes, although it is not exactly a windfall tax savings given the modest rate of return.

Invest $1, in a Single Stock

Now we are going to look at some investments that you wouldn’t recommend to your grandparents. These require a higher risk tolerance and lot more research, but they also offer high potential returns for your $1,

This is for the type of person who relishes in yelling “I’m all in!” while playing poker. $1, is enough to make a single stock purchase through an online brokerage reasonable. You do lose some money in the transaction itself, but the right stock can return many times the transaction costs.

There were several points in the last five years where an investment in Meta (formerly Facebook), Apple, Netflix, or Google would double or triple your $1, The catch is that you would have to time the market, and you have to have realized those gains. That said, researching a stock and putting $ into it can work out. Of course, it can also end up with you losing money or making a smaller return than the ETF investments containing the same stock as part of the mix.

Trade Options and Forex With $1,

There is a fairly big gap between can and should when it comes to $1, investments. $1, can be used to open an online options or Forex trading account and, yes, these accounts offer ways to leverage that money up to make large returns in a short time. However, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Of all the investments we’ve looked at, Forex and/or options trading offers the most risk and the highest probability of being able to lose all your money in a short period of time.

There are, of course, many people who can take $1, and, pulling on their experience with different trading strategies, produce solid returns while controlling their risks. Some people have probably lucked out and tripled their money on a single currency trade based on a hunch. That said, many of these traders have likely lost $1, or more just learning their craft though. At least try out these types of trading through simulators before putting your hard-earned cash at risk.

The Bottom Line

Although it is not a large sum of money, $ is well worth investing. With many of the options we looked at, particularly ETFs, sums as small as $50 or even $20 are worth investing on a regular basis. It bears repeating that investing is an incremental game. You probably won’t go from $ to independently wealthy with a single investment. Instead, an investment of $ can help you in the direction of financial security and broaden your financial education as a side benefit.  

For many, was a difficult year not only mentally and physically, but also financially. Between layoffs and shutdowns, people across the country were finding themselves without a paycheck for an unknown period of time.

Now that we&#;ve turned a corner in thanks to stimulus checks and reopening businesses, the economy is slowly beginning to rebalance and personal finances are building back up. If you find yourself with surplus cash, you may want to consider investing some of the funds into your future.

While investing can be a scary deep end to jump into, it doesn’t mean you can’t start small. Even with $1,, you can put it towards long-term investment strategies. Here are 12 of my latest strategies and avenues on how to invest a sum of money that will benefit you in the long run.

1. Fund Your Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

Setting yourself up for a healthy financial future starts by thinking about yourself early and often. Whether you are young and just beginning your career or in the middle of it, opening up, and contributing to, an IRA account should be a top priority. These types of IRAs allow individuals to set aside tax-free money over time that can grow exponentially.

For many workers with either a K or Roth IRA—the two most popular types of retirement accounts—it is a wise option to contribute a portion of a paycheck each pay period in order to keep building the amount in the account over time.

If you decide to go the direct deposit route, or on the contrary, add to it when you prefer, it won’t hurt to have your money compounding for when you need it during retirement.

Consider splitting your $1, sum over time to take advantage of dollar-cost averaging, or even contribute in sums of thousands if you can at an early age. The quicker you start an IRA the better investment it will be later on in life.

2. Invest in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Mutual Funds, or Index Funds

The stock market can be a financial goldmine if you have the knowledge and resources to make smart investments. Especially with $1,, it can be the perfect amount to get you on the front foot.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are one example of an investment that you can make strategically. An ETF is a basket of securities exchanged on the market, just like a stock.

Real-world examples include investing in bond ETFs and currency ETFs that constantly fluctuate. The beauty of investing in these is having access to many stocks across various industries as well as low expense ratios and fewer broker commissions.

The same goes for both mutual funds and index funds. Handled by a professional broker, putting a grand into these assets is typically the best “bang for your buck.” While a mutual fund aims to beat a given stock market index, an index fund seeks to match an index and grow from there.

While they might be different in strategy, they are both great options to research as you look into the market. Read more about ETFs, mutual, and index funds here.

3. Open a High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA)

Saving money is important at any stage of your life and investing your money into a savings account can be a smart move. Especially as the competition surrounding saving rates and online banking has heated up over the past few years.

A high-yield savings account in particular, which has become increasingly popular, is a type of account that pays x more savings and interest rates than a standard savings account. This means you can earn money on your sum by having it simply sit in your account and collect interest!

The reason many have turned to these types of accounts is the ease in making transfers between checking accounts and savings accounts. Institutions offering HYSAs are often a one-stop shop for many people in terms of having all accounts in one place.

The simplicity of e-transferring funds between is as effortless as the interest you are gaining in your account. If you choose to use $1, towards an HYSA, be sure to research requirements for accounts before you make a decision.

Some frequently asked questions are: Will that amount be enough to open one?, What is the minimum balance required for the account?, etc. These kinds of accounts can be the perfect investment as a rainy day savings account.

Some savings accounts that I would recommend are Aspiration, Axos Bank, CIT, and SoFi. You can see the latest APY&#;s in the table below:

4. Open a Robo-Advisor Account

Financial technology (fintech) is a tool that every person investing their money should be keen to use. If you have $1, and you’re looking for a solution that can help you with an investment strategy, look into opening a robo-advisor account.

If you’re unfamiliar with these sorts of accounts, they are AI-driven, algorithmic-based digital platforms that provide financial advice, trends, and information that can help out investors.

The best robo-advisors can take care of many of the tedious tasks that you would normally work with a normal advisor on, such as account management, goal setting, and portfolio management.

Since these kinds of accounts require little to no fees and can provide a plethora of services, taking a chunk of your $1, sum and putting it toward this should be a no-brainer investment. If you’re looking for a low-risk and high-reward investment, this kind of account can do wonders for you as you navigate your financial journey throughout life.

5. Buy Individual Stocks

For the most simple kind of investment that has to do with the market, buying individual stocks is definitely the route to go. While this can be the riskiest investment since many decisions are made on your own, it can also be the best way to turn $1, into tens of thousands of dollars.

If you have a strategic financial mindset, you should do some research about different small investment ideas and the best practices for you. Start with ensuring that you are financially stable enough to be making stock investments.

This means having minimal debt and paid off credit cards. Then, look into different brokers online that can help you buy stocks. Each platform will have different pricing packages and fees to make orders.

Finally, the easy part is placing stock orders! Fund your account with your $1, investment and get to work. Remember that the market is only open Monday to Friday, everyday from am to 4 pm Eastern Time. Make sure you are prepared to get your orders in during that active window.

Be sure to keep track of your stocks as well by checking them frequently. Try not to get too emotionally invested in the ups and downs of your certain stocks. Just stay knowledgeable about how they are performing so you can make smart choices on when to buy more or sell.

6. Buy Cryptocurrencies

If there’s one trend from the pandemic that has exploded into , it’s the rise in cryptocurrencies. Most famously those of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin that have made the front pages of the press over the past year, these forms of currency are digitally encrypted forms of payment that can be used to buy goods and services online.

While each kind of cryptocurrency has a price associated with the currency (e.g., 1 Bitcoin equals $29, and 1 Ethereum equals $1,), these currencies work similarly to stocks in that they rise and fall.

This is how a $1, investment can become profitable. As supply and demand shifts, these cryptocurrencies and more businesses begin to accept it as a form of payment in the years to come. It&#;s also easy to find the best places to buy Bitcoin and other crypto.

Being ahead of the game before this practice becomes a commonplace in society, it can score you some extra spending cash. There are over 4, cryptocurrencies out there right now and investing in the next big thing could score you a fairytale kind of come up.

7. Invest in Real Estate (REITs)

One of my favorite strategies for investing money right now is in real estate investment trusts (or REITs). What are these you may ask? These are companies that own massive amounts of real estate and properties all over the world. From houses to apartment complexes, warehouses, data centers to medical buildings, real estate conglomerates are booming right now as life returns to normalcy.

Since many people are returning to work and/or searching for a new place to live, the real estate industry is extremely active right now, which means these trust companies are turning a pretty penny. The way investors make money is simply when these companies make money! Dividends are distributed based on the income they make from leasing space and collecting rent.

It’s really that simple. These companies can be found on main stock exchanges and invested in that way or brokers can help investors find REIT mutual funds or ETFs too. You can get access to real estate investments by using apps like Fundrise that let you invest in REITs and can get started with only $ to $1,

Best for REITs

Fundrise

Fundrise is a very easy-to-use app that allows individuals to access crowd-funded real estate investing. This option is best for users who want to make money consistently and let their money make them money.

Open Account Fundrise Review

8. Pay Off Liabilities & Invest in Future Benefits

Compiling debt is something that almost everyone experiences at some point in their financial journey. If you find yourself falling behind or feeling stressed about your finances, paying off your debt by using debt reduction apps and investing in your future is a great way to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Start with looking backward and focusing on the things you’ve spent money on that need to be paid for now. For example, credit card debt and auto loans are the two major avenues you should look to pay off before moving onto bigger ventures such as your mortgage and student loans. Since your credit score (which allows you to have more financial freedom) weighs heavily on the two former factors, these are the kinds of priorities you should be tackling first.

After you pay off the past, look to the future and find ways you can save $1, each month and in your everyday life so you’re not constantly catching up on payments. Some examples are as easy as using money saving apps or include purchasing a home warranty on kitchen appliances at a one-time fee in case they break (instead of paying a much heftier fee later) or staying up to date on your car warranty in case of any accidents and/or part malfunctions. These are simple gestures and investments you can make right now in your everyday life that will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.

