21 year old kid looking to buy first stock?

where should i start....i want to buy stock or bond...where should i start

Sadly it appears that most who have responded are here to make money from you.

First of all. And most importantly, don't invest any money that you are not afraid to loose.

Next depending on how much you have to invest. Start Small.. Start with a Brokerage account with Scottrade or E-Trade or similar. Different people have different accounts that they like. Take a look around and do your research, and decide for yourself which brokerage is best for your needs.

If you don't have much to start with, I would recommend starting an IRA. Put money in that account, and then purchase a Vanguard S&P 500 index fund. Or similar Low-cost fund.

You can go to www.Morningstar.com to research the best funds to start with.

You could also purchase an ETF, (exchange tracking fund) that will be the same as a Mutual fund, but is purchased like stock. So you can buy and sell it easily. (hmm.. Looking back let me explain something.. when you have a mutual fund, you can only sell at end of day or start of day.. With a ETF you can sell at any point during the day as long as the market is open for trading).

I would suggest you get some good books to read or go to sites like www.thestreet.com or www.smartmoney.com.

I use Technical Analysis myself to decide when to enter and exit stocks. You can do a google search on this, and learn quite a bit very easily. Also, there are as many ways to trade and research stocks as there are people out there. Find what works with you, and understand, that as the market changes, so you will need to change as well.

Understand as well, that it is very likely that you will make mistakes, and not make some good decisions. Buy stock that instead of going up, goes down.. Don't be afraid to exit the trade, if it is not going the way you thought. Also, if the market is going down, and you are not shorting (a way to make money on a stock or market as it goes down in value) then don't be afraid to exit your position, unless you are in it for the long haul.

The main thing.. Read Read Read.. Train yourself. And try some of the Stock Simulators that are available on the net.. One that I use is: http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/Homepage.aspx

Virtual Stock Exchange..

Good Luck and Remember to do your Research and find what works best for you. Trust your emotions and instincts and remember, if you are feeling scared.. so is everyone else.

Go to yahoo's business section and look up YHOO which is the stock for yahoo. Now go through the whole history and charts. Then go to www.investopedia.com to check out why that information is there and how to use it.

Don't try to hit home runs with stocks. You want a gain of 12% (the historical gain of the SP 500 over the long term) or better, otherwise just buy the ETF SPY (an ETF which tracks the SP 500). ETFs are mutual fund/stock hybrids which allows you to own several like iteams such as stocks, bonds and even metals.

80% of the mutual funds out there have either tracked the SP 500 or haven't beat the SP 500 over the long term.

rfrstormer makes sense. The others seem to have other agendas. FIRST, good for you to start at a young age. It will take some time to get good at it, just like becoming an airline pilot takes more than just neat sunglasses. Get some books. I like "Come into my trading room" by Elder. Target is the potential professional trader (which you are not yet), but the fundamentals are in there and it is a good easy read. Remember that humans make up the market and that psychology has a lot more to do with the market than economics (really. Most authors will second that.) You will lose some, make some, but if you keep learning you can make money at it and starting at your age you have an advantage.

Get yourself educated. <<The Intelligent Investor>> is the bible of stock investing. It may be an old book but it is still very much applicable.

If you really want to jump into it... May sure you follow at least ONE golden rule: Never Put All your Eggs in One Basket!

you should get some education..i highly recommend you to read guide to investing by Robert T Kiyosaki...he will lead you to be a sophisticated..or you can play cashflow 101 & 202....an easy way to learn to buy stocks.....get the book review at
http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com/u/connect/b.asp?id=15036&img=book_investing.jpg&p=product.asp?id=E137

cashflow 101& 202 review
http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com/u/connect/b.asp?id=15036&img=egame_smallsky.gif&p=product.asp?id=E101

Go to http://www.sogoinvest.com

This is a stock brokerage and it's very cheap to buy/sell stock!

take a look at http://www.wwipg.com
It is A new investment company that offers high interest like the stock market but is guarenteed so there is no risk.

Its free and they actually give you a large amount of money to start. so you dont have to invest your own money if you dont want. plus its about 13 to 15% interest rate a month.

*I am not trying to refer you as its not a referral link just trying to help out.

thanks

Well, I don't know a whole lot about Stock, but, I do know about Mortgages. I'd love to answer any questions you might have about that! IM or E-mail me!

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