Some golden investment tips

1. FOCUS ON DIVERSIFIED, LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS

“If I was a beginning investor and I had $1000 to invest, I would do my best to invest in a diversified, long term investment like an index fund.

“One of the easiest ways to do this as a beginner is to invest with a robo advisorservice like Betterment, Wealthfront or WiseBanyan, although to keep costs even lower I’d probably prefer to invest directly with a low cost company like Vanguard.” says Peter Anderson of Bible Money Matters.

2. EXPLORE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE

“I’d wish to get buried in the safety of an index fund. But being a person who’s just starting out learning the skills of the trade, I’d like to explore everything possible with my $1000.

“I’d buy a few stocks of my favorite company (or companies). I’d buy a little piece of a mutual fund (with low fee) too. I’d also venture into $200B online ad market by building a site, which I’d commercialize in due course.” says Sudipto Basu of One Cent At A Time.

3. START WITH DEBT

“First I’d pay off consumer debt with the $1,000. Next, I’d open a Roth IRA and invest $1,000 in Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund-VTI” says Barbara Friedberg ofBarbara Friedberg Personal Finance.

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4. GO WITH THE VANGUARD STAR FUND

“I’d suggest a beginner with a $1000 simply buy Vanguard STAR Fund (VGSTX). It’s a good mix of 11 Vanguard funds, which are themselves diversified among many companies.

“The expense ratio is a little higher than most Vanguard funds, but still low enough to not be a concern. Conveniently the minimum amount necessary to invest is $1000.” saysLazy Man And Money.

5. START SIMPLE WITH A ROTH IRA

“The first thing I would do is open a Roth IRA. Inside the Roth IRA I would keep it simple and put the money into a very low cost index fund. Later, once I gained more confidence, knowledge, and experience with investing I would branch out to other types of investments.” says Jason Cabler of Celebrating Financial Freedom.

6. THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE

“The best place to invest $1000 is in a Vanguard Target Retirement Fund. Do it quickly, then get back to concentrating on how you really build wealth- increasing your income and your savings rate. At that level of savings and that size of portfolio, future contributions matter far more than how that money is invested.” says Jim of White Coat Investor.

7. THINK CAREFULLY, CHOOSE WISELY

“I’d invest 50%, I’d use 25% for my mortgage (debt) and I’d have some fun with the other 25%. This means my “found money” priorities are saving for the future, killing existing debt and having a little fun. That sound just about right. In the end, what you value is usually a reflection of where you spend your time and what you spend your money on. Choose wisely.” says Mark Seed of My Own Advisor.

8. OPEN A BROKERAGE ACCOUNT

“As a young adult with $1000 and a long investment time horizon, I would open a brokerage account at Vanguard and buy a combination of low-cost ETFs. I would divide the money roughly into thirds to purchase: Total US stock market index (VTI), US small cap value index (VBR), and developed International index (VEA).

“If I didn’t feel like I could manage my own portfolio, I would put all my money with Betterment.” says Jacob of Cash Cow Couple.

9. INVEST IN A MUTUAL FUND

“If I had $1,000 to invest, I would invest the money into a mutual fund or ETF that tracked the market, so something along the lines of an S&P 500 Index fund. It’s boring, but I know if I leave it alone, over time it will grow nicely for me.

“If I were older, I would pick a mutual fund or ETF that was balanced (meaning it held both stocks and bonds). A key point to not overlook is costs, as over time they really take a bite out of your investments.” say Jon of Money Smart Guides.

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10. START A SIDE HUSTLE

“If I had just $1,000 to invest, then I would use it to start my own side-hustle business. I would then commit all revenue from that side-hustle business to purchase other income producing assets to create a virtuous cycle of passive and portfolio income growth.

“The key point is I would limit my spending to my regular day job by reinvesting all new income from the side-hustle and other acquired assets until my passive income exceeded my expenses. That’s how you make a $1,000 become something that changes your life.” says Todd Tresidder of FinancialMentor.com.