9. Try Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending

If you’re looking to go with a straightforward investing route with $1,, look into trying out peer-to-peer lending. This eliminates the middleman of a financial institution. Connecting lenders with investors at the source, this is a place you can get personal about money, stocks, and investments.

Because investors get better rates than typical banks, and lenders don’t have to worry about the financial institution’s cut being taken, it’s typically a win-win scenario for both parties. If you’re looking for a loan of some sort, this option can give you some of the best rates around. Be sure to do some research because even P2P lending websites take a fraction of the transaction as well.

Start a College Savings Plan

Whether you’re a parent thinking about sending your child to college, or a prospective student yourself, setting yourself up properly for the financial aspect of school should be done early.

If you have $1, dollars handy, why not think about launching a savings plan to cover school? This kind of investment account can even offer tax benefits as well to qualified parents.

Similar to a Roth IRA, a Plan works as a compounding account that can grow interest and “free money” over time. This is why it’s important to start early! Whether you want to start with one deposit of $1, or contribute a monthly amount to keep growing your total, it can only help before, during college when you’re paying it off, and after school as you continue to make payments.

As a cherry on top, most s don’t have any effect on financial aid eligibility so you don’t have to worry about that when it comes to applying to schools. If you’re a parent or a young adult, this kind of educational investment should be top of mind.

Start Your Own Business

In , everyone started a side hustle to make a few extra bucks, but what about turning a passion project into a full-scale business? This could be a smart way of investing $1, if you’re looking to make the leap with your specific hobby or idea.

Of course, there are many building blocks and steps you must go through before investing money into your idea, but remember that even a smaller amount of cash can get you jump-started with your business.

Some of my favorite ways this amount of money could be used include launching a website for your brand or even running some social media campaigns to get your business in front of the eyes of consumers.

As you start from square one, these efforts will allow you to grow and will turn your initial investment into profits for your business. For more inspiration on how to get started, check out this article about how to start a business from the ground up.

Invest In Yourself with Online Courses

Last but not least, investing in your own education is always something that will help you out over the course of your life.

Learning valuable skills about finance, literature, art, or any other interest you have can drive your own career and passions forward. It can also help you feel fulfilled and intelligent as you progress throughout your life.

Nowadays, there are so many inexpensive platforms that offer online courses to better your understanding of certain subjects. For example, LinkedIn Learning and Coursera are just a few examples that can teach you anything from financial literacy, to music production, to learning to speak French.

Don’t forget about online college courses as well! Tons of colleges and universities across the nation offer online opportunities that can kickstart a new degree or path in your life. Education is power!

How to Invest 1, Dollars: The Bottom Line

No matter where you decide to invest your $1,, be sure to be strategic about if it’s the right thing and right time to put your money in that venture.

While money is temporary, time is forever, and investing properly in different avenues can make for an enjoyable and fulfilling life. Be sure to let us know how you’re investing too. What is your latest come-up? Let us know!

FAQs

Best for alternative investing

One common investing myth is that you need a lot of money to get started.

This is sometimes true. Financial planners and investment advisors often require clients to have a relatively sizable amount of money to invest in order to work with them. Similarly, popular financial management software like Personal Capital requires $, to use their wealth management service.

However, while some investments require significant capital, you can still begin investing with small amounts of money. In fact, a range of investment options becomes available once you hit the $1, mark. If you can save up this amount of money, you can begin a fruitful investing journey and grow your wealth for years to come.

The Best Ways to Invest $1,

There isn’t a correct formula for how to invest $1, Ultimately, you should consider several factors when selecting your investment method, such as:

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Different investment time horizons, risks, and levels of involvement influence what investing method suits your goals and personality. If you’re unsure how to answer these questions, start by setting your long-term financial goals so you can start planning your investing strategy with an end in mind.

1. Use a Robo-Advisor

If you want to invest $1, as passively as possible, using a robo-advisor is your best option.

Robo-advisors automate your investing strategy by investing your money into assets that match your long-term goals and risk tolerance. Typically, robo-advisors invest in various stocks, bonds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Many leading robo-advisors also offer features like portfolio rebalancing, dividend reinvesting, and even tax-loss harvesting.

Robo-advisors aren’t the same as financial planners. With a financial planner, you get tailored financial advice, which typically covers topics beyond just investing, such as budgeting and estate planning.

In contrast, robo-advisors use algorithms to choose the best investments for you; they aren’t there to talk about funding your child’s education or specific financial questions you have.

However, unlike many human advisors, many robo-advisors have funding requirements under $1, In fact, some robo-advisors have a $0 account minimum. This makes them beginner-friendly and ideal if you want to invest $1, or even less.

Several leading robo-advisors include:

• SoFi Invest. A $1 minimum investment requirement; no annual advisory fees; account options include individual and joint investment accounts, traditional and Roth IRAs, and simplified employee pension (SEP) IRAs.
• Betterment. No minimum investment requirement; pay % in annual fees for accounts under $,; upgrade to Betterment’s premium plan, which includes financial advice for % in annual fees; account options are the same as SoFi Invest plus you can invest with a (k) or trust account.
• Wealthfront. A $ minimum investment requirement; pay % in annual advisory fees; account options are the same as Betterment plus you can invest with a College Savings Plan.
• Ellevest. No minimum investment requirement; pay $1-, $5-, or $9 per month depending on the plan you select; designed by women to help other women build wealth; account options are the same as SoFI invest with the exception of joint accounts.

Betterment and Wealthfront provide tax-loss harvesting and have more account options than both SoFi Invest and Ellevest.

Betterment’s premium plan provides unlimited call and email support with Betterment’s certified financial planners. However, you need a $, account minimum to upgrade to Betterment premium, so keep that in mind for a long-term goal.

If you want to avoid account management fees, SoFi Invest is for you. Similarly, Ellevest’s monthly pricing structure can be cheaper than paying a percentage fee depending on your portfolio size.

Ultimately, you should choose a robo-advisor that has the account type you’re looking for and is as low-cost as possible. Tax-loss harvesting is a useful feature for higher net worth individuals. But for investing $1,, any leading robo-advisor can help get you started with wealth building.

2. Invest With an Online Brokerage Account

If you prefer DIY investing and don’t want to pay robo-advisor fees, you’re in luck. The past few years have seen a rise in online stock brokers you can use to buy individual stocks and ETFs to create your own portfolio.

Plus, many stockbrokers don’t charge commissions on stocks or ETFs, meaning your trades don’t cut into your starting investment.

Some online stock brokers you can use to begin investing include:

• Stash Invest. No minimum account requirement; plans range from $1 to $9 per month; invest in fractional shares of stocks and ETFs for as little as $; use other features like a stock-back rewards card, personal finance advice, retirement planning help, and Stash banking.
• Robinhood. No minimum account requirement; commission-free cash trades for stocks, ETFs, and options; includes alternative investments like cryptocurrency or precious metal securities.
• Webull. No minimum account requirement; commission-free trading; longer trading windows than platforms like Stash; more comprehensive stock market research tools than platforms like Robinhood.
• TD Ameritrade. No minimum investment requirement; commission-free trading; low-cost options trading; variety of research tools to suit novice and experienced investors alike.
• J.P. Morgan. A $1 account minimum; commission-free stock and ETF trading; options, fixed-income investments, and mutual funds are also available; a robo-advisor option is also available with a % annual advisory fee.

Like choosing a robo-advisor, finding the right online stock broker takes some research. For starters, check what account opening bonuses are available for the stockbrokers you’re considering. Investing platforms are willing to pay for your business, so you’ll often find that platforms award free stocks or cash bonuses for opening and funding a new account.

For example, Webull usually runs a free stock account opening bonus that gives you up to four free stocks with a potential value of over $3, Similarly, Stash has a $5 account opening bonus.

You should also consider how frequently you want to trade and whether investing in fractional shares is important. Fractional shares let you invest with a small amount of money, so you can still invest in expensive stocks like Amazon or Alphabet (Google) without buying entire shares that may cost more than $1, apiece.

If fractional shares are important, try Stash or Robinhood. If you’re looking for more stock research tools, Webull, TD Ameritrade, and J.P. Morgan are excellent options for beginner and experienced investors alike.

3. A High-Yield Savings Account and Emergency Fund

Although it might not seem as exciting as investing in the stock market, putting your money to work in a high-yield savings account is one of the smartest money moves you can make if you haven’t built your savings yet.

Putting money aside to start building an emergency fund helps protect you from unexpected expenses. A general rule of thumb is that you should have at least six months of expenses put aside to cover sudden emergencies like losing your job, car repairs, or medical expenses.

Although $1, isn’t enough to get there, it’s a strong start for your emergency fund and can help get you out of tricky financial situations down the line.

If you’re looking for a competitive high-yield savings account, one option is the CIT Savings Builder. This account offers a competitive annual percentage yield (APY) and only requires $ to fund an account. Furthermore, you unlock the highest possible APY if you deposit at least $ per month, which is manageable if you put a portion of your paycheck aside.

Putting $1, into a savings account won’t rapidly accelerate wealth building. However, it’s important to have cash on the side in case of emergencies, and $1, is an excellent starting point if you’re still building your emergency fund.

4. Tackle High-Interest Debt

Like putting money into a high-yield savings account, paying off debt with your $1, isn’t investing in the traditional sense. But, if you can use that money to chip away at high-interest debt, the amount of money you save in the long run on interest payments can be worth it.

Figuring out whether you should invest or pay off debt isn’t always straightforward. However, one efficient strategy is to aggressively pay off debt with the highest interest rate in order to free up more money for investing in the future. This is known as the debt snowball method.

Likely, this means putting your $1, and any extra cash you have toward debts like credit card debt, auto loans, or payday loans. As you eliminate your worst categories of debt, your investing options become more flexible.

