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Many people don’t carry cash these days, preferring to make a purchase by tapping or swiping a debit card or credit card. However, there are times it can actually pay to dip into your wallet and break out the bills.

Using cash can be more secure and less costly, among other benefits.

Here, you’ll learn when it can be better to buy with cash and when plastic is preferable.

The Benefits of Cash

Here are some of the pros of using cash:

You May Get a Discount

You may be rewarded for paying cash, like paying a lower price at the gas station or when you get take-out at a restaurant.

Many businesses pay a fee for accepting credit and debit cards, so they may be willing to charge you less if you’ll pay in cash. If you frequently fill up your tank, saving even 10 to 20 cents per gallon can add up to significant savings over time.

It Can Help You Avoid Overspending

When you tap or swipe your credit or debit card, you don’t physically see your money leaving your account. Since there’s no sense of immediacy or consequence, it can be easy to spend more than you originally intended. That can lead to debt and overdraft or NSF charges.

If, on the other hand, you leave home with only the amount of money you need for the day in cash, your spending is likely to be more mindful. That could mean you may have a better chance of sticking to your budget and avoiding overspending.

There Are Fewer Security Risks

Yes, someone could rob you when you are carrying cash. However, there is less risk of identity theft or your information getting stolen when you pay with cash vs. a debit or credit card.

You Can Avoid Fees

Cash is a one-shot deal — the purchase you made won’t end up costing you a penny more. With credit and debit, however, you can end up paying additional charges down the line, from late fees to interest payments on debt.

Recommended: How to Avoid Overdraft Fees

Times When You Should Pay in Cash

Your Tab is $10 or Less

It can be a good idea to carry cash for small purchases. Many retailers have a minimum amount of money you must spend in order to use debit or credit. If your purchase is under, you’ll have to throw in extra things (you probably don’t need) to meet the minimum.

When Shopping at a Small or Local Business

Small businesses often offer discounts for cash payments, since it helps them save on bank fees. This can be an easy way to support your local businesses and save a few dollars at the same time.

You Want to Keep Advertisers at Bay

You may have noticed that after you buy something with a credit or debit card, you often get hit with ads and offers for similar products. That’s because retailers can track their customers’ spending and share their information with a third party, who can then target them with ads.

This can be annoying, and also lead to more spending if you’re enticed by an offer. Using cash makes it much harder for businesses to collect and share your information.

Times When You Shouldn’t Pay With Cash

Next, learn about the times when you should keep your wallet shut and find another, non-cash way to pay.

Buying a House

If real estate is hot where you live, you may be tempted (if you can) to plunk down cash to ensure you get that dream house before someone else does.

While buying a home with cash vs. getting a mortgage may get you the house, it may not be the most prudent move in the long run, especially if it wipes out all of your savings.

A mortgage has tax benefits and timely payments can help you build good credit. Also, there could be better uses for all that cash, like investing in the stock market or elsewhere.

Business Expenses

If you own your own business, have a side gig, or do freelance work, it can be better to use credit (or even a check) to pay for business-related purchases. You’ll likely want a paper trail so you can deduct these expenses on your tax return.

Another potential perk of using credit is that it may offer some purchase protection in event something you buy for your business that breaks or gets stolen soon after you purchase it.

Paying Service Providers

You may think a service provider, whether it’s an electrician or an auto mechanic did a good job, but only time will tell. Using credit can offer you some protection in the event that you experience problems with a service after you’ve already paid for it.

Renting a Car

Often your credit card will provide insurance on car rentals (which can help you save on renting a car), but only if you use that form of payment, as opposed to debit or cash. Using credit for the car rental can help you avoid paying for something you don’t need to purchase.

You’re Looking to Build Credit

If you need to build your credit score, one way to accomplish that is to use your credit card on a regular basis and show that you’re responsible by paying what you owe each month, consistently and on time.

When Buying Electronics

Using your credit card instead of cash for electronics can be a big advantage if your credit card offers extended warranties as a cardmember benefit. This allows you to get peace of mind without having to pony up for the store’s warranty. And, you can simply pay off the balance as soon as the bill comes.

You’re Looking to Track Your Spending

If you’re looking to see where your money is going so you can track your spending and set up a monthly budget, it can be easier if you pay with credit or debit.

Your financial institution may even offer you a pie chart of your spending, broken down into categories. Seeing everything in black and white can help you become better at budgeting.

