If you have saved $1,000 you will have more than enough to start investing. Now it's incredibly unlikely that you'll go from $1,000 to independently wealthy in a short time period. But $1,000 will allow you to take advantage of the share market, where you can make incremental gains over time. Better still you are not locked into just investing $1,000. You can start with that and add more should your financial security or education improve.