Me=College Senior...Is it safe to begin investing right now with the market & economy the way they are?

Question

Please help! I really want to start investing, but don't wanna make big mistakes!

Answer 1

it's never a bad time to start, regardless of the economy.

Answer 2

This is absolutely the best time to invest, especially if you are a long term player. Even if you are in it for the short term, with the major volatility in the market, you can still capitalize on wide price swings, but of course, this involves more risk and a certain level of market timing.  But, let's say you are in it for the relative long term.  You could consider some broad based index mutual funds or newer exchange traded funds.  A good example could be symbol DIA or SPY, which mimics the value of the Dow Jones Industrial average, or the SP500 index(these are ideas, not suggestions).  There are also lifestyle funds available now, where you pick your target date(say 2040).  Leading up to the target date, the funds are more aggressive, and grow more conservative as you approach the target date.  This helps take some of the work out of having to rebalance.  And to make it even easier, most brokerage firms can make it to where you automatically have a certain amount of money invested every month or so, and put straight into the fund(or funds) you're holding.  I know I've said a lot here, but hopefully this is enough to get you started.

Answer 3

Right now is about the best time you could wish for to begin investing...stocks are effectively "on sale" and availble at bargain prices!

The only bad thing that could possibly happen would be if Western society simply collapsed, but if that happened, cash would be worthless anyway!

A good place to start might be a broad market mutual fund.  Look for one with very low expenses.

Or if you are able to make regular purchases of $30/month or more, you could open a brokerage account with one of the low-cost online brokerages like http://www.buyandhold.com or http://www.sharebuilder.com & buy $30 worth of shares of SPY or DIA every month

The earlier you start saving & investing, the earlier you will become wealthy.  Very few people attain wealth by working hard....wealth comes from spending less than you earn and investing the difference...

Best wishes!

Answer 4

I graduated 3 months ago....

and word of advice it is never to early to start looking for a job.

I searched my entire last semester of my senior year. It takes persistence. From resume and cover letter submissions to waiting on that call, to hearing back from would be employers it takes time.

Once I found a job I felt relieved. So unless you are attending an Ivy League University don't wait until you graduate to start your job search.

Answer 5

iF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING THEN ANYTIME IS SAFE - IF YOU DON'T THEN ALL TIMES ARE BAD.

kEEP A GHOST PORTFOLIO FOR SIX MONTHS - IF YOU ARE AHEAD THEN INVEST FOR REAL - IF YOU ARE BEHIND THEN YOU NEED TO LEARN MORE.

Answer 6

This is an ideal time to start investing. You buy during bear markets and sell during bulls.