Investing €100 Is Possible. Here’s How.

I am going to venture a guess; at some point in your life, you have thought of investing money. You immediately assume that you need €1000 or more and may be discouraged. As you continue to think about investing you buy yourself a coffee. What you might not realise is that your coffee could be 3% of your next investment. Today we shall look at the options that exist to make investing €100 possible for you.

Join the Peer to Peer (P2P) community.

I normally save the best for last, but in this case, I put it right at the top of the list. Peer to peer lending consists of a lender (yourself and many others) lending money to a borrower (entrepreneur) who repays you periodically with interest. This is done through a platform that brings the two together.

Investing in P2Ps can start with as little as €10. If you invest €100, you can split the funds and lend to different businesses, thus reducing your risk. Most platforms also allow you to automate the process of lending money, receiving repayments with interests and re-lending them in new loans. It is not a get rich quick scheme, but with average returns of 8%, it isn’t a bad deal either.

There are several platforms to choose from. Some of the bigger names out there include Funding Circle and Lending Club. Our choice pick, however, is Mintos. This platform adds an extra layer of protection to the standard P2P system.

Borrows do not go directly to the platform but instead use Loan Originators. These are licensed and experienced lenders that carry out due diligence on each borrower. Only they decide whether to give out a loan or not. When they decide to, you can join in and reap the interests. This system greatly decreases the chances of default by the borrower and makes it a great place for investing €100.

Take a dip into the stock market.

If you wish to follow in the footsteps of Warren Buffet but want to do it on a much smaller scale, there is a solution. There are some stocks and funds which allow you to invest as little as €100 (or their equivalence in $). Scottrade and Ally (formerly Trade King) are two great platforms.

Whichever equity market platform you choose, do keep an eye out for charges. Some are as low as $4.95, but others can be a lot higher, causing your initial investment to decrease considerably. You must always be cautious of only investing in one stock. Instead, diversify to spread your risk around.

Invest in yourself.

Don’t underestimate the potential that exists within yourself. In order to achieve financial liberty, you could choose to start by investing €100 in purchasing books or an online course to learn a new skill. You would then be able to use the knowledge acquired to earn a lot more.

I spoke about a great book for entrepreneurs in a previous article, and also suggested a number of free online documentaries. Although €100 might not sound like a lot, in today’s competitive online world you could learn so much with it.