investing in stocks

Avatar for aerandel
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
investing in stocks
3
Sat, 11-26-2005 - 10:47pm
Hi all! I was just wondering if anyone knows anything about investing in stocks. I am totally new to this idea and know nothing...all I know is that I want to do something that brings in a better return than a savings account (although I will be putting some money into an ING account as well) and that I can access whenever I need to (no waiting for a certain amount of years, etc.) Any advice would be appreciated, I don't want to mess up but I only have a small amount of money to put into it. Thanks!

                          

             

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Sat, 11-26-2005 - 11:11pm
Hi, aerandel. Well, Investing in stocks is for the long haul. The ya-ya stellar returns of the 90's are pretty much gone, but you want to invest into something that pays dividends, or from companies that have good track records. Forget the penny stock games. Go to sharebuilder.com and check out their online stuff. They have info for new investors. I only have about $1200 in it, but I diversified. Money mag also has a lot of info on stocks, too, for new investors. I also started investing in the TIAA-CREF mutual funds ($100/month). It is a start. Whiz.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
Sun, 11-27-2005 - 10:22am

If you still have any debt, then you should make that a priority, and use investing in stocks a reward for when you have paid the debt.

So other then my IRA, we do not invest right now.

JMHO,
Shannon

Shannon


Pregnancy%20ticker
Avatar for netchickie
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Sun, 11-27-2005 - 7:40pm

Our financial advisor said that he did not recommend investing in stocks unless you have a large amount of money for investing. He said that he generally did not encourage stock investments for those who had less than $350k to invest. Mutual funds provide a safer option and statistically have better returns. Mutual funds are managed by companies who do nothing but financial investing. They decide which stocks to buy and sell. This means that when you invest in a mutual fund that you have someone else who will do all of this work for you. In my economics class we learned that the S&P 500 funds generally out perform the market. There are a variety of mutual funds to choose from for investing. If you want quick access to your money with no penalties I suggest a money market account. However, as someone else said, paying off debt first is a wise financial move. The interest charged on credit cards makes it better to pay those first. These rates are typically much higher than the rates earned in the market.

Angie