Investing is a long term goal that should be planned carefully. Keep up with research in trends, strategies, and new companies and finally decide which types of stocks, bonds or mutual funds to invest in. After finding a sound job, after each month take advantage of the opportunity to save a designated amount. One can decide to put aside as little as 5 – 10 % of a monthly paycheque.
Where to invest?
A collection of where and what a person has invested in comprises an investment portfolio that will grow and mature over several years if managed wisely.
Stock market – Buyers and sellers come together to exchange shares of companies. In turn, the shares bought give a return in form of profit that the company made. In theory, the investor takes part in the company's growth by buying part of the same company directly.
Bonds – A very low risk investment, bonds are titles to an amount of borrowed money after a fixed period of time up to maturity, sometimes 20 years. Both companies and governments issue bonds. Essentially you buy the bond and have a debt investment to that entity that upon return the money is paid back with an interest.
Mutual Funds – A more formal and bigger scale investment; these funds are overseen by a board of directors where more than one investor pools their money together to invest in one or more companies. The group has its own objectives and team that manages its investments to assure it will achieve these goals.
Strategies
Low risk – Usually this method is referred to as ‘Buy and Hold' where the investor stays with the same investment over a long period of time. This is in spite of the risk of bad profit turnover periods in the market.
Higher risk– Means buying and selling shares or bonds in accordance with how the market is doing at the time. I.e. selling at a high price and buying at a low price. This method involves more investment experience or working with an investment expert who will know how to handle your portfolio well.
It is most recommendable that the investor decides at an early time their goals and how much they want to make from each investment. Decide who will manage these investments, hiring a trusted broker to make more complicated decisions is not a bad idea, but it is also its own costly investment itself.