A Beginner’s Guide to Investing
If you’re new to investing, it can look pretty complicated. But it doesn’t need to be. The editors at MSN Money have put together A Beginner’s Guide to Investing to take you, one step at a time, from determining your investing budget, to deciding what to buy.
This is a pretty simple guide for those who are interested in investing but have no idea where to begin. Investing can be as easy or as difficult as you make it.
My very first investment was with ShareBuilder. They were running a promotion and offering a $50 bonus for new accounts. I bought $50 worth of a mutual fund (not sharing my exact holdings because I don’t want anyone to think I’m recommending them) minus the $4 trading fee. A few weeks later, I received the $50 bonus from ShareBuilder, transferred the money back to my checking account, and let the investment ride. It was FREE money. I had nothing to lose!
I used that one mutual fund as a learning tool. I read the prospectus, I researched its history, I monitored its growth, I watched any news mention of it, etc. When I felt comfortable, I added another $50 and chose a stock. Read, research, monitor, watch, add money…rinse and repeat.
Not all of my decisions were the best, I’ve made mistakes, I’ve loss money, and I’ve learned a lot in the process. If I could do it all over again, my smarter self would tell my ‘wet behind the ears’ self to:
- Start small
- Read and understand BEFORE investing hard earned money
- Take what the “experts” say at face value
- Do YOUR OWN research
- Follow your instincts
- Don’t expect overnight results
- Expect market swings
- Watch your money grow
I hope this helps someone who’s sitting on the fence but ready to move beyond just ’saving.’ If you’re interested in ShareBuilder, here’s a list of $50 promotion codes.
Peace & Blessings
~*~*~*~*~*~
Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!
~SM
This blog is a personal account of my journey to achieve financial freedom. If you like what you've read, feel free to subscribe via (feed reader) or (email) to follow along.
“Start small.”
GREAT ADVICE!
perfect post :) :)
I’m one of the ones on the fence. I just feel like I should be doing more.
Thanks for the information.
i’m with chele….i feel like i should and could be doing so much more. thanks so much for the advice!!!
It’s amazing how that money adds up. One day you check your account it’s 3 figures and then you check again it’s 4 figures and still growing. I love the power of compound interest !
great post.. :) start small is great advice!!!
Also you can get some practice on your 401K :) depending on the type of fund it is.. at least you know you have a lot longer to play with that money before you actually need it :) Just my thoughts
It’s a sound strategy. Start small, test and learn. When you are more ready and confidence of your financial knowledge, go for bigger investment.