an you set aside $20 a week? What if that $20 a week, saved for one year and invested in the right mutual fund, would become one million dollars in 33 years? Would you start saving today? Then read on.

Contrary to the belief that you must have money to make money, you don’t need much cash to make quality investments. In fact, you can do a lot with as little as $500, or even $20 a month.

As a small-time investor, you’ll enjoy a couple of distinct advantages over those who don’t bother to invest at all: By making prudent investments now, your petty cash can grow into a considerable sum of money later on. Plus, it’s better to make mistakes now, with your nickels and dimes, than later on, with a larger chunk of your savings that can’t afford to be squandered.

The disadvantage: When you’re investing small sums of money, it doesn’t really pay to hire a broker, so you’ll have to do more of the legwork yourself. Thanks to the Internet, however, most of the work can be done right from online computer.