For example, if you have a fairly low interest rate on your student loans or a low mortgage rate, it sometimes makes sense to make those minimum payments and to put any extra income into investments. However, this can only be done once you clear up your most costly debt.

This plan to invest $1, might seem disappointing because you aren’t putting the money to work in the market. But, if your $1, helps you become debt-free faster, this is certainly money well-spent.

5. Invest in Real Estate

Although it might surprise you, another way to invest $1, is to invest in real estate.

Investing in real estate used to be prohibitively expensive. You generally need serious capital to buy a rental property. Plus, many crowdfunding websites are only open to accredited investors, which requires having a net worth of at least $1 million, an annual income of $,, or an annual income of $, for married couples.

However, you can still invest in real estate with $1, or less thanks to real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs only invest in income-generating properties through purchasing real estate, providing loans, or buying preexisting mortgage contracts. REITs are also required to pay at least 90% of profit back to shareholders in dividends.

Ultimately, this 90% requirement means REITs are an excellent way to diversify your portfolio with real estate and to earn dividends. Plus, you can start investing in real estate with companies like DiversyFund with just $

DiversyFund is a newer player in the REIT market and is similar to companies like Fundrise. With DiversyFund, you invest in a growth REIT that invests in cash-flowing apartment buildings. This multifamily real estate investment strategy has a $ investment minimum and is available to all U.S. residents who are 18 or older.

DiversyFund states that the goal of this fund is long-term appreciation from renovation and repositioning of multifamily properties the fund invests in. In other words, DiversyFund acquires undervalued real estate developments, renovates them, and eventually sells them for profit.

As an investor, you don’t pay management fees, which is different than most REITs. However, because DiversyFund is the developer of their properties, they charge between 2% to 8% in development fees to pay for renovations.

According to DiversyFund, investors saw average annualized returns of 18%, and investors saw average annualized returns of %. This is strong albeit limited historical performance, but Diversyfund ultimately makes real estate investing more accessible for new investors.

Check out our DiversyFund review for more information.

6. Peer-to-Peer Lending

If investing in the stock market or real estate isn’t appealing, another option for investing $1, is to use peer-to-peer (P2P) lending.

P2P lending, also called person-to-person lending, involves lending money to individuals or business owners, almost as though you were a bank underwriting a loan. In exchange for loaning money, you receive interest payments. How much you earn depends on the level of risk associated with a loan and the length of the loan.

P2P lending is ideal for investors more comfortable with risk because if a borrower defaults on their payments, you lose your capital. In order to reduce risk, many P2P lending companies let you buy notes, which are shares of individual loans.

By spreading out your investment across multiple notes of different risk levels, you protect yourself from having a single borrower default and losing your entire investment.

One of the most popular P2P lending platforms you can try is Prosper. You buy notes on Prosper starting at $ This means a $1, starting investment is enough to create a diversified portfolio of notes across various loans.

According to Prosper, historical returns on the platform average %. However, the level of loan risk influences annual return potential:

• AA-Bs Loans: % to % historical annual returns
• High-Risk Loans: % to % historical annual returns
• All Loans: % to % historical annual returns

Additionally, Prosper charges a 1% assessment fee for every loan since they have to vet borrowers. A $25 initial deposit is also a requirement to start investing in notes.

With $1,, you can invest in 40 notes, which is a start for diversification. However, P2P lending still poses risks, and Prosper funds aren’t FDIC-insured. If enough of your notes default, you might lose most of your starting capital, so keep this risk in mind.

Check out our Prosper review for more information.

7. Invest in Small Businesses Through Bonds

If you’re looking for a relatively safe investment you can turn to for your retirement planning or other long-term investments, you’ve probably considered investing in bonds.

A bond is a debt instrument that helps businesses and governments borrow money. When you buy a bond, it’s essentially an agreement that you’re funding a loan for a specific amount of time. Bonds have a fixed rate of interest payments, and once a bond term ends, the borrower pays back the entire principal.

Generally, bonds are a safe investment because the chance of a borrower like a government body defaulting on a loan is low. Municipal bonds, which are issued by states and local governments, are also relatively safe.

Finally, corporate bonds are the riskiest type of bond because they are issued to corporations, which have a higher chance to go bankrupt than cities, states, or government entities.

Despite their safety, there are several disadvantages to investing in bonds. First, bonds have a lower rate of return than stocks on average because of how safe bonds are. Plus, bonds can have long term lengths, meaning you’re locking up your money for years at a fixed rate of return.

If inflation increases, your bonds can actually lose you money. And, if you need to sell your bond before its maturation date, you typically pay a commission fee and markdown which reduces your sales price.

Bonds are still a worthwhile investment if you’re willing to accept their fixed income and don’t need your $1, for the course of the bond’s term.

Additionally, companies like Worthy are creating a more flexible and lucrative way to invest in bonds.

With Worthy Bonds, you can invest in bonds that help fund small businesses and nonprofits. Worthy Bonds issues bonds for as low as $10 and pays a fixed 5% annual interest rate. There aren’t any fees, and bonds have a month term length.

One massive difference is you can cash out your bonds any time without paying fees or penalties. Alternatively, you can withdraw interest without selling your bonds.

A $1, investment with Worthy Bonds would return $50 in your first year, and you can always invest extra cash into $10 bonds.

Check out our Worthy Bonds review for more information.

8. Alternative Investments

Many investors rely on traditional investments like stocks, bonds, and ETFs to build wealth. This is largely because these securities are accessible, don’t require much starting capital, and are more easily understood thanks to research tools and analysts&#; commentary.

In contrast, alternative investments are a less common, riskier investment option. However, if you accept a lower level of liquidity and more risk, alternative investments are a viable option to invest $1,

Investing in art is one example. Historically, you needed an immense amount of capital to buy fine art, which wasn’t accessible for beginner investors. Thankfully, with Masterworks, you can now invest in fractional interest in fine art to diversify your investment portfolio.

Masterworks sources fine art that their team believes will increase in value over the next three to 10 years. Once the team purchases a piece, Masterworks files an offering circular with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to securitize the artwork to let people invest in it. Shares in artwork are $20, and there’s a $1, minimum account funding requirement.

Masterworks charges a % annual fee in the form of equity, so you don’t actually incur out-of-pocket expenses for being an investor. Additionally, Masterworks takes 20% of future profits. However, although you can wait for a piece to sell to recoup your investment, you can also sell your shares on Masterworks’ secondary marketplace to exit earlier.

Artwork is just one example of alternative investments that don’t require much starting capital. Other alternative investment ideas include:

• Farmland through companies like FarmTogether
• Investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum
• Buying musical royalties on Songvest
• Investing in fine wine through Vinovest
• Buying rights to natural resources like water or minerals

Granted, alternative investments aren’t for everyone. Typically, these investments are less liquid and more volatile than traditional securities. If you’re a cautious investor, sticking with a robo-advisor or real estate are likely better choices for investing $1,

9. Start an Online Business

One of the advantages of making money online is that there are usually few barriers to entry. After all, as long as you have a reliable Internet connection and computer, the online world is your oyster.

Starting an online business isn’t different. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar businesses that have expenses like rent and employees, many online businesses require minimal startup capital and have low operational costs.

Plus, there are numerous online business ideas that cater to different skills and industries. Some popular examples include:

Most of these business ideas just require starting a WordPress website with an affordable host like Bluehost to showcase your portfolio and services. Other ideas like selling on Etsy can require investing in tools and materials to create products. However, the bottom line is that $1, is usually enough to test proof-of-concept.

Start by brainstorming business ideas that cater to your existing skills and sound enjoyable. Once you pick an idea, treat it as a side hustle outside of your main job and grow it over time. If the money you earn from your side business begins to scale, you can even consider quitting your job to go all-in on your business.

Buy a Course

If you’re looking for another way to invest $1, that’s different than investing in regular securities, putting the money toward your education is an option that has life-changing potential.

Unlike a college education, which generally costs tens of thousands of dollars, you can find affordable online courses on any subject to expand your skill set. If you feel like you’re not getting traction in the job market or want to learn a new skill for a business idea you have, online courses offer a solution.

Udemy is one affordable course platform worth trying. Thousands of courses cost under $20, and you can learn specific skills like:

• A new programming language
• Graphic design skills
• Web development
• Data analytics
• Photography
• Cybersecurity
• Languages

There’s also a healthy range of courses for different experience levels, so beginners and experts can hone their skills on Udemy.

However, you don’t have to confine yourself to one education platform. If you’re looking for something more specific and entrepreneurial, chances are there’s a course out there.

For example, courses like $10K VA teach you how to scale a profitable virtual assistant business from home. Similarly, the Earn More Writing course helps freelance writers find more clients and increase their writing rates to accelerate their careers.

Both courses cost under $ and also grant access to a community of other entrepreneurs where you can learn from industry experts.

Granted, purchasing a course is a different approach to investing $1, because you’re investing in knowledge rather than a traditional security. However, when you consider the income-generating potential of acquiring new skills, spending money on a course could be one of the most powerful investments you ever make.

Final Word

At the end of the day, investing doesn’t have to be complicated or inaccessible. In fact, there are more investment options than ever before thanks to the power of technology.

Chances are your $1, investment won&#;t make or break your future by itself. However, starting to invest as early as possible is one of the best financial decisions you can make. After all, with compound interest and time on your side, your $1, can turn into the start of your nest egg and long-term financial security.

Sign Up

The bad news: The $ in your sock drawer isn’t going to magically grow on its own.

The good news: If you’re smart with your investments, you can turn $ into a lot more.

