Don't Lose Your Head - How Anyone Can Invest!

So, you want to start investing but don’t have clue where to begin? You found the right webpage. The following guidelines will give you an overview of what it takes to invest, and give you information on how to start making your money work for you today. 

Narrow Your Options 

You should get familiar with the various options for investments and decide which is right for your budget and time management. 

For instance, there are Direct Stock Purchase Plans, commonly abbreviated as DSPs, which allow you to buy stock directly from the company of your choice, avoiding both stockbrokers and their fees. 

Safe and slow investments can work wonders if you have time and money to spare. If you want to invest a smaller amount of money, however, you might want to consider stocks or mutual funds.  Mutual funds are investment vehicles made up of a pool of money from many investors. If you want to gamble with high-risk stocks, penny stocks might become your new playground.

Open A Brokerage Account 

Once you decide what type of investing you want to pursue, go online and open a brokerage account. Some popular and user friendly ones include TRADEKING, Scotttrade, and OptionsXpress. Create an account for the amount of money you want to start practicing with – we recommend $100 until you get the basics down – and research the companies you’re interested in. Keep in mind that some brokerage accounts require anywhere from a $500 - $5,000 initial deposit in order to use their services, and many charge a commission fee. 

Search For The Ticker Symbol 

Once logged onto your account, you can search for the company you want to purchase stock in using the company’s ticker symbol. A ticker symbol is a short abbreviation used to identify each individual company. For instance, Coca-Cola’s ticker symbol is KO. 

Target Price and Strike Price 

Once you have decided on which companies you want to invest in, you must decide on your target price and your strike price. Now, we know that investing has a lot of terminology, but don’t lose your head. You will obtain a clearer understanding of the jargon once you get a hold of the basics. 

For now, think of a strike price as the price of the stock that is set by the current market. A target price, on the other hand, is the ideal price to buy or sell a stock, where you will gain the maximum profit. 

Your target strike price should always be above the current price of the stock. That way, you can buy low and sell high. 

Beginners Invest iIn Gold 

When you are starting off, the myriad of companies and jargon can set you off on a tailspin. Remember this: start simple. It is best to gain a basic understanding of one or two stocks before moving on to more complex ways of buying and selling. For this reason, we recommend starting off with investing in gold. 

Gold is a historically stable stock, and an easy way to learn about the investing process. Although you cannot invest in gold stocks directly, you can invest in companies with ticker symbols such as GLD, which buy and store gold. You can also buy gold coins and bullion from reputable companies and store them in a personal safe. For a good starting point, you can buy gold from Scottsdale Bullion and Coin, a reputable gold dealer.

Where To Go From Here

We hope you have learned how to take the first steps of your investing journey (and which direction to go) If you want to learn more about the investing world, these books are sure to enlighten you: 

1. Trading in the Zone 

2. A Random Walk Down Wall Street 

3. How to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times and Bad  

Braeden Trask is a personal finance investor who specializes in precious metals, namely gold and silver.