Alternatives to Using Cash

Paying in cash has its pros and cons. If you decide that you want to pay with something other than cash, here are some alternatives.

Cash vs Credit Cards

A credit card can be a good alternative to cash if you are able to pay it off in full every month, and you do. If managed well, credit cards (even secured credit cards) can help you build credit to buy a home or another large purchase in the future.

Cash vs Debit Cards

A debit card can be a good substitute for cash, as long as you know there’s money in the bank. By using a debit card, you’re not incurring any new high-interest debt. As long as you are not incurring any overdraft fees, or withdrawing money from ATMs that charge high fees, debit cards can be a simple way to make purchases.

Cash vs Financing or Loans

It can sometimes be better to pay for a major purchase, like a car or a home, with a loan rather than cash if the interest rate is lower than what you could likely earn by investing that money.

However, you’ll also want to keep in mind that there is risk involved in investing in the stock market, so there is always a chance that you could lose money.

Recommended: Leasing vs. Buying a Car: What’s Right for You?

The Takeaway

Even as we move towards a more cashless society, it can be important to keep cash in your wallet and use it for certain everyday expenses.

Paying in cash can help you garner discounts at local businesses, stick to your budget, avoid paying overdraft and interest fees, protect against identity theft, and keep advertisers from targeting you.

There are times, however, when it can make more sense to pay with credit rather than cash. These can include: when you’re making business purchases and buying electronics and/or you’re looking to build credit or closely track your spending.

Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.

Better banking is here with SoFi, NerdWallet’s 2024 winner for Best Checking Account Overall. Enjoy up to 4.60% APY on SoFi Checking and Savings.

Photo credit: iStock/towfiqu ahamed

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SoFi® Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A. ©2023 SoFi Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.

SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant.

SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.

SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.

Members without either Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits, as determined by SoFi Bank, during a 30-Day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances.

Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Disclaimer: Many factors affect your credit scores and the interest rates you may receive. SoFi is not a Credit Repair Organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. SoFi does not provide “credit repair” services or advice or assistance regarding “rebuilding” or “improving” your credit record, credit history, or credit rating. For details, see the FTC’s website .

Tax Information: This article provides general background information only and is not intended to serve as legal or tax advice or as a substitute for legal counsel. You should consult your own attorney and/or tax advisor if you have a question requiring legal or tax advice.

SOBK0823011

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Bank accounts can be frozen for such reasons as your financial institution suspecting fraud or illegal activity. Your funds can also be made inaccessible if your bank is adhering to a court order about unpaid debts you owe. In addition, the government can freeze your account if you have unpaid student loans or taxes.

Regardless of the reason, having a bank account locked can be an upsetting situation that makes your basic financial life difficult. You might be left scrambling to pay bills and cover daily expenses.

Read on to take a closer look at this situation, including why bank accounts are frozen and what you can do if you find yourself facing this scenario and want your money unlocked.

Recommended: How To Open a Free Checking Account

What Is a Frozen Bank Account?

When a bank account is frozen it means the bank will no longer let you perform certain transactions. You can still access your account information and monitor your account. You will still be able to make deposits, including manual or direct deposit of your paycheck.

However, you won’t be able to make any withdrawals from the account or transfer money from the account to a different account.

Typically, any previously authorized payments or transfers will not go through either. That means that any bills you have set up on autopay likely won’t get paid.

Why A Bank Would Freeze Your Account

Banks have the authority to freeze, or even close, a bank account for a range of reasons. These reasons generally fall into the following three categories.

1. Suspected Fraud

A bank’s reputation relies heavily on its ability to keep money safe, so account security is typically taken very seriously.

Banks are familiar with how you tend to spend your money, so an unusually large purchase or cash withdrawal can indicate fraud and trigger an account freeze.

Banks are also familiar with where you typically spend your money. A transaction that occurs in a different city or especially a different country can be a red flag that could trigger an account freeze.

It can be a good idea to inform your bank about travel plans both nationally and internationally to help prevent any account freezes during a trip.

If your bank flags suspicious behavior you’re certain you weren’t responsible for, it could be due to identity theft.

2. Unpaid Debts

Missing a single bill payment isn’t generally something that would disrupt access to your bank account, but a longstanding overdue bill might.

