Beginner Investing: How To Get Started

So the market hasn't scared you away? You're still considering getting into the stock market and learning to invest? Beginner investing ideas still abound once you know your way around the markets.

There is always a way to make market profits, and especially where so many people have lost money in their retirement funds or college savings accounts, it's helpful to learn more about beginner investing. This Hub will give you some ideas and direction for learning to invest, choosing stocks that are right for you, and finding out more about investment alternatives to stocks.

Many professionals never saw the big downturn of 2008 coming. As a beginning investor, you can learn just as much as the pros in order to build, or rebuild, your personal wealth. So let's get started!

OK, if you are just getting started investing, here are some basic steps you can take to learn, save, and profit:

1. Get some reliable books as resources to use for reference. There are many good books about investing, and learning to invest. Start with the basics.
2. Choose 1 or 2 good websites to monitor, read, and learn from. Some good sites for beginners are Yahoo! Finance and The Motley Fool.
3. Start with paper trading. You can open a free, virtual trading account to practice with at the Options Industry Council website.
4. Accumulate the cash you want to use to invest. Invest only money you can afford to lose. Start putting aside extra cash in a savings account or money market account until you open a brokerage account. Remember, you should only invest with money you can afford to lose. Also, make sure that your debt is uner control, and don't take out new debt that wil lhurt you financially, such as any loan with bad credit, or high credit card debt.
5. Research discount brokerage companies, and open an account. Discount brokers charge between $4.95 and $9.99 per trade. You make your own decisions. Fees, minimum balances, available educational materials, and trading software vary widely among brokers, so research several to see which one suits you before opening an account.
6. Spend some time developing your investment strategy. You should put on paper what you hope to get from your investing: increase your account for retirement? Earn 10% per year for a college savings fund? What types of investments are you most comfortable, high risk? Low or medium risk? Short term investments? Long term investing? Take notes about what fits your style and risk tolerance as you continue to learn to invest.
7. Place your first trade! You don't have to trade all of your cash at once. Start with a small position in a well researched stock or exchange-traded fund (ETF).