I know absolutely nothing about investing. However, I will soon be getting a chunk of money, that I really don't want to squander away. I really need to become more responsible about my financial future....and my income is going to be very limited, as I am a single, disabled mother of an 8 year old.
Any answers greatly appreciated!
2007-02-23 23:52:12 · 8 answers · asked by treefrog 4 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
It's more than enough! Actually, anyone can start investing with as little as and as simple as opening up a savings account at your local bank with just a few dollars. Basic savings accounts can provide 1-2% interest on your money. You can also look into money market funds or short term certificates of deposits which can return 3-4%. Also look up online banks (examples are ingdirect.com or hsbcdirect.com or emigrantdirect.com) that are now paying around 5%. Nice thing about these places is that you get a very good return. You can transfer money online in and out of your checking account at local bank whenever you need it and its FDIC insured.
Given your income is limited and a single, disabled mother, I would be reluctant to invest in anything that you couldn't easily get to your money if needed and I would only look at safe and secure places to invest. While there are some relatively safe stocks and mutual funds you could invest in, they carry larger risks and can be difficult and expensive to liquidate.
Final thought, if you have any credit cards the best thing you can do with a chunk of your money is pay them off. The money you will save in not paying all the interest they charge would be the most excellent investment of your money by far. Best of luck.
2007-02-24 01:40:20 · answer #1 · answered by philsky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure. You can start with almost any amount. With only a limited amount of capital, you're not going to be making a lot of investments,nor should you be taking a lot of risk. Personally I'd start with one of the funds from the Vanguard Group www.vanguard.com. They are the most efficient (lowest cost) mutual fund group around, but there are other reasonable choices that are not quite as cost efficient.
Given your circumstances, though, I'd stay in funds that have low potential for fluctuation (like short-term bond or money market funds) because it sounds like you may need to access these savings at some point in the next several years.
2007-02-24 00:15:51 · answer #2 · answered by SDD 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Open a brokerage account somewhere then invest in the electric company stock.The electric company is not going to go out of business and it pays a decent dividend every quarter.Then enroll in the dividend investment program and systematically the company will use your dividends to purchase more stock in the company and this is a great wealth creation tool if you take the time to let it work in about twenty years you will be seeing very nice rewards.In the old days the saying was only widows and orphans owned those stocks,that means this is a very safe investment.the electric company is considered a utility in case you were looking in the wall street journal.You said you knew nothing i hope you know a little something now.
2007-02-24 00:15:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. You can buy US savings bonds for as little as $37.00. You can invest in CD's for as little as $1,000. Money market funds have varying entry fees, usually $500 to $2,500.
You can open a mutual fund account for as little as $2,500. In this way you can own stocks and let the mutual fund managers do the stock picking for you.
I have accounts with T Rowe Price and have done well with them over the past ten years.
2007-02-24 00:24:18 · answer #4 · answered by regerugged 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely. That is a great amount to start with because it is enough to allow for sufficient diversification and gives you a reason to start learning. One thing I would recommend is that you stick to broad-market ETFs to get going, because those will quickly spread your money around to hundreds of different companies. If you don't know what ETFs are or how you can use them in your portfolio, there is an article at http://valuestockreports.com/021907.htm that explains alot.
Hope this helps.
2007-02-24 01:30:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would suggest a balanced mutual fund from a company like Vanguard or T. Rowe Price. A balanced fund holds stocks and bonds.
2007-02-24 01:22:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
2007-02-24 05:10:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
No
2007-02-24 00:00:20 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