Looking for small Investment ideas for students? Then you are in the right place! I'll share investing options for students and millennials to start investing with little money.
We know that millennials are good savers, outperforming other generations by as much as 36%. However, many of us are reticent with parting with that cash – especially when it’s for investments, due to the problems the previous generation faced.
Many of us are already making future financial plans that typically involve pensions, house deposits, 401ks and the like.
However, you could be making a good bit of extra money from investing and it doesn’t cost that much to get into. Here are some quick and cheap ways to start building up investments and small investment ideas for students.
Small Investment Ideas for Students
Here are the best small investment opportunities for students those that have less than $500 to invest.
If you want to build wealth without constantly checking stock prices, invest in index funds.
These funds let you own a piece of hundreds (or even thousands) of stocks at once, giving you instant diversification and reducing your risk compared to betting on individual stocks. They’re a proven way to grow money over the long term.
Not sure where to start? Here are some solid options—even if you’re starting with less than $500:
Best S&P 500 Index Funds (Tracks the top 500 U.S. companies):
- FUSEX – Fidelity Spartan 500 Index Fund (Expense Ratio: 0.015%, Minimum Investment: $0)
- SWPPX – Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund (Expense Ratio: 0.02%, Minimum Investment: $0)
Best Total Stock Market Index Funds (Covers the entire U.S. stock market):
- SWTSX – Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund (Expense Ratio: 0.03%, Minimum Investment: $0)
Best for Aggressive Growth (Higher risk, higher reward)
- FNCMX – Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Index Fund (Expense Ratio: 0.3%, Minimum Investment: $0)
Why bother? Instead of gambling on individual stocks, index funds give you a slice of the entire market. They’re low-maintenance, cost-effective, and perfect for long-term investing. If you’re serious about building wealth, this is one of the smartest moves you can make.
2. Invest in real estate
Wouldn’t it be great if you could invest in commercial real estate and apartments without dealing with all the hassle of buying, improving, and re-selling real estate? You don’t have to be a millionaire to invest in these types of properties. You can now invest in large-scale real estate for as little as $10 with apps like Fundrise.
Fundrise is a great way to dip your toes into real estate investing without needing tons of cash upfront. For as little as $10, you can start building a real estate portfolio, and new users even get a $10 bonus to kick things off. Whether you're new to investing or looking to diversify, Fundrise offers an easy and flexible way to grow your money while investing in properties nationwide.
- Earn passive income with real estate investing starting at just $10
- Easy-to-use app for seamless access to crowd-funded real estate deals
- Perfect for those who want their money to work for them
3. Invest with micro investing apps
There are micro investing apps available that offer the facility to ‘round-up’ your purchases – that is, save the remaining few cents to make up a dollar on your card purchases – and invest them for you.
Taking little to no commissions and acting as a type of fund manager, these investing apps allow you to customize the level of risk you want to engage with. Essentially an investment piggy bank, they provide a way to literally turn your pocket shrapnel into sustainable investments, little by little.
One of the most popular apps that do this round up is Acorns (they are also offering a $10 sign up bonus here).
Acorns fees are $1 per month for all accounts with a balance under $5,000 and 0.25% of the balance per year on accounts over $5,000. Compared to traditional management, mutual funds, and DIY ETFs, this fee is incredibly low.
- Effortless investing: Acorns rounds up your spare change and invests it automatically—no extra work required
- Big potential growth: Investing $100 a month could grow to over $180,000 in 30 years with a 9% return
- Free money: Sign up, fund your account with $5, and set up recurring investments to get a $20 bonus
Tip: If you're a student or alumni that still have access to your university .edu email address, you can sign up for the app using your .edu email address and use the app for free without any monthly fees.
4. Invest in individual stocks
It’s a common misconception that when people hear about investing they believe that they need “a ton of money” in order to invest when actually the opposite is true. You don’t need millions of dollars or even tens of thousands of dollars in order to begin investing in individual stocks like Apple or Microsoft.
The best time to start investing is when you are just starting out with modest savings. The reason for this is the magic of compound interest.
Compound interest is when you earn money on a deposit (a percentage that varies depending on the type of account), and then you earn more interest on that interest from the initial deposit, and then this process keeps continuing for 10, 20 or 30 years until your money has greatly increased in value!
Example of compound interest: You invest $1,000 as an initial deposit into an account that pays a 6% interest rate (slightly lower than the average of the stock market), and then you deposit $300/month (About 10% of $50k/year salary). After 10 years you would have $50k, then $141k after 20 years and $307k after 30 years.
And this is even without increasing your savings relative to your rising salary!
The best part is that you can start doing this right now by using free investing apps like Robinhood that allow you to invest in individual stocks.
- User-friendly app that lets you invest in stocks, ETFs, crypto, and more—all commission-free
- Perfect for beginners and casual investors looking to build wealth with ease.
- Key features include fractional shares, instant deposits, and access to a wide range of assets
5. P2P lending
Peer to peer (P2P) lending is part of a new wave of holistic banking and finance trends that emphasizes fair lending based on a community of creditors creating a fund from which the lenders can make money, with the interest paid to go into the pocket of the peer to peer lenders.
This is a fairly low-risk venture given the protections offered by the financial conduct regulators and can be bought into, in many ethical and sustainable P2P companies, with low rates of the initial investment. To boot, you can feel like you’re doing something good by offering an ethical and holistic approach to lending, as opposed to the predatory nature of some banks and small businesses.
Related: 13 Alternative Investment Ideas That Don’t Involve the Stock Market
6. Precious metals and commodities
The benefit of investing in metals such as gold and silver is that you can secure your assets in a relatively future-proof manner. The price of gold and silver stays constant, and institutions like the Federal Reserve are anchored to that gold.
Essentially, if your currency were to crash, you’d have something that’s worth something and will probably go up in price.
7. Start a business
Did you know that you can actually start a business with no money? The thing is, you don’t always need a rich uncle or to have a bank account filled with cash to start a business. It just might be that you lack creativity — because there are creative ways that you can finance your business. If you already have a business idea — then you have already gotten through the most challenging part.
If you are still worried about how you can start a business with literally zero funds, here are a few ideas to help start a business with no money.
8. Invest in cryptocurrency
If you're just starting out with small sums of money and want to get your feet wet with investing — try cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that you can use for digital purchases or you can trade like stocks. To buy and sell cryptocurrency including Bitcoin, you’ll need to use a Bitcoin exchange.
Don't miss out on the next Bitcoin surge, your $500 can go a long way. You can get started by checking out the best places to buy Bitcoin such as Robinhood Crypto.
- Trade crypto without commissions
- Manage crypto, stocks, and more in one app
- Trade anytime, day or night
Conclusion
Investment can sound scary given how the previous generation lost a good chunk of it.
However, millennials and students are saving better than ever before and have the income to get involved.
If you want to try and build a nest egg, but don’t want to shed all of your cash, consider these low-risk small investment ideas for students.
Can You Turn $100 Into $150,000?
Even small investments can lead to big gains. Investing just $100 a month could grow to nearly $150,000 in 30 years with an 8% return. Start today!
Arrived Homes
Invest in rental properties for as little as $100. Start earning passive income today.
Acorns
Set up $5 recurring investments and get a $20 bonus. Start growing your future now.
