In a previous post I saw someone ask where they could invest online and several sites were offered that had minimums that I found high personally. I did some searching and found a good site: http://www.netstockdirect.com There are some good plans on this site and in many cases you can invest with automatic debits from your checking account (i.e. $250.00 investment - debit of $25.00 per month for 10 months). Some of the companies have fees, others do not. Now is a good time to buy many stocks due to the fall in the market. It may very well be profitable for you if you choose well - it will also go a long way to help our economic recovery.
Thanks Hal. I went to a site that someone posted (can't remember off hand but I think its sharebuilder.com). There is no minimum and it was pretty easy to do. I invested in CitiGroup and governmental bonds. This is my first investment, so I wanted to play conservatively. $30 to Citi and $70 to bonds. Hope I did the right thing! Any suggestions or comments on my decision?
If you had invested $1000 in Nortel one year ago, it would be worth $49. If you had invested $1000 in Budwiser (the beer, not the stock) one year ago, and you cashed in the cans for the $.05 deposit, you would have $79 now. So, my advice is to buy some beer and start drinking. On a more serious note, I invest in mutual funds with a good track record. I require at least a five year record of good returns, preferably ten. I am afraid of individual stocks because I would be competing against people with a lot more knowledge than me. At least with mutual fu;nds, you have professional management.
I think investing, whether in mutual funds or individual stocks is always a risk and an individual decision. Some go with their "Gut" like I do, others do a lot of research. I never invest anything I can't afford to lose, and have had good success. This week I purposely bought Airline stock as I believe they are going to bounce back - I suspect some of the losses they are indicating are somewhat inflated and with the holiday season fast approaching, people will begin to fly again.
Honestly, I didn't research a damn thing. CitiGroup was listed in the top 10 so I chose them. And I remember reading somewhere that bonds are low risk. Kind of like when you prank phone call someone. You just open the phone book to a random location and close your eyes and point. That was the approach I used. I hope it works out.
