I have $3000 to invest, what should I put it into?

Question

In another two months my money will be coming out of certificate of deposits and I've been looking for how to get a higher return for it. I don't really care about risk, since I'm still young and it won't impact me as much, but I don't want something incredibly risky. It could also be something long term, but this isn’t for like retirement or anything, I’d like to be able to access the money relatively easily throughout my life.

with a CD I was getting 6%. I'm looking for something 10% and up

Answer 1

Congratulations on your goals!

You are very right that since you are young, you can take more risks because you can make it up even if you lose it.

I recommend learning a bit more such as reading Investing for Dummies by Eric Tyson.

Do you want to learn more about stocks? Then you can continue reading Real Money by Jim Cramer and One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch.

If you don't want to learn stocks, then I recommend this:
1. $1500 goes into VTI, an ETF (Exchange traded fund, a mutual fund that trades like a stock) which represents the Total US stock market.
2. $1500 goes into EEM, an ETF that represents the Int'l Emerging markets such as Taiwan, Korea, China, Mexico, Brazil, India, China. A riskier ETF, but this area has incredible growth.

If you want some stocks, you should research. Maybe you can do something like:
1. GOOG (Google)
2. COP (Conoco Philips, oil company)
3. SNDA (Shanda Interactive) -- Chinese Online Gaming.

This is just an example. Or you could combine ETFs and individual stocks.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Congratulations on getting started. It’ll help you more than you know!

Your first dollars should be spent on getting educated on investing. You don't have to train to trade them professionally, but we are talking about your future here. So the more you learn, the more it'll help you! So let's start there.

You ask a very broad question, so be prepared for a pretty long answer. Just take it in chunks!


How to invest depends on what you already know. We'll assume that you're beginning!

A good primer is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O'Neil. You can get it cheap just about anywhere. It’s widely available new or used.

Another good one is one of Jim Cramer's books like Real Money (he’s got a few).

But books will only get you so far. At some point, you'll also want to get at least a little training. There are some great education companies if you want to make the investment. Investools.com or optionetics.com are both very good companies as is tmitchell.com

For free, you can start by visiting thestreet.com and investopedia.com. That'll get you a pretty good primer so at least you'll understand what the markets are and what a stock is, etc.

If you get a chance, watch Mad Money on CNBC. Don't trade any of his picks until you track many of them over time. Just use the show to get you to understand some basics and get a feel for the market itself.

Next, subscribe to something like Investorsbusiness daily or something like that that can help you identify good stocks.

Once you understand stocks, go to 888options.com. It's a website that'll help you understand options (what they do, how they work, etc). You don't need to trade them, but the more you know, the more you'll see how options can really be the safest way to invest (once you're educated).

For discipline (which is crucial to successful trading), probably Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas or Mastering the Trade by John Carter

I know that’s a LOT to absorb. Just take it one step at a time for now. Start with a book or two to give you an idea of where to begin. Take your time, and let it seep in.

As you get up to speed, you should papertrade to practice (highly recommended). This should help reduce your losses in the beginning as you get used to buying/selling.

You can practice for free on almost any reputable broker site (optionsxpress, scottrade, thinkorswim, etc). And yes, you can definitely deal easily online.

Start slow, then as you figure things out, you can buy more shares.

Congrats again on getting started. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

The stock market averages about 10-12% over the long term, though with a great deal more volatility than CDs. Still if you're young its your best bet.

You can easily invest in the market as a whole if you but one of two exchange traded funds, either the ishares fund (IVV) or the SPDR fund (SPY). Each holds stock in the 500 biggest companies in the US (so you own a little bit of 500 different stocks) and can be bought through any brokerage account.

Answer 4

You're in a perfect position to invest in Prosper (P2P Lending) Learn more and sign up through BMZ.com and get a $25 bonus. You can contact the GL to learn more and to see how he's doing.

Answer 5

Put it into an ING Orange account. It's like an online bank account but you get around 4% back. Just sit on it for awhile until you think of something useful to do with it - like buying a house.

Answer 6

If you decide to invest in the stock market, you might want to first create a "practice" portfolio at http://www.top10traders.com - it's free - each month the site ranks the best performing investors.

Answer 7

Launch a record label. Indie labels seem to be over ruling the major labels these days and a label is really easy to run.

Answer 8

Hi, i recommand you a good and basic tutorial for investing. it covers all Issues related to your Investing and everything around it.

http://www.investingtutorial.info/

wish it will help you.

Good Luck , Best Wishes!

Answer 9

Buy stock in Jamba Juice. Ticker symbol: JMBA listed on the nasdaq. This company has huge growth potential. Check it out!!!!

Answer 10

I suggest you to open a brokerage account at Zecco and invest in Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.