The most common reason people do not start investing is not a lack of information. It is a belief that they do not have enough money to make it worth starting. That belief is expensive. Every month you wait is a month of compounding you cannot get back, and starting with $50 today is almost always better than starting with $5,000 in two years.

Here is exactly how to start with whatever you have right now.

Before you invest a single dollar

Two things need to be in place before any money goes into a brokerage account or an IRA. Skipping them is the most common structural mistake beginners make.

1
Always first
Capture your employer 401(k) match if you have one
If your employer matches 401(k) contributions, that match is a guaranteed 50 to 100% return before the market does anything. Contribute enough to unlock every dollar of it before putting money anywhere else. This beats every other investment available to you. If you have no employer match or are self-employed, skip to step 2.
2
Structural foundation
Have at least one month of expenses saved in cash
You do not need a full 3 to 6 month emergency fund before starting to invest, but you do need enough of a cash buffer that an unexpected $300 car repair does not force you to sell your investments at a loss. One month of essential expenses in a high-yield savings account is the minimum before anything goes into the market. Build toward 3 to 6 months over time.

How little you actually need

As of 2026, the minimum to open a brokerage account at every major broker is $0. Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard all require no minimum deposit to open. Once the account is open, fractional shares let you invest in any S&P 500 stock or ETF for as little as $1 at Fidelity or $5 at Schwab.

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The real minimum in 2026: $1 to buy your first fractional share of an S&P 500 index fund. The psychological barrier to starting is larger than the financial one.

The more meaningful question is not the minimum but the monthly contribution. A one-time $500 investment is good. A recurring $50 per month is significantly better over time because it harnesses dollar-cost averaging, buying more shares when prices are low and fewer when prices are high, without requiring you to time anything.

Where to put your first dollars

The account type matters more than the investment. The same index fund inside a Roth IRA produces meaningfully more after-tax wealth than the same fund in a taxable brokerage account, because all growth in a Roth is tax-free forever.

1
Best account for most people
Open a Roth IRA first
If your income in 2026 is below $153,000 as a single filer or $242,000 married filing jointly, open a Roth IRA. You can contribute up to $7,500 per year ($625/month). Every dollar inside grows tax-free and comes out tax-free in retirement. You can open one at Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard in about 10 minutes with $0 to start, then fund it whenever you are ready.
2
If your Roth IRA is maxed or you earn above the limit
Taxable brokerage account
Once the Roth IRA is maxed for the year, or if you earn above the income limit, a standard taxable brokerage account is the next destination. You will pay taxes on dividends and capital gains, but long-term capital gains rates of 0%, 15%, or 20% are still far lower than ordinary income rates.

What to actually buy

With a small starting amount, individual stock picking adds risk without adding expected return. The evidence consistently shows that a single low-cost S&P 500 index fund outperforms most active strategies after fees. Buy one of these and leave it alone.

Ticker Provider Minimum Expense ratio Best for
FXAIX Fidelity $1 0.015% Fidelity accounts
FNILX Fidelity $1 0.00% Fidelity, zero fee
VOO Vanguard $1 fractional 0.03% Any brokerage
IVV iShares $1 fractional 0.03% Any brokerage

All four track the S&P 500 and produce nearly identical long-run returns. The only meaningful differences are where you can buy them and the expense ratio. FNILX at Fidelity charges literally nothing. Pick one, set up automatic monthly contributions, and do not touch it.

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The setup that actually works: Open a Roth IRA at Fidelity. Buy FNILX. Set a recurring monthly transfer of whatever you can afford, even $25. Enable dividend reinvestment. Walk away. Review once a year.

See your money grow

The numbers below are why starting small and early beats waiting to have more. Adjust the inputs to see your specific situation.

Interactive Calculator

What will my investment grow to?

Enter your starting amount and monthly contribution. We show the 10, 20, and 30-year outcome.

10 years
20 years
30 years

The three mistakes beginners make

Mistake 1
Waiting until they have more money
Every year of delay costs roughly one year of compounding at the front end, where compounding has the most time to multiply. Starting with $50 today and adding $50 a month produces more long-run wealth than starting with $5,000 in two years. The math does not wait.
Mistake 2
Buying individual stocks before the foundation is set
Individual stocks are not more exciting investments. They are more volatile investments with a lower expected return than the index after fees, according to decades of SPIVA data. The foundation, employer match, emergency fund, Roth IRA with an index fund, comes first. Stock picking, if you ever want to do it, comes after.
Mistake 3
Selling when the market drops
The S&P 500 has dropped 20% or more multiple times in the last 30 years and recovered every time to new highs. Investors who held through those drops compounded through the recovery. Investors who sold locked in losses and missed the rebound. With a small starting amount and a long time horizon, short-term volatility is genuinely irrelevant to your outcome.

The quick version

  • Capture your employer 401(k) match before investing anywhere else
  • Have at least one month of expenses in a high-yield savings account first
  • The minimum to start investing in 2026 is effectively $1
  • Open a Roth IRA if your income is below $153,000 single or $242,000 married
  • Buy a single low-cost S&P 500 index fund: FNILX (0% fee) or FXAIX (0.015%) at Fidelity, VOO or IVV anywhere else
  • Set up automatic monthly contributions, even $25, and enable dividend reinvestment
  • Do not sell when markets drop
  • Review once a year and increase contributions whenever your income grows

The amount you start with matters far less than the decision to start. Every month in the market is a month of compounding. Start with what you have today.