“I don’t have enough money to start investing.”
If that’s you or has ever been you – then we’ve got some news for you. This excuse to delay investing is no longer valid in today’s world! Yes, there was a time when investing in India meant having to gather sums of money before being able to invest it. But today, things are quite different thanks to a miracle called micro-investing.
Micro-Investing – Definition & Importance
Let’s start with the most basic question – what is micro-investing?
Micro-investing is an investment strategy that allows you to invest small amounts of money regularly, so it can help in wealth creation over the long term.
Today, it is an important form of investing because it elevates some of the pressure that typically comes with investing, i.e., the need to create cumulative wealth before investing. Through some micro-investing platforms you can invest as little as ₹1 – so you can start investing as soon as you start earning money, without having to put aside large amounts of money for the cause.
Benefits of Micro-Investing
Today, there are a number of micro-investing sites, micro-investing platforms, and micro-investing apps that can make it extremely easy for you to invest small amounts of money regularly to build your wealth. Thanks to these channels, micro-investing in India has become a popular choice, especially among young investors in India.
Here are some of the key benefits of micro-investing that have made it gain traction amongst young investors, especially those who are just starting out on their investment journey –
Low Entry Barrier – As you already know, micro-investing apps in India enable individuals to start investing small amounts of money, sometimes as low as ₹1 – like with Deciml. This means micro-investing is an affordable practice that eliminates the need for you to put up a large initial capital investment, making investing accessible to you even if you find yourself with limited financial resources. It provides an opportunity for young investors to enter the investment world and begin building wealth early on in their lives. The sooner, the better!
Habit-Building – Micro-investing encourages a disciplined approach to saving and investing – as do we, at Deciml! By investing small amounts consistently, you will develop a habit of regular saving, which is crucial for your long-term financial success. Micro-investing platforms often offer automatic investment features where a predetermined amount is deducted from the investor’s bank account periodically. This automation helps investors stay committed to their investment journey without the need for frequent manual intervention. For instance, Deciml’s Round-Up and Daily Deposit features allow you to enable spare-change investing, and daily investing in a completely automated way! You will invest with every spend without even thinking about it!
Ease & Flexibility – Micro-investing apps in India offer flexibility in terms of investment options. You can decide how much you want to invest, and when you want to invest – how you save and invest your money is entirely up to you! Moreover, micro-investing platforms often provide easy-to-use mobile apps, making it convenient for young investors to make and manage their investments on the go in a hassle-free manner!
Diversification – Most micro-investing platforms in India offer young investors access to a diverse range of investment options, allowing investors to diversify their portfolios. As an investor, you can choose from a range of investment products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and gold. This can help you tailor your investment strategy based on your financial goals, risk capacity, and investment horizon. Diversification is a risk management strategy that involves spreading investments across different asset classes and sectors. By diversifying their investments, young investors in India can mitigate risk and reduce the impact of volatility in any particular investment. This helps in building a more stable and resilient investment portfolio for when the market hits its inevitable lows!
Scalability – Micro-investing allows investors to start small and scale up their investments over time as their financial situation improves. This flexibility makes it easier for young investors to begin their investment journey with a smaller commitment and gradually increase their investment amounts as they gain confidence and financial capacity. For instance, you might start micro-investing with Deciml using only Round-Ups. But as you better understand your financial requirements, you can opt for Daily Deposits, and when you have a bit of an influx of money, you can opt for Lump Sum deposits – easily scaling your investments for important milestones. It offers a progressive approach to investing that aligns with an individual’s evolving financial goals and circumstances.
Education – A number of popular micro-investing platforms often provide educational resources and tools to enhance the financial literacy of investors. These resources can include tutorials, investment guides, market insights, and interactive tools for planning and monitoring investments – all of which are available right in the palm of your hand! Deciml’s Wise Up feature is a good example of one such source of educational resources. It offers users information on micro-investing, personal finance, wealth creation, and fintech, encouraging you to learn through jargon-free insights! By offering educational materials, micro-investing platforms empower young investors with the knowledge to make informed investment decisions.
So, there you have it – the key benefits of micro-investing. Keep in mind that this form of investing is focused on building your wealth over a long period of time!
Compounding in Micro-Investing
At this point, you might be thinking – “All that is fine, but how exactly does micro-investing result in wealth creation?” How can investing such small amounts of money help you increase your investments and create substantial sums of accumulated wealth?
Well, this is possible because micro-investing leverages a superpower… A superpower called compounding! Let’s quickly take a look at how compounding works.
First, compound interest (also known as compounding interest) is defined as “the interest on a loan, investment, or deposit calculated based on both the initial principal and the accumulated interest from previous periods”. Simply put, compounding interest is the interest you earn on your interest.
Now, let us assume you are using Deciml to invest just ₹100 every day. This means you are investing ₹3000 per month (approximately), which translates into ₹36,000 in a year! Here’s how your ₹100 a day for one year can look over the course of 5 years, at say a 10% compounding interest rate-
Year | (P) – Principal Amount (₹) | (I) – 10% Interest Amount (₹) | (P+I) – Closing Amount (₹) |
1 | 36,000 | 3,600 | 39,600 |
2 | 39,600 | 3,960 | 43,560 |
3 | 43,560 | 4,356 | 47,916 |
4 | 47916 | 4,791.6 | 52,707.6 |
5 | 52,707.6 | 5,270.76 | 57,978.36 |
Table 1: Compounding Interest
So, you see, investing 36,000 and keeping it invested for 5 years will earn you a total interest of ₹21,978.36! And that’s how micro-investing can help you make big gains – as long as you keep in mind that the key to leveraging the superpower of compounding lies in staying invested. The longer the investment horizon, the greater the potential for compounding to significantly increase the overall investment growth. This can be a particularly lucrative option for you if you are just starting out with investing in your 20s – because your investment horizon is potentially longer!
FAQs
Micro-investing is an investment strategy that allows you to invest small amounts of money regularly, so it can help in wealth creation over the long term.
There are micro-investing apps in India, like Deciml, which allow you to start investing with as little as ₹1! Most apps will allow investments of as little as ₹10 toward your micro-investing efforts.
Yes. Most micro-investing platforms in India offer young investors access to a diverse range of investments, allowing investors to diversify their portfolios by investing in ETFs, mutual funds, the stock market, and many more such options.
Compounding interest is defined as the interest on a loan, investment, or deposit calculated based on both the initial principal and the accumulated interest from previous periods.
The strategy of micro-investing yields the best results when you stay invested for a long period of time. Aim to stay invested for 3 years minimum to see substantial returns.