How to Invest $100, $1,000, or $10,000-- from Mint.com

To start your day off with a happy hypothetical, let’s say you’ve been following our advice on how to build a buffer account.

It’s going so well that now you’ve got a little money you’d like to invest.
“Great—I’m going to get started today!” you think.

Then you Google “How do I get started investing?” and learn that you can choose from thousands and thousands of mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds, brokerages, and asset classes.

“Hmm, I’ll get started investing tomorrow. Today: Candy Crush.”

I know how you feel. Last month I was in Japan, and my earbuds broke. So I went to a big electronics store, figuring they’d have a few to choose from.

Did they ever.

I had to contend with ten aisles that looked like this:

I spent over an hour trying out earbuds before buying a new pair of the same ones that broke.

I can’t help you choose headphones, but whether you have $100, $1000, or $10,000 to invest, I can help you get started.
In investing, as in headphones, “good enough” is better than driving yourself crazy figuring out the perfect solution.

I have $100 to invest

Buy one share of a stock market Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) and a good introductory book on investing such as The Elements of Investing, by Malkiel and Ellis.

Which ETF should you buy and where?

Let me make it easy. Open an account with TD Ameritrade. Opt into the commission-free ETF program. Buy one share of the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT) for about $59.

Congratulations! You now own (a piece of) 5351 different stocks from about 50 countries.
Now, read the investing book and keep saving money.

Why TD Ameritrade? They make it easy to get started with a low balance without zinging you with fees.

Another option: Betterment.com has a extremely simple sign-up process and will let you invest the whole $100.

They do charge higher fees than TD and require you to invest an additional $100/month minimum until you hit $10,000.

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