When You've Only Got $1000 To Invest, What Do You Do?

And most of all, having a few investments on your side means you’ve got a portfolio that’s worth something, and will be worth something one day, when you need it most. 

Investing isn’t a surefire way to make money, and when you get into the stock market or other more tangible investments, it’s key to keep this in mind. However, when it comes to trying to capitalise on the amount of money you’ve got stashed away, even if it’s very little, there’s a good chance for a double return here. 

So, say you’ve only got $1000 to invest, overall, and you’re looking for a good and/or low risk way to get started - what do you do? With the ideas we’ve listed below, we hope to help steer you in the right direction. After all, you’ve only got a little bit of money to use here, and thankfully, there’s quite a few ways to get started with beginner stakes like these. 

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Put it All in a Savings Account

The first thing you’ll want to think about doing, if you want to make a good return off of a simple $1000, is to put all your investment money into a savings account. Not only is this the easiest way to see a return, but it’s also considered the safest way. But, you’re going to have to find the right savings account to make use of, because they’re not all created equally! 

Thankfully, there are quite a few savings accounts out there you can make good use of, all of which have a high return rate. But the one you’ll want to know the most about are account types known as ‘high yield’. Of course, these kinds of accounts require a bigger initial deposit to get started, and you won’t have as much access to your money as you’d like to, But if you’ve got a healthy $1000 to put in there straight away, you’re in with a good chance of setting up a high yield account that’ll net you some decent profits down the line. 

The key is to choose the best type of high yield account. Most of them require you to already be a customer with the bank offering them, but if you’ve noticed better rates elsewhere, there’s no stopping you from closing your current account down and switching. On the other hand, you can find online only high yield accounts that might be of interest to you, all of which are variable and will grant you a much better chance of getting the money you want out of the ordeal. Just make sure you can transfer funds between this account and your physical one. 

Focus on Building a Portfolio

When you’ve got very little money, in terms of the total investment world, to put into trading and investing, you’ve got to focus on your portfolio as soon as you get going. You need to be able to put your finger in as many pies as possible, as this very notion will diversify your ability to make a return on anything you schill out for. 

Sure, you’ve only got $1000 here, and you might want to put all of this money into holding as many shares of a profitable company as possible. However, when you do such a thing, you put yourself in a very dangerous position - it could net you some good money in the short term, but in the long term, if a market crash comes (or the company loses value in any way) that’s all of your money gone. 

You may want a third party to manage your portfolio for you. Being new to the investment world means you’ll need a guiding hand or two in the first year or so, and even just using a robo advisor could be good for business here. Just having another person, or a bit of software, at the helm of your portfolio could make a real difference. You won’t always be around to check on it, after all, and that could mean you lose everything (or gain nothing) in just a matter of minutes. 

Think About Forex Trading

Forex trading is something more and more people are getting into, and this is due to the amount of pros forex trading can have over other types of investment trading. Forex, otherwise known as foreign exchange trading, carries quite a few benefits someone like you needs right now - when you’ve only got $1000 to put to good use, you might want to set your sights on other markets. 

Most of all, forex trading comes with low associated costs. With little to no commission you’ll have to fork out for, thanks to how foreign exchanges are traded, there’s far more profit available for you to gain out of even just one or two deals. You won’t have to pay as much for ‘overhead’, when it comes to using forex trading, and that makes it a very attractive prospect for a beginner with a low rate to trade. 

Another great strength of forex trading is just how adaptable it can be. Depending on the type of trading style a person has, or in your case, the type of style you’ll come to adopt in time, the forex market has something for everyone. It’s a very convenient market, operating at all times, meaning you can take up both short term and long term positions, no matter where you are in the world. 

Invest in Real Estate

And finally, you could go ahead and finally invest in some real estate! Sure, a simple $1000 won’t buy you your dream house, or even be enough for an apartment you could do up and rent out in the future, but it is an amount of money you could put into an REIT. 

Otherwise known as a real estate investment trust, putting your money into organisations like these means you have a share of valuable, income generating properties across a variety of commercial and domestic sectors. You’ll be in it with a bunch of other investors, helping to eliminate much of the risk factor, and seeing as real estate is tangible and always in need, you’ll certainly be able to find buyers and renters no matter where you are in the world. 

It won’t be hard to find a REIT either. They’re on the stock markets and exchanges, and even just looking up REITs in your country could put you in touch with multiple different programs you might like the look of. All in all, investing in REITs can be a great way to diversify your portfolio, as we mentioned above, and could make real money. 

The Takeaway

If you’ve only got roundabout $1000 to put into something, and you want to be sure you’ll see your money again, it’s key to start small and think large over time. 

You need to build up a base here, and to gain confidence with investing, and that won’t happen when you’ve only got a tenth of what you really need to see a proper gain. 

But it shouldn’t stop you either! Your $1000 here could be well invested, as long as you keep in mind the pointers above. 

This is a contributed post.