Investing on a shoestring

While you might have heard the saying that you need to have money to make money, you probably didn’t stop to think that any money that you haven’t borrowed from a bank is your money. It’s money that you can use to, well, make more! This is especially the case now because investing has become more accessible to the Average Joe (and Joanne), who can start an investment fund with £100 or less.

Think about what you have at your disposal. Do you have a few hundred pounds hanging around in a sluggish savings account? Maybe you have some unused online gift vouchers or even some coins in a savings jar. Tot them up and then see what you can do with them.

You could buy some bullion

Believe it or not, you can buy bullion for pound! You might have to start off with silver because it’s much cheaper than gold, but you can pick up little bars from Golden Eagle Coins for £10 or so.

Look at an online investment platform

There are many platforms of this type now; they all work in the same ways and if you’re careful and do lots of research, you’ll do alright. Take the time to look at each platform and provider before settling on one – you might want one that only invests your money in ethical enterprises, for example.

Most of the transactions and work is actually done by algorithms and software, but there’ll be customer-service people to talk to when you need them. You’ll almost certainly be asked to complete a questionnaire about your plans, hopes and risk appetite, then you’ll have a portfolio type assigned to you. It’s not quite custom-designed, but it’s tailored to people like you. There are management fees, but they’re usually a small percentage of your earnings.

Join a peer-to-peer lending club

If you join a P2P lending club – as a lender – then you’ll probably make a profit out of it. Some clubs will ask for just £25 to start off, although some ask for more, of course. You might not fancy yourself as a moneylender, so you could always see yourself as someone who invests in people with great ambitions and ideas.

Invest in yourself

You don’t even have to spend any money to invest in yourself – you can invest some time instead. If you’ve let your German grammar slip in recent years you can brush it up, or you can finish up that diploma you lost track of. Adding a few extra skills can add an extra dollar or so to your hourly rate; at the very least it’ll rejuvenate your resume and your enthusiasm.

Start off a low-minimum, long-term investment fund

Very often an investment fund will need you to have several hundred dollars in before you start seeing some decent returns and this is why the minimum opening deposit can be $500 or more. Other funds let you start off with much less than this, so find some and pick one that suits you. It’ll be a slow-burner, especially if you’re only adding a few dollars each month, but it’s there and it’ll start working once you’ve got a few tens in.

Do you have any top tips for saving money on a shoestring? I would love to know in the comments below.