I started with $200, split between ETH and LTC. That quickly turned into $400, and so on and so forth. It hasn't been without losses, but I am happy that I started with a smaller amount. The thing about any type of investment is you never know what's going to happen next. Right now a lot of people are making a lot of money, but both ETH and BTC have crashed HARD in the past. With your $500 max I would recommend LTC for most of your investment. I'm currently in Storj, too. Kim Dotcom is releasing a new project that will be utilizing Storj. NEO should be a good pick up right now, it's fallen down to $32 and its been pretty steady after its initial price jump. Red Pulse will definitely increase NEO's value shortly, so I would say it's the perfect entry point. I would also recommend looking into SysCoin. I've also been invested in Golem for a while now, but that is more of a long term hold.