<p>Hey guys,
so i got $3K in cash this weekend, and while I"m tempted to buy some stuff, I think I"m goign to put all of it into "investing"/ the stock market. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about investing except for the fact that if I play my cards right, I can make a nice profit. Do any of you guys know any good place to start learning about making money through the markets? Or if anyone has done it, any tips?</p>
<p>you wil have more success just putting that money in a savings account. like ing,hsbc,citibank.</p>
<p>put the cash into mutual funds.</p>
<p>Get a CD (certificate of deposit). Unlike the stock market, it's a risk-free investment, where you get A LOT more interest than you would with a savings a count. I have both; my savings gets .25% interest/month, and my CD gets 5.50%/month. See the difference? I would stay away from the stock market with that small amount because if the stock goes down you could very easily be left with nothing.</p>
<p>thanks for the input guys , the CD idea esp. looks good. what about penny stocks? i've heard a lot about them, any good?</p>
<p>Don't go into penny stocks. Yes, there is high potential for incredible capital gains in the short term, but the gains will quickly and SHORTLY turn into losses before you know it. I would advise purchasing a few shares of large cap value stocks such as Goldman Sachs (GS), Exxon Mobil (XOM), or Google (GOOG). These stocks won't give you a high return right away, but they will provide you with near beta gains relative to the market each year.</p>
<p>frost, they do have high yield savings accounts such as <a href="http://www.hsbcdirect.com/1/2/1/%5B/url%5D">http://www.hsbcdirect.com/1/2/1/</a></p>
<p>you could also consider government bonds. they usually take longer if you want higher returns. CD's are good for most people, but the rates suck.</p>
<p>index funds?</p>
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<p>Your CD gets 5.5% a year. 5.5% a month would be around 66% a year return, which is highly improbable.</p>
<p>All of this is a far cry from the 1980s when I was a kid, you could get 11.25% on a freaking savings account. Housing interest rates were in the 16.5% range though!</p>
<p>I prefer sportsbetting, but trade2win.com is a good resource.</p>
<p>With the dollar falling like a rock, it would be wise to invest in foreign funds if possible.</p>
<p>haha yeah that's true. well i'd like to split up my money to like 40-50% safe investments, and then the rest into something more aggressive, just cuz i love the whole thrill thing. so i guess for the save one i'll find a CD w/ a good interest rate. what about more aggressive choices (not completley pot luck ,but w/ some skill and research involved).</p>
<p>i'd have at least half of your portfolio in blue chip stocks, a quater in green-chip stocks and the other quarter in growth stocks</p>
<p>unless you're really serious about becoming actively involved in your money, put your 3k in an index fund that mirrors the s&p 500 or djia. Frankly, you'll probably make just as much if not more money that way than trying to micromanage your money without any outside help.</p>
<p>DO NOT FALL FOR HYPE! learn about the "Random Walk Theory"-beating the market is next to impossible. I don't think markets are perfectly efficient, but beating the market on specualtive investments is purely gambling, and the law of large numbers will catch up to you. If you really want to buy individual stocks, read some of the classics, like One Up on Wall Street. Basically, buy stocks of companies you like when they are out of favor and hold them for the long haul.</p>
<p>Otherwise, put that money into the vanguard s&P 500 index
and then any extra put into an emerging market index. </p>
<p>If your looking for a little smart speculation, invest in individual emerging markets....I like VTOPF-the only pure play for Vietnam, and IF-the indonesia fund...again, the higher return is accompanied by higher risk.</p>
<p>In any case, do NOT ACTIVELY TRADE...you will lose to the market after commisions...</p>
<p>When do you need the money back? </p>
<p>What's your risk tolerance?</p>
<p>Are taxes a concern?</p>
<p>Some good, some not so good advice so far. Many ways to skin that cat.
Just going to depend on when you need the money and what risks are you willing to take.</p>
<p>Hold half of it in euros, a quarter in british pounds sterling, and the other quarter in a CD. ING direct has a 12-month CD for 5.10%. Also go to <a href="http://www.bankrate.com%5B/url%5D">www.bankrate.com</a> and they have the highest rates for CDs. I saw one for 5.47% or something. If not, consider money market funds.</p>
<p>I'd suggest a nice no-load mutual fund like Fidelity Freedom 2040 that is in more aggressive funds now but will move it to more conservative funds as you approach retirement (if you leave it there that long). T. Rowe Price and other fund families have similar target retirement funds.</p>