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Starting Your Investing Program
by Stanley Broughton
http://www.swsinvesting.com
If you are ready to start investing, you are probably
feeling overwhelmed at all the different options
available to you. Should you invest your money in a
high interest savings account, or perhaps a lucrative
technology stock? The choices seem endless, and
without the help of a trusted financial advisor, you may
end up investing in the wrong thing. If you are
investing for the first time, you may want to start off
with a low risk investment such as mutual funds. Keep
in mind that low risk usually means less chance of
getting a large return, but just remember that everyone
needs to start somewhere.
One of the first things you should do before investing is
pay off any high interest debt you have. What you make on
your initial investment will be much less than what you~re
paying out so take care of it; then start thinking about
investments.
It~s easy to start thinking about all the money you can
make, especially by investing in some hot new company. The
fact is you most likely won~t be tripling or even doubling
your money anytime soon. You risk losing all your
investment funds if you don~t use common sense and good
advice. Stocks increase in value, but they also come
crashing down.
The stock market is volatile in nature. Be sure that you
can deal the sometimes stressful fluctuations of the
market. Some people panic when stocks go down and jump to
sell as quickly as they can, only to see the stock rise
shortly thereafter and exceed the value it was before
selling the stock. You need a certain amount of detachment
from the situation to make objective decisions. Start off
with small investments in stocks and decide if you can
handle the risk involved.
Investment strategies depend on whether you plan to be in
it for the short or long term. Will you need the money
within the next five or ten years? If you answer yes, then
other options would be better for you than stocks, bonds,
or mutual funds. If you expect to make money from any of
these categories, you have to let your money stay invested.
If you think you~ll need access sooner, then high interest
savings accounts, certificates of deposit, or money market
accounts are more likely to meet your needs.
Investing can be a very daunting process for many
people, especially if you don~t know what options are
out there. Be sure to research and really think about
your investments before signing your money over.
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