Collection agencies that purchase unpaid debts can secure court judgments for those debts, giving them the power to freeze (or “attach”) the bank accounts of debtors until they paid the money they are owed.

Most creditors can not have your account frozen unless they have a judgment against you. However, not all. Government agencies that collect federal and state taxes, child support, and student loans do not need to have a court judgment to attach your account.

Recommended: Debt Buyers vs. Debt Collectors

Any of the following types of outstanding debt could be the cause of a frozen account.

•   Unpaid Taxes

•   Student Loans

•   Mortgages

•   Car Loans

•   Personal Loans

•   Civil Lawsuits

•   Divorce Settlements

•   Child Support.

3. Illegal Activity

A bank account that is used to conduct criminal activity, or shared with someone who might be, can lead to the account being frozen.

Banks also work directly with law enforcement agencies and will freeze accounts of individuals that have been convicted of a crime or are under investigation.

Some specific activities that could lead to an account freeze include:

Writing Bad Checks. A single bounced check isn’t cause for alarm, but knowingly writing multiple checks from a bank account that doesn’t hold the funds to support them is illegal. If a bank observes too many bad check transactions, they may be inclined to freeze the account and alert the police.

Money Laundering. This is the process of generating money through illegal activity, and attempting to make it appear legal via multiple financial transactions. All banks and financial institutions are required to comply with federal anti-money laundering regulations and report any suspected activity directly to the authorities.

Terrorist Financing. Funding or organizing funds for terrorist groups and organizations is an illegal activity that can also result in an account freeze. Banks comply with federal laws that help prevent terrorism by freezing and reporting any accounts that exhibit suspicious activity related to terrorists.

How Long Can A Bank Account Be Frozen?

Banks don’t typically follow any set rules regarding how long an account can be frozen. The length of time generally depends on how long it takes for the account holder to notice the freeze, contact the bank, and can resolve the issue that caused the freeze.

How Does a Frozen Bank Account Affect You?

Having a frozen bank account essentially means not having access to your money, and it can be especially difficult if it is your primary bank account.

Frozen funds means not being able to make purchases with a debit card, or withdrawals from an ATM. It can also mean that any auto-payments linked to that account will likely not be fulfilled, and any scheduled transfers won’t be completed.

Because these payments can bounce, you could also incur a non-sufficient funds charge, which may be deducted from your account.

If you don’t have enough in the account to cover it, you could end up with a negative balance, putting you into an overdraft. In this case, you could end up having to pay additional bank fees and interest to cover the shortfall.

Recommended: How to Avoid Overdraft Fees

Those with frozen accounts often must resort to using credit cards and can end up accumulating debt in order to cover their expenses while they sort out the issue with their bank.

If the bank suspects you’ve been using the account illegally for any reason, it could close your account completely. It can also report your account activity to authorities.

Recommended: Bank Fees You Should Never Pay

How Do You Unfreeze a Bank Account?

It can be a good idea to contact your bank as soon as you notice a freeze on your account. When discussing the issue, it can help to have a clear account of your most recent locations and transactions, and be prepared to share any information and supplemental documentation that can help clear up the issue.

If you can show that there’s no reason for the freeze, the bank will likely release the suspension and grant you full access to the account again.

If your account is frozen over unpaid debts, it can be a good idea to get the creditor’s contact information from your bank and then reach out to them directly. Once you have a better idea of what’s going on with your account, you may be able to work out a payment arrangement.

The Takeaway

When a bank freezes your account, it can mean there is something wrong with your account or that someone has a judgment against you to collect on an unpaid debt.

The government can also request an account freeze for any unpaid taxes or student loans.

Once the bank account is frozen, you cannot make withdrawals but can only put money in your account until the freeze is lifted.

If your account is suddenly inaccessible, it can be a good idea to contact your bank immediately to find a resolution.

Consider Opening a SoFi Checking and Savings®

If you’re on the hunt for a new type of bank account, see what SoFi offers.

Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.

Better banking is here with SoFi, NerdWallet’s 2024 winner for Best Checking Account Overall. Enjoy up to 4.60% APY on SoFi Checking and Savings.

Photo credit: iStock/happyphoton

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SoFi® Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A. ©2023 SoFi Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.

SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant.

SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.

SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.

Members without either Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits, as determined by SoFi Bank, during a 30-Day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances.

Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

This article is not intended to be legal advice. Please consult an attorney for advice.