While a lot of financial advisors have investing minimums, there are a few ways that you can get started on the investment ladder.

If you’re ready to boost your bank account and see yourself as the next Kwanza Jones, our founder and billionaire Boost Friend, here are some tips for you.

1. Online trading platforms

If you want to kickstart your portfolio and don’t mind putting in some hours reading, then an online trading platform could be a great way to put yourself to the test.

It’s going to take a solid time investment for you to look out for a platform that does what you want it to. Some starting places are TD Ameritrade or E*Trade, where you can find out how to pick the best online broker for you.

If you’re interested in picking out your own investments, take a look at exchange-traded funds or ETFs - they’re known for being low cost but still providing you with diversification benefits.

2. Lend to those in need and earn some interest

You know as well as we do that no one succeeds alone. If you want your money to do good for others while it does some good for you, then check out peer-to-peer lending.

Online resources like Lending Club let you lend to borrowers via an online service, and earn a little interest as you do it. This is a way that you can use your money to make a serious difference in somebody else’s life - while also helping yourself at the same time. Now that’s a real #moneyboost!

3. Find a robo-advisor

If you can’t see yourself spending the time and energy on investing by yourself, you might want to see what a robo-advisor can do.

A robo-advisor is automatic software designed to help manage a portfolio. You choose your investment goal, and how much risk you can handle, and just let the software do its thing.

4. Invest in your kids' college education

If you have little wonders, or you’re planning on having them, you might want to start saving for their college education now.

College tuition has been increasing by % for the past 20 years, and it looks like these costs are only going to get higher. So why not take a look at a college savings plan, which can offer you some great tax advantages?

These plans vary depending on the state that you live in, so make sure you check out your state’s college savings plan.

5. Pay down your debt

We know this might not quite be what you want to hear, but consider spending that $ on your debt.

If you’ve got credit cards, you might find that you’re paying in the double digits when it comes to your APR.

Meanwhile, if you’re investing in the stock market, you might only get a 7% or 8% return. So while it might not feel like an exciting investment, you could find yourself debt-free and able to do more by clearing your debt first.

6. Start a Roth IRA

A APR is a little-known but truly awesome investment to consider.

Essentially, you pay tax to add money to your Roth IRA - but then you get a tax break during retirement when you withdraw the money.

This is a great way to invest in your future to make sure that you’ll be able to enjoy your retirement when you get there.

7. Diversifying

When you’re looking to invest your money, it’s important that you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. After all, if you buy some stocks or shares in your favorite company, you might find yourself on a single-stock rollercoaster.

Rememberwe’re talking about how to be SMART with your investments. Start making some good money habits now and you’ll find that later down the line you’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Investing $1, may feel like a lot to you now, but it can lead to even more rewards in the future. The good thing about starting now is that you’ll start reshaping the way you think about money so that you can make every penny count.

As Kwanza Jones says, “pennies make millions”! So why let any penny go to waste!

For more money boosts, check out our Millionaire Mindset group in our SUPERCHARGED Boost Friends™ community. Here, you’ll connect with like-minded next-level seekers and learn how to make your money grow instead of letting your money go.

Investing can be daunting. I know I didn’t invest, outside of my retirement accounts at work, because I was worried about taxes.

At least that’s what I told myself.

The real reason was uncertainty. That’s the toughest part about investing – am I making the right choice? Am I diversified? What does that even mean?

It wasn’t about education. I know the basics to investing, you probably do too (but review it if you don’t), but it wasn’t about information. It was about action. Or rather fear of action.

I grapple with those questions every time I review my finances. Fear of the unknoroberwn can be paralyzing but it doesn’t have to be.

I overcame that fear of the unknown when I started reading about investing. All the expert opinion agreed that investing was the right choice. Taking action today was the best choice and a little risk and volatility were acceptable if my time horizon was long enough. If you need the money in two years, keep it in something safe and stable. If you don’t need it for twenty, you can put it in something riskier.

If you’re sitting on the sidelines, a little worried about what to do next especially after the Great Recession and subsequent bounce back, the consensus is still the same.

Invest. (well almost %!)

Below, you’ll see the opinions of 25 money experts. I asked all types, from certified financial advisers to bloggers, from university professors to professional investors; I wanted to get a variety of opinions to see what they all said but they all echoed a similar message.

Here’s what they said (click here for high level takeaways):

First, something you won’t hear often…

Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and blogger at the uber popular Marginal Revolution, has a simple suggestion:

Spend it!

Rates of return are low right now.

Who said economics was dismal! 🙂

Pay Down Debt

Dr. Jim Dahle of The White Coat Investor, recommends folks cover their bases first:

The typical investor with “$ to invest” ought to put that $ toward his credit cards. If he’s out of debt, at least besides a low interest rate mortgage, then it ought to go into a (k) if he has a match. If not, then maybe a Roth IRA in a simple mutual fund like a Vanguard Target Retirement fund.

I agree %, if you have credit card debt you shouldn’t be investing just yet!

Start with the End in Mind

Larry Ludwig, Founder of Investor Junkie:

Start with the end in mind. What’s the purpose of investing? Retirement, home purchase, higher education? From there work backwards and helps determine everything else.

One Recommendation for a Fund, One Recommendation for a Stock

This gem is provided to us by Robert R. Johnson, PhD, CFA, CAIA, and former president and CEO of The American College of Financial Services. He has co-authored several books including Strategic Value Investing, Invest With the Fed, Investment Banking for Dummies, and The Tools and Techniques of Investment Planning — he knows his stuff!

Investing in a diversified stock index fund is the best investment idea. For instance, the Vanguard Index Fund Investor Shares (VFINX) invests in of the largest US companies. The fund is diversified and has a very low fee structure. It is an ideal first investment and one that the investor can continually add to by buying more shares. And, unlike owning a single security, a fund is typically less volatile. Volatility can discourage novice investors.

If one wants to purchase a single company stock, there is none better than Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway B shares (BRK-B). Berkshire owns more than 60 different operating companies like See’s Candies and Dairy Queen. In addition, Berkshire has positions in many large publicly traded companies like Coca Cola and American Express. The side benefit of Berkshire Hathaway is that shareholders benefit from receiving the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report and the wisdom of Mr. Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger.

Focus on a Strategy

Dividend Growth Investor, a blogger I’ve read for many many years, shares his approach:

Before I invested my money, I decided what my investing goals should be. I spent time researching various investment strategies. Then I focused on one strategy, and learned all there was to it. When I was ready, I opened a brokerage account where I wasn’t charged for stock trades. Using the knowledge I accumulated initially, I created an equally weighted portfolio of roughly 30 – 40 dividend aristocrats to hold for the long term.

Those companies were expected to generate roughly $35 – $40 in annual dividend income. There was no cost to buy or to hold those shares ( many of which I still hold today) If I were starting all over, I would likely deposit $1, in Robinhood, and build my own portfolio.

We have this list of dividend aristocrats organized by payout month if you want to build your own monthly dividend paycheck.

Focus on Yourself

Michael Kitces, CFP, Co-Founder of the XY Planning Network, Publisher of the Nerd’s Eye View financial planning blog, advises:

The conventional wisdom is that young people should ‘save early and save often’ in retirement accounts, but the reality is that your greatest asset when you’re young is your ability to work and earn money in the future. Which means taking your available dollars and investing them in your “human account” – yourself – can actually generate far greater long-term than even saving in a tax-free Roth IRA! In fact, investing $1, in yourself and getting “just” a $ raise to your base salary – which becomes the new base you negotiate from for all future raises, too – can produce 20X the additional wealth of just putting it in a tax-free Roth! Invest in yourself!

Index but Educate Yourself

John Paul Engel, Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at the University of Iowa and founder of Knowledge Capital Consulting:

A no load index fund from a company like Vanguard is a good place to invest $1,

The famed fund manager that grew Fidelity, Peter Lynch, suggests that people invest in what they know. He wrote a book called Beating The Street where he taught grade schoolers how to construct a portfolio that outperformed the average professional investor. I would suggest every new investor read that book. Get it from the library and the ROI is even higher.

I’ve learned so much by reading books but have yet to read this one by Lynch, I’ll have to check it out.

Innoculate Yourself Against Emotion Early

Steven Jon Kaplan, investment counselor and the blogger behind True Contrarian, suggests a strategy that will help you innoculate yourself against the rollercoaster of emotions when you invest:

Out of one thousand dollars, I would recommend putting dollars into a myRA account which pays 2% annually (the U.S. government thrift savings plan “G” fund) and teaches you about compounding interest tax-free.

I would put the other dollars into an E*TRADE account and trading only their commission-free funds to understand what investing is about and to learn the emotions of fluctuating assets.

NOTE: myRA was discontinued in but the idea behind this suggestion (to insulate yourself from emotions in your investing) is still useful.

Fellow blogger Kristin Wong explains why you might want to accumulate more:

Personally, I would wait and save enough to invest in a low-cost index fund like VTSMX, which has a $3, minimum.

Index funds are simple.

The other option is to invest in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) like VTI. To me, ETFs are a little more complicated than index funds, because they trade like regular stocks, and that might be intimidating if you’re new to investing. But there’s no minimum purchase price with an ETF, and it’s still a diversified, boring, solid investment.

Be Conservative Early On

Brian from Lazy Man and Money advises a cautious approach:

I’d hate for a novice to lose too much money… they may lose interest in investing forever. For this reason I’d err on the conservative side. One thing I’d look at is Vanguard’s Star mutual fund which happens to have a $1, investment minimum. It’s a balanced mix of stocks and bonds so it should be relatively stable while growing money over the long haul.

Another idea would be to look into the Robo-Advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront (compare the two). I think these are relatively safe ways to invest.

