[~mrniceguy~]

When it comes to investing, many first time investors want to jump right in with both feet. Unfortunately, very few of those investors are successful. Investing in anything requires some degree of skill. It is important to remember that few investments are a sure thing – there is the risk of losing your money!

Before you jump right in, it is better to not only find out more about investing and how it all works, but also to determine what your goals are. What do you hope to achieve with your investments? Will you be funding a college education? Buying a home? Retiring? Before you invest a single penny, really think about what you hope to achieve with that investment. Knowing what your goal is will help you make smarter investment decisions along the way!

Too often, people invest money with dreams of becoming rich overnight. This is possible – but it is also rare. It is usually a very bad idea to start investing with hopes of becoming rich overnight. It is safer to invest your money in such a way that it will grow slowly over time, and be used for retirement or a child’s education. However, if your investment goal is to get rich quick, you should learn as much about high-yield, short term investing as you possibly can before you invest.

You should strongly consider talking to a financial planner before making any investments. Your financial planner can help you determine what type of investing you must do to reach the financial goals that you have set. He or she can give you realistic information as to what kind of returns you can expect and how long it will take to reach your specific goals.

Again, remember that investing requires more than calling a broker and telling them that you want to buy stocks or bonds. It takes a certain amount of research and knowledge about the market if you hope to invest successfully.

[allen1109]

nice article here. really insightful.

i've made a couple of investments myself and i always make sure that i do a lot of research before making any concrete investments be it with my time or my money. setting goals for my investments is also something i do. i earmark each investment for short, medium, and long term plans. short term plans cover vacation and luxury expenses while medium term plans cover purchases such as payments for the car or the house. this also covers my daughter's primary and secondary education. longterm plans cover retirement funds and for my child's college education. i have also a seperate portfolio for emergencies.

a financial planner is good but really dependign on the size of your portfolio, i think you'd be better off being hands-on with your investment. it is your money after all.

just my thoughts.