This posting is for everyone who doesn’t have a lot of money. Since this is many of you, you’ll likely find this topic of interest. If you’ve already made your start, you can always share this with friends or family who are just starting out. The main point here is that you can start investing with a small amount of money. By small, we mean $25 to $250.
There are at least three ways to buys stocks and mutual funds online without a lot of money. Each way corresponds with using a company tailored for small dollar transactions: Amstock.com, Sharebuilder, or ING.
Amstock.com. This involved the direct purchase of stock. A direct purchase of stocks is like buying directly from the company. To do this we recommend that you go to the American Stock Transfer and Trust Company. Their website is amstock.com. Once you are there, click where is says “invest online” and check out their direct purchase plan. You will need about $250 minimum, your checking account and routing number. Amstock’s interface isn’t great, but you can buy stock directly from the company.
Second, you can go with Sharebuilder. Sharebuilder.com is a brokerage firm which specializes in small accounts. You can check out their webpage . Their account minimum is $50. You don’t have to make any additional payments, all you need is $50. If you do decide to sign with these guys, please keep a few things in mind. First, there are LOTS of freebie codes floating around. So check here, here, and here. These codes can get you up to an additional $50, free.
Sharebuilder has some drawbacks. First, they are slow to credit your account with your promotional bonus. Second, their stock purchase interface is a bit hard to navigate. Third, their fee structure is not transparent. There is no account fee for brokerage accounts, but their IRA accounts do have a fee. Finally, their operators are hard to locate. BUT, once you do locate them, they’ll gladly give you price concessions or freebies.
Finally, you can open a IRA with, low, low minimums at ING. Perhaps most spectacular is that you can start with just $25 if you agree to an automatic investment of $25 for the first 10 months. Most mutual funds or ROTHs are not so user friendly. The best part is that there are no commissions or sales fees and only a 1.16% management fee. Check out a recent post to see how much we made from the ROTH Miel started last month. Another note for those who might be new to ROTH’s, you use taxed dollars to purchase the ROTH, but you are never taxed again. If you are in a lower tax bracket now, that means you’ll be better off when you are old and rich and paying Uncle Sam lots in taxes! It is also nice, because what you see is what you get, for good.
Finally, even if you can’t scrape up $25 a month, you can still invest. If you’ve got $25 dollars cash in your pocket, we recommend that you buy savings bonds.
The truth is that you don’t need a ton of cash to get started. If you want to get started, some of these options might be right for you. So, feel free to put away a little bit for the future and start investing today!
Best,
James&Miel
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