Minimum adviseable amount to invest?

[zCypher]

First, where is a good place to get information about the stock market and such? Second, for a relatively stable one, how much would you, as a minimum amount, invest? $500? $1000? $5000? $10,000+?

Since I'm pretty much done paying my debt (those who read my thread some time ago know what I'm talking about! 😛), I want to start learning about this. I will be working full time some time in the near future, so I will have a lot more disposable income. I want to find something worthwhile to invest in before I move out and have tons of expenses. What would you do in my situation? I turn 19 in a month and a half from now - I'll probably move out by summer or something. If I need to I can save up a few thousand bucks working full time, no problem I'm sure (while living at home).

Where would you invest? Would you at all? What is the fastest growing thing to invest in that is still relatively safe? I don't want to pour $10k of really hard earned cash into something that could drop 9999% in a heartbeat. Should I invest a relatively small amount in something less stable but likely to rise high/quick and a large amount in something slower/safer? What are your thoughts?

TVMIA (thank you VERY much in advance)

 

[Orsorum]

If you're looking to start building a real portfolio, I would suggest a fair amount of diversification, with a few core holdings that comprise the majority of the portfolio - i.e. large cap stocks, etc. Another thing to consider is, at your age (and mine, actually), how liquid do you want it to be?

I put $3000 of my money that might be needed for tuition in a few quarters into a short term bond fund; still offers a 5% annual return with dividends, but with almost no risk - if necessary, I can take the money out with no loss to the principle.

Something to keep in mind - if you're serious about doing something with your money, research - research, research, and do more research. Morningstar.com and Motley Fool have great sections for beginning investors. I wouldn't put your money anywhere except in a banking account until you've done a lot of reading. 😛

that's all I got for the moment. I'm still learning all of this myself, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

[tcsenter]

Minimum adviseable amount to invest?

Exactly what you can afford to lose - no more and no less.

 

[arynn]

Are you looking to invest long term or short term (when will you need the money)?

You may want to look for some investing books at your library that will explain investing at length.

If I had money to invest that I wouldn't need for a while (> 10 years), I would put a sizable chunk in a stock market index fund. The stock market may not bounce back for a while, but if you're investing long term that is not of paramount concern. If you can time the market's rebound, you would be able to invest at the most opportune time; however, it is very difficult to do this (and often involves either equal or greater part luck than skill). If you invest all of your money in one or two individual stocks you'd have a higher risk/ potential reward.

For shorter term investing, you may want to look into bonds as they typically have a guaranteed return rate (as far as I know).

Given your age, assuming a high enough risk tolerance, you're best off investing more aggressively for the long term.

You typically need about $1000 to open an online brokerage account. You can usually buy as many shares of a stock as you want once you have the account.

 

[zCypher]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Minimum adviseable amount to invest?

Exactly what you can afford to lose - no more and no less.

I can "afford" to lose everything but that doesn't really help me in deciding how much to invest. 😛

Zak - thanks for the advice, I'll definitely check out those two websites (bookmarked for now).

So when I feel I've done enough research and reading on the topic and I want to try something out - how do I go about it? Where do I go to actually invest in something... is there a complicated process or is it fairly straight forward to do? Anyway, that's it for me tonight, I'm out. I'll check this thread later.. gn!

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: zCypher

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Minimum adviseable amount to invest?

Exactly what you can afford to lose - no more and no less.

I can "afford" to lose everything but that doesn't really help me in deciding how much to invest. 😛

Zak - thanks for the advice, I'll definitely check out those two websites (bookmarked for now).

So when I feel I've done enough research and reading on the topic and I want to try something out - how do I go about it? Where do I go to actually invest in something... is there a complicated process or is it fairly straight forward to do? Anyway, that's it for me tonight, I'm out. I'll check this thread later.. gn!

Ameritrade was extraordinarily easy for me - the application process takes twenty minutes, account verification and mail takes maybe a week, tops. Trades on stocks are made within 90 seconds, supposedly, and can be helpful if you decide to throw money around on extremely low-value or volatile stocks (don't know why you'd do that, but hey)... mutual fund trades are made at the beginning of the next trading day. Low, flat-rate commission schedule.

Scottrade is another firm I considered, but decided against - there are no inactivity fees, but the minimum acct. balance was greater than I cared for, and their tiered rate structure (depending on the amount and value of stocks you trade) didn't appeal to me. Still a very good option.

