<p>assuming i've made a couple thousands dollars (not much, but a good start) from previous jobs/internships, what can i do to make money off it while in college? </p>
<p>invest in something? trade stocks? try something entrepreneural?</p>
<p>It depends on what you want. Attempting to work the stock market for sizable short-term gains is extremely hard and requires a large investment of your time. I imagine that such an investment would be not be feasible because you are going to school. If you wanted to try something “entrepreneur-al” that would be an excellent educational opportunity. However, there is much more risk in such a venture and it would also require a decent amount of time (depending on the venture). Investing in stocks based off of a strategy (like pickings stocks based off of their return on capital and their average yield) is a more stable long-term strategy. That strategy would require less risk than the others and would likely consume less of your time. It would not be as exciting, but it would be more likely to give respectable long-term returns. If your objective is to make more money, then I would go with a less risky strategy. If you want to have a fun thing to do on the side I would try the entrepreneur idea. Trading stocks would be exciting as well, but much less predictable.</p>
<p>put it in an index fund and then go study.</p>
<p>Go to a bar and blow it all in one night. You're in college, live a little</p>
<p>Start an IRA and start depositing yearly payments in good performing bonds and indexes using dollar-cost averages and rebalancing? You'll set a solid foundation for the future and benefit from tax exemptions--not that you should be in a top tax tier this early in life.</p>
<p>Invest it. It'll help you. There's all these business majors that know their books from page 1-1000, but have never done it yourself.</p>
<p>Get yourself something small. Scottrade (I use it and it's pretty good), etrade, whatever. </p>
<p>Don't go into CDs or anything. That stuff is pathetic.</p>
<p>Go long term opposed to short term too. This is how the greatest investors did it.</p>
<p>Have fun.</p>
<p>Invest it definitely. You will definitely learn something from it.</p>
<p>If you want it to be fairly fun, grab the bull by the horns - yes that pun was intended..Free up a little study time and look up some good penny stocks or small caps...Then use that money for some good long terms.. Be careful though, it could ruin you fairly quick if you dont watch what your doing.</p>
<p>Index fund. Go study.</p>
<p>penny stocks are plain stupid, pure gamble and for those that have not played with them before or have someone assisting that has, then they should stay away. </p>
<p>Open a discount brokerage account (regard below first) and choose four or five stocks (diversify) and invest. Long term over short term.</p>
<p>for example</p>
<p>RIMM
AAPL
YHOO
EMC</p>
<p>obviously this list is not DIVERSIFIED, but it gives you an example of 4 stocks that are doing well, would put you in a position so that you would be partially risk adverse - and due to this you will be able to concentrate on your studies.</p>
<p>And until you decide, just leave the money in high yield savings account</p>
<p>I suggest etrade for now because you will get 100 free trades with a min of 1000 deposit and instead of level ll, you get nasdaq total view</p>
<p>oh and dont pick all tech</p>
<p>How do you guys pick your stocks?</p>
<p>I first look at the charts. If it has shown a positive up swing for the last several years, it passes my first test.</p>
<p>The second test is the investor relations. If it has shown positive net income for the last two years or so, it passes my test.</p>
<p>I look over at P/E Ratio and its competitors and see whether or not they could beat out the aforementioned stock.</p>
<p>Then I sit back, relax, and enjoy.</p>
<p>Right now it's a very bearish market, which doesn't work to the advantage of at home investors, but during this peak I believe its the best time to learn.</p>