how do you invest small amounts of money in the stock market?

Question

i only have about a thousand dollars to use, how do I do it?

Answer 1

First off, great! You are investing. It's fun and can be profitable.

Do reasearch on stocks. Go with what you know. If you constantly are going to a certain store, and others too, maybe it would be good to invest in.

Sharebuilder.com has several nice features for cheap trades and accounts. You have more than enough money to sign up, it's easy and online, and it can be done in minutes. Once you transfer money from your bank in, you can select a plan.

The easiest one is $12/month I think, and it allows 6 free trades. So you can buy in with as little as you like to a stock 6 times a month on Tuesdays.

For instance, you could invest $100 in stock A and $100 in stock B on the first Tuesday of the month. You would get the fractional shares for each (you don't have to buy in full shares). Then you would have $800 cash in the account earning interest. Then in week 2 you could pick same or other stocks.

Generally speaking, you only want a handful of stocks, say up to 10, because while diversification is great, it's hard to keep up with what you have in the research department.

Sharebuilder, like others, has all kinds of reports and information on the site to help you.

I am sure there are others, but what I like is it's easy to use, you can invest what you want ($10, $100, $1000). Downside is all trades for free of the 6 each month occur on Tuesday, so it's not for someone who wants to trades daily.

Answer 2

hi there !! I sense you are a newbie and that you want to invest small amounts of money into stock market.. I would like to recommended you gnutrade trading platform. You can play with real money and play money. The minimum deposit is £20, €30 or $30 Currently, the maximum bet amount for a ‘per point’ trade is £2, €2, or $2 per point. For a 'basic' bet it is £10, €10 or $10, and for a 'back a player' bet the maximum is £100, €100 or $100. The minimum bet for a 'per point trade' is £1, €1 or $1 per point and the minimum for a 'basic' bet is £5, €5 or $5. For a 'back a player' bet, the minimum bet amount is £1, €1 or $1.

Answer 3

You are wise to consider investing instead of consuming your savings. With a small amount, such as you have, it is best to invest in a mutual fund. You should carefully investigate various funds to decide if their goals and policies suit your preferences about risk, safety, growth, income, etc. A huge amount of information about mutual funds is available on the Internet and also in publications such as Business Week, Smart Money, Fortune, Forbes, and many others. Funds will be glad to send you information about them and a prospectus. Do your homework before you decide. Then when you buy shares of the fund, keep investing additional amounts as often as you can. Over time, your investment will grow.

Answer 4

Go to a stockbroker.

OR - if you can make your own investment decisions, and don't need investment advice, go to an online "discount" brokerage like sharebuilder.
http://www.sharebuilder.com/

Here are some others to look at as well.
http://www.scottrade.com/?cid=16189
https://us.etrade.com/e/t/jumppage/viewjumppage?PageName=omnibus2&SC=NPNC7RW&tb=3917&PC=IN835&WT.mc_id=CONPNC7RW
http://www.saveyourself.com/

In addition to your direct investment in the stock market - you may also look into a mutual fund, as an alternative.

Answer 5

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

Answer 6

get a stock broker. you might spend some money but its better than losing all of your money

Answer 7

I'm so broke, I don't even have that much, after growing up wealthy.