I've been reading that you can start forex on a low budget but it isn't the best idea. The higher you go the better your chances. I'm not completely understand the difference between $100 and $1000 investment. Something about leverage?

Can anyone shed some light on this topic for me?

It's like anything else, would you jump into the stock market with only $100 and expect a high return? It's not smart to stick 100% of your savings into any one part of the market, but taking such a small amount and investing is near worthless if you intend to make it a steady source of income or for retirement.

It's also not like hedge fund investing, most of which require a minimum investment of $1,000,000. It's nice that things like this you can do on your own, but it is good to do research and find out how much is too much. Some people say do 100-(your age) to find what % you should have invested in things like stocks or currencies

So that'd be $80 USD from me? I was thinking around $200 to start with, but I'm really not sure. The demo account I received started me out with $10,000. Which I feel is unrealistic for me, but it gives me something to play with.

I'm also considering penny stocks but I'm a little unsure. I like small time with big time potential

Reb, I'd suggest start low if you're new to investing, and are not aware of what would do good to your money. Somewhat research would definitely help and will earn you profits in long run IMHO.

A penny stock is a common stock that trades for less than $5 a share and are traded over the counter (OTC) through quotation services such as the OTCBB or the Pink Sheets. Although a penny stock is said to be "thinly traded," share volumes traded daily can be in the hundreds of millions for a sub-penny stock.

Refer to this:

Many new investors are lured to the appeal of a penny stock due to the low price and potential for rapid growth which may be as high as several hundred percent in a few days. Similarly, severe loss can occur and many penny stocks lose all of their value in the long term. Accordingly, the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) warns that penny stocks are high risk investments and new investors should be aware of the risks involved. These risks include limited liquidity, lack of financial reporting, and fraud.

Penny stocks are also relentlessly promoted as part of illegal pump and dump schemes. So you know what to do, and where or how to invest keeping everything in mind.