| For those wishing to invest their money – | | | | inflation you can expect to make only 4% profit |
| usually those wishing to put away a tidy nest egg | | | | per year. Of course, 4% of $5,000 is only $200, |
| for retirement or their children for school – | | | | but over a period of 10 years that turns into |
| there are a lot of decisions to make. You can't | | | | $2,000. Of course, in today's economy $2,000 |
| jump into just any arrangement, and especially | | | | won't even last a month for rent, food, utilties, |
| not the first offer that comes your way. Perhaps | | | | etc. Even so, bonds have advantages no other |
| the most pertinent question you might ask | | | | instrument enjoys. Since they have a set interest |
| yourself when investing is, what should oneu | | | | rate and maturity date, their behavior is much |
| invest in – in other words, what's good to | | | | more readily predictable, given plausible |
| invest in right now? | | | | assumptions about interest rate changes and |
| 1. Put Your Money First | | | | other economic factors. You can't attribute this |
| The final aspect of investing in bonds shouldn't be | | | | kind of reliability to stocks, for example. |
| the qustion as to what you should buy or sell, but | | | | 3. Currencies Or Commodities |
| rather, how much capital you are going to gain in | | | | The beginning investor should never engage in |
| the form of dividends. Remember, you aren't | | | | trading commodities or currencies, such as |
| buying stocks, you are investing. This means you | | | | FOREX. Don't believe the hype surrounding these |
| expect a return on your investment. | | | | investments – there is a reason why so |
| 2. Stocks | | | | much money is floating around out there – |
| If you plan on investing in stocks, a general rule is | | | | people are losing it! |
| to hold them for at least 10 years. Stocks will, | | | | 4. Real Estate |
| over this period of time, outperform any other | | | | If you think that the value of real estate is |
| possible investment. Don't even think about real | | | | always on the rise, think again. Although a great |
| estate, bonds, or commodities, stocks are | | | | way to make substantial gains, if you are going to |
| definately the way to go, and it is not uncommon | | | | make any real money you have to be able to |
| to see returns of up to or over 10%. | | | | invest a lot of your capital – more than |
| Of course, that is not to say that stocks are | | | | any other variety of investing. Many simply can't |
| always the safest choice. Few investors actually | | | | do it part time and try to make it their full time |
| buy stock and hold it for ten or more years. Also, | | | | job. Some succeed, many fail. |
| with the exception of mutual funds individuals tend | | | | 5. Funds |
| not to invest in stocks in general, but rather in a | | | | If you are looking to make some quick cash, |
| particular company. Also, even then, times change | | | | funds offer a great alternative to direct investing. |
| because new and better technologies come to | | | | Mutual funds, one of the more common types, |
| pass. General Electric no longer makes most of its | | | | pool investor money and diversify investment |
| revenue from light bulbs, for example. | | | | (usually) into a variety of instruments – |
| 2. Bonds | | | | stocks, bonds, currency, commodities, etc. |
| If youre going to go with a bond, first of all, | | | | Investors save money by not incurring a fee for |
| expect to pay a minimum of $5,000. You will | | | | every trade, but pay management fees of one |
| definately want to invest in a bond that is rated | | | | kind or another (usually annual), and those can eat |
| AA or higher, and stick to a well known, major | | | | substantially into overall return on your |
| brokerage to handle your investment. Even with | | | | investment. |