In this post, I share how I made my very first $1.52 from investing using only my “girl math” money. As a mom living paycheck to paycheck, I wanted to find a beginner-friendly way to invest. I walk through how I started with just $84, and then opened a beginner brokerage account with Schwab.
How I chose my first investment and…made $1.52.
Yep! Progress!
Ok, let’s start at the beginning.
Let’s start with the fact that I’m not great with money. I earn money. And I spend money. And I even save money. But at the end of the day, right now we are just living paycheck to paycheck. And I so desperately want to get ahead.
And I know two things. People get ahead financially primarily by either 1) starting a second job 2) real estate or 3) investments. And I really don’t want to do #1-2. So, I decided that I need to know how to invest. I need to know how.
(Now just a caveat. When I say “I”, I really do mean “I”. My husband and I are pretty synced with money. He’s the master when it comes to investments, and has primarily been the impetus behind our family savings. But if you know me, I love to be independent. I want to hold my own, pull my weight, show up, and be smart. So I honestly started this project without telling my husband. He found out soon enough. But the goal at the beginning was to be a one-woman show to see what was possible with the $50 that I made from selling our old porch furniture…)
Ok, back to investing.
To get started, I did what any millennial mom would do: I searched on YouTube. And I found an awesome video that helped me with my first purchase. This video caught my eye with the title “If I Started Investing In 2025, This Is What I Would Do”, so I watched it. (If you want to watch it too, here it is:)
Also, here’s a good time to share my disclaimer:
What to do before investing
I just followed the advice from the video above. I checked out my debts (yes I have them, of course) and made sure I didn’t have any with high interest. His advice to pay off high-interest debts first (to immediate make money from not paying those interest rates) was pretty solid, so I took that into account.
Secondly, I made sure I was working on my 3-6 month emergency fund. Yes, I admit I don’t have that much saved up. But, I can confidently say that I will continue to save towards that fund WHILE trying my hand at investments. My small investment project won’t interfere with those savings.
And that’s it.
Now, I just had to figure out how to start investing.
How much to invest?
If you haven’t already picked up from this website’s premise, I decided to invest ONLY money that I made outside of my regular job. I need every penny of my income for my mortgage, bills, savings, and all that milk my kids drink every week.
If you don’t have a steady job, but you can make $20 by selling your old kid’s books on the NextDoor app or Facebook Marketplace, start with that.
It’s like “they” say: Time in the market is more important than timing the market.
So, I decided that I would start investing the few dollars that I made on the side:
- Facebook Marketplace Sales. This will be my primary source. I am constantly selling used items on Marketplace (getting rid of junk is my love language – that’s what I tell my husband), so I decided to invest these earnings.
- Refunds and Rebates. Let’s be honest. Getting a refund, return, or rebate is like free month. I will track this and invest it.
- Coffee Money. This will take two forms. One, if I choose to skip getting a coffee out, I will invest that money as a small reward. Secondly, if I do buy my favorite chai latte while on a rainy school drop-off, then I will match that and invest the match. This might deter me from buying coffee in the future….
- Lastly, any “found” money that I might happen upon. This doesn’t happen a lot. If someone gives me birthday money, you better bet your bottom dollar that I will actually spend that money on myself. But, I’ll keep this category open for future surprises.
Now what?
I checked out my Facebook Marketplace earnings for August 2025 (the previous month), and wrote down that I made $84.00.
(To see that breakdown, check out my September 2025 report here ______)
So, I would invest $84.
Where should I invest?
I didn’t know. So I went back to Vinent Chan’s excellent video.
(Also, I don’t know if he’s excellent. I’m sure all of the internet and reddit could give me real reviews on this matter. I just know that he’s steering me well now, and I used his advice for the first month of this project…)
He recommended that I buy stock with a brokerage account like Fidelity or Schwab. Guess what? I have an account with Schwab – I’ll start there!
This is what AI told me about the difference:
- Fidelity: Often named the best overall brokerage, Fidelity is suitable for investors at any experience level. It offers $0 commissions for online U.S. stocks and ETFs, extensive research, and strong customer service. Its Planning & Guidance Center is excellent for creating personalized financial roadmaps.
- Charles Schwab: Considered the best for beginners, Schwab offers commission-free stock and ETF trades with no account minimum. Its Investor Starter Kit provides new users with $101 to invest in S&P 500 stocks, and its “Stock Slices” feature allows fractional share trading from as little as $5.
Don’t know where to start? I’m thinking that one of those options is a safe place to start!
What should I invest in?
Want to know what I invested in? Keep reading to find out!
My first monthly report was for September 2025 and you can see the report here.
Thanks for sticking around so far! And, I’m sure you want to go comment and tell me everything that I’m doing wrong, so go ahead…