Tax Information: This article provides general background information only and is not intended to serve as legal or tax advice or as a substitute for legal counsel. You should consult your own attorney and/or tax advisor if you have a question requiring legal or tax advice.

SOBK0823016

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One rule of thumb is to own between 20 to 30 stocks, but this number can change depending on how diverse you want your portfolio to be, and how much time you have to manage your investments. It may be easier to manage fewer stocks, but having more stocks can diversify and potentially protect your portfolio from risk.

Diversification means having a variety or diversity of holdings within a portfolio or between portfolios. It is one of the most important concepts in building a portfolio.

Portfolio diversification can come in two forms:

•   Basic diversification — investing in a diverse array of asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and real estate.

•   Diversification within asset classes — owning, for example, shares of various companies and different types of companies (like large, medium, and small companies; international and domestic companies; and those in different industries) within a portfolio of stocks or bonds.

How Many Different Stocks Should You Own?

While there is no one right answer to the question how many stocks should I own?, a diversified portfolio makes sense for many investors. Diversification helps provide the possibility of mitigating risk by spreading out portfolio holdings across different assets, or different types of a single asset.

While asset allocation and diversification are related, asset allocation is generally thought of in terms of the broader asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash), and how the proportion of each might impact your exposure to risk and reward over time.

Diversification offers a more sophisticated way to manage the potential for risk and reward by diversifying across and within asset classes. That way if a given company or asset class performs poorly for an idiosyncratic reason (for instance, maybe there’s a change in leadership or a supply chain breakdown), the risk of underperformance could be reduced, because even if one holding in your portfolio suffers a negative impact, the others likely may not.

In this way, diversification also aims to smooth out volatility. If you own stocks for companies in different industries, when one sector gets hit — say, commodity prices crash in mining — stocks in a different sector where commodities are a major cost, like manufacturing, may go up.

This can also be true across different types of investments like stocks vs. bonds, which don’t always move in the same direction.

Thus the logic of owning an array of stocks, in different sectors, may be beneficial. It also leads to another question: how many different stocks should you have in your portfolio?

How Many Stocks Should You Have in a Diversified Portfolio?

As mentioned, one school of thought says to have between 20 and 30 stocks in your portfolio to achieve diversification, but there are no hard and fast rules.

In stock funds — large collections of stocks managed by professionals like mutual funds, exchanged-traded funds (ETFs) and target date funds — the average number of stocks can vary widely, from a few dozen to a few thousand different companies.

In considering diversification across asset classes, it makes sense to consider individual risk thresholds. One example is a typical investment approach used for retirement: A portfolio might be more heavily tilted towards stock when the individual is younger and can wait for those investments to grow, transitioning toward fixed-income instruments over time, as the individual’s risk tolerance goes down and they get closer to drawing on that money for retirement.

💡 Quick Tip: Before opening an investment account, know your investment objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance. These fundamentals will help keep your strategy on track and with the aim of meeting your goals.

How Many Stocks Can You Buy?

Now you may be wondering, how many shares of stock should I buy? The number of stocks you can buy will depend mainly on:

•   Trading rules set by the company

•   Your budget

•   The amount of time you have to manage your investments

There is no universal limit on how many stocks an investor can purchase. However, companies may have rules in place that prevent traders from buying up a large number of shares.

With all that in mind, you can buy as many shares as your budget allows. Be aware that there may be fees associated with your stock purchases.

How Many Shares Are in a Company?

It varies. Companies of all sizes and revenue amounts can have a wide range of outstanding shares. Some large-cap companies might have billions of shares; smaller companies may have far less.

Generally, the fewer shares a company has, the more expensive their stock is likely to be. That’s because market capitalization is calculated by multiplying outstanding shares by the stock price.

For instance, let’s say Company A is currently trading at around $250 a share. Company B, which has a little more than double the number of outstanding shares as Company A, could be trading at around $125 per share.

Rules for Day Traders

Another consideration regarding how many stocks you can buy are day trading rules.

According to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules, a pattern day trader is:

Any customer who executes four or more “day trades” within five business days, provided that the number of day trades represents more than 6 percent of the customer’s total trades in the margin account for that same five business day period.

A day trade would include buying and selling or selling and buying the same stock in a day.

