Posted on 06/22/2015 7:36:57 PM PDT by TurboZamboni
Whether You Have $5, $50, or $500,Trying to invest less than $1,000 can be frustrating — everywhere you turn, you run into barriers. Many investment companies want you to pony up thousands just to open an account. Then there are fees, which can quickly eat up a big chunk of your investment even at the discount brokerages.
The good news: You have options.
First, let's be clear: We're talking about investing here, not saving. Saving is for short-term goals and emergency funds. Savings should be kept in safe, liquid accounts like FDIC-insured bank accounts that offer no risk but no real growth, either. Investing, by contrast, requires taking some risk of losing money with the hope of future gains. The smartest way to invest is for the long term, meaning 10 years or more, in a well-diversified mix of stocks and bonds. If you can't keep your hands off the money for at least 10 years, you probably should be saving rather than investing.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailyworth.com ...
Seems like every other day we’re reading about ‘professional investors’ going broke or running off with the funds in their care.
It tends to make one... nervous.
If you are a beginning investor, I would think short-term bonds would be one avenue.
Buffett earned his billions by buying from solid companies and holding.
Like FDIC insurance is something that will ever do you good. I laugh.
Years ago I purchased a book that listed companies that sold as little as one share of stock directly to the customer with no fees. I purchased several companies and still have their stock. There are a lot of big companies that do it but it’s not advertised. Google DRIPs for more info, but I bought Equifax years ago at $50 per share. Some companies will sell you one share and other’s will sell minimum 10 - 100. You can do it if you research it.
Sounds like excellent advice. If I were twenty-five and planned to live to eighty-five, I’d do that.
Places like Scottrade charge very little for trades, and it’s easy to open an account.
Dividend Reinvestment Programs. DRIPS. Also called Direct Investing.
Most companies have a broker who handles these programs. For many, there is no charge to the investor. I invested in Lockheed Martin for years, for example, and never paid a dime in fees. Another upside is that, since you are not buying and selling, (but just accumulating), you don’t pay taxes until you actually sell the shares.
$100 or whatever out of your checking account a month. Extra cash in your monthly cash flow you can always add more shares. Dividends paid add to your balance of shares automatically. This is how you take advantage of ‘Dollar Cost Averaging’.
The trick is to choose a company and stock that pays a dividend, and that you believe will be successful over the long term.
Good luck.
Any DOE-backed solar panel companies should suffice.
Not a long-term investment prospect.
Why did you post the article anyway?
That the article didn’t even suggest DRIPS suggests that it’s a shill for something.
To some extent, you’re really investing for your kid’s sake. By you being diligent, and teaching to be diligent, you’re starting them off in life with a few hundred thousand dollars in assets.
sorry.
my previous post was sarcasm.
I’ll check out the DRIPs.
Drips work. You kind of need to do it automatically and then forget about them.
Sounds like excellent advice.
Now, if I only had a kid...
I received an email from Scottrade where I do some business. I have stock in Apple right now thru them.
I had deposited some extra money a few weeks ago. They said they called today but could not reach me as my phone number needed to be updated. It did so I did. Now waiting on the call.... Once you have some extra money you start getting offers of advice and buy gold offers. I wonder what the caller will say?
If you want to expand your definition of “investing” to include things other than stocks, there are places like Prosper.com or Lendingtree, where you can act like the bank and lend money at interest.
I’ve had a Prosper account for several years, and average between 6-7% annual returns. Not outragous, but definitely better than the banks are offering me.
Not bonds. The return is too low and short term safety should not be a worry for long term investment. My advice, to maximize security with return for new investors, might be an S&P index fund. Very low load and the return on the S&P 500 is the benchmark for measuring many types of mutual funds.
btt
"$2 on 'Greased Lightning' in the Third!"
Regards,
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