Easiest Way to Start Investing

Gone are the days when you had to have a lot of money to start investing. There are a ton of financial institutions and Fintech companies that offer investment services and they are all competing for your hard earned money. But how and what is the easiest way to start investing?

Because the minimum balance thresholds are so low today investing can be for everyone and not just those with deep pockets. This is why if you are not already, you should start investing now. No matter your financial background, investment experience, or income level everyone should and can be invested.

Below we answer the question of what is the easiest way to start investing.

Why do I need to start investing now?

There are many reasons why you should start investing. The first reason is very simple and straightforward. Investing can make you money through capital appreciation or interest and dividend payments.

Investing is also a great way to get into the habit of saving your money for a time when you may need it most, like during an emergency or when you retire. Starting to invest at a young age builds discipline and can set you up for a strong financial future.

Start investing as soon as possible.

Investing at a young age also gives you more time to earn more money. Considering the effects of compounding interest, a few extra years’ worth of putting money away can pay off big time. Just take a look at these examples:

You are an 18 year old and put $25 dollars into a savings account every week until you retire at age 65. The savings account pays you a measly interest rate of .50% annually. At the end of this time period assuming you did not make any withdrawals, the balance in your account will be approximately $62,981. Total sum of your $25 deposits equals $56,400.
Instead of putting that money into a savings account, what if you put it into an investment account that earns you a return of 6% annually? Using the same assumptions as the first example, the ending balance in your account will be approximately $270,508.
Say you put off starting to invest until you were 30 years old. If you made those $25 weekly payments up until your retirement age of 65, assuming a 6% annual return, you would only end up having only around $155,053.

The earlier you invest the more likely it is that you will end up having more when you need it.

Hopefully you are now convinced that you should start investing. So, what is the easiest way to start investing?

What is the easiest way to start investing?

Considering the number of options that are available out there, I have found that the easiest way to start investing is through Acorns.

What is Acorns?

Acorns is a financial technology company that offers great investing services to new and inexperienced investors. Setting up an account takes as little as 5 minutes and can be done online or through their mobile application.

You can open up an Acorns account with as little as $5 and start investing immediately. The best part is, if you sign up for Acorns using this link, they will give you $5 for free once you link a bank account and fund your new account.

How does Acorns work?

When you sign up for an account, you will be asked a series of questions that will help determine which portfolio is right for you based on the amount of risk you are willing to take. Acorns will then suggest what portfolio to invest in. The portfolios they offer include a conservative, moderately conservative, moderate, moderately aggressive, or aggressive portfolio.

The difference between these portfolios is in their asset class allocation. For instance, the conservative portfolio is invested in a mix of fixed income securities such as government bonds. Conversely, the aggressive portfolio is invested in a combination of large, small, and international company stocks, to name a few.

One of the reasons why they are able to offer such a low account balance minimum and fees is because Acorns uses exchange traded funds, or ETFs. An ETF is a publicly traded share of a broad holdings of stocks or bonds. Instead of investing in individual company stocks you are investing in a group of assets that replicate an asset class or an index (i.e. S&P 500).

Acorns’ website and mobile application come loaded with resources to grow your knowledge as well as track your investment performance, deposits, and withdrawals. Acorns really is the easiest way to start investing.

What makes Acorns better than everything else?

There are a ton of benefits to opening an investment account with Acorns. Here are a few:

Round Ups – Link you debit card and Acorns will automatically round up each of your transactions. The spare change is then invested automatically for you.
Acorns Earn – Acorns will literally give you free money when your purchase products and services from their partners. For instance, if you purchase a subscription to the food subscription service HelloFresh, Acorns will deposit $25 into your account. Acorns has hundreds of partner companies so you can earn money just by buying everyday supplies.
Referrals – If you convince your friends or family to open an Acorns account, they will give you $5. Acorns also runs promotions. For instance they recently ran one where they would give you $400 for referring 4 people. Learn more about their referral program here.

How much does Acorns cost?

Acorns offers great value. Not only do you get to invest in professionally created and managed portfolios, you get to do so at an inexpensive price. At the end of the day, lower costs means higher returns for you as the investor.

Acorns offers three tiers of service. The first one which gives the investor everything they need to get started costs just $1 per month. If you are looking to open a regular investment account and a retirement account, then you will be charged just $3 per month. This tier also comes with a checking account with an awesome debit card.

Lastly, you can open a family account that includes investment accounts for your children. This tier also includes personal investment, retirement, and checking accounts – all for just $5 a month.

If you are new and just looking to invest and grow your knowledge, the Lite plan for $1 a month is what we recommend.

For more information on Acorn’s pricing, visit their resource page here.

How do I sign up?

If you are interested in opening your own investment account, all you have to do is head over to Acorns’ website and enter in your personal information. Using Acorns really is the easiest way to start investing.

Next, just link a bank account and transfer in some funds. Within a couple of days you will be invested!

Looking for a free $5 when you open your account? Be sure to sign up using this link. In order to qualify you must link a bank account and fund your new investment account.