Invest In The Index

Pauline Paquin, Reach Financial Independence was one of the first responses to focus on index investing… but she would not be the last!

Keep it simple and low risk. Invest in index funds with a low fee broker. Most novice investors make the mistake of exiting trades too early when they start making a profit, and keeping losses for too long. So just leave it there, and watch it grow overtime. Even funds managers have a hard time beating the market.

Miranda Marquit, Planting Money Seeds share a similar idea —

Start with an index ETF. I love indexing because it’s a good way to see instant diversification without a lot of trouble. An all market ETF offers you the chance to keep pace with returns, and comes with low costs. It’s a good way to get the best bang for your investment dollar.

Invest in a Risk Profile

The Investor @ Monevator adds another vote to index investing:

I’d suggest a novice investor starts with a simple index tracker fund or ETF. Perhaps the best option is the Vanguard LifeStrategy series. It mixes bonds and equities to suit your risk tolerance, so you can start with baby steps or dive straight in — a good way to get a sense of how you respond to volatility in your investment account (although this might feel a bit different when you have $10, in there, let alone $,!)

Because it’s so cheap and tracks the market — yet effective — this very simple solution will beat the majority of expensively managed fund portfolios out there. Magic!

Keep Costs Low

John Schmoll of Frugal Rules reminds us that we can predict one thing — fees:

“The best way to invest $1,, especially if you’re new to investing, is through a low-cost broad-based index fund. It’s not the most exciting option to choose, but it’s the wisest for a number of reasons.

Not only will it help you ride the ups and downs of the market smoother, it will also significantly reduce just how much you’re paying to invest. Don’t give into the myth that investing “only” $1, isn’t worth the effort. It’s very much worth the effort as it’ll help build a foundation for growing your wealth.

If that’s not enough, Warren Buffett recommends this same approach for many – so you’ll be in good company.

Employ a Long Term, Low Cost, Diversified Position

Natalie Bacon, Financegirl, shares a more detailed approach:

I believe the best way to invest $1, is to create a small, diversified investment portfolio that you can build off in the future. Do this by opening an individual investment account at a brokerage firm. Before you choose which investments to put in your portfolio, decide what you want your asset allocation to be. Asset allocation is the most important part of your portfolio – more important than the actual securities you choose to invest in. Asset allocation is the mix of types of investments you want in your portfolio (e.g.: 80% equities, 10% bonds, and 10% Market Diversifiers).

Consider your risk tolerance, goals, and time horizon when deciding what your asset allocation will be. Once you decide on an asset allocation, choose ETFs and mutual funds to put in your portfolio according to your asset allocation. Research funds that fit within each asset class in order to build a diversified portfolio. When you’re analyzing which funds to use, remember not only to look at risk and return, but also look at fees.

For example, if you choose a fund with a load, you are paying a commission. This is why I prefer no-load mutual funds. Once you have selected a few funds to make up your small portfolio, buy them and monitor your portfolio over time. As you have more money to invest, use your asset allocation as the blueprint to invest and rebalance your portfolio. When you invest more money, use a dollar-cost averaging approach (don’t try to time the market).

This is a long-term investing strategy that I believe in.

Pick and Choose Stocks…

Barbara Friedberg, Robo-Advisor Pros, suggests something slightly different. Rather than S&P, she thinks a more worldly view is appropriate (she owns the ETF she mentions):

If you can leave the money invested for at least 10 years and are not looking for a quick turnaround, I’d suggest investing $1, in the Vanguard Total World Index ETF Stock fund (VT). Although returns have for this fund have been lower than that of the S&P over the last 8 years, if you believe that the total world economies will grow and prosper in the future, then this a low-cost way to benefit. The expense ratio is a rock-bottom % and you may pay a small commission to purchase the fund. The stocks in the fund span the globe and the 10 largest holdings are:

1. Apple Inc.
2. Alphabet Inc. (formerly Google)
3. Microsoft Corp.
4. Exxon Mobil Corp.
5. Johnson & Johnson
6. General Electric Co.
7. Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
8. Facebook Inc.
9. Wells Fargo & Co.
10. www.oldyorkcellars.com Inc

…Or Go with a Robo-Advisor

Brad Kingsley, Financial Fitness Coach at www.oldyorkcellars.com talks about Robo-advisors’ place in all this:

When someone has gotten their ‘financial house in order’ and is ready to start investing, there are several good low-cost options for beginners. In any portfolio the investor will want to make sure they are diversified across stocks and bonds, but also different types of asset classes within those two large groupings. Some people giving advice recommend as few as four different investments (Dave Ramsey) but more commonly the suggestion averages about ten different investments.

For someone who went with the portfolio of ten holdings, that would potentially cost $80+ to execute the trades at most brokerages. A better priced option for people just getting started and with small amounts to invest would be a “robe-advisor” like Betterment. At Betterment the cost to invest $1, would be zero initially and then only $ a year. The power of this model’s cost savings is even further compounded if the person is going to be investing a set amount of money each month. If they invest $ every month and have to pay trade fees to diversify the amount every time – that will really eat into their balance and earning potential.

At a robo-advisor there often aren’t trade fees and the monthly cost is very reasonable.

Learn to be Your Own Adviser

JD Roth, Money Boss offers up a mindset:

Decide to become your own best financial adviser. A lot of new investors are timid. They don’t want to make mistakes. They believe they need to pay somebody to help them, that the stock market is complicated, or that they can pick winning stocks.

None of this is true.

Go to the library. Borrow some books on smart investing. (I recommend anything by William Bernstein.) Learn what stocks and bonds are and how the markets work.

Teach yourself to invest in low-cost index funds. Ask questions. Be willing to make a few early mistakes. Take charge of your financial future!

Dividend Investing the Smart Way

Keith Park, DivHut suggests:

“The number one tip I have for any new investor is to not get sucked in by the allure of high single-digit or double-digit yield. More often than not, a yield that high signals a red flag because 1) a dramatic stock price decline occurred or 2) the company is paying out too much of its free cash.

Second, a long term dividend growth investor needs to measure his investments in decades and not days, weeks or months. Have a long term outlook, be patient and consistent with adding fresh capital. I make it a point to invest every single month no matter the market conditions. By continually investing you are able to dollar cost average into positions and grow your passive income at the same time.

For a new investor with just $ to start, I’d suggest a fee-free trading platform like Robinhood. Being able to invest with $0 commission allows even a modest amount of cash to be diversified among a handful of different dividend paying stocks. By using these platforms one can buy stocks in various sectors, reinvest dividends and be on their way towards creating an ever-growing passive income stream.

Invest in a Safety Net

Kate Dore of Cashville Skyline warns you need to set your house in order before thinking about investments:

Start by investing three to six months of living expenses into a highly liquid account for an emergency fund. Try to secure a rate of return that keeps pace with inflation, while still maintaining liquidity, like a high-interest savings or money market deposit account. If that’s already covered, contribute up to your employer’s match in your (k). If possible, look for opportunities to invest in low cost, diversified investments like index funds. If you don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement vehicle, a Roth IRA is another great option because your earnings can grow tax-free.

Invest In Yourself

Education came up earlier but Todd Tresidder, Money Coach at www.oldyorkcellars.com drives it home —

The best investment is in yourself to increase your your earning capacity to accelerate your savings ability. That’s because you’ll never achieve your financial goals investing $1,, even though it’s a great start. Instead, you need to double and triple those savings as the fastest path to accelerate equity growth. This is just a mathematical truth provable by the fact that an amazingly skilled investor with 20% return on investment would only increase his equity by $; whereas, when you increase your earning capacity so you can save an extra $1, (not hard to do) then you’ve doubled your equity.

In short, your primary objective is to grow your equity, and the fastest path in early stages is to invest in your earning capacity (seminars, specialized skills, and training) to immediately increase your earnings and savings, then later invest in your investment skill for ROI in the long run.

Harness the Power of Robots!

Robots never go away! Peter Anderson, Bible Money Matters discusses how they may be a solid option for new investors:

If you’re starting out as a novice investor with only $ to invest, your options these days are better than they’ve ever been. For me the best way to invest is to diversify your investments, keep your investment costs low, and make sure you’re investing with an eye towards to horizon, investing for the long term.

If you try to pick individual stocks that you think will go up or down, you may win a few here and there, but you’ll also lose a few. Studies have shown that investing in the entire market via index funds will have better returns than most actively managed stock funds over the long term, so I personally recommend investing in index funds.

Where should you invest? If you’re starting with only $ it may limit some of your options as some mutual funds will require a minimum purchase of $ or more. With $ I might suggest opening a Roth IRA account with an automatic investment adviser like WiseBanyan or Betterment. They will give you a diversified index fund portfolio with no minimum investment, and relatively low cost. For an even lower cost option you can open an account with Vanguard and invest in one of their Target Retirement funds which have a $ minimum. It may require a bit more work on your part to rebalance your account and so on, but your costs will be lower since it is self-managed investing.

No matter what you do, the biggest things is to just start investing today!

Like Many Things… It depends!

Ben Malick, a CFA with Three Nine Financial, made no assumptions in his answer:

I have two different recommendations depending on the person.

• If the person is more of a passive investor (no interest or aptitude for investing), I would recommend investing in a no-load Vanguard Retirement Date Fund (minimum investment of $1,) that corresponds with your retirement date, and regularly contributing to it. This provides diversification and will automatically rebalance as you approach your retirement. This is sort of the finance version of autopilot.
• If the person wants to be a bit more involved with their investments, I would recommend they check out Motif Investing. It’s a neat way that individuals can invest based on certain themes or beliefs. For example, if you really think that wearable technology is going to take off, then you can invest in the Wearable Technology Motif that’s comprised of companies in that space. I think it’s a great way for someone to get their feet wet with investing and learn how it works.

