What is the best way for a 21 year old with a somewhat small savings to begin investing thier money?
109632
If you are working for a company with a 410K plan, definitely contribute the top percentage you are able to. I began when I was 21, and now that I'm 28 I have a HUGE amount of savings in mine.
1152710
How about investing it in your first mutual fund, then adding to it as often as you can?  Then you can retire a millionaire instead of retiring as a poor man.
12833
I would open an account with sharebuilder, there are very cheap and you do not have to buy tons of stocks. They have good investment tools also. In my opinion, the most important thing is to be consistant and make sure you are putting something away every week or month. It becomes a good habit and the money starts to pile up.
1088604
you can open an online savings account with an interest rate of 4.75 with citibank, or 4.65 with hsbc or emigrantdirect, it's a little lower than one year cds but you can get your money right away without penalty\n\nhave enough money in this account (about 3 months worth of expenses in case you lost your job) and the rest in cds
498699
Start out by buying a standard stock mutual fund, so your money can grow while you're learning; and watch what they do.  Meanwhile, start reading about stocks.  Books like "Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham, "One Up on Wall Street" by Peter Lynch, and maybe something on the Warren Buffett style would be a good start.  Or visit websites like Smart Money or Motley Fool.  \n\nGood luck to you.
74870
Unless you already have $5mil, wake up and stop dreaming. Stock investing for a 1 year time frame is inappropriate. You stand a substantial chance of ending up with less at the end of 1 year. For that short of a time frame, CD's, money markets and conservative bond investments are more appropriate, but the prevailing rates are low and you would need to start with$4.8 mil or so to reasonably have a chance to reach your goal.
1115951
Easily, you can move your account to either a brokerage firm or mutual fund company.  The bank can do that too (most have their own brokerage firm) but a bank broker is going to have fewer investment options.\n\nBut before you do that, do some homework.  Go buy "Investing for Dummies" and learn how to choose your investments.  You can't trust your friends (and not these boards for sure) to pick your investments.  You can hire a pro, and it is worth it if you have a large account, but for little investors, the cost of that help gives you noticably less to invest (advice isn't fee), so it is good to start out on your own.\n\nAs to stocks and bonds vs funds, stick to funds until you have at least $50-100K.  It is almost impossible to build a good portfolio with individual securities with less than that.\n\nand to your last question, \n\na mutual fund is a professionally managed portfolio of different securities.  They can hold stocks only, bonds only, a mixture of both and other types of securities.\n\nInstead of you trying to buy all those different securities you need to design a good portfolio, the fund has done it for you with your money and the money of other investors.  You buy shares in the fund instead.\n\nThis gives you the same risk/reward potential as a bigger investor.
505866
1. Through a full service broker. This is the most expensive option, but you'll hopefully get some advice.\n2. Through an online broker (e.g. ETrade). Very inexpensive, no advice. You're on your own.\n3. Directly from the issuing company if they offer a direct investment/dividend reinvestment program.\n\nThere are many options available, and you can find brokers everywhere. You may want to check out the August 2005 Smart Money magazine article that did a review on the full service, discount, and online brokers.
1000613
if you have money you can some places to buy stock are settinng up an account with etrade.com or fidelity.com if you are a minor you need you parents to help set up an account with you
126733
Go to your bank, whom you deal with, and set up an appointment. They can discuss your options. How old you are, how much you have to invest, what your goals are and so on. Good luck.
383736
For a three year time horizon you do not invest your money... you save it;\nwww.ingdirect.com\nwww.GMACBank.com\nwww.HSBCDirect.com\n\nAll have regular savings and CD's which are very competitive. Stocks (or stock funds) would be a gamble for a 3 year hold.  Take some time to learn this stuff while you're young.  It's the best time to start savings/investing.\n\nGood luck!
977479
Although some might have a 'get rich quick' scheme, the best way is to be patient.  Invest like you could lose your money, keep part of it 'safe' and put at risk what you can afford to lose.
1012257
here is my opinion but first here is my disclose sure\n\nAll opinions and comments are not be held againest me in any way or action. All views of investing1987 should be taken to a professionally for evaluation. investing1987 is not held labial for any action which you pursue. \n\n1. get a financial advisor\n2. if you are 18 or older you can get a scottrade account with a minimum of $500 account balance and buy and sell stocks. You can do far better than saving money in a bank. Even if you just hold for a while. You can also loose it all first read about the stock market before you consider investing and never buy on margin.\n3.if you get a 5% return in 1 year that is $500  but that is off of the full 10,000   you need to get a money market\n4.Talk to your parents about the financial worry\n5. save your money dont spend it on cars. Car are the number 1 waste!!!\n6.After you obtain a job then apply for a credit card with a limit of $500  and start with small purchases and build credit \n7. get student loans that you dont need to pay back until after college THEY ARE OUT THERE!!\n8. The federal goverment has grants which is money they give you that you dont need to pay back. Same with your state. Only thing is i beileve you need a job so keep your job until after you get the grants or switch jobs as long as your working.\n9. if you are not on the insurance with you family then you can apply for financial aid by yourself which would mean you would get more support.  You can still apply even if you are on your parents insurance but you may not get the same  :&#92;\n10.apply to scholarships even if they dont apply to you TRUST ME! if no one applys or your grades are better or you need the money more financial you can still potentially get it.\n11. apply to all amounts large or small think of it as free money.\n12.look for organizations that help with assistance they are different than scholarships they give you money on eathier a loan basisi or a grant style. THEY EXIST.\n13.use the internet for more scholarships THERE IS EVERY YEAR OVER 2 BILLION DOLLARS IN SCHOLARSHIPS THAT ARE NEVER AWARDED because no one applys\n\nI hope this help if you need more advice you can email me at investing1987@yahoo.com
791328
before trading the real money, use an assimilated program that will allow you to learn without taking big risks.  It is also wise to take courses in investments and learn as much as you can before you start playing with your life savings.
34059
Study and learn and research for three to six months before you spend a dime.  Investing is not a get rich quick scheme. The sites below offer many getting started. Also look for fantasy stock market games where you can pick stocks for fun and watch how they do. You can see a list of those at http://www.google.com/Top/Business/Investing/Games/
305493
Try your bank. That is always a good place to start.
259852
Take investment risks. Especially if you are young.