You don’t need thousands of dollars in savings to start investing. In fact, you can start making a return on your spare change. Investing a few dollars per week could be a great way of growing your money if you haven’t got much disposable income. This could be money to put towards a vacation, your first home or even your retirement. Below are just several ways to start investing your spare change.
Round-up apps
Round-up apps are the easiest way to invest your spare change. Whenever you make an electronic purchase, the app rounds up your purchase to the nearest dollar and puts the extra cents into a savings account. Some apps even allow you to invest these savings into stocks. You could end up saving up a few dollars per month, which could add up over a year. You can compare round up apps online.
Savings accounts
You could alternatively manually put your spare change into a savings account. If you collect a lot of physical change every month, this could be a way of investing this money. By putting it in an account rather than putting it in a jar, you’ll earn interest on it. Unfortunately, interest rates on savings accounts are pretty low at the moment – especially accounts that don’t require a minimum deposit or minimum monthly contribution – so don’t expect to make a huge return. It’s often worth shopping around for savers to find the best interest rates. Some accounts may also restrict withdrawals, which could prevent you dipping unnecessarily into your savings.
Stocks and shares
You don’t need a lot of money to invest in stocks and shares. Using some of today’s broker apps, it’s possible to invest as little as $1 in some companies – the apps allow you to buy part of a share, which generates a return just like a whole share. Stocks and shares are certainly riskier than putting your money in a savings account, but if you’re only investing small amounts you may feel more confident taking this risk. Pick the right stocks to invest in and you could make a large return. Make sure to stick to trading apps that don’t charge fees.
Crypto
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies. Over the last decade, cryptocurrencies have seen huge increases in value – with the likes of Bitcoin worth 70x more in 2020 than it was in 2015. Some trading platforms allow you to invest as little as $2 into crypto. You do however have to be wary about fees and you should always use secure crypto trading platforms to avoid getting scammed or hacked. By investing a few dollars each month, you could soon see a noticeable return.
Collectibles
Collectible products have the potential to increase in value over time, providing that they are kept in good condition. While some people splash out on antiques and sports memorabilia, there are many collectibles that you can buy very cheaply such as trading cards and subscription magazines. Grow a sizable collection and wait a few years and your collection could become very valuable. In fact, some people have made hundreds of dollars simply by selling vintage McDonalds toys. Doing your research is important – usually whatever is trendy now will be a collector’s item in the future.
