Turn Your Spare Change into Investments Automatically (2025 Guide)

How to Build Passive Income Using Micro-Investment Apps

Ever wondered if you could start investing with just the spare change from your coffee runs? Thanks to micro-investment apps, you can.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to turn your small daily purchases into real investment portfolios, using apps that automatically round up your transactions and invest the difference — all from your phone.

🪙 What Is Micro-Investing?

Micro-investing is the practice of investing small amounts of money—often just pennies at a time—into financial markets. You don't need thousands of dollars or a broker to get started.

How it works:

Link your debit or credit card
The app rounds up each purchase (e.g., $3.50 coffee → $0.50 invested)
Spare change is invested into ETFs, stocks, or crypto
Over time, these “micro-deposits” add up and generate passive income

💡 Why Micro-Investing Is Great for Beginners

Low barrier to entry — start with as little as $5
Set-and-forget automation
Built-in diversification (you invest in baskets of assets)
Teaches long-term investing habits

📲 Top 5 Micro-Investment Apps in 2025

Let’s walk through the best apps to get started with today, including features, pros/cons, fees, and passive earning potential.

🥇 1. Acorns – The King of Spare Change Investing

Acorns pioneered the micro-investing model and remains the most beginner-friendly app in 2025.

📱 How It Works:

Link your cards and bank account
Acorns rounds up each purchase and invests the difference
Invests in diversified ETF portfolios

💰 Earning Methods:

Round-Ups (passive)
Recurring deposits (optional)
Found Money (cashback from partner brands)

💼 Plans:

Lite: $3/mo — Invest only
Personal: $5/mo — Includes retirement + bank account
Family: $9/mo — Add investment accounts for kids

✅ Pros:

Very beginner-friendly
Automatic rebalancing
Cashback for shopping (Found Money)

🔻 Cons:

Flat fee can eat into small portfolios
Limited control over individual investments

🥈 2. Stash – Invest Your Way (Starting at $5)

Stash blends micro-investing with educational tools, letting you choose from over 3,000 stocks and ETFs.

📱 How It Works:

Round-ups and recurring deposits
Buy fractional shares (e.g., $1 of Amazon stock)
Access a built-in banking system

💰 Features:

Personalized investment advice
Stash Stock-Back® Card: earn stock instead of points
Auto-invest settings

💼 Plans:

Beginner: $3/mo — Includes banking + investing
Growth: $5/mo — Adds retirement
Stash+: $9/mo — Adds custodial accounts and market insights

✅ Pros:

Full control over investment choices
Real fractional share ownership
Bonus stock rewards from shopping

🔻 Cons:

Not 100% passive (requires some setup)
Monthly fee impacts small balances

🥉 3. Public – Social Investing with Fractional Shares

Public combines micro-investing and social media, letting you follow influencers and financial experts.

📱 How It Works:

Start investing with as little as $1
No fees, commissions, or minimums
Community-driven portfolio discovery

💰 Earning Style:

Long-term investment growth
No spare change round-ups — more manual, less passive

✅ Pros:

No monthly fees
Learn from a community of investors
Invest in crypto, stocks, and ETFs

🔻 Cons:

Lacks true “set-it-and-forget-it” automation
Not a round-up-based app

🪙 4. Chime + Save When You Spend Feature

While not a direct investment platform, Chime helps users passively build savings, which you can then transfer to an investment account.

📱 How It Works:

Every purchase is rounded up to the nearest dollar
The difference is saved in your Chime Savings Account
Combine with Acorns for investing

💰 Features:

Automatic saving tool
Free debit card and no overdraft fees

✅ Pros:

Helps build the habit of saving
No fees or minimums
Compatible with external investment platforms

🔻 Cons:

Not an investment app itself
Requires manual transfer to invest

🌐 5. Robinhood – Round-Up Investing in Beta

Robinhood, famous for commission-free trading, is beta-testing Round-Up Investing for debit card users.

📱 How It Works:

Link your Robinhood debit card
Round-ups go into an investment account
Choose where your money goes (stocks, ETFs, crypto)

💰 Features:

Invest your spare change directly in real assets
Earn interest on uninvested cash
Access options trading, crypto, and more

✅ Pros:

Free to use (no subscription fee)
High flexibility with investment types
New passive tools being added

🔻 Cons:

Still in beta (limited availability)
Less beginner-friendly than Acorns or Stash

📊 Side-by-Side Comparison Table

App	Round-Up Feature	Fees	Investment Type	Best For
Acorns	✅ Yes	$3–$9/mo	ETFs	Passive investing
Stash	✅ Yes	$3–$9/mo	Stocks, ETFs	Beginners with goals
Public	❌ No	$0	Stocks, Crypto, ETFs	Social learners
Chime	✅ Yes (saving)	$0	N/A (use with Acorns)	Habit builders
Robinhood	✅ Yes (Beta)	$0	Stocks, Crypto, ETFs	Intermediate users

📈 How Much Can You Earn?

It depends on your round-up volume, deposit frequency, and market performance. Let’s estimate:

Scenario:

15 purchases/week → $0.50 average round-up
= $7.50 invested per week
= ~$30/month → ~$360/year
With 7% market return = $385.20/year

Add referrals, cashback, dividends, and recurring deposits, and your potential grows.

Over 5 years, this could grow into $2,200–$3,000+ passively with minimal effort.

💸 Real Ways to Boost Earnings

Use Found Money & Stock Back Programs
Acorns and Stash offer bonus stock/cash when you shop with partners.
Refer Friends
Most apps pay $5–$20 per referral, often with mutual bonuses.
Add Recurring Deposits
Even $5/week accelerates your compounding.
Enable Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP)
Automatically reinvest earnings to boost growth.
Use Auto-Roundup Multipliers
Acorns lets you multiply round-ups (2x, 5x, 10x).

🧠 Final Thoughts: Invest Without Thinking About It

Micro-investing is one of the easiest passive income strategies for absolute beginners. You don’t need a lot of money, time, or knowledge to get started. Just link your cards, automate your round-ups, and watch your portfolio grow over time.

📥 Getting Started Today (Checklist)

✅ Download Acorns and sign up
✅ Link your card and enable round-ups
✅ Choose a conservative or balanced ETF portfolio
✅ Set recurring deposits (optional)
✅ Refer 1–2 friends for a bonus
✅ Let your money grow

Tuesday, July 8, 2025