How to get free or cheap investment advice (2026)

If get free cheap investment is on your radar, this short guide cuts through the noise. Here is what is worth knowing, and how to put it to work today.

Key Takeaways

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• When you put money aside long-term, you put yourself in such a powerful position moving forward.
• You can deal with the unexpected, weather any reversals in fortune and even have control over how long you work before retirement.

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If you’ve listened to Clark for any length of time, you know he’s obsessed with people living below their means and living on less than they make!

When you put money aside long-term, you put yourself in such a powerful position moving forward. You can deal with the unexpected, weather any reversals in fortune and even have control over how long you work before retirement.

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So let’s say you are able to live on less than you make and invest some of your money. You want the money you save to work hard for you, right? The most key thing to make that happen is to invest in low-cost funds.

Read more: 7 ways to start investing when you only have $100 or less

What are you paying to invest?

When you purchase a mutual fund, an index fund, a stock fund, an exchange-traded fund or whatever else, you pay an annual management fee.

A new study from BuyUpside.com shows that just a difference of 1% in annual fees can mean an $80,000 difference in retirement.

Here’s how the math works. Let’s say you invest $100,000 today with a 5% annual return and you pay 1% in annual fees. In 30 years, you would have $319,694.

Now let’s say you invest $100,000 today with a 5% annual return and you pay 2% in annual fees. In 30 years, you would have $196,439.

Paying what seems to be a measly 1% more in fees (2% instead of 1%) eats an $80,000 hole in your retirement plan! Wow. That’s the difference between just getting by or living the life you want in retirement.

When it comes to investing, a lot of people want a little hand-holding. That’s where Clark’s investing guide comes in handy. It has advice for everybody from beginners to advance investors, no matter whether you’re ready to start investing for the first time or you’re looking to take a step up to the next level.

Of course, sometimes that’s not enough. You may want to get some help picking and rebalancing index and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or other investments. The New York Times put together the following list of companies that will do just that for you on the affordable…

Company Costs Minimum balance AssetBuilder .20% to .45% of assets $50,000 Betterment .15% to .35% of assets Acct. balances of less than $10K face a $3 monthly charge, unless you auto-deposit $100/month Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Free $5,000 Fidelity Go (still in beta) (still in beta) Financial Guard $15.95 per month or $149.95 annually None Folio Investing $29 per month or $290 annually None FutureAdvisor .5% of assets None Hedgeable .3% to .75% of assets None Invessence $250 per year for balances under $100K/ .25% of assets for balances over $100K $5,000 Jemstep Portfolio Manager Free for first $25,000; $17.99 to $69.99 per month after that, depending on balance None MarketRiders $14.95 per month or $149.95 annually None Motif Investing None $250 Rebalance IRA .5% of assets, plus $250 start-up fee None/$500 minimum annual fee SigFig   $10/month $2,000 Vanguard Personal Advisor Services .3% of assets $50,000 Wealthfront Free for the first $10,000; .25% after that $500 WiseBanyan None None

Read more: 10 best investment companies for small investors

This one spending change has been proven to save you money

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Final Thoughts

The bottom line: a little research on get free cheap investment goes a long way. Compare your options, watch for seasonal offers, and never pay full price when a better deal is one click away.

Originally published at clark.com.