Stock Market

There are a couple good rules of thumb for the market:

1. Diversify. As the cliche goes, don't put all your eggs in one basket. If you're just starting out, a mutual fund (where tens of thousands of investors pool their money, hire a manager, and invest in dozens of stocks) might be a good idea. An index fund that tracks the entire S&P 500 may be a good place to start. Vanguard, T. Rowe Price and Fidelity are three families of mutual funds worth looking at.

2. Don't invest any money you will need within 3 to 5 years.

3. If you "have the itch" to invest in individual stocks, many companies offer their shares to the public directly, completely bypassing the Brokers. Call up the website of a company you are considering investing in. They will have a link "Shareholder Services" or "Investor Information". These will tell you if you can purchase stock directly from them, and if they have a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) for after you are a shareholder.

Putting a modest portion of the money you want to invest into a S&P 500 Index Fund (or it's Exchange Traded Fund cousin, The Standard and Poors Depository Receipt listed on the American Stock Exchange), and another modest portion into an electric utility or two might be a good way to start.

great information.. all that i can and will use. my problem is probably the amount of money i want to use and who to go through... because said i do not have the imformation to go through it on my own..

If you choose to buy individual stocks directly from the companies, each company will have a different initial minimum investment required. These amounts will be given in the company websites, but are usually in the ballpark of $1000 to $3000. Then once you are a shareholder, you can make subsequent investments in the $50 to $100 minimum range.

Making the initial investment (opening an account) with most mutual funds will also require an initial investment of around $3000.

All of this information is readily available in the company or mutual fund website.

Actually, I've found getting started in investing, learning the ropes, and watching money grow can be a lot of fun. Good luck.

Whether you intend to invest in individual companies or in funds, do a buncha homework before placin' your bets. Compare the candidates across time and in relationship to both their immediate peers and their overall market performance. Go over the balance sheets and FEC filings, press releases, and news stories ... both mainstream and trade press. Read up on the segment or niche occupied by the entity whose instruments or securities attract your attention. What do they do, who do they do it for, who else does it, why would anyone want it done, what is the outlook for expansion or contraction ... that sorta stuff. Yahoo Finance makes a lot of info available, and there are plenty of other free resources on the 'net. By and large, any fee-based subscription advice or tipsheet service is good for its operators ... I'd avoid 'em, mostly. Do your own homework, and do plenty of iy.

The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Investor's Business Daily, CNBC/MSN Money and CBS Marketwatch all have pretty decent websites, though to access some features on some of 'em, you do have to buy a subscription.

And don't play with money you'd be upset about losin'.

man so much great advice... but is there a way where i dont have to plop down such a large chunk of change to begin with? i work for a company that sells its stock to its employees, but i work through a temp agency and they dont sell the agency personel. I have a bit of money set aside for this venture and plan on sending future cash flow in the same direction... but its not exactly close to a 1000.... is there anyway to start off small and make my way higher?

I'm a little reluctant to name individual stocks, but just as an example only, The Southern Company (one of the largest electric utilities) has a minimum initial investment of $250. Their link is:

http://investor.southerncompany.com/stockholder/investplan.cfm

There are probably many more good companies with modest minimum required investments. You'll just have to go to their websites and ferret them out.

if you don't want to lose money, don't play the market. it's too irrational.