11. GO FOR A VANGUARD S&P INDEX FUND

“Assuming that we are talking about investing long-term for retirement or something at least 10 years out, I would take $1,000 and put it in a Vanguard S&P index fund – low fees and a great website to help the first-time investor get started.” says Bob ofChristian Personal Finance.

12. PUT IT IN AN INDEX FUND

“If I had $1,000 to invest, I would put it in an index fund. Indexing allows for diversity, and the chance to take advantage of the performance of an entire segment of the market rather than worrying about whether or not you’ve picked the “right” investment. I like the idea of a fund that offers dividend payments as well.” says Miranda Marquit ofPlanting Money Seeds.

13. THINK LONG-TERM, EVEN IF BORING

“If I had $1,000 to invest I’d go the boring approach and put it in a low-cost index fund, likely through somewhere like Vanguard. This may not be the most “exciting” way to invest it, though I believe it’s the soundest strategy for someone who takes a long-term view of investing. I like to take a relatively lazy approach to investing and that would do the trick.” says John of Frugal Rules.

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14. FOLLOW THE BROAD STOCK MARKET

“If I had $1,000 to invest, I would invest it in a low cost index fund that follows the broad stock market. This would be a great way to start getting used to the idea of investing. Then I would continue adding to my investment using dollar cost averaging.” says Lance Cothern of Money Manifesto.

15. MAKE IT A FAMILY AFFAIR

“If I had $1000 to invest, I would actually make it a father and son activity. First I would find a low cost or free investment platform such as Loyal3 or Betterment. Together my son and I would research some of our favorite companies, split the investment between two or three of them, and then watch it grow together!” Brock Kernin of Clever Dude.

16. THINK PASSIVELY

“I’d open a Roth IRA and put the money into a low cost index mutual fund. That means it’ll be cheap to invest, will grow tax-free and it’s a pretty passive way of making money. The earlier that money gets invested, the better.” says Will Lipovsky at First Quarter Finance.

17. START IMMEDIATELY BUT UNDERSTAND WHY

“The thing that I would do with $1000 is ask whether or not I should be investing it, and if I am investing it, why? Usually with an amount as small as $1000 I would recommend an index fund or Retirement Target Date Fund. The real key with investing is to start immediately and never, ever stop learning.” says Hannah Rounds of Unplanned Finance.

Not sure where to start investing? Try Betterment for FREE if you sign up here.

18. INVEST IN YOURSELF

“I’d invest $1,000 in professional development. I’m always eyeing online courses to continue building my skills.” says Kate Dore of Cashville Skyline.

19. PURSUE A SMALL BUSINESS IDEA

“If I had $1,000 to invest I’d invest it in one of two things: a small business idea that didn’t require a lot of working capital (even if the business fails you’re likely to learn significantly more than $1,000 in various different lessons) or in a low fee mutual fund/ETF such as Vanguard.” says Will of Doctor of Credit.

20. INVEST IN ESTABLISHED COMPANIES

“With $1000 to invest, I would like to play the Lottery. Don’t be serious, I’m just kidding. I would like to invest the $1000 in stocks with focus on some established companies. Or may be I can use the money to invest in Mutual Funds and Bonds through some local banks.” says Peter Christopher of Finance Care Guide.

21. EDUCATE YOURSELF

“$1000 is not a life-changing amount unless you can find a multibagger stock (100x kind) to invest in. But that is tough. So the next best thing I can suggest is to invest in educating yourself about Investing & Money Management.

“It might look like an unnecessary expense at first, but it goes a long way in ensuring that you become rich in future and more importantly, stay rich.” says Dev of Stable Investor.

22. THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

“I know most personal finance bloggers are going to say they would invest in index funds. That’s not a bad idea, but I’ll offer a more creative answer. If I had $1,000 to invest I’d purchase more shares of IZEA. IZEA is a company whose stock can realistically double or triple in price over the next few years and I would absolutely use the $1,000 to add additional IZEA stocks to my portfolio.” says David at Young Adult Money.