Your First Investment – Never Too Late

If you are saving money, that is great. Keep up the good work. If you are keeping all your savings in a high interest savings account, that is good too, but you could probably do better. You should keep your emergency fund and immediate needs savings liquid, but all other savings that aren’t needed in the near future should you earning you more money through investing. When you are ready to invest, you need to first choose an investment. There are so many different ways to invest, but the most common are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate. Next, you will need to find out where to buy your investments. This is different depending on what you buy. You can buy bonds at your local bank, but if you want to buy stocks, you need a brokerage firm. If your a beginner investor or if you are looking for a low cost way to invest, an online brokerage firm could be right for you. You don’t have to set up any appointments with a broker or make any continuous phone calls. Everything is done right online. It’s so easy, there’s no excuse for not getting started and signed up right away. The online brokerage firm I use is Sharebuilder. I have been using them for about 2 years now and I have been pleased. It only costs $4 for each order. They have excellent service and even offer mutual funds if you aren’t too stock choosing savvy. When you are ready to sign up for Sharebuilder and start investing, just visit the link at the end of this article to sign up. It’s easy to create an account and get started. Once you get to the sign up page, you’ll have a few forms to fill out. Then, either mail or fax copies of verification and ID. This is an important step to ensure your security. Sharebuilder is a very secure account. You have to log into your account with a password and you need more verification before you can place a trade. Also, they have the padlock in the browser when you’re on the site. Make sure you see this next to the address bar to ensure your safety. Once you’re signed up and ready, you can get started! Buy stocks for just $4 on every third Tuesday of the month, or pay $9.95 a trade. Set up an automatic investment plan if you want. This is a great offer that you shouldn’t pass up! Author: Samantha Asher - Find out more about how to start investing and to set up an account with Sharebuilder.