Best Ways To Invest Money For Beginners 2017

The Beginners Guide to Online Investing

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Are you interested in getting started with online investing? From traditional brokerages to self-guided investing on platforms like E-trade, there are a lot of choices when it comes to investing.

Of course, it's vital to protect your money and your personal information as well. These tips will help you decide what type of investing you're interested in, how to do it, and how to stay safe.

What Type of Investing Are You Looking For?

Some people interested in online investing are looking to start a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) to save for retirement. Others have some money set aside and want to try their hand at real time stock trades and day trading. Between those two options, there's a lot of space where people mix a buy-and-hold with an active trading strategy. So what are your goals?

Setting investment goals will help you know what online investing tools you want and how much research you need to do before you begin. It pays to be prepared.

You Don't Need Much to Get Started

You may be able to start investing online with as little as $50. There are online brokers who have no minimum deposit, and some mutual funds allow you to skip account minimums if you commit to a monthly deposit.

Don't feel like you need thousands of dollars set aside to begin investing. You can start setting aside money for the future with a very small initial investment.

Learn About Stock Trading

To get the lingo down, consider studying a stock trading glossary such as Investopedia or InvestorWords, as there are many abbreviations and terms you need to know. You also need to learn about stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). You may want to learn about foreign markets as well, like Canadian stock trading or Singapore stock trading. Check out books, blogs, magazines, newspapers and even podcasts to get a feel for what opportunities are out there.

Know the Costs

There are fees associated every time you trade stocks that are above and beyond the cost of the stock you're buying. Sometimes these fees are a percentage of the investment, and other times, you pay a flat fee every time you trade.

If you choose to invest in mutual funds or use a brokerage to create a well-balanced IRA account, your fees should be minimal. However, if you actively trade stocks regularly, expect the fees to add up.

Don't be shy about comparison shopping different stock trading companies – different platforms will charge different amounts.

Consider Starting With Pretend Money

Before you get your feet wet, consider testing your ideas and research using something like the Investing Simulator Center or Investopedia's Stock Simulator. You can see what it's like to get stock trading quotes and get experience despite being a stock trading beginner.

This is especially important if you plan to trade actively. You can try your hand at it and see whether your strategies hold water. Of course, you're more likely to take risky bets if you know the money is fake, so your next step should be small trades with real money to see how you manage.

You might want to start small by choosing five publicly traded stocks to work with and seeing how you do.

Online Investing Is a Great Avenue for Saving Money

Having money set aside for your future can be challenging for many people. It's easy to spend more than you intend or grab money from your savings account "just for a few weeks," only to never put it back.

Online investing can be a great alternative if you're looking for a way to save money for your long-term future. Whether you're planning ahead for retirement or want to create some side-income now, trading can be a great way to grow your bank account.

Of course, you want to make sure you only use reputable sites and watch out for fraud. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.