Pattern day traders can only trade in margin accounts and must have a minimum of $25,000 in their accounts. If you are not a designated pattern day trader, you cannot buy and sell and/or sell and buy the same stock four or more times in a five-day period.

For more information about day trading rules and maximums, contact your brokerage directly.

Getting the Right Balance in Your Stock Holdings

Another approach to diversification is to invest in broad market indices, which track entire industries or even the entire market. Index funds, which are mutual funds that track indexes, and ETFs, some of which also track indexes and which can be bought and sold like stocks, have made it simpler for investors to achieve diversification by using a single investment vehicle.

Balancing a Portfolio with Index Funds

Though John “Jack” Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group, launched the renowned Vanguard 500 Index Fund in late 1975, it wasn’t the first of its kind. The vision to put investors in the driver’s seat by offering them a low-cost way to invest in the entire market was shared by other institutions, and it caught on quickly with investors.

And no wonder: A mutual fund that tracks the entire S&P 500 Index, a collection of about 500 large-cap U.S. stocks, offers investors a low-cost way to access the performance of the biggest companies in America. These companies are distributed across numerous industries, like information technology, finance, healthcare, and energy. These large-cap funds are still used as a general barometer for the health of the market.

Today, index funds seek to track a wide array of indexes — there are thousands of different market indexes in the U.S. alone — using investor capital to invest in every stock or bond or other security in that particular index. They typically have to buy the stock in accordance with its “weight” in the index, typically its market capitalization, or the overall value of a publicly traded company’s shares. This means that the fund will be more heavily invested in the shares of the more valuable companies in that index.

Index funds make it easy for the average investor to buy into the market and achieve instant diversification. They’re affordable, too, with lower fees thanks to taking expensive fund managers out of the equation.

Diversifying with ETFs

Although there was a precursor to the modern exchange-traded fund established in Canada in 1990, generally speaking, State Street Global Advisors is credited with launching the first full-fledged ETF in the U.S. in 1993.

Since then, ETFs have become one of the most popular vehicles for investors — in part because they offer many of the same benefits as index mutual funds, like low fees and greater diversification.

While an ETF can be traded like a stock throughout the day, they don’t need to be made up of stocks. ETFs can be composed of bonds, commodities, currencies, and more. ETFs allow an investor to track the overall performance of the group of assets that the ETF is made up of — and, like a stock, the ETF’s price changes constantly based on the volume and demand of buying and selling throughout the day.

ETF “sponsors,” the investment companies that create and manage the funds, rely on complex trading mechanisms with other sophisticated participants in the market to keep an ETF’s value very close to the value of the underlying components (the stocks, bonds, commodities, or currencies) that it’s supposed to represent.

In terms of diversification, it’s important to note that ETFs are generally passive vehicles, meaning that most ETFs are not actively managed, but rather track broad market indices like the S&P 500, Russell 2000, MSCI World Index, and so on.

That said, some ETFs are actively managed, and may focus on a niche part of the market or specific sector in order to maximize returns.

When aiming to diversify your ETF holdings, bear in mind that the ETF wrapper, or fund structure, does not offer diversification in and of itself. Investors must look to the underlying constituents of the fund — the term of art for the various securities the ETF is invested in — to ensure proper diversification.

For example, an ETF that tracks the Russell 2000 Index of small-cap stocks, is typically invested in the roughly 2000 constituents of that index. In theory, that ETF would offer you a great deal of diversification — but only within the universe of smaller U.S. companies. If you also invested in a mid-cap and large-cap ETF, you would then achieve greater diversification in terms of your equity exposure overall.

💡 Quick Tip: Are self-directed brokerage accounts cost efficient? They can be, because they offer the convenience of being able to buy stocks online without using a traditional full-service broker (and the typical broker fees).

How Many ETFs Should I Own?

As with stocks, deciding the right number of ETFs for your portfolio depends on your goals and risk tolerance. Perhaps the first question to ask is whether you’re going to use ETFs as a complement to other assets in your portfolio, or whether you’re constructing an entire portfolio only of ETFs.

ETFs as a Complement

As noted above, a single ETF could own a few dozen companies or a couple of thousand. If your portfolio is tilted toward equities, and you wanted to balance that with more bonds, a bond ETF could supply a variety of fixed-income options. This would add diversification in terms of asset classes.

