“I wish someone had told me at 19 that I didn’t need a thousand dollars to start investing. I would have started years earlier.”
So you’ve heard the word investing thrown around and immediately thought “that’s for people with real money, not me with my $50 a month.” Girl, stop right there. That thought is exactly what keeps most of us stuck, and I’m not letting you fall for it.
I remember being 22, fresh out of college, making $38k a year and convinced investing was something I’d do “when I had real money.” Meanwhile my roommate’s older sister was casually buying fractional shares with her barista tips and somehow had $3,000 saved by 25. That’s when I realized the secret nobody tells you: investing isn’t about having a lot of money. It’s about being consistent with whatever you have.
Why You Think You Can’t Invest (And Why You’re Wrong)
Let’s be real for a second. You’ve probably opened a banking app before, seen something about “wealth management” or “portfolio diversification,” and immediately felt like you walked into a party where everyone knows the dance except you. That’s not your fault. The finance world was literally designed to make you feel like you don’t belong.
Most of the content out there assumes you have a trust fund or at least a solid 401(k) with matching. But here’s what they don’t tell you: 64% of millennials say financial anxiety is ruining their mental health. Yeah, that’s wild right? Let that sink in. You are not alone in feeling overwhelmed.
💡 Quick Tip
Most apps like Robinhood, Acorns, and Stash let you start investing with as little as $1. No minimums. No fancy accounts. Just you and your phone.
The truth is, you don’t need to understand the stock market inside and out. You don’t need to know what a “bull market” or “bear market” means. You just need to know one thing: putting $50 away every month into a diversified fund is better than 90% of what most people your age are doing. Period.
The Math That Will Change Your Mind
Okay, sis, I need you to sit down for this one. If you invest $50 a month starting at age 20, and you just let it sit in an index fund that averages 8% returns (which is historically realistic), here’s what happens by the time you’re 60: that $50 a month turns into over $150,000.
Let me break that down again because it’s actually insane. You put in a total of about $24,000 out of your own pocket over 40 years. The market does the rest. That’s $126,000 in growth that you did absolutely nothing to earn except show up every month and press a button. That’s the power of compound interest, and it’s the closest thing to magic that exists in adult life.
$50/month at 20 = $150k+ by 60. That’s not a flex. That’s math.
Now compare that to waiting until you’re 30 to start. Same $50 a month, same 8% returns, but now you only have 30 years instead of 40. Your total drops to about $74,000. That’s less than half. Those ten years of waiting cost you over $75,000. So when people tell you “you have time,” what they really mean is “start right now before time runs out.”
What Actually Works: The $50 Plan
Here’s exactly what I would tell my younger self to do. No fluff, no complicated strategies, just a step-by-step that actually works for someone with a part-time job or entry-level salary.
First, open a Roth IRA. This is a retirement account that lets your money grow completely tax-free. You pay taxes on the money now (which is tiny because you’re probably in a low tax bracket), and then you never pay taxes on the growth again. Ever. That’s a deal you will never get again once you start making real money.
Second, set up an automatic transfer of $50 from your checking account every single month. Automate it. Don’t think about it. Don’t check it every day. Just let it happen like your Netflix subscription, except this one actually pays you back.
Third, put that money into a low-cost index fund like VOO or VTI. These funds track the entire stock market, so you’re not gambling on one company. You’re betting on the entire economy, which historically has always gone up over long periods of time.
📚 What Works: “The Simple Path to Wealth” by JL Collins – This book literally changed how I see money. It’s written for people who think investing is scary, and it’s the only finance book you’ll ever need. I’ve bought copies for three friends already.
The Truth Nobody Tells You About Investing
Here’s the part that makes everyone uncomfortable: the market is going to crash. Probably more than once in your lifetime. And when it does, everything in your body is going to scream at you to sell everything and hide your money under your mattress. That is the moment that separates people who actually build wealth from people who stay broke.
When the market drops 30%, your $50 buys more shares than it did before. You’re literally getting a discount. The people who panic sell are locking in their losses. The people who keep investing through the crash are setting themselves up for the biggest gains when the market recovers. And it always recovers. Every single time in history.
