I want to invest in some stocks whats the easiest way with less money. I mean I don't have thousands.?

Answer 1

Tony, it sort of depends on what you're investing FOR. The type of account you use is as important from a tax and financial plannign perspective as the stocks you ultimately choose to buy IN it.

If you're investing for retirement, and if your employer has a 401(k), put money in that first. Mainly this is because your contributions reduce your current taxable income, the money inside the 401(k) grows tax-deferred until you take it out AND most employers GIVE you FREE MONEY when you contribute (a "match"). You get to choose how much from your paycheck comes out every pay period too (it can be just a little or more as you make more money).

The downside is the employer picks what choices you have in terms of investments (almost always they are mutual funds of some kind). But if you do research on the different funds your employer offers, you can often find some good selections that fit your risk tolerance and overall goals.

If your employer DOESN'T have a 401(k), you can open a Roth IRA with a mutual fund company like Fidelity, Vanguard or the gazillon other companies out there. Each of them have specific rules on how little it takes to open an account. Most have lots of mutual funds to choose from. Again, do your homework and pick one that makes sense for you. The "Roth IRA" DOESN'T give you a break from taxes now when you add to it, like a 401(k) contribution does. But it's better in the long run because with the Roth, you NEVER pay taxes on the investment as it grows, even when you take it out (as long as you wait for retirement after age 59 1/2 and as long as the Roth has been around more than five years).

When you are starting out buying stocks, your best bet is to use a mutual fund. The mutual fund consists of lots of different companies' stocks pooled together into one fund. This gives you diversification -- the single most important thing to remmeber about investing. Diversification protects you from downside risk as much as possible while still getting good returns over the long term.

Try looking at those options. Best of luck!

Answer 2

Safest way is to buy mutual funds. Some allow you to start with as little as $50/month on an automatic investment plan T.Rowe Price is good-lots of diff funds available- look in google for mutual funds-low investment. If you really want to buy stocks, Sharebuilder.com let's you buy fractional shares - 1000's of companies available to invest in - only $4.00 transaction fee.
Bob

Answer 3

If you have some companies in mind, go to their websites and see if they have a free dividend reinvestment plan.

Answer 4

The best way might be mutual funds - you can diversify your holdings that way.