Investing: don't be in a hurry. $1000 is enough to get into a medium-risk, diverse mutual fund (there are a million websites about how to start saving/investing, just look around). Keep putting money in at a constant rate over time - $50/mo? $200/wk? whatever you can reasonably afford. Ignore the short-term gains and losses. If you try to play the market or individual stocks, you'll probably lose.
Don't count on striking it rich - the most important thing is to get into the habit of putting money away. Selling old stuff on ebay is fun, but don't get carried away; cars aren't everything. (uh, oh, here come the flames...)
Quote:
|
what exactly are bonds?where do i go to get them?
|
Bonds are like stocks, but you're buying debt instead of ownership. You can buy through a broker, just like stocks. They're typically less risky then stocks, with lower long-term gains, and usually move in the opposite direction as stocks. A well-diversified portfolio contains both stocks and bonds. Personally, I wouldn't worry about bonds if you're just starting out, although some funds might contain some percentage of them.
[I'm not an investment professional; just mentioning what I've read. My post should not be construed as investment advice.]
