Benefits of Investing Early

Read Time: 4 Min
Big goals require big savings, but you can get there with modest monthly contributions, if you get started now.

The most important lesson about investing is that your money needs time to ride through the ups and downs of the markets to come out ahead in the long run. That's why it's best for big, long-term goals, like helping you save for college or having enough money for a comfortable retirement. The good news is that you don't need to be rich to start investing.

Here are some steps to get started with only a few hundred dollars.

Open a Huntington Checking Account

If you want a basic checking account with no monthly maintenance fee, or an interest-earning checking account, we've got the options that are right for you.

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  • Pick a big life goal that will require a large sum of money, like retirement or college. Clear goals help with motivation. Here's the motivating math: $100 saved per month could add up to about $123,000 in 30 years, based on past long-term results†.
  • Take a little time to learn the basics before you invest. The first concept to know is diversification: spreading the risk across a lot of investments. It's also useful to understand how taxes vary for different investments. Check out our intro to investing, which is written for beginners.
  • Once you understand the basics, look at the ways that you can start investing on your own with very little money, including using new auto-investment apps. We assembled a guide to micro-investing here.
  • Make sure you take advantage of employer programs like matching 401(k) plans, because they can accelerate your investing.
  • Talk to your Huntington Financial Advisor to help you set and achieve your financial goals.

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Huntington Financial Advisors® is a federally registered service mark and a trade name under which The Huntington Investment Company does business as a registered broker-dealer, member FINRA and SIPC, a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and a licensed insurance agency.

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† Calculated at long-term historic stock market return rates of 7%, starting with $100, though returns are never guaranteed —there's always risk in investing.