How to learn more about money?

I want to learn how to Invest money?

• I am 18, just graduated from high school and going into college. I want to learn how to invest money, such as in stocks and what not, the thing is I don't know anything about it, not even the lingo, I don't know where to start! What can I do? are there any books or videos or websites that are made for investing for an audience that is generally my age? Please give me any advice on how I can learn to invest. Just please make sure that you keep in mind that I'm 18 and I don't know anything about this topic but I am very open minded and really want to learn. Thank you.

• Answer:

  At this point in your life you have a lot of time to study. Find a dictionary of financial terminology and keep track of financial markets. At Yahoo finance there are reading materials that you can use to educate yourself. Here is an outline on how to set started. By time you know about all this below you'll be ready to start. Also you'll know what the next questions should be. It's a Research project for you: 1. Learn about deposits: bank accounts: savings accounts, money market accounts, checking accounts. What is a certificate of deposit (aka CD)? How does interest work? what kind of fees can be charged and can you avoid them. 2. Bonds: What is a bond? What is the difference between corporate bonds, treasury bonds, and municipal bonds? How is interest calculated and paid? What are bond ratings, and how are they determined. What does it mean if a bond is "callable"? What does it mean if a bond is sold at either a discount, par, or a premium? What is a "junk" bond? 3. What is a stock? What exactly are you buying when you buy a stock? What is a growth strategy in stock ownership? What is a value strategy in stock ownership? What is an income strategy? What is a dividend? What is a capital gain or loss? 4. What is a mutual fund? How is a mutual fund managed? What does a mutual fund own and how do you make money by owning shares? What are management fees? What is a "load". 5. What are the following: a 401(k), an IRA, a Roth IRA, an annuity. What are the different types of annuities? #### Here is some free advice: Stay away from "Spiders", "Derivatives", and "hedge funds". Commodity futures are for suckers. Penny stocks aren't worth 2 cents. Always keep some of your money in low risk investments. Running out of cash, even when you own a lot of property, is insolvency. Insolvency can cause you to go bankrupt. Your property will be taken over by the courts and possibly sold to pay your creditors. I'm mentioning all this because part of investing is understanding the concept of "Risk and Reward". Once you understand Risk and Reward you are Truly ready to invest. #### I hope I don't scare you off but you'll need to know this stuff in order to invest. The first investment I would recommend you make is a certificate of deposit. Interest isn't particularly good right now but it would be a good learning experience to buy a 180 day CD and take it through to maturity to see how it works. #### Nearly half of all businesses started fail within the first year. Real Estate can become distressed and there is the constant menace of property taxes.