3 Ways to Invest $100

Given the way inflation has been surging lately, many people are barely managing to make ends meet, let alone free up $100. But what if you happen to have $100 at your disposal? Maybe you received a bonus at work or a birthday gift for that amount. Or maybe you were going through your stack of holiday cards and realized you never deposited that generous check from Aunt Mary.

Either way, if you're sitting on $100, you have different opportunities for investing that money. Here are a few worth looking at.

1. Buy individual stocks

Buying stocks is a great way to invest money you don't expect to need right away. You can buy individual stocks in an IRA if you want your investments earmarked for retirement. If not, you can open a regular brokerage account and buy stocks there.

Now, you may be thinking that if you only have $100, you're not going to be able to scoop up shares of too many different companies. But actually, these days, many brokerage accounts allow you to buy shares of stock on a fractional basis. This means that rather than purchase shares in full, you can spread your money around by buying pieces of shares.

Say there's a given company whose stock is trading for $100 a share. If you only have $100 and want to own a piece of that company, a full share would eat up all your money. But if your brokerage account allows for fractional investing, you could spend $20 on one-fifth of a share and then do the same for other stocks so you're able to diversify.

2. Buy shares of an ETF

ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, make it easy to build a diverse portfolio without having to do a lot of work. If you put your $100 into an S&P 500 ETF, for example, you'll effectively be investing in the 500 largest publicly traded companies.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index, which is generally considered to be representative of the broad stock market, has delivered an average annual return of 10% over the past 50 years. If you were to put $100 into an S&P 500 ETF today that delivers that same return and leave it alone for 50 years, you might end up with over $11,730. Now that's a nice return.

3. Invest in a side hustle

If you're not ready to invest in stocks or other assets whose value has the potential to fluctuate, you can use your $100 to grow your income. Let's say you've been wanting to start a pet-sitting side hustle but money has been tight. You could use your $100 to invest in some bowls, treats, and supplies. Then, once you start getting clients, you might find that you're able to earn your $100 back quickly -- and then keep earning and earning on top of that.

While $100 isn't a life-changing sum, you can do a lot of big things with it. And the sooner you put that money to work, the more it might do for you.