You have your emergency fund set up, your high-interest debts paid off, and you feel financially secure. At this point, you want to start seeing your money work for you.
Investing in the stock market can provide you with a secondary source of income, and even some money for the retirement plan.
How much money you invest in stocks per month is dependent on your after-tax income. Save space in the budget for savings, and use some of this to invest in stocks.
The exact amount should be based on your own salary.
To find out more about investing in stocks, and what amount is right for you, take a look at this guide.
How Much Should I Invest In Stocks?
There’s no clear and exact answer to how much you should invest in stocks. It depends on your age, risk tolerance, financial goals, time horizon, and more.
But the best way to figure out what amount of money is right for you is by reviewing your overall income.
There’s a widely held belief that the only way to make money on the stock market is by investing high. You have to spend money to make money, right?
But this isn’t necessarily true and can do more harm than good. A massive initial investment isn’t the only way to get into stocks.
A Percentage Of After-Tax Income
The easiest way to decide how much to invest in stocks is to choose a percentage of your income after tax. Many financial planners will recommend investing between 10% and 15% of your salary after-tax.
This should go towards stocks, bonds, and acquiring other assets.
However, for an initial investment, or a higher income, you should consider investing a larger amount: over 20%. Again, the payment should be based on your income level.
50/30/20
The 50/30/20 rule is a popular budgeting method that easily divides your after-tax income into categories.
50% of your after-tax income goes towards necessary monthly expenses, 30% goes to the things you want, and 20% goes towards savings and investments.
Following that rule, you’d have 20% of your income to play with. Some percentage of this should be saved.
This may be a regular contribution to an emergency fund, savings for a short term goal, or working towards a long term goal.
Anything left can then be invested in stocks. As you can see, using this method will likely result in around 10% to 15% of your income being invested.
Using the 50/30/20 method is an effective way to consider exactly what your wants and needs are. If you’re early in your career, a higher percentage of your income may go towards essentials.
In this case, you should focus on saving, rather than investing. But as your career progresses, there’s more room to negotiate a percentage.
You may find you can budget more than 20% towards investing.
$100
If you have $100 to invest per month, then you should invest $100 per month.
To speak more generally, the best amount to invest in stocks per month is as much as you can. It’s impossible to give an exact amount without knowing the exact circumstances of the investment.
Rather than focusing on an amount, instead, concentrate on regularity.
Stocks are a long term investment, and it can take some time before you start to see consistent profit. But by putting money in consistently, you can see results.
You can also begin to build up your investments, giving you a better footing when you have the money for serious investments.
Beware investing too little, however, or you might lose your profit to fees. With each transaction incurring a trading cost, you might find your small investment doesn’t go quite as far as you hoped.
How Much Money Should A Beginner Invest In Stocks?
When you first start out investing in stocks, you may find you need to pay more than you budgeted for to get a footing. This is what’s required to open accounts, cover fees, and learn your way around.
If you plan on being a hands-on investor, you can probably keep these costs lower. But if you want to take a backseat, prepare to pay extra to have someone do the work for you.
As a beginner, you should consider how much you want to invest to start, and how much you want as a monthly investment.
Now might be the time to consider risks, and, hopefully, get a larger rate of return.
Consider speaking with a financial planner, who can help you consider your financial and savings goals, and decide what to do with the money left in your budget.
More important than the amount is forming the habit. Set up a system to encourage monthly contributions to your investment fund, based on your current income.
Regularly Review
Exactly how much you invest in stocks will depend greatly on your own financial situation, that of the marketplace, and any goals you may have set.
Regular review will ensure you’re always investing an amount that matches your situation.
At least once a year, take a step back and consider your investment plan. During this re-evaluation, consider exactly what your goals from investing are.
It might be that now is a time to increase your monthly payments, and, hopefully, start to see greater average returns.
You might find you have extra money left in the budget to contribute to your investment options.
On the other hand, if you’ve recently gone through a difficult financial period, you may consider pulling back on the amount you invest, and saving more.
The emergency fund is there to be dipped into, but once emptied, you should work toward building the amount back up.
Final Thoughts
The amount you invest in stocks depends on many factors, including your personal situation, the market, and your goals.
Consider your investing goals, decide on a portion of your monthly and annual income, and do your market research. Then you can invest in stocks, and watch as your return rates improve.
Financial Disclaimer
This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.
The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. compundingstacks.com does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities.
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