Investing is one of the best ways to build wealth. Contrary to popular belief, an April study by Ramsey Solutions found only 31% of millionaires averaged $100,000 a year throughout their career, and one-third never made six figures in any single working year. Three of four millionaires attribute their success to regular, consistent investing over an extended period.
The most common pushback I receive when encouraging people to invest is, “I can’t afford it.” Many people live paycheck to paycheck and feel investing requires significant funds they don’t have.
However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. You can start investing with as little as $100 per month.
You can put away $100 with a few tweaks to your spending habits. Cutting back on your coffee habit, bringing your lunch from home, or limiting your alcohol consumption can save you at least $25 weekly.
Once you have the $100, start regularly investing and expect to do it for the long run. It takes approximately 10 years of consistent investing to weather the market’s ups and downs and make a decent return.
Here are five steps to take to start investing today:
1) Open an investment account
Fidelity and Schwab are solid bets and offer free investment accounts. Whichever platform you choose, make sure they do not charge for trades or charge unnecessary fees.
2) Start investing in ETFs or index funds
Unlike single stocks, which carry the risk of going to $0, these investment vehicles are a variety of assets such as stocks, bonds, commodities, or a mix of the three. This allows for diversification and reduces, if not eliminates, the risk of these stocks going to $0.
3) Do your research
Search online for ETFs or index funds that allow you to invest for $100 or less. Select the best performers and buy them every month.
4) Automate your investing
Consistency is the key to successful investing. Set up an automatic sweep from your personal account to your investment account and automate the monthly purchasing of your stocks. This keeps you on track and prevents you from blowing your investment money.
5) Watch your money grow
On average, the stock market yields between an 8-12% annual return. Investing $100 per month, with an average return rate of 10%, will yield $200,000 after 30 years. Due to compound interest, your investment will yield $535,000 after 40 years.
These numbers can grow exponentially with an extra $100. If you make a monthly investment of $200, your 30-year yield will be close to $400,000. Over 40 years, your investment will yield $1,000,000.
This is also why it is important to start investing early. As you can see above, you more than double your yield in the last 10 years of investing.
With any type of investing, it is essential to conduct thorough research, carefully select your investments, and regularly review and adjust your portfolio to ensure it aligns with your financial objectives and risk tolerance.
Investing is crucial to building wealth, and now you have no excuse to hold off any longer.
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