With only $500 you would be very limited in your ability to invest. You couldn't even open an account at many brokers. Then trading fees would be a significant percent of your trade. Plus you would be left with no cash if you need it. It would be a better idea to concentrate on saving.

My recommendation would be enough to open an account at a broker that offers no fee ETFs. That's your cheapest way to get started. And also the best unless you want to just gamble. At Fidelity that means $2500.00, Schwab may be less. You should also have some savings left for the unexpected.

you need to save a bit more. minimum commissions are usually $7.95 a trade, so even if you bought, say 100 shares of a $5 stock, you would pay $7.95 just to buy it.

I'm 19 years old without any assets aside from a savings account with about $500. So I wanted to know would it be a bad idea to invest? If not, what would be the best way to get started? If so, why? I really want to start making positive moves financially and thought this was a good start. Should I speak with a banker?