I need investment advise I just got around $8,000 extra, ideas?

You should invest in a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, and money market funds. You want to buy a diversified portfolio of stocks as individual stocks are too risky. Most folks have a dificult time buying a properly balanced portfoilio of stocks on their own. They will misbalance their portfolio by buying all small stocks or all growth stocks, or some other misbalanced assortment of stocks. Unless you know what you are doing, it is best to buy mutual funds. I like Vanguard.com, other people like Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, and DFA. Buy no-load, low cost funds. If you are like most people you will invest part of your money aggressively in stock funds, and part conservatively in money market funds and bond funds. Vanguard.com has an on-line questionnaire which will give you an idea of how to do "Asset Allocation," determining how much to put in each type of fund.

If your company offers a 401K plan at work, try to invest the most you can. The money grows tax free, and some companies will match your contribution. Investing in a mutual fund IRA is also a good idea. If you have children, you may want to consider a 529 plan or other college savings plan that grows tax free.

I like index funds. Because of their broad diversification, you are less likely to have a dramatic drop in value. They also have the lowest expenses. For stock funds, I would suggest putting ~70-80% of your money in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. and ~20-30% in a foreign stock index fund. However, there are many different opinions out there on what the best mutual funds are. Read the links below and form your own opinion.

If you have high-interest debt, like credit cards, it is best to pay this off first before trying most of the investment ideas above. You should also have 3-6 months of salary saved up as an emergency fund in a bank or money market fund before trying more risky investments.

Believing advice you get on Yahoo answers can be risky, so read these websites for further information. If you find it too confusing, contact a professional financial advisor. They will charge you significant commissions, however.

Sources:

http://www.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planningeducation
http://www.fool.com/school.htm
http://sec.gov/investor/pubs/assetallocation.htm
http://www.diehards.org/readsites.htm
http://finance.yahoo.com/education/begin_investing
http://finance.yahoo.com/funds/basics

Asset Allocation Calculators
(Determining how much to put in stocks and how much into bonds and money markets is a personal decision depending on your financial status. These Asset Allocation questionaires give you a rough idea how to do this. I like Vanguard best, but try some of the other sites as well.)
https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/FundsInvQuestionnaire?cbdInitTransUrl=https%3A//flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planningeducation/education
https://ais2.tiaa-cref.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects.exe/DTAssetAlcEval
http://www.ifa.com/SurveyNET/index.aspx

Web forum: http://www.diehards.org/
(Many investment web forums are overrun by scam artists. This one seems the most legitimate site.)

529 plans: http://www.savingforcollege.com

Get an online broker such as Scottrade, put it in an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) of an Market Index. Your returns will match the market and you won't have top worry about losing it all.

try http://goldenbullstocks.com and do your own research

What you should do with the money depends on what you are going to want to use the money for in the future. If the $8,000is really just "extra" money, then you have several options. If you plan on using it for something down the road, however, you need to consider that when deciding how to invest it.

First thing's first: if you have debt (car payments, mortgage, credit card debt, etc.), use the money to help pay those off. Pay off the one with the highest interest rate. By doing this, you are essentially guaranteeing yourself a return of that interest rate by saving that money and increasing how much you have to spend.

If you don't have any significant debt, and you don't have any plans for the money in the future, then have fun with it. Invest in one or more companies in the stock market. Head to prosper.com and loan the money to someone who could use it and will pay you well for it. Stick it in a money market account and use it as a spending account for yourself. You should only consider these options if you are sure there is nothing in particular you would like to use the money for.

In the case that there is a particular goal you have for this money in the future, invest it in something that will help you get to that goal. If you have children and want to save for college, open up a 529 plan (college savings plan) through an investment firm with the $8,000. If you would like to have an even better retirement than you are headed for now, put the $8,000 in an IRA (individual retirement account). If you would like to use the money in a year for a big purchase, place the money in a CD or high-yield money market account (like ING direct). Whatever your goal is for the money, figure out 1. what the money is for, 2. when you need the money, 3. How risky can you be with the money, and 4. What kind of a return can you get on the money based on 1, 2, and 3.

Good luck with all your financial endeavors

If you're new to investing, educate yourself a bit first. Also, decide what your investment timeframe is and how soon you anticipate needing the money. There are lots of websites and books on basic investing.

Hey this is kinda difficult but, Investing in stock market is really a good idea we can good Return after investing.But we cannot predicate the futures in stock.So please gather the details before starting to invest in any stock. Be sure you've check everything good luck =]

http://www.bullseyetraders.com/

Check it out, im a member and just started as my job.

Ps if u sign up for a trial, say Alex van Zeeland referred you

Templeton's Developing Markets Mutual Fund. Im making money hand over fist in that thing. I think it made 20% for the month of Oct alone. Thats an annual rate of what, like 240%? I cant believe it..

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=TEDMX&t=3m

i think you should give the $8000 to me....you don't want to worry about it do you?

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