Newbie to investing?

So I want to broaden my horizens and put my money to work, I'm only 23 so I figured best to get started while I'm young, right? I want something that's not too risky, it doesn't have to be a quick turnaround, I'm patient, seeing as how I'm making this a long term project, I don't have a lot to invest but feel the need to start planning for my future, any suggestions?

There are 3 things you need to keep in mind when you start to invest long term:

1) Your immediate needs
2) Your short term needs
3) Your long term needs

Your immediate needs are what you need today to survive. Not only what you'll need to get through today and tomorrow, but what you'll need in case of emergency, such as a job loss or your car breaking down. So before you start throwing money at investment, establish an emergency fund. A money market fund is good for this. Without an emergency fund, any mishap could throw you a loss situation (if you have to sell your investments at a loss to cover the emergency) or debt.

Your short term needs are the things that costs that will be coming up in the next few years. For example, you might be wanting to buy a house and will need cash for a down payment. Put money for this in a safe place that will earn as much as possible. CDs are a good vehicle for this kind of money.

Finally, long term investing is the vehicle by which you will get rich slowly. Over the long term, your best bet is invest in stocks, which historically return more than real estate, bonds, or anything else. 4 steps to this:

1) If your employer offers a 401(k) with a company match, contribute up to the maximum match. Free money is good.

2) If you have more money to invest, open a Roth IRA. Tax-free gains are good.

3) If you've followed the 2 steps above and still have money to invest, go back and fund the 401(k) to the maximum. Tax-deferred growth is good, though not as good as tax-free growth.

4) At 23, you're unlikely to have much money left over after the 3 steps above. But on the off chance that you still have money, that's the time to think about investing in taxable accounts or investing in real estate.

At getrichslowly.org (see link below), they're doing a series on how to open a Roth IRA, complete with screen shots on how to open an account at Fidelity, Vanguard, and T Rowe Price. The series consists of 4 parts:
1) What is a Roth IRA and why should I care?
2) How to start a Roth IRA (and where to do it).
3) Which investments are best for a Roth IRA?
4) Questions and answers (this section is not complete yet).

There's also loads of information on frugality and investing, plus a very lively forum where members discuss ways to save money or make their money grow. As you might guess from the name of the site, we're not focused on get-rich-quick schemes. Also lots of book reviews on investment books, so if you want a further education, check the book reviews and check out some of the books at your local library. Good luck!

Investing in "individual" stocks takes a lot of knowledge and practice; so I would not suggest doing this until you understand completely how the stock markets work.

Instead visit Vanguard.com and learn about mutual funds, index funds, and exchange-traded-funds (ETFs). Trading funds is less risky than trying to trade "individual" stocks.

Unless you plan on spending everyday of your life looking at stock charts trying to determine the best time to get in and out of "individual" stocks, I would look into some sort of fund.

Also be very careful about asking for stock tips online. Most are probably worthless or contain unethical motives. Do not fall for any Pump-and-Dump scams.

As far as books go, I actually started out with the Investing for Dummies books, and they definitely pushed me in the right direction. To many other books have their own agendas in my opinion.

The websites below all contain plenty of FREE information to get you started in the right direction.

Let's first start by suggesting a few good starter books:

1) Mutual Funds for Dummies, by Eric Tyson
2) http://www.invest-for-retirement.com has a free downloadable book
3) The Boglehead's Guide to Investing

pay yourself first
open a no load tax defered fund that tracks the s&p 500 and every time you sit down to pay bills send money into this account no matter how small of an amount do it evey time.

I second the recommendation for Vanguard and The Motley Fool as investment learning tools.

Pay particular attention to discussion on index funds and value stock investing.

The easiest thing you can do is buy a mutual or exchange traded fund--this allows you to own a little stock in a lot of companies, which is safer than owning just one stock.

IVV or SPY are S&P 500 ETFs that each hold stock in the 500 largest US companies. Buy either one and you're effectively buying the stock market.

First put money in a pension fund (seek professional help for this). Then use some money to start own business on-line, on the side.

Take a look on http://www.moneyaside.com for ideas and tips on how to make money on-line - work from home- Just Tips No Tricks

Open a brokerage account at Zecco.

The stock market can be risky at the best of times, even for experienced investors. However, everyone has to start somewhere, and if you do not start now then when will you acquire the necessary experience?

Do read some books on the subject. Visit your local book store and find a book that you like and feel comfortable with.

Some of the titles I have on my bookshelf include:
One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch
How to make money in Stocks by William J. Oâ€™Neil (Founder of Investorâ€™s Business Daily)
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J Stanley and William D Danco

Check out web sites like fool.com and yahoo finance.
Investigate trading strategies with a proven track record over 3, 5, 10, and 15 years.

Pick something that you understand, find easy to use, will help you realise your goals, and where you can take responsibility for your investments and be in full control of your capital.

Systems like the Stocks Monthly system are definitely worth investigating once you are up to speed with the nuts and bolts of investing.

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