What is the best way to invest small amounts of money every month?
The answer I found—after reading and watching many videos from investment experts—is simple: ETFs.
But there is a small problem… time.
When you invest for the long term—10, 15, or even 20 years—ETFs are a great solution. Investing small amounts every month can eventually lead to a solid portfolio. Unfortunately, time is not on my side. As I mentioned before, my investment horizon is only about three years. My goal is to reach a portfolio value of at least $15,000, which I plan to use to finance a family vacation to the United States.
Because of this shorter time frame, I need to optimize even the smallest investments.
In the previous article, I mentioned that I would try to reduce recurring expenses—and I actually succeeded. I managed to lower my monthly phone and internet bill by about $12. That means an extra $144 per year available for investing. I know—it’s a very small amount. But as an old saying goes: cent by cent, you get to a hundred.
So the question becomes: what is the best way to invest such small amounts?
Instead of putting this money into an ETF, I’m considering a different approach—one that might generate better returns, but definitely requires more effort.
My Micro-Investing Strategy
- Month 1 – I invest the $12 in a company that is currently in an upward trend and try to take profit relatively quickly—a form of light swing trading. I still need to define clear profit-taking limits.
- Month 2 – I add another $12. If the previous month’s trade was profitable, I will now have $24 available, plus any gains from the initial investment.
- Month 3 ….
I fully agree that this strategy requires research and that the profits will be small. Some trades will fail or move against me. But the biggest gain from this experiment won’t necessarily be financial—it will be learning. I’m curious to see how these micro-trades perform over time and whether they can outperform a simple ETF investment.
This small-amount strategy runs in parallel with my main investment plan, which remains focused on dividend-paying stocks.
If you have an opinion, a suggestion, or if you keep an online investment journal yourself, feel free to leave a comment.
I don’t know how many people will actually read these lines, but if you’d like to give me a hand with this plan, you can make a small donation through my Revolut link.
All donations will go directly into my stock portfolio.
Thank you!
