Where do I start?

Question

I am a single parent without very much income, and want to start investing, any suggestions for someone new to investing/

Answer 1

Be very careful, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. You can get professional advice but sometimes you have to pay for this so not good if you have little money now. Start but putting small amounts into shares and build that up, do research on the shares/companies. It depends how little money you have, enough to get a mortgage on a house which you could rent out?. Also, if you're in the UK, premium bonds are good, you can save your money and have a chance each month to win big prizes. The Post Office do a savings account which is directly connected with FTSE 100, again you can save money which is safe, if the FTSE goes up, you get a share, if it goes down, this does not affect your money. http://www.nsandi.com/savingneeds/highergrowthpotential.jsp

Answer 2

Hello, I hope I'm not too late in answering your question.
By looking at all the previous answers given, it proves that there are a lot of places where you can invest but not all can guarantee you a good return.

Since you are new in investing, it is good to follow the advise that you should not put all the eggs in one basket - spread out. Try all the investing houses, and you'll find the best.

I've tried almost all the investment opportunities that are available in the market, win some lose some. Now I'm concentrating more on the online investment programs like Forex and mutual funds.

Just to share with you, I had invested in an offshore mutual fund investment for nearly a year now, it guarantees a good return, 300% after 450 days and the dividends are withdrawable after every 30 days. You can start off with $100 and build-up the amount.

Believe me, it is not a scam. To get a better view of the whole program, please visit the website below.

Answer 3

You have received a lot of answers. Some were not completely accurate and some were misleading. Drip program. You have to pay taxes on all dividends you receive. One responder suggested that you did not. Wrong. When you reinvest the dividends, the tax accounting is an absolute nightmare. Each new share of stock has a new transaction cost. Everyone ignores that aspect of drips.

You need to have a cash reserve for imergencies. Keep that in mind. It should be at least $3000 and preferably $5000. That cash should be in a very safe investment such as a cd or t-bills.

For a beginning investor, the best beginning investment is a mutual fund. Why? Because your investments are well diversified with only a small initial investment. There are however only about 30% of the universe of mutual funds that a rational individual should even consider. The rest are not too good. For a beginning mutual fund, look at the long term track record and look at what it invests in. Pick one with a diversified portfolio, low expenses, and one that does not churn their holdings (no more than 25% turnover in one year). One I like is Pennsylvania Fund. Another is Bruce Fund.

Index funds are another option. They meet several of the above criteria--low expenses, the do not churn their holdings and some have a very diversified portfolio. One of my favorites in this category is IJS, but there are several others that one might consider. You buy these like stocks.

Now it is not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket, even when it comes to mutual funds. Diversification is the key to avoiding risk. To begin with do not put more than about $3000 in any one fund. Once you have about 5 different funds, you can begin thinking about adding additional money to existing funds.

Answer 4

Do you have a 401k at work? If so, that's probably your best bet, especially if they match any contributions. If you don't have a 401k, I would suggest a Roth IRA. You can start a Roth account at T. Rowe Price for as little as $50 and make contributions of as little as $50 at a time. I would suggest investing in a balanced fund or a target retirement fund based on your retirement date. This will ensure that you are diversified and have an appropriate allocation without you having to put in a lot of time/effort picking funds.

I would suggest that you check out the books section on the link below. The books under the "must read" section are great for those who are just learning to manage their money.

I'd also suggest you sign up for Upromise (also on the link below) ASAP so you can start getting money for your child's education. You get free money just from doing your regular shopping. You won't make a million, but over time it can add up.

Good luck!

Answer 5

To start with, I would advise to buy what you know as well as set aside a little bit of your income each month to invest. As for what broker to use, you can set up an account with any discount broker online (TDAmeritrade, Scottrade, etc.) and trade for a very low fee of 7-10 dollars per transaction and no maintenance fee. Also, read Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing In An Insane World to get a quick education about investing, look through the Investor's Business Daily newspaper for stock ideas, and check the SEC's website for your stock's quarterly and annual reports, as well as press releases, and listen in on conference calls.

Answer 6

T,
All the other answers are OK.
Let's start with the real problem 'single parent without very much income' . Visit the library - read '48 days to work you love' What color is your parpachute' , TheMillionaire Next Door , Rich DadPoor Dad, Think and Grow Rich a Blacks Choice , Richest man in Babylon and any books like these. Ask your librarian for a list of books that the wealthy and wannabe wealthy read then do it. Remember poor and poverty are choices in US.
visit DaveRamsey.com to learn what the banks don't want you to know.

Answer 7

Yes, go into the DRIP program

You can start with $50

http://www.dripinvestor.com/index.asp


You could buy a share of Merck (MRK) for $50, add to it every month (it pays a nice dividend), and the dividends will re-invest into more stock.

I put $250 into Exxon in 1993, I cashed out $6000 earlier this year! All reinvested dividends, and I only had to pay "capital gains" tax, not regular income tax!

Answer 8

You can invest in different Bonds or you can start a small business. But you did not mentioned whether u want to start business, though if you get a suitable business you can take care of your baby. Like you can start baby fostering.

Answer 9

u can invest ur time in going surveys online at fusioncash
i made $80 in 3 hours, plus $5 for just signin up,so heres what i look at an easy $25 a week=$100 a month extra income
i find FusionCash to be the best.

you get $5 for just signing up, so you don't lose anything

I made $80 in 3 hours, plus for get $ for referring ppl

Just go to: http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=mizzkarlene
referr 5 friends/ or ppl online

once they confirm ,complete their 1st survey and cash out, u get $5
so 5x5=$25 exta bucks.

it goes hurt to try
i find FusionCash to be the best.

you get $5 for just signing up, so you don't lose anything

I made $80 in 3 hours, plus for get $ for referring ppl

Just go to: http://www.fusioncash.net/?ref=mizzkarlene

Answer 10

Start studying Yahoo finance & understand all the terms . . Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs etc.
They also have all the financial stats on any company you might be interested in . . . and it is free.