Some investments seem crazy but how much money you actually need to invest in them. For example, in order to invest in the hedge fund you have to have millions of dollars to invest and be making probably millions of dollars a year as well. Basically, if you are not filthy rich, you can invest in a hedge fund which will make it even richer. This is such an elite example, I will give you a more simplified one that could apply to you more easily.
Real estate is another example. While some argue you can get real estate really cheap auctions and other places, generally you have to pay a lot of money to get real estate. If you want to buy a few acres of land, depending on where it is and where you live, you could have to pay hundred thousand dollars more. If you want to buy a house, it could be couple hundred thousand dollars or more. Basically, anyone trying to invest on a budget probably can invest in real estate.
If you get in the right brokerage firm, you can invest in so many different types of investments inexpensively. For example, there are lots of online brokerage firms that charge minimal fees and delay to invest as little as $10 if you wanted. Sharebuilder is one of these. You can invest on the third Tuesday of every month and only have to pay four dollars per stock trade. That is an incredible price. Also, you can invest $10 at a time or you can invest thousand dollars at a time.
Another budget family investment is to mutual fund. While you can usually invest $100 or less, you can start pretty low. Many start with a minimum balance of $1000-$3000. That can seem pretty steep for some people but it’s much better than $100,000 real estate or a million for hedge fund.