If there's someone in your family that was an officer in the US military, you should be able to apply for an account through USAA, a savings bank in Texas. Fairly low transaction fees, with a lot of tools and assistance I couldn't find through Ameritrade - again, the bank I'll be using for my IRA.

 

[zCypher]

Originally posted by: Zakath15

Originally posted by: zCypher

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Minimum adviseable amount to invest?

Exactly what you can afford to lose - no more and no less.

I can "afford" to lose everything but that doesn't really help me in deciding how much to invest. 😛

Zak - thanks for the advice, I'll definitely check out those two websites (bookmarked for now).

So when I feel I've done enough research and reading on the topic and I want to try something out - how do I go about it? Where do I go to actually invest in something... is there a complicated process or is it fairly straight forward to do? Anyway, that's it for me tonight, I'm out. I'll check this thread later.. gn!

Ameritrade was extraordinarily easy for me - the application process takes twenty minutes, account verification and mail takes maybe a week, tops. Trades on stocks are made within 90 seconds, supposedly, and can be helpful if you decide to throw money around on extremely low-value or volatile stocks (don't know why you'd do that, but hey)... mutual fund trades are made at the beginning of the next trading day. Low, flat-rate commission schedule.

Scottrade is another firm I considered, but decided against - there are no inactivity fees, but the minimum acct. balance was greater than I cared for, and their tiered rate structure (depending on the amount and value of stocks you trade) didn't appeal to me. Still a very good option.

If there's someone in your family that was an officer in the US military, you should be able to apply for an account through USAA, a savings bank in Texas. Fairly low transaction fees, with a lot of tools and assistance I couldn't find through Ameritrade - again, the bank I'll be using for my IRA.

Thanks again... btw, I'm in Canada - so would signing up with them be a problem due to that?

edit:.. ahha :
Account Owner Summary
This step of the process will allow you to ADD, EDIT, or DELETE an Account Owner. You will need the following prior to adding an Account Owner:

* Social Security Number
* Date of Birth
* Employer's Name and Address
* U.S. Drivers License or State ID Number
* Bank Routing Number and Account Number

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: zCypher
Thanks again... btw, I'm in Canada - so would signing up with them be a problem due to that?

For Ameritrade, it does look like you have to be a US citizen.

 

[PushHands]

Read and understand before acting. Trust me, know your path before you lay down your first step. Finance/investing has the power to give you good positive returns, but only if you're informed. Don't feel rushed and that you're missing out. The market will always be there when you're ready for it. And we're in a bear market right now 😉

I'm glad you're getting started early. If you're truly serious about your finances/investments and how it fits in your current and future life, invest in some good books. $500 + in books is well worth it IMHO. Good luck to you! 😀

 

[LS20]

when i was 18, i started dropping a monthly sum of 50$ into a "spider" account--it emulated the SP500.. sometimes id add more to the account ... this summer when i get a job id up it to 100$.. SP500 has sucked for years now but that only means its bound to go up right? i dont even care for the return, i figure when im having a mid age crisis this will be an unexpected nice chunk of change good for a sports car or something.

there is nothing fast growing but is still relatively safe.. i mean those logistics are just common sense right? or else we'd all be rich. the potential of gain is the same as the risk of loss.. just contact any investment company.. they'd have a package of options from safe to high risk. i say drop your money in the middle.. or whereever you feel safer.. theres no trick to it. dont 'play' with stocks unless you are really committed to actively following it

 

[Radiohead]

Hey zCypher, I'm pretty much in the same boat as you...

I've done a little investing in mutual funds based on the council of my dad, but he doesn't explain things well & I wind up with more questions than answers.
Actually when I ask him questions, he likes to use them as opportunities to gloat about things he's done and what not... blah blah blah

Anyhow, I've resorted to books & some websites to try to understand a bit more. Two books I've picked up are:
Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Philip A. Fisher

Might be a good place to start... I've just started reading the first one so i can't tell you how it is exactly.


And if anyone else can recommend some other books please do 🙂

 

[zCypher]

Right now I'm working part time and finishing paying off my debt... by next week I hope to be working full time. So assuming I get relatively medium-low-ish pay at $8.50 an hour, that's $680 per pay, or $1360/month before taxes. I figure with next to no expenses I could put down a few grand easily in a few months...