I Turned $100 into $220 in Just One Week (Here's How)

In partnership with

Your job called—it wants better business news

Welcome to Morning Brew—the world’s most engaging business newsletter. Seriously, we mean it.

Morning Brew’s daily email keeps professionals informed on the business news that matters, but with a twist—think jokes, pop culture, quick writeups, and anything that makes traditionally dull news actually enjoyable.

It’s 100% free—so why not give it a shot? And if you decide you’d rather stick with dry, long-winded business news, you can always unsubscribe.

Check it out

🤔 The Question:

What Can $100 REALLY Do For Your Financial Future?

Let's be honest - $100 doesn't sound like much in today's economy. It barely covers dinner and a movie for two in most cities!

But what if I told you that $100, strategically deployed, could be the seed that grows into something much bigger?

Think of it like this: Most financial gurus talk about having thousands to invest, but they forget that every fortune started with a single dollar. You don't need to wait until you have "enough" to start building wealth - you just need to be creative with what you have RIGHT NOW.What Can $100 REALLY Do For Your Financial Future?

Let's be honest - $100 doesn't sound like much in today's economy. It barely covers dinner and a movie for two in most cities!

But what if I told you that $100, strategically deployed, could be the seed that grows into something much bigger?

Think of it like this: Most financial gurus talk about having thousands to invest, but they forget that every fortune started with a single dollar. You don't need to wait until you have "enough" to start building wealth - you just need to be creative with what you have RIGHT NOW.

💰 My $100 Challenge Results

I decided to test several different approaches to see which one delivered the best bang for my (hundred) bucks. Here's exactly what I did:

📈 Option 1: The Slow-Growth Snowball

$100 → Index Fund Investment

This is the classic set-it-and-forget-it play. I put $100 into a low-cost index fund using Raiz (their minimum is just $5 to start!).

The Reality Check:

• Not exactly thrilling in the short-term

• Historical average returns around 7-10% annually

• That's $107-$110 after a year

• BUT, compound that over 10 years and it could become $196-$259

The magic isn't in the first year - it's in what happens when you add a little more each month and let time do the heavy lifting. This is like planting a tiny sapling that eventually grows into a mighty oak!

🧠 Option 2: Invest in Yourself

$100 → Skill Builder

For this test, I bought a mini-course on copywriting (on sale for $67) and a couple of Canva templates ($15 each) to upgrade my marketing game.

The Results? Mind-blowing:

• I used what I learned to revamp a product page for my budget templates

• Generated $140 in extra sales just THIS WEEK

• Skills acquired will continue paying dividends for YEARS

• ROI: Immediate and potentially unlimited 💸

Hubby was legitimately impressed when I showed him the sales numbers. His exact words: "Okay, I take back what I said about 'another one of your experiments'!" Victory!

🛍️ Option 3: The Flip

$100 → Product Resell

This one was actually fun! I hit a clearance sale at a local store, snagged a few items that were massively discounted but still in high demand.

The Process:

• Spent $94 on carefully selected clearance items

• Took nice photos with good lighting (used the window in our kitchen - natural light is free!)

• Listed them on Facebook Marketplace

• By the weekend? Everything was SOLD.

$100 in → $220 out. That's a 120% return in less than a week! Not bad for a few hours of work and some strategic shopping.

You can see why Gary V always harps on about ‘flipping.’

🤝 Option 4: The Collaboration Play

$100 → Partnership Starter

This one was a wildcard idea I had (haven’t actually executed it yet). The idea is approach a local coffee shop about creating a "Budget & Balance Corner" - a small space with financial resources and my budget templates.

The estimated Investment:

• $75 for a stylish display stand

• $25 for printed materials and signage

The Ideal Outcome:

• The shop owner LOVES the idea

• We'd splitting profits 50/50 on any sales

• Ongoing visibility in a high-traffic location

• New partnership opportunities opening up

This one might take longer to fully pay off, but the networking alone could be worth 1000x the time and money investment.

I’ll keep you posted on this one.

A Creative Twist….

I want to give a quick shout out to my Mother in Law for this one.

