I am 17, and want to start to invest on ';stocks,'; any help or advice?

I am 17, and it seems I want begin a basic plan or basic way to begin investing. Any advice?I am 17, and want to start to invest on ';stocks,'; any help or advice?
Saving 10-20% of your income is a good start. Where you put it depends on your inclination. If you're interested in the stock market and willing to put the time in to reading the reports and literature you can look at picking some stocks.





With the state of the market some may be scared but there are some great bargains. All stocks have dropped in price some on market while many are being dragged down by the overall economy. Being a novice don't put all your eggs in one basket meaning don't bet on one stock (no matter how good it seems), and be willing to lose money. Especially in these times the best description of the market is Volatility.





You're going to have to put in some time and effort to research stocks and sectors. One of the best ways is to find





Mutual funds and ETFs are typically a good way to get introduced into the market unfortunately there is a lot of ';forced selling'; going on right now which is dragging everything down especially the ETFs. Looking for a secular ETF might be a good way to get a taste of things, but the main thing to do is read and research.





Do you want to own stocks or mutual funds or a mixture of both. Either will require research and due diligence either in companies for the former, and fund managers for the latter.





Soak up as much as you can. Be weary of stock tips etc. Don't buy what you don't understand. I highly recommend Benjamin Graham's Intelligent Adviser if you're looking to get into stocks. There's whole new vocabulary to learn with investing and corporate finance to keep up with all books and articles around. Investopedia is good place to start.


I am 17, and want to start to invest on ';stocks,'; any help or advice?
[Nothing in this commentary is meant to solicit nor establish a client/practitioner relationship.]





Ten percent of every dollar you take in from any source of income is to be invested.





Do NOT fail in this depositing of funds. Be faithful in the small amounts and much will be received by you.





Begin with mutual funds. Pick one that, depending upon your risk tolerance, invests quite actively in start-ups.





Once B.O. takes office, expect the market to continue its decline. The current loss, since his election, is severe. Expect it to get worse. If you think the market will tumble, contemplate an investment in a fund that sells short.





Ask a parent to open a UGMA account, because of your age.





Use the dictionary on the internet to find out what those three big terms, above, address.





If you do not do the search, then you do not deserve to reap the benefits of an investment portfolio. You can join the ranks of the downtrodden who look to the government for sustenance.



1) Read ';The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need.'; Funny, easy read on personal finance.





2) Decide on the plan to want to follow, determine your goals %26amp; risk tolerances.





3) Enact your plan.





If your going to invest in individual stocks, I would create a short list of companies to follow closely at first. If you have a online account there should be analysts reports you can read (like S%26amp;P reports on Scottrade). Also your public library (you know the place us old folks go to read) should have the Value Line reports. I started investing at 17, and found those we're relatively easy to read for starters.





Your company list should end up with companies from a number of industries. Start with mostly larger cap stocks, but your 17 so you can sprinkle in a few mid %26amp; small cap stocks as well. Select businesses that look like they have great long term prospects. If your looking out 30 to 40 years from now, now is a great time to buy... I go into work just drooling at the opportunities I see available. (Sorry I don't give out individual stock recommendations though.)






Stock Investing for Dummies, by Wiley. It's a plain english way to learn what to look for in a company and how to determine what kind of trend the market is it. Right now is not a good time to get involved in the market, but when you do, a discount online broker such as Scottrade or TD Ameritrade is a good place to open a real account. I would start with a ';fake'; account that invests ';fake'; money so you can get practice. You can try it at theupdown.com, a great online investing community where you get $1 million in virtual money to try out your investment strategies.





While you're getting prepped for this, it might be a good idea to start saving some money in another account that can be later pulled for investing when the market turns. HSBC offers an online savings account, with a 3.5% APY that takes about 5 minutes to setup and can help you start saving.





Good luck!
GOOD! It's good that someone has seen the economic news within the past year. Prices are very low and as always, the stock market goes up and down. It can only go up from here. Start investing now and keep taps on your portfolio. You wont see much good profit for at least a few years, but with stock prices this low, you will see great interest over time. Now is the time to buy.
have you been paying attention to the financial crisis???





not the best time to invest in anything really. there is no guarantee like there used to be that anything is stable.
It is a great time to start investing. I would stick with index mutual funds. The most diversed mutual fund on the market is this: https://www.etrade.wallst.com/v1/stocks/鈥?/a>
READ.





Oh, and Gold and Silver usually do well when the dollar falls, which it's doing.