What should I invest in ?

Question

I am interested in investing my money for a fast profitable return. What kind of investing should I do? I have about $100 to start out with and I don't want to mess up! As a high school student, I am very cautious of how my money is spent. What do you suggest for quick-money? I have looked into the Forex and stocks. Which is better? Should I invest in a stock? If so, what stock? Help me out here! I am open to answers that pertain to investing and money making. I have 3 savings accounts, but the interest is like 1 % and that just doesn't cut it. I know I am young, but I am a young smart person! Please don't tell me I should wait or i am too young or anything that pertains to my age please! I just want some insight on the money market. THanks.

Answer 1

$100 will not even get a hello from Forex (and STAY AWAY FROM THEM!) take your savings out of two accounts and put them to real work in an online bank (ing, emigrant direct, hsbc are three I know of with the first i personally use all are at least 4%) Keep the money in savings until the asian markets settle down (and even then I recommend at least $2500 to get anything of value into teh stock market)

Answer 2

You ARE working with a small allotment, but that should not stop you if you can just take a little more from savings....
Go to the E-trade website, fill out an application and open an account with about $ 300-$ 350 .... you will get an ID and a password... then when you log on , YOU will have a portfolio!
Of course there will be nothing in it 'til you " trade"...you will have to find a stock or an ETF ( exchange traded fund) to buy.
What do you know about stocks? You will have to get info from somewhere! You can look to yahoo/finance...or moneycentral/msn...you can watch a few TV shows....can you watch CNBC for more than 20 minutes without pulling your hair out? Seriously...it takes a little study to put your money " on the line" with some confidence.
Your choice of stocks is going to be limited with your bankroll, but not impossible to work with. There are stocks of some very good companies in the $5.00 to $15 range. You'll be buying 10, 15, or maybe 20 shares the first time out.
Go to http://www2.barchart.com/sectors.asp?sec=Top~100~stocks.sec&level=2&title=Top+100+Stocks
Now that is a list of stocks that someone rates as the 100 best, you can go up and down the chart and get some in your price range...write those symbols down...go to yahoo or moneycentral and get "quotes" along side the quotes will be other info...what the company does, what other analysts think of them, how they have been doing, charts.....Have you got one yet?
http:/www.booyahboyaudit.com/home.penny.html
That's another guy " Cramer" and an alphabetical list of different stocks he's looked at and how they have done....
Every weeknight at 7 ( central) on CNBC is Fast Money... you can learn from four guys about different facets of "trading"
It all sounds like work, but if you "get into it" it can be fun ( or at least interesting)...especially if you find your stock going up a little!
One other place to look on yahoo is a section on ETF's
http://finance.yahoo.com/etf
They are a way of investing in a whole range of different stocks at (some) smaller prices.
Alright, horsegal, I hope something helps....
One last thing...the price of gasoline almost always shoots up from about now 'til June/ July..one small refiner is Frontier Oil ( FTO) about $ 30.00 a share ...if you get that 330-350 in the account it may be your " shot"....if you don't, at least watch it.

Answer 3

Obviously, you want to invest in the equity market, because you should enter the market when it is beaten down. Diversification does not earn you much after adjustment for inflation and taxes. You should pick an investing strategy (whether it's growth or value or some other strategy) and stick with it for at least 3 years. I suggest that you start doing some basic research and find a favorable strategy before you invest. At last, my stock pick of the day: (NYSE: CAT)!!!