I would like to invest?

Question

i am 17 years old and i have a part time job
i have been wanting to invest some of my money for awhile, and i think that now i have a sufficient amount to be able to get my money to work for me thru investments...
what would be your advice/suggestions for me?

Answer 1

you must be 18 to invest on your own. But that is a good thing right now, because you have some learning to do and the market seems like it may turn down for a while... Follow these steps and you will be ready when you reach 18.

We must all become educated investors much more so then our parents were and start sooner. These are some
basic steps to get you started. You’ve got to jump in now.


Step 1.
First decide what kind of brokerage you want to work with. You can open a brokerage account in your bank, with a
large full service brokerage or an internet brokerage. I find when I get help, most people want to sell me things that
are better for them…. So I use http://www.scottrade.com because it’s cheap and easy with low frills. I like their
streaming quotes and I do my own research and make my own investments. But any low cost internet brokerage
service is fine.

Step 2. get a subscription to Barrons or Investors Business Daily… They may seem a little expensive, but this is important. Do this for 6 months or a year. At first, It seems a bit mysterious, but pretty soon you start to understand the terms and things that investors are looking for and what they are afraid of

Step 3. If you have some money to invest, put it in 3 month CD’s right now. First the market is unstable and second
you have some homework in Step 3 to do before you do any investing.

Step 4. Go out to the internet and search on the following subjects. Become very familiar with the concepts.
Asset allocation
Long term investing
inflation
Roth ira vs ira
Large med small cap
Value vs growth
Indexed mutual funds
No load mutual funds
ETF
Sector funds
Bonds CD preferred stock
dividends
International funds
Market cycles
volatility
Fundamental analysis
Technical analysis
In most cases, I think it is wise to use indexed mutual funds and ETF to build the base of your portfolio.

Step 5 go to http://clearstation.etrade.com/ and sign up for a free account. Play around there by looking at graphs and
fundamentals. If you click on the graph names, you will get clear information about what the graph is based on and
how to interpret it. I think it’s also a good idea to pretend you have $10,000 and start buying and selling on paper.
Keep track of where you are each day for a month… It’s a lot easier to lose play money then real money….
WARNING: don’t rely on technical analysis alone. These graphs a good at telling you WHEN to buy and sell, but
now WHAT to buy.

Step 6. It’s always a good Idea to see a CFP (certified financial planner). Their job is to work for your benefit, not to
sell you investments. They can cover subjects like employee benefits, insurance, budgeting, living trusts, 401k, taxes
and real estate as well as investment types and investment types to keep away from.

Always strive to do your own research… you’ll find everyone sounds like an expert so take everything people tell you
with a grain of salt. It’s not easy in the beginning but soon you will be the expert.

Don’t get involved with futures, currency, options (unless you get stock options at work), commodities, annuities or
other derivative type investments at this time.


Good Luck

Answer 2

I'm going to give you a suggestion as this happened to me . It's not what to invest in but to know where your putting your investment.
I went to the bank as everyone told me to save all my life and i did. I took my money there and opened an account and put it in a 6 months savings account as i could not touch it . I thought what a good way i won't spend it.
Well 6 months went by and i was living out of state and it was up i thoght that it would just go to regular saving after the 6 months and i would reinvest when i got home . Eventually i got home went to the bank and when i was ready to roll over the bas'''d had put a fee onto my account for not taking it out as i was not told about this so my rate of return was reduced to less than what it would have been if it was in a regular acccount and i could have withdrew it.
ALSO NEVER INVEST IN ANYTHING YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!!!
Read a book or two on it ... You'll save yourself alot of headache

Answer 3

Honestly speaking, i would not advise you to put your money in Bank. I rather you invest in business where you can get back your principle and interest montly.

Example: Principle amount 150000
Interest rate 3% PA
150000 x 3% = 4500 PA
If you invest for 5 years ---- 4500 x 5 years = 22500
Total amount --- 150000 + 22500 = 172500
Monthly return -- Principle + interest for 5 years
2500 + 375 = 2875

Invest with me, you will get monthly return till the end of your investment. Furthermore, there are no risk involved when investing with me. But with the bank, you can only get back your principle and interest by the end of your investment.

If you are interested the above, please do not hesitate to contact me, i am in Singapore. Email me. [e-mail]

Thank you.
Jeffrey

Answer 4

goto Fidelity and open up a free Roth IRA.
you have earned income, and theres no minimum age requirement.
you have until April 15 2008 to put your money in, and still be considered a 2007 contribution.

park your money in a money market. click around the website and read a little. then its a few mouse clicks to move your money into something aggressive, or buy stocks.

you wont regret it.

Answer 5

Im not an investing guru or anything, but i have started reading a book my grandfather got me called "You can do the math." Which seems like it might be perfect for your situation.

Here is a website where you can get an idea what it is about.
http://www.math.umd.edu/~rll/cgi-bin/YCDTM.html

Answer 6

Read a lot about investing/trading. Watch a group of stocks, ETFs, etc that you would consider buying.