I am a teen, does anybody have any investment advice?

Answer 1

Open an IRA and start accumulating tax-free earnings. Contribute a small amount frequently, once a month, if you can afford it.

Answer 2

Excellent question! You have a long time horizon so the effect of interest compounding will work magic for you. Smart investors spend time in the market, so don't try to get into the bad habit of constantly managing your portfolio. That said...

If you can, at work, contribute to a 401K... investing to max out your employers matching funds. The rest I would try to do in stocks using a site (like sharebuilder.com). Not sure how old you are, but perhaps seek a parent or adult relatives help in setting up some sort of investment account. The key is to set aside a little with each paycheck... not so much it hurts, but even a little (say 25$) will help. With luck, you'll be addicted to the feeling of accumulating wealth and will feel much more secure. Good luck!

A cool site I discovered explains a lot about investing (below). Then again I was an economics major so the analysis aspect of the site was appealing.

Answer 3

Simple... save some money...put it in some kind of bank account that pays interest. What you will start to see is things slowwwllly adding up...DO NOT WEAKEN/ DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED...keep saving a little, a little ,a little.
SOON you will have an amount that you can get a sense of accomplishment about ( "better this than a stack of CD's that I never listen to anymore,anyway"...." much better this than the memory of A Krispy Kreme donut or a Starbuck's mocha grande el stupido"
When you get to eighteen...look into some real "investing" with mutual funds , stocks, and ETF's. ( check with E-trade , maybe you can open an account sooner w/parental approval)
Meantime educate yourself ( JUST SIMPLE READING) at some of the financial sites on-line....you don't have to bury yourself in it...just some night when you have zip/nada/zilch to do...go to yahoo/finance or moneycentral/msn, or wikipedia/investopedia
Just so you know what a mutual fund is...different kinds of funds, aggressive or cautious..stuff like that....so when you can , you simply START INVESTING.... there are relatively "safe" places where you can double your money in 5 years, riskier places , 3 maybe 2 !! You will have " something" in your near future( besides a fantastic feeling of independence) and you'll learn what about 60% of the people in this country never do.
Money can't " buy happiness" but if you have some when "bad times" come you'll never have that helpless, defeated, whiny feeling that makes people into alchoholics and druggies.

Answer 4

Save your money until you have at least a few thousand and open up an IRA or brokerage account. Do it in your parents name, if necessary. Read a lot and study the stock market. Start with simple stock trades, mutual funds, and ETFs. Then when you are advanced you may consider getting into options but this is only for the most daring investment. Of course risk is what pays but it also taketh away.

Answer 5

If you ever get your hands on some money while you are young, put every dime you can into a Roth IRA.. You will be taxed a a low rate now. If you had $10,000 in one as a teenager, without paying in any more the rest of your life, you would be worth a million tax free at 65.

Answer 6

savings accounts, short term would be 12 month cd, long term would be US savings bonds are a 10-12 year investment. I would not suggets an IRA because you cannot get it until you are in your 60's without paying taxes and fees. With a CD or Savings bonds you can reinvest it or use it if you need it.

Answer 7

A Degree Plan : education. It will be a fraction of the time you'll sacrifice verses the life you'll waste chasing that dream without the $ to support it.

Answer 8

How much investment and what is the time horizan

Answer 9

Dont touch your pen or whatever you have!!