People save money for many reasons, but most people ultimately want the same thing: financial independence. And the stock market has historically been the best path to building life-changing wealth. Since 1928, the total return of the S&P 500 has easily topped the performance of treasury notes, corporate bonds, and real estate, and there is no reason to believe that trend will change.

Of course, some investment strategies involve far more risk than others, but it is possible to build a $1 million portfolio by investing just $100 per week without taking on unnecessary risk. Here's how.

Before putting a dime in the market, investors need to have an emergency fund. Murphy's Law says it all: If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. People lose their jobs, cars break down, and medical emergencies arise. Navigating those unforeseen events can be expensive, and the last thing you want to do is sell stocks to come up with cash.

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Source Fool.com