Ways To Invest Your Money

     Investing money does not include your job but rather it includes assets (like property) that you place your money in and leave it dormant for a period of time. Assets can be later traded back in for money; hopefully the return is larger than the amount of money that was put in. Unfortunately some assets decrease or depreciate in value and so money is lost. But let's talk on the positive side.

Stocks

Probably, one of the most common ways to invest is to put money in stocks. Stocks are shares of a company that people buy. We all know about how Apple's infamous stock caught the attention of many stock brokers and investors around the country and even all around the world. I remember when Apple's stock was $497 back in February 2012 and just two months later the stock rose up to a whopping $607! That means that for every Apple stock that was bought the profit for each one would be $210. Say for instance that you bought 10 stocks of Apple and so after you sell all 10, the profit that would be made would be $2100. But how do I invest in stocks? Well, there are many programs that are out there that facilitate the process of buying and selling stocks; one example is E-TRADE. Through E-TRADE the process of buying and selling stocks is all online. 

Stocks: Mutual Funds 

What if you really don't want the risk of just investing in stocks that you have chosen? Well, mutual funds can be a safer option. Let's get to the basics. Mutual funds are stocks that are managed by professionals in which your money is spread through many stocks from different industries such as metal, oil, and food industries. The whole point is to increase diversification so that if one particular industry suffers you have other industries to compensate for your loss. The disadvantage is that you cannot personalize your investment in stocks. The membership fees are another disadvantage that is associated by investing in mutual funds. 

CD's: Certificates of Deposit 

Certificates of Deposit have one of the highest interest rates that are out there and so it is wise to invest money in these special deposits. These deposits are also known as time deposits because money cannot be withdrawn for a period of time sometimes between six months and one year. The obvious advantage is the high interest rates but the disadvantage is if money has to be taken out before the withdraw period a hefty fine will be charged. Sometimes the fine can be a certain percentage of the amount that you want to withdraw and it is better to just leave it and forget it. When shopping for CD's from various banks, I would recommend FDIC insured banks. The FDIC will reimburse you up to $100,000.