How Much Money Should You Invest?

Santri Alat - How Much Money Should You Invest? - Many first time investors think that they should invest all of their savings. This isn’t necessarily true. To determine how much money you should invest, you must first determine how much you actually can afford to invest, and what your financial goals are.

First, let’s take a look at how much money you can currently afford to invest. Do you have savings that you can use? If so, great! However, you don’t want to cut yourself short when you tie your money up in an investment. What were your savings originally for?

It is important to keep three to six months of living expenses in a readily accessible savings account – don’t invest that money! Don’t invest any money that you may need to lay your hands on in a hurry in the future. 

So, begin by determining how much of your savings should remain in your savings account, and how much can be used for investments. Unless you have funds from another source, such as an inheritance that you’ve recently received, this will probably be all that you currently have to invest. 

Next, determine how much you can add to your investments in the future. If you are employed, you will continue to receive an income, and you can plan to use a portion of that income to build your investment portfolio over time. Speak with a qualified financial planner to set up a budget and determine how much of your future income you will be able to invest.

With the help of a financial planner, you can be sure that you are not investing more than you should – or less than you should in order to reach your investment goals. 

For many types of investments, a certain initial investment amount will be required. Hopefully, you’ve done your research, and you have found an investment that will prove to be sound. If this is the case, you probably already know what the required initial investment is.

If the money that you have available for investments does not meet the required initial investment, you may have to look at other investments. Never borrow money to invest, and never use money that you have not set aside for investing!

Many of the experts we spoke with suggested, as a general rule, to invest a set percentage of your after-tax income. Although that percentage can vary depending on your income, savings, and debts. “Ideally, you’ll invest somewhere around 15%–25% of your post-tax income,” says Mark Henry, founder and CEO at Alloy Wealth Management. “If you need to start smaller and work your way up to that goal, that’s fine. The important part is that you actually start.” 

Some budgeting strategies account for this, such as the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, which breaks your monthly budget into three categories: your needs (50%), wants (30%), and the remaining 20% for debt repayment, savings, and investments. 

For some, investing 10% of their monthly income isn’t feasible, but that shouldn’t be a reason to not invest altogether. 

According to the Pew Research Center, even among families who earn less than $35,000 per year, one-in-five have assets in the stock market. Investing is less about how much you’re investing and more about how much time your investment has to compound or appreciate in value. 

“[It’s] all about balancing financial priorities,” says Jeremy Bohne, Founder at Paceline Wealth Management, LLC. “This starts with near-term cash needs [such as] large purchases [or] [an] emergency fund, and once that is achieved the priority is understanding cash flow [or] excess money that can be invested against what would be needed to achieve one’s financial goals, like retiring at a certain age.” 

If investing 15% of your income sounds like more than your budget can handle, you can start with a set dollar amount and be consistent about it. Investing even a few dollars each month can sometimes be enough to see a return if you’re using the right investment strategy.

Consider the current state of your finances 

In some cases, investing even $10 can feel like you’re stretching your budget too thin if your financial house isn’t in order. Before landing on how much you want to set aside, consider these key factors:

1. Your income: Take a close look at your monthly income and consider how much money you have leftover after you’ve covered your non-negotiable expenses. If you’re struggling to make ends meet, you may want to prioritize putting extra funds into an emergency savings account or toward a debt payment. 
2. Your debt balances: Debt, especially high-interest debt, can become very difficult to manage if you don’t have a plan in place to pay those balances down. Take a look at how much you owe and the corresponding interest rates. Determine how much you can comfortably afford to invest, while still making at least the minimum payments on your debts. As you pay down your debt, you can revisit how much you’re investing each month and increase it accordingly. 
3. Your emergency savings: According to the latest data from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, 24% of consumers  have no savings set aside for emergencies, and 39 percent have less than a month of income saved for emergencies. Having an emergency fund is crucial if you hope to avoid taking on debt when the unexpected happens. If you’re still working on building up three to six months’ worth of essential expenses, consider investing a smaller amount of your available income while you work to hit that benchmark.