Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.

How to start investing with a deposit of $1,000

If you've got $1000 to invest you could consider share trading, a term deposit or a high interest savings account.

There comes a time in the lives of most Australians when they wish to start saving their money to build their wealth. The good thing is you can start investing with relatively small sums, and $1,000 is a pretty good start. Given options such as term deposits, shares and futures, knowing how they work becomes crucial, so you know what’s best for you. You would also have to pay attention to aspects like minimum amounts, fees and commission.

What are my options when I want to invest $1,000?

  • Pay off existing debt first

If you have an existing credit card debt, student loan, personal loan or home loan, use some of the money you have to repay your debt. This can help you save in the form of interest in the long run, and the quicker into a loan you make a lump sum repayment, the more you can save.

  • Contribute extra towards your super fund

Any money you can spare towards your super fund can increase your super savings considerably. Know that the government does not tax contributions from your after-tax income because you’ve already paid tax, but there’s a limit in place before you have to start paying tax. If your pre-tax annual income in less than $50,454 and you make after-tax super contributions, you stand to get matching contributions from the government.

  • Share trading

Simply put, buying a share is buying a single unit of ownership of a public business. You can buy shares of companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), and you get to choose from shares of over 2,000 companies. You can benefit if there’s an increase in the share price and also if you get a share in the company’s profits in the form of dividends. Yo generally only need a deposit of $500 to start share trading on the ASX.

  • Term deposits

A lot of term deposits allow you to open the account with a deposit of $1000 or more. With a term deposit, you will have to lock your money in the account for a given time period and in exchange you'll earn a fixed interest rate on your deposit. You can usually choose a term length from as little as one month to five years at a time. Term deposits are a low-risk way to invest your cash.

  • High interest savings accounts

If you don't like the idea of locking your money in a term deposit, a high interest savings account is another option for deposits of $1000 or more. Bonus savers usually offer a slightly more competitive interest rate than term deposits, however they often have monthly deposit conditions to meet. Although, a monthly deposit condition is a great way to help you save money .

Compare savings accounts, term deposits and share trading accounts.

1 - 10 of 10
Name Maximum Variable Rate p.a. Standard Variable Rate p.a. Intro/Ongoing Government Guarantee Monthly Max Rate Conditions
Westpac Life (18-29 year olds only)
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
5.20%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
2.00%
Intro/Ongoing
Ongoing
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • Make a deposit
  • Grow your balance
  • 5 debit card purchases
  • Balances up to $30,000
Go to siteView details
Rabobank High Interest Savings Account
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
5.75%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
4.40%
Intro/Ongoing
4 months
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • Balances up to $250,000
View details
MyState Bank Bonus Saver Account
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
5.00%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
0.05%
Intro/Ongoing
Ongoing
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • Deposit $20
  • 5 debit card purchases
  • Balances up to $250,000
View details
AMP Saver Account
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
5.40%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
1.20%
Intro/Ongoing
Ongoing
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • Deposit $1000 in previous month
  • Balances up to $250,000
View details
Bankwest Hero Saver
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
4.60%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
1.00%
Intro/Ongoing
Ongoing
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • Deposit $200
  • No withdrawals
  • Balances up to $250,000.99
View details
HSBC Bonus Savings Account
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
4.25%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
2.00%
Intro/Ongoing
Ongoing
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • Grow balance by $300
  • Balances up to $5,000,000
View details
HSBC Everyday Savings
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
5.15%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
3.00%
Intro/Ongoing
3 months
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • N/A
View details
ING Savings Maximiser
Finder Award
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
5.50%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
0.55%
Intro/Ongoing
Ongoing
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • Deposit $1,000
  • 5 transactions
  • Grow your balance
  • Balances up to $100,000
Go to siteView details
Get $50 cashback when you open an Orange Everyday and a Savings Maximiser account and make 5 settled transactions. T&Cs apply
St.George Maxi Saver
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
5.35%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
1.10%
Intro/Ongoing
3 months
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • N/A
Go to siteView details
Max Variable Rate includes 0.35% p.a. for 3 months for new customers who apply online
ING Savings Accelerator ($150,000 - $500,000)
Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
5.20%
Standard Variable Rate p.a.
4.70%
Intro/Ongoing
4 months
Government Guarantee
Monthly Max Rate Conditions
  • Welcome rate applies up to $500K
Go to siteView details
loading
Showing 10 of 10 results
Name 3 Mths p.a. 4 Mths p.a. 5 Mths p.a. 6 Mths p.a. 7 Mths p.a. 12 Mths p.a. 24 Mths p.a.
Judo Bank Term Deposit
Judo Bank logo
Finder Award$1,000 min. deposit
3 Mths p.a.
5.00%
4 Mths p.a.
-
5 Mths p.a.
-
6 Mths p.a.
5.25%
7 Mths p.a.
-
12 Mths p.a.
5.25%
24 Mths p.a.
5.00%
More Info
Rabobank Term Deposit
Rabobank logo
$1,000 min. deposit$2,000,000 max. deposit
3 Mths p.a.
4.85%
4 Mths p.a.
-
5 Mths p.a.
-
6 Mths p.a.
5.00%
7 Mths p.a.
-
12 Mths p.a.
5.00%
24 Mths p.a.
4.50%
More Info
loading
Showing 2 of 15 results
Name Product Price per trade Inactivity fee Asset class International
eToro
Finder AwardExclusive
eToro
$0
US$10 per month if there’s been no log-in for 12 months
ASX shares, Global shares, US shares, ETFs
Yes
Finder exclusive: Get 12 months of investment tracking app Delta PRO for free when you fund your eToro account (T&Cs apply).
CFD service. Capital at risk.
Join the world's biggest social trading network when you trade stocks, commodities and currencies from the one account.
Moomoo Share Trading
US$0.99
$0
ASX shares, Global shares, US shares, ETFs
Yes
Finder eclusive: Unlock up to AU$4,000 and US$4,000 in free brokerage over 60 days. T&Cs apply.
Trade shares on the ASX, the US markets and buy ETFs with Moomoo. Plus join a community over 20 million investors.
Tiger Brokers
US$2
$0
ASX shares, Global shares, US shares, ETFs
Yes
Finder exclusive: 10 no-brokerage US or ASX market trades in the first 180 days + 7% p.a. on uninvested cash with first deposit of any amount, plus US$30 TSLA + US$30 NVDA shares with deposits up to AU$2000. T&Cs apply.
Trade Australian, US and Asian stocks with no minimum deposit on Tiger Broker’s feature-packed platform.
Webull
Exclusive
Webull
US$0.25
$0
ASX shares, Global shares, Options trading, US shares, ETFs
Yes
Finder exclusive: Get an additional 30 days of $0 brokerage on stocks. T&Cs apply.
Trade over 3,300 Australian and US ETFs with real $0 brokerage.
loading

