Lux Investing - Any advice on investing for beginners?

Any advice on investing for beginners?

I have a lump of money in a money market account right now making 4.5%. Is it worth it to invest in CD's when they won't bring in much more? Should I start buying some stock? I have about 5 grand to play with.

Public Comments

investing shares of real companies is very exciting and full of promises... However, before you invest some real money into online trading, it is very important to start learning about what stock investing is, how it works in principles, and how the market actually behaves. While looking at a price graph gives a warm feeling when the trend is up, it is difficult to know when the trend will change. On top of that, the other investors who also invested money have emotions (fear and greed!) and when that happens, they stop acting rationally, and this is the hard part to predict. The company might be a good investment but you have to be prepared to see the stock price drop unexpectedly. First you need training and time to observe the markets and stocks. But taking one course will not get you to the point where you will make money. You will have to be very disciplined to take the time to learn and to apply what you have learned, and the best way is with virtual money (like monopoly money). This will save you from loosing real money by taking too much risks and not controlling your emotions. Your own emotions are probably what will make it the most difficult for you to behave rationally. For access to a virtual trading environment, go to : http://vse.marketwatch.com/game/homepage... In this totally free site, hosted by MarketWatch, you will be issued some starting money and will place your own buy and sell orders over the internet. Each day, you will see your virtual portfolio account value increase and decrease. In their Research section, you will even find some free training tips to get you started! So, even if you have taken a trading courses or read a few books about online trading, be careful and trade virtually for a few months. For each trade you make, always keep a log of why you bought and how you will exit that trade. When you close each trading position, review the record for that trade and evaluate your performance. After that, have a look at your trading record and decide then if you are ready to invest with real money. With time and techniques, you may find you are able to make good profits, but take your time .
The best advice for stocks is to remember one thing; the market is unpredictable, and anything can happen. Monkeys throwing darts at a newspaper have beaten the best Wallstreet guys, so remember that anything can happen. Also if you are going to play the market, don't put your eggs in one basket. Hedge your bets. If you own stock in oil companies, also own some stock of companies that will benefit from a drop in price of oil, such as transportation, airlines, etc. Also be sure to figure out how risk averse you are. Do you like playing it safe, or do you like living la vida loca.
Buy the book The Best Stocks You Can Buy 2007 by John Slater. It's like $8 on Ebay. It's a great book and the first chapter explains investing, diversification, ect. I think the stock market is the greatest investment vehicle ever invented!!! Good Luck Friend!! Some stocks/funds I like right now: NJ, CHL, GCH, EBAY.
Keep your money as liquid capital. If you want to see a awsome return on money invest in real esate. You can earn from 10k-30k on each flip. I have been doing this for 4yrs. I don't know what state your in but you can email me at Athrower@alltel .net and I can put you in touch with someone in any state. Remember unlike the stock market wich is unpredictable and many people have lost their shirts. Real estate is a sound investment and only rises in value.
why not put some into a IRA money market. I had ING DIRECT and made about 20% per yr, especially in the real estate fund. But there are many other competators, check them out!
invest in google stock. and british airways,
You should invest in stocks, bonds, and money market funds. You want to buy a diversified portfolio of stocks, as individual stocks are too risky. For most folks this means buying mutual funds. I like Vanguard.com, other people like Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, and DFA. Buy no-load, low cost funds. If you are like most people you will invest part of your money conservatively, in money market funds and bond funds, and part aggressively in stock funds. Vanguard.com has an on-line questionnaire which will give you an idea how aggressive you want to be. If your company offers a 401K plan at work, try to invest the most you can. The money grows tax free, and some companies will match your contribution. Investing in a mutual fund IRA is also a good idea. I like index funds. Because of their broad diversification, you are less likely to have a dramatic drop in value. They also have the lowest expenses. For stock funds, I would suggest putting ~70-80% of your money in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. and ~20-30% in a foreign stock index fund. However, there are many different opinions out there on what the best mutual funds are. Read the links below and form your own opinion If you have high-interest debt, like credit cards, it is best to pay this off first before trying most of the investment ideas above. Believing advice you get on Yahoo answers can be risky, so read these websites for further information. If you find it too confusing, contact a professional financial advisor. They will charge you significant commissions, however. Sources: http://www.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planningeducation http://finance.yahoo.com/funds http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/scottburns/columns/2007/vitindex.html http://www.fool.com/school.htm http://sec.gov/investor/pubs/assetallocation.htm https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/FundsInvQuestionnaire?cbdInitTransUrl=https%3A//flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planningeducation/education
I think a good way to learn about the market, is to study what the best investors are buying and selling at http://www.top10traders.com - this is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in "play" money. Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors. You can read posts on investing from the best traders, as well as share your own investing ideas. There is a charting feature, so you can see how your portfolio performs compared to the S&P 500. Also, you can create your own "group" so that you can see how you are doing compared to your friends. Here are this month's best traders: http://www.top10traders.com/Top10Standings.aspx Hope this helps, and good luck.