How can I invest my money in a smart way?

Question

I'm 23 years old and only have 53.00 in my 401k.

Answer 1

The smartest way to invest money is first by accumulating it... $53 is a start, but you need to save 'till it hurts.

Here's why:
If you are 23 today and you retire at 67 with a million dollar investment portfolio, that will safely generate $60K/year. But when you are 67, that 60K will only have the buying power of a little under $16K/year. It gets worse though, because at 67, you will still probably have 30 more years to live and that 16K will shrink each year until it’s only worth $8K/year at age 90.

A million dollars isn’t what it used to be… and it will be even less in the future.

So…. We must all become educated investors much more so then our parents were and start sooner. These are some basic steps to get you started. You’ve got to jump in now.



Start by getting a subscription to Barrons or Investors Business Daily… Do this for 6 months or a year. At first, It seems a bit mysterious, but pretty soon you start to understand the terms and things that investors are looking for and what they are afraid of

Next, Go out to the internet and search on the following subjects. Become very familiar with the concepts.
Asset allocation
Long term investing
inflation
Roth ira vs ira
Large med small cap
Value vs growth
Indexed mutual funds
No load mutual funds
ETF
Sector funds
Bonds CD preferred stock
dividends
International funds
Market cycles
volatility
Fundamental analysis
Technical analysis
In most cases, I think it is wise to use indexed mutual funds and ETF to build the base of your portfolio.

A couple of things to consider:
We may well be heading into an economic recession in 2007
search on the funds in your 401k on the internet. look for their "expense ratio" lower is usually better
Don't invest more then 10% in your company stock. (0% is probably better)
In addition, put a little money aside each paycheck for an emergency in a saving account.
When you are starting out, everyone sounds like an expert. You MUST learn for yourself and it is a long process.

Good Luck

Answer 2

before you can invest you need to have some money.. live on less than you make, and start saving in a money market account or even a simple savings account... save up an emergency fund of 3-6 months of income, then start investing...

Answer 3

Yes you could learn invest by yourself. it is your money, you should know how to do with it. for starter check this site out.

http://www.pathtoinvesting.org/index_fla...
http://www.stockcharts.com
http://www.streettalklive.com>... university. a lot amount of information. It will serve you well
I accumulate in good amount in 401k at the young age.I could share with you. when consider invest in stock market. you should consider basic 3 things:

fundamental analysis==(economic data,finincial health, management, business model, competetion)>>what to buy

technical analysis==(chart+indicator)>> when to buy

Sentiment/schycho analysis==>>mood of investor, Contrarian point of view.
Market cycle===>> check out book Trader Almanac by jeff hirsch will give you inside stuff
When you combine 3 thing, It is one of the powerful knowledge goinh with you for the rest of your live

At the age of 32. my 401k is amassed 73,000.00 and 30000.00 in taxble account. by follow simple rule

Answer 4

the golden words are-never put all the eggs in 1 nest,drop some in each 1. Ur portfolio shud b a combination of debt,equity,mutual funds,insurance n fixed deposit for sure.invest max amount in mutual funds,FD,debt n insurance in order 2 get safe n stedy returns. if u desire high returns n r ready 2 stake ur money then only go 4 shares i.e. equity. good luck!

Answer 5

There is no smartness in investing money in any investment pattern in cent-percent. Lot of patterns are available in the market which should be balanced in proportion to the risk involved.

Answer 6

just try to save more, im 23 and dont even have a 401K yet so trust me you are better off than most.

Answer 7

Is it dollars or british pounds? I didnt understand ur question

If u have small amount (And if u have credit card) then why dont u join in E-Bay and do E-Business or u can buy shares (Especially search engines and oil firm shares if u have sufficient funds)

Answer 8

read tips on investing and stocks that will help you more on this site

Answer 9

buy on dips.......buy diversified ETFs or Mutual funds.......do not carry a balance on any high-rate credit card

Answer 10

Do you have a car?