Finally, keep your emotions in check!

Matt Hylland of Hylland Capital shares a very important point, one that puts an exclamation point at the end of this list — keep your wits about you!

Successful long-term investing is much more than asset allocation. I think the most important quality of a successful long-term investor is keeping emotions under control and staying calm when others panic. We have seen time and time again where investors buy at market tops and sell at market bottoms because of fear or envy.

For a client using an investment advisor, the advisor can act as a “check” in the system, hopefully preventing irrational decisions by the investor and providing some education to their client.

But for investors just getting started without an advisor, educating yourself and preparing yourself is going to payoff exponentially compared to any difference in asset allocation with your first $1,

I would have a new investor invest equally in several different investments that perform differently and have them watch how they perform over time. An equal allocation to a bond fund, emerging market fund, small-cap stock fund, a large cap stock fund and a REIT would work just fine..

The emerging market fund will be volatile, the investor will see big up days and more importantly, big down days as well. Meanwhile, a bond fund will perform quite differently in the same market as will a REIT. With this, the investor will quickly learn the value of diversification and asset allocation. Hopefully they learn to accept big moshort-term market, and learn not to get too emotional over short term swings (but short term investments should be kept in safe less volatile vehicles).

As time goes by, the investor can determine an asset allocation that is more suitable for them and change portfolio weights to suit. The important thing would be to get the investor used to the movements of the markets and finding their risk tolerance as early as possible to avoid expensive mistakes in the future when they have a larger portfolio.

High Level Takeaways

All these experts weighing in could leave your head spinning a little, here are the high level takeaways:

• INVEST! If you have a long enough of a time horizon, put your money to work.
• Establish a financial safety net: Invest in a taxable brokerage account only after you have an emergency fund and your retirement accounts funded.
• Think outside of the stock market: Invest in your own education so you can increase your salary or hourly rate.
• Low cost Index Funds is still king: You can’t predict market returns but you can predict fees, keep them low.
• Roboadvisors are the new princes: If Target Retirement and Lifestyle funds aren’t to your liking, Roboadvisors are powerful inexpensive tools for asset allocation because you get diversification without having to pay individual commissions and fees.
• Don’t forget about educating yourself! Educate yourself about the markets, educate yourself to improve your earning capacity, and never stop learning.

I hope you enjoyed this article and if you or someone you care about is wondering what they should do to get started, send them this article!

1. Invest for retirement — or, how to double your money with a (k)

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2. Buy commission-free exchange-traded funds

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Want more help with finding the best way to invest $1,?

Am I on track financially? Our investment strategy road map can guide your investing journey.

At its core, investing is an incremental game: you build a portfolio bit by bit rather than all at once. Find out how you can invest $1, and get the most bang for your buck.

Dealing with Debt and Building Emergency Funds

Paying off debt is always the best guaranteed return. The interest you save by paying debt down faster is essentially risk free. So the boring answer to “how should I invest $1,” is always “pay off your debt first.” Even if you are debt free, there is a strong personal finance argument for socking the $1, away in an emergency fund by way of a higher yield savings account because this will reduce your likelihood of taking on debt in the future.

In real life, however, there are many scenarios where you end up investing while carrying debt. These scenarios are often based on rational decisions, such as taking advantage of employer matching in a retirement account or saving for an inevitable future cost like a child’s education.

Simplicity and Diversity for Cheap

For the vast majority of investors looking to put $1, to work, the best investment has to be simple, low risk and cheap with respect to fees. If we want a decent return, then the risk must be lowered through diversifying the investment. And the best option for that are low or no fee funds.

Invest $1, in an ETF or Index Fund

Exchange-traded funds and index funds are an excellent way to invest with a relatively small amount of money. These funds also have the advantage of being very transparent investments. You can learn all you need to know about a particular ETF or index fund in a few paragraphs, including its holdings, any commissions, and the expense ratio. You can also pick the best broker for buying ETFs from our list of Best Brokers for ETFs.

Index funds are essentially a passive, broad market investment through the major indices, while ETFs can offer more choices to customize a portfolio. With $1, you can pile together ETFs with different risk profiles. For example, you could split the money into $ in a higher risk, growth-oriented ETF, $ into a dividend ETF and put the remaining $ into a bond ETF. Or you can reverse that mix or even put it all into the growth ETF. It all depends on your time horizon and your risk tolerance.

Invest $1, in a Target-Date Fund

Target-date funds offer similar diversity to ETFs, but these require less effort than picking your own ETFs. A target-date fund may have a higher expense ratio than your basic ETF, but in return you won’t have to worry as much about allocating your money or rebalancing the portfolio over time. Target-date funds are further down the spectrum of being actively managed and active management costs more in fees.

Invest $1, With a Roboadvisor

With $ to invest, the fees that come with active management can be hard to swallow, especially given that performance often lags passive index or ETF options. That said, robo-advisors like Betterment, Acorns and Asset Builder have hit the market offering active management at lower expense ratios than prices offered by human fund managers. This has prompted traditional advisors like Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab to jump on the AI bandwagon for some of their offerings. You can get the benefits of active management, particularly more frequent rebalancing of the portfolio during market events, without having to pay the traditional price.

Invest $1, in Low-Risk Debt Instruments

The funds mentioned above generally carry higher risk and return profiles than investments in debt instruments. If your main goal is preserving $1, rather than growing it, then debt investments may be your best choice.

Treasury securities, certificates of deposit and savings bonds are not the most exciting ways to invest $1, They do, however, have the benefit of very low risk and a modest return. There are bond offerings direct from companies that offer much higher interest rates, as well as bond ETFs, but these both require a bit more research and a lot more risk than simply putting the $1, into a US Treasury Bond. On top of the security, Treasury bond income is exempt from state and local taxes, although it is not exactly a windfall tax savings given the modest rate of return.

Invest $1, in a Single Stock

Now we are going to look at some investments that you wouldn’t recommend to your grandparents. These require a higher risk tolerance and lot more research, but they also offer high potential returns for your $1,

This is for the type of person who relishes in yelling “I’m all in!” while playing poker. $1, is enough to make a single stock purchase through an online brokerage reasonable. You do lose some money in the transaction itself, but the right stock can return many times the transaction costs.

There were several points in the last five years where an investment in Meta (formerly Facebook), Apple, Netflix, or Google would double or triple your $1, The catch is that you would have to time the market, and you have to have realized those gains. That said, researching a stock and putting $ into it can work out. Of course, it can also end up with you losing money or making a smaller return than the ETF investments containing the same stock as part of the mix.

Trade Options and Forex With $1,

There is a fairly big gap between can and should when it comes to $1, investments. $1, can be used to open an online options or Forex trading account and, yes, these accounts offer ways to leverage that money up to make large returns in a short time. However, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Of all the investments we’ve looked at, Forex and/or options trading offers the most risk and the highest probability of being able to lose all your money in a short period of time.

There are, of course, many people who can take $1, and, pulling on their experience with different trading strategies, produce solid returns while controlling their risks. Some people have probably lucked out and tripled their money on a single currency trade based on a hunch. That said, many of these traders have likely lost $1, or more just learning their craft though. At least try out these types of trading through simulators before putting your hard-earned cash at risk.

The Bottom Line

Although it is not a large sum of money, $ is well worth investing. With many of the options we looked at, particularly ETFs, sums as small as $50 or even $20 are worth investing on a regular basis. It bears repeating that investing is an incremental game. You probably won’t go from $ to independently wealthy with a single investment. Instead, an investment of $ can help you in the direction of financial security and broaden your financial education as a side benefit.  

Congrats! You’ve paid off your debt, have a nice healthy emergency fund, a burgeoning retirement account, and even some extra cash to spare. So what’s next?

If you’re in a good place financially and have some savings, it&#;s time to start investing your money. While you may be a beginner investor and hesitant to take on the risk, keep it mind that starting earlier lets you:

1. Start building your investing skillset when you&#;re most able to absorb risk
2. Gives compound interest the time it needs to work its magic

Even though investing $ is not going to make or break your retirement, building that habit of saving and investing early is a big part of how most millionaires build their nest egg, as Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko showed in their classic personal finance book, The Millionaire Next Door.

So what&#;s the best way to invest $1,? Before we even start talking about investing, the general consensus is that you should keep at least 3 months worth of expenses in cash for emergencies (also known as a &#;rainy day fund&#;).

So if you don&#;t have that safety buffer built up yet, before you think about investing, we recommend opening a high interest savings account at an online-only bank or at Citi, and setting up recurring transfers from your checking account into your high yield savings account.

This can earn you up to %, just for having cash in the bank. If your current bank account isn&#;t giving you a yield of at least % (as of , most brick and mortar banks offer a fraction of this), you are leaving money on the table.

If you don&#;t currently have a high yield savings account, we recommend the CIT Bank Savings Builder account. They offer up to % interest on your savings, so if you want to start earning interest on your cash savings, you can claim your high yield savings account here.

Once you&#;ve done that, read on for our expert recommended &#;best way to invest $1, dollars&#;.

How To Invest Dollars

With as little as a $, you can start making your money work for you.

While investing dollars may seem like a small sum, almost insignificant sum (7% return on $ is only $70 you might be saying to yourself), it’s a great foundation to build on. So now that you have the money, where exactly do you start?

Even the most seasoned investor had to begin somewhere. We asked 22 experienced investors to answer this question: if you had only a $ to invest, what would you do?

