I am 22 with no responsibilities, is it a good idea I invest my all $8 500 in the stock exchange?

Answer 1

A lot of people have been earning a bunch of money for the past few weeks because the Dow has been breaking records for 6 weeks straight.

Make sure you do your research. Dow Jones has a website that updates every day and up to the minute on market activities.

http://www.marketwatch.com

Personally I like China and most of their stocks are undervalued.

Once the 2008 Olympics gets running in Beijing all marketing and ad firms are going to skyrocket. That's my 2 cents. But who can predict that far right? By the way Google isn't the number one search engine in China. There's more dominant advertising marketing companies that outbeats it in China.

Also I'm waiting to buy VISA stocks when it comes out with it's long awaited IPO. Their main competitor Mastercard came out with their IPO last year and it went up over 70 points. That's a given in my opinion because VISA outperforms Mastercard.

But nobody can really predict the market's forecast.. nobody really knows why things happen like they do. You'll see when you start trading. Like, war and change of climates.

Good luck and I wish you good fortune.

Answer 2

Generally, the answer would be "no". Certainly, some could be invested in stocks and when I was your age I in fact did invest all of my money in stocks. Knowing what I know now I would not have done what I did back then.

But as to why I advise against it, it is because the future is uncertain. Because of this uncertainty, one should always have a cash reserve on hand for the unexpected. In your case maybe $2000. But the exact amount would depend on your particular circumstances. Investing is a long term proposition so your strategy should be long term. One thing to keep in mind is that stock prices do tend to fall periodically and those falls can be sever. Having a cash cushion available for such an event can reap large rewards.

Answer 3

It is commendable of you to want to start investing at this age. The earlier the better. Stock markets is a good place to invest. However, you might want to do some research on the company or instrument you wish to invest into. Bear in mind that the stock market is something which goes up and down.

It might not be a bad idea to split your $8500.00 across other investment instruments. Check out the various investment companies. Again research the company's track record and ensure that the company is a stable one. Because you are young you will be able to invest in the medium to long term. Choose instruments that has very little or no risk to them.

Whoever you invest with ensure that you get monthly or quarterly statements. Keep track of how well the company is doing on a regular basis. Always keep intouch with your investment agent in regards to the performance of your investment. If at a later point you find better investment then you can pull out HOWEVER BE MINDFUL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AGREED TO.

Answer 4

1. Make sure you have an emergency fund equal to 3-6 months of expenses set aside. Ideally use a high yield money market or savings account like Emigrant Direct.

2. Open up a Roth and fund it for the year if you are eligible and haven't done so already. Max contribution allowed is 4K this year.

3. If you still have money to invest, choose a good mutual fund or two to put your money into. Will give you the best diversification with the limited funds you are investing. This advise holds true for the Roth too.

Answer 5

No it is not a good idea to invest everything.
Who pays for your food, clothing, shelter? If you (or they) were unable to do that anymore (lose job, illness, death, etc) you need to set up an "emergency" savings fund at a bank so you can get money (cash) quickly with ATM card. The amount you should have in this account should equal the amount of your expenses during however long you estimate it will take you to find a new job and start getting those paychecks.

Answer 6

Do NOT bet all your money on one "individual" stock. Investing in "individual" stocks takes a lot of knowledge and practice; so I would not suggest doing this until you understand completely how the stock markets work.

Instead visit Vanguard.com and learn about mutual funds, index funds, and exchange-traded-funds (ETFs). Trading funds is less risky than trying to trade "individual" stocks.

The websites below all contain plenty of FREE information to get you started in the right direction.

Answer 7

Only if you know what are you investing in? I don't know much about stock exchange but I suggest you do research first and invest in shares that are going to increase in price.

Answer 8

Completely up to you, just remember the risks involved. But if the money is just sitting there doing nothing, might as well invest it in something.

Answer 9

Investing all your money in one area is like putting all your eggs in one basket. Diversify...mutual funds, treasury bonds, municipal bonds, etc. Go to any reputable web-site, T.R. Price, Charles Schwab and get more info on how to invest, you can have a % of high risk, medium risk, low risk options. Good luck to you..:)

Answer 10

I recommend you try day trading equity futures markets, if you do not have a regular 9-5 job. Try trading MINI DOW futures. I am pulling in anywhere from 30%-45% per month.