It used to be you had to have money to make money on Wall Street. And few people actually owned stocks. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Financial Characteristics of Consumers, fewer than two families in 10 owned stocks as recently as 1962. However, 60 years later the same survey found as many as 58% of all families owned stocks.

There has been a great democratization of investing over those six decades. From the advent of the first discount broker Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) to deep discount traders like E-Trade and TD Ameritrade, the cost of making an investment has been going down. And Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) forced the industry to virtually give up transaction fees. Now you can buy and sell stocks at no cost!

Essentially all the barriers previously erected to keep investing as the playground of the rich have been torn down. That means you can find stocks to buy with $100 and begin your journey to creating a comfortable retirement today.

So if you only have a C-note to your name, and you don’t need that money to pay bills or for an emergency, then the following three stocks should be no-brainer stocks to buy this month.

Broadcom (AVGO)

At first glance, semiconductor stock Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) won’t intuitively seem a dead simple stock you should be buying with your $100. After all, shares trade for over $1,338 each. Even if you purchased fractional shares of AVGO stock, which is just a sliver of a whole share (it is totally possible and definitely worth doing), you’re not getting much for your money, right?

Wrong! You have to look at the quality of the company and not the price of a share. That’s why penny stocks are such a terrible idea. These are usually awful companies with little prospects for growth. But their cheap price makes them seem like such a deal. Unfortunately, you’re more likely to lose whatever money you put into them rather than make a killing. That is exactly why Broadcom is an excellent choice.

The chip stock for mobile communication companies has seen its fortunes grow with the proliferation of smartphones. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a major source of revenue, accounting for 20% of the total. But the mobile market has a boom-bust cyclicality to it and Broadcom wants to smooth out those peaks and valleys. It has more recently steered its efforts towards software, and following the acquisition of VMWare last November, the chipmaker expects half of its revenue to come from this segment.

Broadcom stock also pays a dividend that has increased for 14 consecutive years. It has grown the payout at a 36% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the last 10 years. Because you will enjoy capital appreciation buying this stock as well as get paid for owning it, Broadcom is the first no-brainer stock to buy.

Starbucks (SBUX)

Coffee slinger Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) is the next stock you should be buying with your $100. At $86 a share it is trading close to its 52-week low of $84 a stub. It’s a great price for this excellent company.

Starbucks stock is down in the dumps because of pressures on its international business. China is the company’s second-largest market with over 6,800 locations and the country’s slowing economy has weighed on performance. Similarly, its presence in the Middle East, though dramatically smaller in scope, is bearing the brunt of protests over the war between Israel and Palestinians. It also sees tougher competition here at home from Dunkin, Dutch Bros (NYSE:BROS) and McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD).

Still, Starbucks enjoys growing sales and profits. In its fiscal first quarter, revenue rose 8% to a record $9.4 billion as comparable sales increased 5% year-over-year. Adjusted earnings per share jumped 20%. Analysts forecast the java shop will grow its profits at 15% annually for the next five years.

SBUX stock also pays a dividend that yields 2.6% annually and it has been growing the payout at a rate of over 8% a year for 13 years. This is another no-brainer buy this month at this deeply discounted level.

Visa (V)

The last stock to buy without much thinking is Visa (NYSE:V), the No. 1 payments processor. It has some 4.3 billion Visa cards in circulation and generated $14.5 trillion in total payments and cash volume for the full fiscal year. Visa also enjoys immense profitability.

Because the payments processor merely lends it brand to credit issuers, Visa’s gross profit margins are 98%. Operating margins are an impressive 57% while net margins are only slightly lower at 50%. It makes the company a cash-generating machine.

Visa chooses to use a lot of that cash to return value to shareholders. Last October it announced it would be buying back $25 billion worth of stock, double the $12 billion it repurchased last year. 

The payments company also pays a dividend that yields less than 1% annually. Yet it has been raising the payout at a torrid pace, hiking the dividend at almost 15% a year for the last five years. It just raised it 16% last year. Visa stock is a no-brainer stock to own now and for a lifetime.

On the date of publication, Rich Duprey did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.