Where should a young investor start?

Question

I'm 22 and I don't have much money, but I'd really like to start investing so that I'll have some money in the future. What's a good point for a guy like me to start out at? I've heard mutual funds are probably the best for someone at my level, but I'm curious as to whether or not there are other options available and how they stack up against each other.

Answer 1

How you invest really depends on what your goal is - retirement or a future down payment for a house.

I think it is never to early to plan for retirement. If you company doesn't offer a 401K, I would most definitely get into a Roth IRA. The great thing about a Roth is that your money grows tax-free, meaning that when you take money out of it for retirement, you will not pay taxes on it (even on the interest you have accrued in the account). You contribute money to your Roth after you've paid taxes on the money. This is a nice advantage since we all know taxes will be more expensive in the future.

I highly recommend Scottrade Trade for your IRA. I just moved my Roth from Ameriprise since the fees were so high. Scottrade doesn't have any opening, closing, annual or custodial fees for the account and you don't need money to open an account. Plus, they don't charge fees for purchasing mutual funds or bonds which is sooo nice (many mutual funds require a minimum investing amount any where from $500 to $2,000 though). I personally would stay away from buying stocks with retirement money.

If your company does do a 401K, I would still look a Roth to supplement your 401K. I have both a 401K & a Roth (added a Roth as I made more money with my job).

If you are looking for some extra money on the side for money to play with later I would invest in stocks since you are young and can be a bit risker and stock can yield a big return. However, before I would recommend this, you need to become very educated about researching stocks and buying them. I would recommend several of the Jim Cramer books. Not because I think he is a genius, but because he really pounds hard at researching your stocks and contining to do your "homework" on them. Stocks can change quickly so you have to be on top of them.

If you are looking to get into a Roth, I would reccommend purchasing some mutual funds in the next couple of weeks. The market is in a correction right now and very excellent mutual funds will be cheap.

Answer 2

Well right now the market is going down but when It corrects there will be serious money to be made. You don't need a lot of money I started with 200 now I am at 500 I lost 200 of my profits on the Feb 27 I was at 700 In 2 months.Yester day I made 150 In 3 days I am up to 650 You must get Stock Investing for Dummies, and 24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success these books are worth every penny.Also you are going to want to set up an online account to better understand what they are talking about in the books you will have visual picture. do not set up margin account I have the best online broker there is and they are very cheap. If you email me I will send you right to them and let you know how to set it up and you don't have to deposit money till you are ready. my email is [e-mail] I do get 50 dollars for referals but they are the best and I am more than happy with there service.

Answer 3

a 401k at work is where to start. If not then an IRA is a good place. a general mutual fund, Index fund is a good place for a 22 yo. Vanguard no load index or fidelity no load index. Both of these have tax advantages or employer contributions which you can't beat.

Answer 4

A good place to start is by investing in index funds - funds that track the major indexes in the market. They usually have very low fees.

Answer 5

Open a brokerage account at Zecco and invest in the ETF DIA.

Answer 6

Maybe try www.nystockexc.com