Saving and budgeting are great starts to meeting your financial goals but to really get there you need to start investing and make your money work for you.
My parents taught me the basics of money as I grew up. They taught me how to budget, how to put money into a savings account, and how to give to charity. They taught me about weighing my choices for smarter spending.
When I lived with my parents, investing was still very much seen as something that only the rich could afford to do. Over the course of the last decade, I've learned that all you need to start investing is $25 and a willingness to be consistent.
After doing a little more research, I learned about index funds. Rather than trying to pick individual stocks, I could invest in the whole market. This spread some of the risk around.
Not only that, but I discovered that there are brokerages that will let you open an account with as little as $25. If you agree to an automatic investment each month, you can buy shares in an index fund with as little as $50 a month.
Sure, you’ve sacrificed a little more ($6,000 more over ten years) and for longer but the additional reward is well worth it.