A Woman’s Guide: How to Invest your first $100 with Confidence
As women, we often wait for the perfect moment; don’t we?
To call.
To confess.
To apply for that job.
To invest.
Most of us spend hours agonizing half-truths, what-if scenarios and talk ourselves out of taking concrete action towards our goals.
But at The Intentional Investor, we’re biased towards action. We’re all for making the call, sending in that confession, applying for that job and putting our money to work for us!
We’re not letting self-doubt hijack our hopes and dreams – not today.
If you’ve been on the fence with investing your money, jump over to this side. We’ve got all the tools you need to learn how to invest your first $100. And if you’ve done this dance before, talk to us – we’d love to feature you on this site!
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- Where to start based on your current financial situation
- How to take a confident first step — even if you feel like a complete beginner
Step 1: Ask Yourself: Why Do I Want to Invest?
Most women ask the question, ‘How do I invest the first $100?’ but what they should be asking instead, is: ‘Why am I Investing?’
New shoes, dresses and bags only go so far – real wealth is finding freedom and joy in everyday life. A sense of peace and stability that comes from knowing your basic needs are taken care of and that your future is secure.
When you know your why, you willingly tide over the challenges that come with the journey – whether that’s weathering market movements, absorbing an investment loss, or constantly upskilling yourself with financial information to make better investment decisions.
Step 2: Low Savings and Existing Debt? You Can Still Invest your first $100!
If you’re tired of seeing a low bank balance, high debt or a low credit score– know that these circumstances do not have to stop you from investing.
Doing something new – like investing – can often be intimidating. You are in unchartered territory and may not have all the answers. In such situations, a good approach to follow is to set guardrails, identify the smallest first step you can take and regularly review your progress. This allows you to experiment, learn and build confidence while keeping risk under control.
Starting from scratch or from 0 is not as bad as it sounds – you’re restricted in your approach by circumstances – which automates a lot of complicated decisions you might have to take as a first-time investor.
For example: if you only have $100 to invest this month, you know you can’t buy shares in Tesla – you can however, put all of that money into your super instead. When the funds hit your super account, they’ll be invested automatically.
Step 3: Assess Your Current Financial Position
As a first-time investor, your goal should be to start strong and build your wealth on a solid financial footing.
The way to do that is to assess your current financial position. This means taking a hard, objective look at your current expenses, take home pay, any savings you have and most importantly, any high interest debt that you’re holding.
Once you have this information handy, your next step is to chip away at the debt and increase your savings. For more information on how to effectively pay down debt, read this article.
For most women, investing is the natural next step they pursue when they have an emergency fund, a consistent savings habit and (limited) to no debt.
Step 4: Reality Check: How Comfortable Are You with Financial Information?
When you hear terms like index funds, diversification, and asset allocation, how do you feel?
It’s completely normal to not know what this means or have a slight inkling but we don’t want that to be the foundation for our first investment.
Here’s the hard truth: you need to get comfortable with these terms before you make your first purchase. And by comfortable, we mean knowing what these terms mean and how they impact your portfolio.
For a list of commonly used terms in investing, here is an easy reference.
Step 5: Making Your First Investment
Defining what investment means to you is as important as making the investment.
Your first investment doesn’t have to be grand. It doesn’t have to be in the stock market, and it doesn’t have to be an ETF.
Opening up a high interest savings account and depositing $100 is also an investment. And if you’re looking to invest your first $100 in the stock market, read this article to get started.
The Intentional Investor Take
The first step towards a new activity is always the hardest. If you’re worried on how to invest your first $100, know that this feeling won’t last forever. All you need to do now, is to take the smallest first step that you can.
If your approach is conservative, high yield savings accounts and terms deposits are a good place to start. If you’re ready for investments in the stock market, you could set up an account with an online broker or look at micro-investing options like Raiz.
