How can I best invest a couple thousand dollars?

Question

So, I'm 17 and I've been wanting to make some relatively low risk type of investment for a few years now. I was waiting till I bought a car to see how much money I had left over. After paying for the car, I have 2500 left, and right now it's just sitting in a student checking account which earns almost no interest. I'm off to college in about 12 months so I'm thinking I can lock up 1500 until then. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Stocks have the possibility of yielding high returns but they come along with quite an amount of risk, especially in the current market conditions.  Options can bring even higher returns, but I would definitely not recommend them for beginners because they are extremely risky.  I would suggest that you try mutual funds.  Since they are collections of stocks and bonds, they are diversified, thereby cutting down their amount of risk.  Plus, they are professionally managed so you don't have to worry about what stocks or bonds to invest in.  For more information about stocks, options, mutual funds, or investing in general, you should check out Investopedia ( http://www.investopedia.com/ ).  It's a great website with lots of information.

If you do decide to invest in stock, options, or mutual funds, you will need to open a brokerage account.  However, if you are under 18, you will not be able to open an individual account.  You could open a custodial account though and have one of your parents cosign it with you.  I would recommend going with an online discount broker.  They're a lot cheaper than full-service ones and everything can be done conveniently online.

I currently use Firstrade ( http://www.firstrade.com ).  They are cheaper than big name brokers such as Scottrade, Etrade, TD Ameritrade, and Schwab.  Their customer service is excellent and their website is very easy to use.  I've been with them for quite awhile now and have not had any problems at all.  I would definitely recommend them to you.

I would not recommend using Zecco. Their 10 free trades a month deal requires a minimum deposit of at least $2,500.  Plus, their website is very hard to use, definitely not for beginners.

Firstrade currently has a refer-a-friend program, so if you're interested in opening account with them, email me for a referral code. It's a win-win situation because you'll get your first 5 trades free.

Answer 2

I think I will trade option. I give this answer because i had attended some class. I started to trade using 2,000  

Answer 3

I recommend an online brokerage firm that has good beginner qualitys {like tutorials or an easy to understand set up}, i use zecco, better then schwab, etrade, etc. they are the only ones with free stock trades, no minumums..all the others will charge you fees for trading, but compare and see for yourself. Good luck and happy investing!

http://friends.zecco.com/r/a7a2877caab81...