Or, let’s say your portfolio included a large-cap mutual fund (or several large cap stocks) and bonds. But within those two asset classes you were not well diversified. You could consider adding a small- or mid-cap equity ETF and a bond ETF to broaden your exposure. In this example, perhaps you’d need two to four ETFs.

An All-ETF Portfolio

Constructing a portfolio based on ETFs is another option. In this case you could use as few as 5 or 6, or as many as 10 or 20 ETFs, depending on your aims. Some questions to ask yourself:

•   Is cost a factor? Would you consider actively managed ETFs, which tend to be more expensive, or only passive ones?

•   Is the time spent managing your portfolio a priority?

•   How much diversification do you want? It’s possible to create a very basic portfolio using just two: a broad-market equity ETF (or even a global market ETF) and a total bond market ETF.

•   Might you be interested in including some niche ETFs in sectors you’ve researched that seem promising (such as biotech, clean water, robotics)? Although there are mutual funds that provide access to these markets as well, ETFs can often do so at a lower cost. Be sure to check with your broker or other professional.

Choosing Stocks vs Investing in Funds

When it comes to buying individual stocks, there’s a lot to consider. And while there is typically plenty of available information about a given company — including its past financial results — that can inform a thoughtful decision, its value going forward will be determined by things that are unknown. Is the industry overall going to grow or shrink? Could the performance of that company be affected by political events overseas or at home? Are there potential disruptors and competitors who could challenge its current share of the market?

In addition, the performance of a company is not the same as the performance of that company’s stock. A company might have consistent profits in a growing industry and a politically placid environment. But the price of that stock might be high. When it comes to buying, it’s important to consider the potential of future price increases. If a stock has already done well in the past, the future growth and appreciation could be minimal.

In building a diverse stock portfolio on your own, you’ll likely go through this research and consideration process with many stocks.

Index funds and ETFs, by contrast, offer instant diversification thanks to their structure as pooled investment vehicles. And chances are, if there’s something an investor is passionate about, there’s an ETF for that. There are funds for clean energy, ones that focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence, as well as organic food and farming, just to name a few.

When it comes to investing in index funds, the process is a bit different. Once an investor figures out what kind of market they’d like to track — like all the stocks in the S&P 500 — they can look at two important factors. The first is “tracking error”: How well does the fund track the index? The second is cost. All things being equal, a less expensive fund — a fund with lower fees and lower costs devoted to marketing, trading, and compensation — could mean more potential profits for the buyer.

No matter how an investor builds a diverse stock portfolio, and how diverse that portfolio is, it’s important to remember that all investments come with risks that include the potential for loss.

The Takeaway

Rather than focusing on how many stocks you should or shouldn’t own, it’s probably more useful for investors to think about diversification when it comes to their portfolio holdings. Diversification — investing in more than one stock or other investment — is an important consideration when building a portfolio.

Building a diverse stock portfolio can be achieved in a variety ways, whether an investor lets their passions for an industry or certain companies guide them, or they are attracted to the ease and low barrier to entry of an ETF. The key is to find the approach that works for you.

Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an investment account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, alternative funds, and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).

Invest with as little as $5 with a SoFi Active Investing account.

FAQ

How many stocks should you own with $1K, $10K, or $100K?

The amount of money you have to invest is just one factor in deciding how many stocks to own. The number of stocks you own depends on how much research you’re willing to do and the time you have to do it, your goals, and your risk tolerance, as well as your budget.

Remember, diversifying your portfolio is critical to help mitigate risk. That’s true no matter how much money you’re investing. You may decide that investing in mutual funds or EFTs is the best way for you to diversify, even if you have $10K or $100K to spend.

Can you over-diversify a portfolio?

While diversifying a portfolio can help mitigate risk, it is possible to over-diversify a portfolio. At a certain point, owning too many stocks (50, say) can reduce an investor’s profit potential. In that case, it may be better to invest in index funds instead of individual stocks. But keep in mind that whether you invest in stocks or funds, all investments come with risks that include the potential for loss.

How many different sectors should you invest in?

There is no one right answer or hard and fast rule for how many sectors you should invest in. It’s generally wise to spread your holdings over several different sectors rather than concentrating on just one or two. For instance, you might want to invest in technology, consumer goods, healthcare, and energy. This can help diversify your portfolio so that your holdings aren’t too heavily concentrated in one or two areas. But again, all investments come with risk and the potential for loss. Be sure to determine your risk tolerance before choosing your investments.

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