Editor&#;s Notes

The answers from our panel offered some fascinating investing insights. Before we dive into the individual answers, let&#;s take a look at the numbers:

Best Way To Invest $1, According To 22 Experts

Our group of seasoned investors overwhelmingly favored a long-term, diversified investing approach &#; rejecting individual stock picking and actively managed funds &#; in favor of low-fee index/mutual funds that track the broader stock market.

The data seems to back up our panel’s advice &#; a white paper published in June by Rick Ferri and Alex Benke compared all-index portfolios against comparable actively managed funds and found that the all-index fund portfolio outperformed the actively managed funds by % over a 16 year period ().

This is an important investing lesson: if low-cost index funds can get beat professional stock pickers % of the time, what chance does an amateur have?

Most rookie investors dream of picking a winning stock that quickly turns their $1, into $10, or even $,, but our experts (and the data) tells us that this simply isn&#;t how investing works.

How To Start Investing In Low-Fee Index Funds

16 of our 22 panelists suggested low-fee index funds as the best way to start investing with $1,, and the data backs them up. Almost all of them suggested investing through Vanguard. The answer seems clear, but you&#;re not a financial expert, so how can you get started?

Although putting together a balanced portfolio of Vanguard ETFs is relatively easy to figure out, even for non-finance nerds, there is definitely a learning curve.

If you want all the benefits of low-fee index investing but:

• You’re scared of making mistakes
• You don&#;t have any interest in putting in some time to learn the ropes
• This is the first time you’ve even heard the term “index fund”
• You&#;d just prefer having an expert to do the work for you

Then the easiest way to get started is through a robo-advisor like Betterment.

In fact, Betterment was the most highly recommended robo-advisor by our panelists (mentioned 3 times). Not only is it a simple way to execute the investing strategy suggested by 16 of our 22 panelists, but it’s % automated.

Betterment and other robo-advisors act like an extremely low-fee financial planner – except instead of talking to a human advisor, Betterment’s software algorithms will build a portfolio of low-fee index funds (including Vanguard funds) for you.

This means much lower-fees for you compared to traditional financial advisors, which means more money in your pocket.

How Do I Get Started?

Once you visit their website, Betterment will ask you a few very simple questions to figure out your retirement goals and your risk tolerance.

Based on your information, Betterment&#;s algorithms will construct and manage a portfolio of low-fee index funds to help you hit your investing goals.

The initial setup process only takes a few minutes, and from then on Betterment handles all of the asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing for you. They also do other nifty things like tax-loss harvesting which can increase your overall investing returns and can be tricky to do manually without software assistance – even for finance nerds.

If you want to get started investing in low-cost index funds through Betterment, you can sign up through this link. You can also go directly to Betterment&#;s website, but if you sign up through our link, you can get 1 month of Betterment free.

What If I Want To Turn My $1, Into $,?

If you came to this page trying to figure out how to turn your $1, into $, overnight through some super secret multi-bagger stock pick, we’re sorry to tell you that all of our experts agree &#; there is no such magic bullet (and if there was, why are they wasting their time selling you the secret?).

However, that doesn’t mean our panelists didn’t have any advice for those of you who dream of turning your $1, into life changing wealth. 3 of our panelists suggested starting a low-capital online business as the best way to turn $1, into millions of dollars within a decade.

It’s definitely not an easy path and you could potentially lose your $1, – but as one of our panelists puts it:

“Even if the business fails, you&#;re likely to learn significantly more than $1, in business lessons.”

How To Invest Dollars (Expert Panel Answers)

Here’s the best way to invest dollars, according to 22 seasoned investors:

1. Focus on diversified, long-term investments

“If I was a beginning investor and I had $ to invest, I would do my best to invest in a diversified, long term investment like an index fund.

“One of the easiest ways to do this as a beginner is to invest with a robo advisor service like Betterment or WiseBanyan, although to keep costs even lower I&#;d probably prefer to invest directly with a low cost company like Vanguard.” says Peter Anderson of Bible Money Matters.

2. Think about the future

“The best place to invest $ is in a Vanguard Target Retirement Fund. Do it quickly, then get back to concentrating on how you really build wealth- increasing your income and your savings rate. At that level of savings and that size of portfolio, future contributions matter far more than how that money is invested.” says Jim of White Coat Investor.

3. Start with debt

“First I&#;d pay off consumer debt with the $1, Next, I&#;d open a Roth IRA and invest $1, in Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund-VTI” says Barbara Friedberg of Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance.

4. Go with the Vanguard STAR Fund

“I&#;d suggest a beginner with a $ simply buy Vanguard STAR Fund (VGSTX). It&#;s a good mix of 11 Vanguard funds, which are themselves diversified among many companies.

“The expense ratio is a little higher than most Vanguard funds, but still low enough to not be a concern. Conveniently the minimum amount necessary to invest is $&#; says Lazy Man And Money.

5. Start simple with a Roth IRA

“The first thing I would do is open a Roth IRA. Inside the Roth IRA I would keep it simple and put the money into a very low cost index fund. Later, once I gained more confidence, knowledge, and experience with investing I would branch out to other types of investments.” says Jason Cabler of Celebrating Financial Freedom.

6. Explore everything possible

“I’d wish to get buried in the safety of an index fund. But being a person who&#;s just starting out learning the skills of the trade, I&#;d like to explore everything possible with my $

“I&#;d buy a few stocks of my favorite company (or companies). I&#;d buy a little piece of a mutual fund (with low fee) too. I&#;d also venture into $B online ad market by building a site, which I&#;d commercialize in due course.” says Sudipto Basu of One Cent At A Time.

7. Think carefully, choose wisely

“I’d invest 50%, I’d use 25% for my mortgage (debt) and I’d have some fun with the other 25%. This means my “found money” priorities are saving for the future, killing existing debt and having a little fun. That sound just about right. In the end, what you value is usually a reflection of where you spend your time and what you spend your money on. Choose wisely.” says Mark Seed of My Own Advisor.

8. Open a brokerage account

“As a young adult with $ and a long investment time horizon, I would open a brokerage account at Vanguard and buy a combination of low-cost ETFs. I would divide the money roughly into thirds to purchase: Total US stock market index (VTI), US small cap value index (VBR), and developed International index (VEA).

“If I didn&#;t feel like I could manage my own portfolio, I would put all my money with Betterment.” says Jacob of Cash Cow Couple.

9. Invest in a mutual fund

“If I had $1, to invest, I would invest the money into a mutual fund or ETF that tracked the market, so something along the lines of an S&P Index fund. It&#;s boring, but I know if I leave it alone, over time it will grow nicely for me.

“If I were older, I would pick a mutual fund or ETF that was balanced (meaning it held both stocks and bonds). A key point to not overlook is costs, as over time they really take a bite out of your investments.” say Jon of Money Smart Guides.

Start a side hustle

&#;If I had just $1, to invest, then I would use it to start my own side-hustle business. I would then commit all revenue from that side-hustle business to purchase other income producing assets to create a virtuous cycle of passive and portfolio income growth.

“The key point is I would limit my spending to my regular day job by reinvesting all new income from the side-hustle and other acquired assets until my passive income exceeded my expenses. That&#;s how you make a $1, become something that changes your life.&#; says Todd Tresidder of www.oldyorkcellars.com

Go for a Vanguard S&P Index Fund

“Assuming that we are talking about investing long-term for retirement or something at least 10 years out, I would take $1, and put it in a Vanguard S&P index fund &#; low fees and a great website to help the first-time investor get started.” says Bob of Christian Personal Finance.

Put it in an index fund

“If I had $1, to invest, I would put it in an index fund. Indexing allows for diversity, and the chance to take advantage of the performance of an entire segment of the market rather than worrying about whether or not you&#;ve picked the &#;right&#; investment. I like the idea of a fund that offers dividend payments as well.” says Miranda Marquit of Planting Money Seeds.

Think long-term, even if boring

“If I had $1, to invest I&#;d go the boring approach and put it in a low-cost index fund, likely through somewhere like Vanguard. This may not be the most &#;exciting&#; way to invest it, though I believe it&#;s the soundest strategy for someone who takes a long-term view of investing. I like to take a relatively lazy approach to investing and that would do the trick.” says John of Frugal Rules.

Follow the broad stock market

“If I had $1, to invest, I would invest it in a low cost index fund that follows the broad stock market. This would be a great way to start getting used to the idea of investing. Then I would continue adding to my investment using dollar cost averaging.” says Lance Cothern of Money Manifesto.

Make it a family affair

“If I had $ to invest, I would actually make it a father and son activity. First I would find a low cost or free investment platform such as Loyal3 or Betterment. Together my son and I would research some of our favorite companies, split the investment between two or three of them, and then watch it grow together!” Brock Kernin of Clever Dude.

Think passively

“I&#;d open a Roth IRA and put the money into a low cost index mutual fund. That means it&#;ll be cheap to invest, will grow tax-free and it&#;s a pretty passive way of making money. The earlier that money gets invested, the better.” says Will Lipovsky at First Quarter Finance.

Start immediately but understand why

“The thing that I would do with $ is ask whether or not I should be investing it, and if I am investing it, why? Usually with an amount as small as $ I would recommend an index fund or Retirement Target Date Fund. The real key with investing is to start immediately and never, ever stop learning.” says Hannah Rounds of Unplanned Finance.

Invest in yourself

“I&#;d invest $1, in professional development. I&#;m always eyeing online courses to continue building my skills.” says Kate Dore of Cashville Skyline.

Pursue a small business idea

“If I had $1, to invest I&#;d invest it in one of two things: a small business idea that didn&#;t require a lot of working capital (even if the business fails you&#;re likely to learn significantly more than $1, in business lessons) or in a low fee mutual fund/ETF such as Vanguard.” says Will of Doctor of Credit.

