Hey there, fellow students! Do you want to learn how to invest your money wisely and grow your wealth while you’re still in school? Do you think that investing is only for rich people or experts? Do you feel overwhelmed by all the jargon and options out there?
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If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this article is for you. I’m going to show you how you can start investing today with little money and no experience, using some simple and effective tools that will make your life easier.
But first, let me tell you why investing is important for students like us.
Why You Should Invest as a Student
You might think that investing is not for you because you don’t have enough money, time, or knowledge. You might think that investing is too risky, complicated, or boring. You might think that investing is something that you can do later when you have a stable job and income.
But here’s the thing: investing is not only for rich people or experts. Investing is for everyone who wants to achieve their financial goals and dreams.
Photo by Wolf Zimmermann on Unsplash
Investing can help you:
- Save money for your future needs and wants, such as buying a car, traveling the world, starting a business, or retiring early.
- Grow your money faster than leaving it in a savings account or under your mattress.
- Beat inflation and preserve your purchasing power over time.
- Learn valuable skills and habits that will benefit you in other areas of life, such as budgeting, planning, researching, analyzing, decision-making, and risk-taking.
- Have fun and enjoy the challenge and excitement of making money work for you.
Sounds good, right? But how do you start investing as a student?
How You Can Start Investing as a Student
You might think that investing requires a lot of money, time, or knowledge. But that’s not true either. Thanks to technology and innovation, investing has become more accessible and affordable than ever before.
You can start investing today with little money and no experience by using some amazing apps that will help you manage your personal finances and investments with ease.
These apps are designed to:
- Help you save money automatically by rounding up your purchases or transferring a percentage of your income into an investment account.
- Help you invest money wisely by creating a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, ETFs (exchange-traded funds), cryptocurrencies (digital currencies), or other assets based on your risk profile and goals.
- Help you monitor your performance and adjust your strategy as needed by providing real-time data, feedback (positive reinforcement), alerts (negative reinforcement), tips (advice), and education (learning).
Sounds awesome right? But which apps should you use?
Which Apps You Should Use to Invest as a Student
There are many apps out there that claim to help you invest like a pro even if you’re a broke student. But not all of them are created equal. Some are better than others in terms of features, costs (fees), security (protection), and reputation (reviews).
To save you time and hassle, I’ve done some research and found five new apps that I think are worth checking out. These apps are:
- Acorns — This app helps you save and invest your spare change by rounding up your purchases and putting them into an ETF portfolio based on your risk tolerance and goals. You can also earn cash back from partner brands and get access to financial literacy content and tools. The app charges $1 per month for accounts under $1 million and 0.25% per year for accounts over $1 million.
Acorn Investing
- Stash — This app helps you invest in fractional shares of thousands of stocks and ETFs with as little as $5. You can also set up recurring investments and get personalized guidance and education based on your interests and preferences. The app charges $1 per month for beginner accounts, $3 per month for growth accounts, and $9 per month for Stash+ accounts.
Investment Made Easy With Stash App
- Robinhood — This app helps you trade stocks, ETFs, options, cryptocurrencies, and more with zero commission fees or account minimums. You can also access real-time market data, news and analysis, and participate in free stock giveaways and referral programs. The app also offers a premium subscription called Robinhood Gold that gives you access to margin trading and more research tools for $5 per month.
Robinhood Investing
- Webull — This app helps you trade stocks, ETFs, options, cryptocurrencies, and more with zero commission fees or account minimums. You can also access advanced trading tools and features such as technical indicators, charts, screeners, paper trading (simulated trading), and extended trading hours. The app also offers free stock bonuses for new and existing users who meet certain criteria.
- Public — This app helps you invest in fractional shares of thousands of stocks and ETFs with zero commission fees or account minimums. You can also join a social network of investors and follow other users, celebrities, or experts to see what they are buying or selling and why. You can also chat with them, ask questions, share insights, and learn from each other.
These are just some of the apps that I think are worth trying out if you want to start investing as a student. Of course, there are many more apps out there that you can explore and compare to find the best one for you.
But before you download any app and start investing your money, there are some things that you should keep in mind.
What You Should Keep in Mind When Investing as a Student
Investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s a long-term process that requires patience, discipline, and strategy. It also involves risks that you should be aware of and prepared for.
Here are some tips that will help you invest smartly and safely as a student:
- Start small and gradually increase your investments as you gain more confidence and experience.
- Don’t invest money that you can’t afford to lose or that you need for your essential expenses such as tuition, rent, food, etc.
- Don’t invest money that you will need in the short term such as for an emergency fund or a vacation fund.
- Diversify your portfolio by investing in different types of assets such as stocks, bonds, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, etc. This will reduce your overall risk and increase your chances of earning higher returns over time.
- Do your research before investing in any asset. Learn about its history, performance, potential growth drivers (positive factors), risks (negative factors), fees (costs), etc.
- Don’t chase trends or follow the crowd blindly. Invest based on your own goals (what do you want to achieve?), risk tolerance (how much risk can you handle?), time horizon (how long do you plan to invest?), etc.
- Don’t let your emotions get the best of you when investing. Don’t panic when the market goes down or get greedy when it goes up. Stick to your plan and strategy regardless of market fluctuations.
- Review your portfolio regularly and adjust it if necessary based on changes in your goals (do they change over time?), risk tolerance (does it change over time?), time horizon (does it change over time?), etc.
Investing is not rocket science but it’s not child’s play either. It’s a skill that anyone can learn with practice and guidance.
That’s why I wrote this article: to help you get started on your investing journey as a student.
I hope you found it helpful and informative.
Now it’s your turn to take action and make your money work for you!
How You Can Take Action Today
If you’re ready to start investing today with little money and no experience, here’s what you can do:
- Choose one of the apps that I recommended above based on your preferences and needs.
- Download the app on your smartphone or tablet and create an account by following the instructions on the screen.
- Fund your account by linking it to your bank account or debit card and transferring some money into it.
- Start investing by choosing an asset or portfolio that matches your goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, etc.
- Monitor your performance by checking your balance, returns, transactions, etc., on the app regularly.
- Learn more about investing by reading articles, watching videos, listening to podcasts, taking courses, etc., on various platforms online or offline.
That’s it! You’re now officially an investor!
Congratulations!
You’ve just taken a big step towards achieving financial freedom and independence!
But don’t stop here! Keep learning and growing your investing skills and knowledge. The more you know, the more you can earn. And don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the process. Investing is not only a way to make money, but also a way to express yourself, explore your interests, and connect with others. So go ahead and invest like a pro even if you’re a broke student. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Happy investing! 😊