Important: The standard brokerage fee displayed is the trade cost for new customers to purchase $1,000 of either Australian or US shares. Where a platform charges different fees for both US and Australian shares we show the lower of the two. Where both CHESS sponsored and custodian shares are offered, we display the cheapest option.

How do I compare investment products?

  • Minimum investment amount. When buying shares, you can invest in as little as one share. If you’re considering opening a term deposit, you may come across minimum limits of $500 or $1,000.
  • Brokerage fees. Share trading platforms will also charge a brokerage fee for each trade placed on the ASX. Some will be higher than others, so compare your options.
  • Ongoing conditions to meet. A lot of bonus savings accounts will require you to deposit a certain amount each month in order to earn the interest, so make sure you can meet the conditions.

What are the pros and cons to investing $1000 in a savings account?

Pros

  • Guaranteed returns. Savings accounts come with no risk, and the money in your account continues to earn interest over time. How much interest you earn depends on the financial institution you deal with. Online banks tend to offer better interest rates because they don’t have to deal with overhead expenses typically associated with financial institutions. Some savings accounts let you earn bonus interest if you meet certain criteria.
  • Government guarantee. The Australian Government, through the Australian Government Guarantee Scheme Security, secures deposits of up to $250,000 per person per institution. This makes savings accounts and term deposits good places to park some of your money.
  • Flexibility. You get to choose from different types of savings accounts to suit your needs, and some give you easy access to funds in your account via online and phone banking. If you put your money in shares or futures, getting access to required money can take some time.

Cons

  • Low returns. While savings accounts offer predictable, safe returns, they tend not to match up with returns that you may get from other forms of investment alternatives. In Australia, savings accounts tend to offer standard variable rates in between 1% to 2%.

Is there anything else I should consider?

  • Risk. When you start investing it is crucial that you understand the basic relationship between risk and returns. A general principle suggests that higher the perceived risk, greater the potential returns. However, perception of risk can vary from one individual to the next, and is not a necessary reflection of statistical analysis.
  • Risk profiling. Risk profile refers to how much risk you’re willing to take and how it can affect your decision making process. Risk profiling can help identify optimal investment risks after taking into account the risk required, tolerance to risk as well as risk capacity.
  • Financial goals. Financial goals are ideal when they are measurable and specific. Instead of saving indefinitely towards a comfortable retired life, it is best that you think about how much money you’ll require then.
Shirley Liu's headshot
Written by

Publisher

Shirley Liu is Finder's global program manager. She was previously the publisher for banking and investments and has also written comparisons for energy, money transfers, Uber Eats and many other topics. Shirley has a Master of Commerce and a Bachelor of Media, Journalism and Communications from the University of New South Wales. She is passionate about helping people find the best deal for their needs. See full bio

More guides on Finder

Go to site