Invest in established companies

“With $ to invest, I would like to play the Lottery. Don’t be serious, I’m just kidding. I would like to invest the $ in stocks with focus on some established companies. Or may be I can use the money to invest in Mutual Funds and Bonds through some local banks.” says Peter Christopher of Finance Care Guide.

Educate yourself

“$ is not a life-changing amount unless you can find a multibagger stock (x kind) to invest in. But that is tough. So the next best thing I can suggest is to invest in educating yourself about Investing & Money Management.

“It might look like an unnecessary expense at first, but it goes a long way in ensuring that you become rich in future and more importantly, stay rich.” says Dev of Stable Investor.

Think outside of the box

“I know most personal finance bloggers are going to say they would invest in index funds. That’s not a bad idea, but I’ll offer a more creative answer. If I had $1, to invest I’d purchase more shares of IZEA. IZEA is a company whose stock can realistically double or triple in price over the next few years and I would absolutely use the $1, to add additional IZEA stocks to my portfolio.” says David at Young Adult Money.

Do you agree with these experienced investors? Tell us below how you would start investing with $

About the Author

Connie Mei

Connie blogs about personal finance and her journey to financial independence as a something over at Savvy With Saving. She works in the eCommerce industry and currently resides in New York City.

The bad news: The $ in your sock drawer isn’t going to magically grow on its own.

The good news: If you’re smart with your investments, you can turn $ into a lot more.

While a lot of financial advisors have investing minimums, there are a few ways that you can get started on the investment ladder.

If you’re ready to boost your bank account and see yourself as the next Kwanza Jones, our founder and billionaire Boost Friend, here are some tips for you.

1. Online trading platforms

If you want to kickstart your portfolio and don’t mind putting in some hours reading, then an online trading platform could be a great way to put yourself to the test.

It’s going to take a solid time investment for you to look out for a platform that does what you want it to. Some starting places are TD Ameritrade or E*Trade, where you can find out how to pick the best online broker for you.

If you’re interested in picking out your own investments, take a look at exchange-traded funds or ETFs - they’re known for being low cost but still providing you with diversification benefits.

2. Lend to those in need and earn some interest

You know as well as we do that no one succeeds alone. If you want your money to do good for others while it does some good for you, then check out peer-to-peer lending.

Online resources like Lending Club let you lend to borrowers via an online service, and earn a little interest as you do it. This is a way that you can use your money to make a serious difference in somebody else’s life - while also helping yourself at the same time. Now that’s a real #moneyboost!

3. Find a robo-advisor

If you can’t see yourself spending the time and energy on investing by yourself, you might want to see what a robo-advisor can do.

A robo-advisor is automatic software designed to help manage a portfolio. You choose your investment goal, and how much risk you can handle, and just let the software do its thing.

4. Invest in your kids' college education

If you have little wonders, or you’re planning on having them, you might want to start saving for their college education now.

College tuition has been increasing by % for the past 20 years, and it looks like these costs are only going to get higher. So why not take a look at a college savings plan, which can offer you some great tax advantages?

These plans vary depending on the state that you live in, so make sure you check out your state’s college savings plan.

5. Pay down your debt

We know this might not quite be what you want to hear, but consider spending that $ on your debt.

If you’ve got credit cards, you might find that you’re paying in the double digits when it comes to your APR.

Meanwhile, if you’re investing in the stock market, you might only get a 7% or 8% return. So while it might not feel like an exciting investment, you could find yourself debt-free and able to do more by clearing your debt first.

6. Start a Roth IRA

A APR is a little-known but truly awesome investment to consider.

Essentially, you pay tax to add money to your Roth IRA - but then you get a tax break during retirement when you withdraw the money.

This is a great way to invest in your future to make sure that you’ll be able to enjoy your retirement when you get there.

7. Diversifying

When you’re looking to invest your money, it’s important that you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. After all, if you buy some stocks or shares in your favorite company, you might find yourself on a single-stock rollercoaster.

Rememberwe’re talking about how to be SMART with your investments. Start making some good money habits now and you’ll find that later down the line you’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Investing $1, may feel like a lot to you now, but it can lead to even more rewards in the future. The good thing about starting now is that you’ll start reshaping the way you think about money so that you can make every penny count.

As Kwanza Jones says, “pennies make millions”! So why let any penny go to waste!

For more money boosts, check out our Millionaire Mindset group in our SUPERCHARGED Boost Friends™ community. Here, you’ll connect with like-minded next-level seekers and learn how to make your money grow instead of letting your money go.

A thousand dollars may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but don't knock the power of the money you invest. Even $1, is a fantastic start in building toward long-term financial flexibility.

In this day and age, there are ample investment options to choose from. It's wonderful to have so many choices, but deciding which direction to go in might be overwhelming. Here are seven investment options to help you get started.

1. Start (or add to) a savings account

With the best annual interest rates below 1%, putting money into a savings or money market account may not seem like much of an investment at all. However, millions of households don't have adequate funds on hand in case of an emergency. If you're in that boat, this is a great place to start.

Here's why putting money into basic savings is a great investment: Rainy days are inevitable. While predicting life's twists and turns -- and when they'll occur -- is impossible, being prepared with some cash on the sidelines will always help to cushion the blow. And, if it keeps you from borrowing money at high interest, like via a credit card, then that small return from the savings account was well worth it. Strive to have at least three to six months' worth of cash stashed away.

2. Invest in a (k)

Who doesn't want a pay raise? While many are dissatisfied with their compensation, they may be overlooking an extra pay perk their employer offers: a matching (k) or similar company-sponsored retirement plan account contribution.

The mechanics are simple. If your company offers a match, the business will double your contribution, usually up to a certain percentage of your gross salary. For example, if a company offers a 3% match, it will contribute $30 for every $1, of your paycheck -- usually only if you opt to add the same 3% of your pay to your (k) or similar retirement account. If your employer offers it, it's a quick and easy way to double your money -- not to mention a great way to save some dough on taxes since your contribution usually enters your account before taxes.

But don't stop at the matching contribution. For , most (k)s allow for $20, in total employee contributions (and an additional $6, if you're older than 50). If you have $1, to invest, check with your HR department or benefits specialist about how to set that money aside for retirement.

3. Invest in an IRA

If you don't have access to a work-sponsored retirement plan or your plan won't allow you to add extra money, you aren't out of luck. That's where individual retirement accounts (IRAs) come in.

There is no company match with an IRA, but if you have earned income (like through your job or self-employment), this option is worth considering. There are two basic types of IRAs: traditional and Roth. A personal contribution to a traditional IRA is often tax-deductible, and earnings grow tax-deferred until they're withdrawn. A Roth IRA is an after-tax contribution, so it gets no deduction. However, contributions can be withdrawn penalty-free, earnings grow tax-free, and those earnings can be withdrawn once you turn 59 1/2 as long as the account was established at least five years earlier.

If you have $1,, starting an IRA at an online brokerage is a great way to start working toward long-term wealth generation. For , investors can deposit up to $6, into an IRA and up to an additional $1, if you're older than

4. Open a taxable brokerage account

If you've exhausted the first three options and still have $1, to invest, opening a taxable investment account is another solid option. Think of this like a savings account since any realized earnings and interest will be taxable each year. However, the potential upside is higher than with a savings account.

Granted, all investing involves risk, and there's no guarantee you won't lose your $1, in this process. However, there are plenty of options available in brokerage accounts to help mitigate the turbulence that comes with investing (more on that below). Also, remember that depositing $1, should only be the start. Investing works best if you make regular deposits -- the more frequent, the better. Once you establish a brokerage account, consider setting up a recurring deposit (perhaps monthly or quarterly) to continue building toward your financial goals.

5. Invest in ETFs

After you open an IRA or brokerage account, it's time to start choosing where to invest. If you're just getting started, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an excellent place to begin.

There are thousands of ETFs to choose from, many of them tracking a benchmark such as the U.S. bond market or stock market. ETFs are easy to purchase, on average have lower fees than many other investment options like actively managed mutual funds, and can accept even small deposits. If you have $1,, learn how to invest in ETFs to begin your investing journey.

6. Use a robo-advisor

Not interested in searching for and managing an investment portfolio? Consider using a robo-advisor -- an online service that automates certain parts of a financial plan and portfolio management.

These days, there are plenty of robo-advisors to choose from. Most of them have little to no initial deposit minimum ($1, is more than enough to get started) and will choose a basket of funds or ETFs tailored to your long-term goals. Management fees are usually less than % per year (for every $1,, that's $3 in annual charges to your account), and the service will help you set up a plan for making recurring deposits to help you reach your final financial destination.

Want to be more hands on?Learn more about being a retail investor.

7. Invest in stocks

If you want more control over your investments and which businesses you own, consider purchasing individual stocks. Even with $1,, it's possible to build a well-rounded portfolio of starter stocks. Many brokerages even allow investors to purchase fractional shares of those stocks with high share price tags. 

It's possible to own individual stocks in both IRAs and taxable brokerage accounts. Additionally, gains in individual stocks aren't taxed until you sell them, making this an ideal strategy for deferring taxes in a brokerage account.

But remember: Stocks represent an ownership stake in a business. Few start a new venture with the intent of staying in business for just a short time. Owning stocks works best in much the same way. Owning a piece of a quality business becomes increasingly powerful the longer one sticks with it. So if you go this route, it's important to do some homework and make a purchase with the intent of holding the stock for at least a few years -- if not indefinitely.

Don't underestimate the power of $1,

While it may not seem like a fortune, don't underestimate the power of $1, 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.

Learn more about what you could do with your extra money