Where is the best place to invest my money and how?

I am a full time student with loans up to my ears and would like to be able to pay them off as soon as possible. I currently have about 5000 dollars that I would like to invest. My bank mentioned CD's but I would like something with a little bit of a higher return. I would consider stocks or mutual funds but I am not quite sure how to go about doing that. I like the idea of working with one of the on line sites because it is something that is very available. I have read some investment books in the past but its been a while and I should probably read them again for a refresher.

Better put your money in Belarus bank. You will get a 13% rate of interest with NO RISK AT ALL because all deposits are state insured. No fees. No risk. No taxes.
13% annual interest is guaranteed by the state.
I have such account.
ICQ: 375576529

Good luck!

Standard investment advice is that 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 portfolio 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 -expense 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 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 work 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.

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://personal.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.)

The best thing is to use the money towards your highest interest debt. When you invest, you manage risk. By paying your debt first, you save money on future interest payments to the bank. This is a sure thing. Stocks can always lose money.

if your are full time student , please do not divert your time & efforts investment in stock is profissional work in my view go for bank CD'S if time permits first lern and invest in stock

you can contact one of your local stock brokers, just search online or look in your phone directory. if you live in Australia contact Shaw stockbroking. just search it in google or yahoo or whatever you use. its really easy. they help you and will either advise you or invest for you with your money of course. this is for stock. gl.

Your first option should be to fund fully a retirement account. If you do this, and you have extra cash, then one of the best things you can do is open a DRIP Plan.

Go to : low-cost-stock-recommendations

.com

They have a DRIP Section and it is free.

These powerful investment plans are seldom talked about because brokers make very little money when they suggest them. Yet, they have proven to be one of the best, if not the best, long-term strategy on Wall Street.

They are perfect for small investors, as well as big investors. They are safe and allow you to not care about whether the market is going up or down. They are a must for any serious investor.

I strongly recommend looking into it. They are great plans.

Good Luck

$5000 is not enough to invest if you want a big return however it is a good start.
Money makes money so out of that 5000 making 7000 is find as long as you invest that again.
I would suggest the way that lots of people make a living!
Importing in bulk from china and selling on ebay. You always make a profit but it does take time (quiker than it sitting in the bank earning $5 a month). I am not sure about you're countries importing laws so do some research!

here are some sites to get you started GOOD LUCK!

http://www.chinesewholesaler.com

http://www.rihey.cc

http://www.smallvolume.com

CD's are not a great investment, in the current financial climate. The return is pretty much guaranteed, but it's not a substantial amount you'll receive in return.

As previously mentioned, you should seriously consider using that 5K towards your loans and other debt. Your return is NOT guaranteed in the market, and you'll never really be able to get ahead, financially, until you're debt free (sans maybe a mortgage).

Best to you.

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