Many years ago when my husband was younger and she was not in a good position financially she challenged herself to ‘grow money from as small starting point as possible.’

She bought some sunflower seeds for $1 and grew some beautiful sunflowers which produced more sunflowers seeds.

She bagged them and sold them to friends and neighbours.

She then used the money from that to buy some silver paint at a local garage sale.

She then re-planted some of the sunflowers into old tin buckets and pots, and painted them.

She then sold those (her memory was a little hazy on the amount she made at each step).

She then used the money from that to buy an old painted bookshelf at a garage sale and some sandpaper.

She diligently sanded down the bookshelf, oiled it and sold it for $120.

The point of the exercise was to prove to herself that money and opportunity is everywhere if we’re resourceful enough.

Her story and my husbands financial past (bankrupcty) were one of the reasons I setup my store - to give others the confidence to manage their money.

🔍 The $100 Investment Decision Tree

Not sure which approach is right for YOUR $100? Ask yourself these questions:

Need Money ASAP? → The Flip method might be your best bet → Look for underpriced items you can resell quickly

Playing the Long Game? → Index fund investing is your friend → Small, consistent contributions will grow substantially over time. Best for capital preservation and income as your nest egg grows

Have Marketable Skills Already? → The Partnership approach could leverage what you already know → Look for complementary businesses where you can add value

Want to Increase Your Earning Potential? → Skill-building delivers the biggest long-term returns → Focus on abilities that the market values highly

✅ Your $100 Challenge Gameplan

Ready to put your own Benjamin to work? Here's your step-by-step plan:

1. The Preparation Phase

• Be intentional - decide which approach aligns with your goals

• Do your research before spending a single dollar

• Set clear expectations and success metrics

• Remember: this is about GROWTH, not just preservation

2. The Execution Phase

• Take action within 48 hours (seriously, don't let analysis paralysis set in!)

• Document everything - what worked, what didn't

• Be prepared to pivot if necessary

• Don't be afraid to try something unconventional

3. The Evaluation Phase

• Track your results religiously

• Calculate your actual ROI

• Identify which elements could be scaled up

• Plan your next move based on what you learned

🚫 $100 Investment Pitfalls to Avoid

Not all $100 investments are created equal! Watch out for these common traps:

The "Get Rich Quick" Schemes

• If it sounds too good to be true, it absolutely is

• No, that random person on TikTok does NOT have a secret investment strategy

• Crypto/NFT projects with promises of 1000% returns are almost always disasters waiting to happen

The "Shiny Object" Syndrome

• Don't buy business tools you don't need yet

• That fancy course might not be necessary at your current stage

• Focus on revenue-generating investments first

The "All or Nothing" Mentality

• You don't have to invest the entire $100 in one place

• Sometimes splitting it between approaches works best

• It's okay to test the waters with smaller amounts

📱 Tools to Maximize Your $100

These platforms can help stretch your Benjamin even further:

Investment Starters:

• Raiz - Start investing with just $5

• Public - Fractional shares with no minimum

• M1 Finance - Create a diversified portfolio with any amount

Skill Builders:

• Udemy - Watch for their frequent $9.99-$12.99 sales

• Skillshare - Free trial gives access to thousands of courses

• YouTube - Completely free tutorials on virtually everything

Reselling Platforms:

• Facebook Marketplace - Zero listing fees

• Mercari - Simple to use with broad audience

• eBay - Still the king for certain categories

💭 Final Thoughts

You know what the biggest takeaway from this whole experiment has been for me?

It's not about the amount you start with - it's about the MINDSET you approach it with.

When you start viewing every dollar as a potential employee that should be working for you, your relationship with money fundamentally changes. Even small amounts can create meaningful results when deployed strategically.

The $100 challenge isn't really about the money at all - it's about proving to yourself that you can make smart financial moves regardless of your starting point. And THAT confidence is worth far more than $100.

You've got what you need right now. Let's use it.

I'd LOVE to hear how YOUR $100 challenge goes! Hit reply and share your plan or results - the most creative or successful ones might get featured in an upcoming newsletter!

To smarter money moves,

Ren

p.s Got value from this? Forward it to a friend who you think might love it too :)