“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.” — Warren Buffett
I know it sounds scary. I know watching your balance go down feels like a punch in the gut. But I need you to trust me on this one: if you stay consistent for five years, you will look back and laugh at how stressed you were about a 10% dip. The people who win at investing are not the smartest or the richest. They’re the ones who didn’t quit.
But What About My Student Loans?
I hear this one all the time. “I have student loans, I can’t afford to invest.” And I get it, I really do. Debt feels like a weight on your chest that won’t go away. But here’s the thing: if your loan interest rate is below 5%, you are actually better off investing extra money than paying off the loan faster. The stock market historically returns 8-10%, so you come out ahead by investing.
If your loan interest is above 5%, focus on paying that down first. But even then, you can do both. Put $25 toward extra payments and $25 toward investing. You don’t have to choose one or the other. Life isn’t that black and white, and pretending it is will keep you stuck in “I’ll start later” mode forever.
The Apps That Make It Stupid Easy
You don’t need a financial advisor. You don’t need a fancy brokerage account with a minimum balance. You need your phone and five minutes. Here are the apps that actually work for someone starting with $50 a month:
Acorns – This app rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the spare change. If you spend $4.50 on coffee, it rounds up to $5 and invests the $0.50. You literally forget you’re investing until you check six months later and see $300 you didn’t even miss.
Robinhood – The simplest interface for buying fractional shares. You can buy $50 worth of Apple or Amazon even though one share costs hundreds of dollars. No commissions, no fees, just straight investing.
Stash – This one is great if you want to learn while you invest. They explain what you’re buying and why. It’s like having a friend who actually knows what they’re talking about walk you through it.
💡 Quick Tip
Set up your automatic transfer to happen the day after you get paid. That way you never see the $50 in your checking account. Out of sight, out of mind, into wealth.
What Nobody Told Me About Investing in My 20s
I’m going to be real with you about something that nobody talks about. When I first started investing, I felt like a fraud. I’d see people online talking about their $50,000 portfolios and feel like my little $50 a month was pointless. I almost quit twice because I felt like I was too far behind.
But here’s what I learned: the only person you’re competing with is the version of you who didn’t start. That $50 a month is $600 a year. $600 a year is a flight to somewhere amazing. $600 a year is a security deposit on an apartment. $600 a year is proof that you are the kind of person who takes care of her future self.
And honestly? Most people your age aren’t doing this. Like, at all. A 2023 study found that only 37% of people under 30 are investing at all. That means by doing this one simple thing, you are already ahead of more than half of your generation. Let that sink in next time you feel like you’re behind.
This is the kind of stuff women talk about inside TechMae every single day. No judgment, just real ones keeping it real. We talk about money, relationships, careers, mental health, and all the messy stuff in between. You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Related: This post is a must-read for women on their journey.
Start Here: Your First Week Plan
I’m not going to leave you with just information. Here’s exactly what you do this week:
Your 5-Day Investing Launch:
✅ Day 1: Download Acorns or Robinhood. Create your account. It takes 10 minutes.
✅ Day 2: Connect your bank account. Set up an automatic $50 monthly transfer.
✅ Day 3: Buy your first shares. Pick VOO or VTI. Don’t overthink it.
✅ Day 4: Tell one friend what you did. Accountability keeps you going.
✅ Day 5: Forget about it for 30 days. Seriously. Don’t check it every day.
You might also love this article – one of our most shared about making extra money so you have even more to invest.
And listen, I know this all feels overwhelming. I know you might be reading this while sitting in your dorm room or your first apartment with roommates who don’t understand why you’re thinking about retirement at 22. But here’s the thing: the version of you at 40 is going to be so grateful that the version of you at 22 was brave enough to start.
You don’t need to be perfect at investing. You just need to be present. Show up every month, put in what you can, and trust that your future self knows what she’s doing. Because she does. She’s you, just with more experience and a lot more money.
This Is Your Sign to Stop Doing It Alone
Women inside TechMae have been exactly where you are. Come find your people. We talk about money, life, love, and everything in between. No judgment, just real ones keeping it real.
