Should You Invest Over the Internet?

If you are young and want to invest you may have several reasons why you haven’t yet. It could be that you feel there’s no time in your schedule. Or maybe a lack of experience or money is holding you back.

Regardless of the reason, the sooner you start investing the more wealth you can build to reach your goals. Just sacrifice a few minutes of streaming your favorite movies or TV shows and you could be on your way.

As far as not having either experience or money, there are strategies to help you to invest in the internet without those things.

Start Small

You don’t have to have a ton of money to dip your toe into the investment world. Get your feet wet without a large investment in micro investing over the internet.

One way to start is by signing up for the Acorns app. It lets you begin with just a little change by linking your bank account to your credit cards.

When you make a purchase it is rounded up to the nearest dollar. The rounded amount is then invested for you. Most people feel they don’t miss those extra few cents and it’s fast and easy to get started.

But you might also try fractional investing through Stockpile. This app allows you to own fractions of shares of your favorite stocks.

It’s a way to begin investing even if your budget is tight or limited. There are no minimums beyond the $5 to get you started and no monthly fees.

Get a Side Hustle

But if your budget is so tight you feel like you’re drowning try picking up a side hustle. Having a side hustle can relieve the strain on your budget. But it can help your future even more by providing money to invest over the internet too.

A side hustle can help you reduce the amount of debt you have as well. The faster you reduce your debt the more money you can invest for your future.

Another way a side hustle will help you with investing is that you can learn new skills. As you improve your resume and make yourself more marketable it can increase your income. In turn, this can get you a better job with a higher salary so you can invest more.

Take it Up a Notch

If you want to invest more than just your spare change, consider Betterment. It’s a great internet investing choice for your side hustle income.

They personalize your portfolio to match your goals and there are no minimums to get started. If you need a human to talk to they can help with that need as well. Betterment is a great option for investors because they help you achieve your investment goals.

Try a Robo-advisor

Not having time or experience doesn’t have to hold you back. Even as a rookie you can still invest in the internet and grow your money.

Try investing with the help of a robo-advisor. They use automation to save you time.  Furthermore, they do the heavy lifting for you so you don’t have to. That eliminates the need for you to be an investing expert.

Their low minimums will help you start investing faster. But they also have sweet mobile apps to let you see your investment status right over your smartphone.

Another advantage a robo-advisor provides is rebalancing of your investments. It can take work to rebalance on your own, but a robo-advisor uses auto-rebalancing to make it easier.

Choose Crowdfunding

An additional way for newbies to invest over the internet is through crowdfunding. You don’t have to have thousands to start. You simply pool your money with the money of other investors so all benefit.

The money is placed in a real estate investment trust, or REIT. It provides a steady income stream and still allows you to diversify your investments.

A team of advisors chooses the real estate investments on your behalf. Because the money is pooled it can be spread over multiple properties not usually available to the single investor. This lowers your risk of losses and at the same time increase the possibility of investment gains.

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to begin to invest over the internet. You don’t have to have a lot of money or experience to get started. Don’t wait. Start investing in your future goals and dreams today.

Do you have any investments on the internet? If so, what choices did you make?

Jeanne is a married mother of 2 children who works as a full-time freelancer and virtual assistant. She also helps out occasionally on the farm she and her husband own together. Her background is mostly finance and medical office management.  She’s currently working to improve her financial well-being and hopes to help others improve theirs as well.