Entries from February 2010 ↓

Although this blog is called Saving Cash Tips, we often talk about investing and the best way to invest money now, since keeping your money is just as key as saving it! But in this post, we want to talk a little about how to invest if you only have small amounts of money to invest.

First off, what do we mean by small amounts? Well if you’re just getting started with a savings plan, amounts like $100, $100 or $1000 are small amounts. Generally, any amount under $5,000 is a small amount, if you are considering stock investing. You want to minimize risk, and continue to save, without your money being lost to market fluctuations or high fees. It’s also important to realize that as an investor, you really cant count on “buy and hold” for long time periods, as the market we are in now is probably unique in history, in that it is quite unstable. There are not going to be 20 year upswings like we thought we’d have in he past. So, that means if you are in the market, you have to be prepared to buy and sell when the conditions require it.

As a result, for amounts in this range, sometimes buying stocks is not a good idea, and here’s why: You will pay a larger portion of your base investment in trading commissions or fees. If you are buying stocks, you’ll pay both to buy and when you sell stock. Since you can’t just buy and never sell, you will pay on both ends. In addition, the appreciation in stock is likely not going to be huge on just a couple dozen shares. Until you have a larger amount to invest, its probably better to select investments where you can make some money, but forgo the casino that is the stock market until you can afford to lose to the house.

A couple good examples of place to invest with small amounts of money are savings accounts, CDs, savings bonds, and ETFs. For example, you and open a high interest savings account online usually with $100 minimum investment, and you can earn a couple points in interest, while having your savings insured (which is not true in the stock market). A certificate of deposit, or CD, will give you an extra half percent or so, but may come with restrictions if you have to take the money out before the CD matures.

Another option is to buy savings bonds. The U.S. Treasury now sells these online at Treasury Direct, and you can invest with a transfer from your bank account in amounts as small as $25. As of this writing, a November 2009 I-Bond, which is indexed for inflation, is earning 3.77%, which is nothing to sneeze at considering the market is all over the place. As with any bonds, you have restrictions on when you can withdraw your funds, but you can also have money automatically deposited into this account, and use it to buy savings bonds as well as Treasury bonds.

If you are looking for the best way to invest with little money, you want to start small, and keep making deposits, and build up your investment account before taking larger risks. Today you have plenty of choices for smaller investments, where you can have a safe, insured account until you are ready to take the next step.

For anyone watching the stock market come back 60% since the lows of 2009, it might seem like you should get back into the stock market and start buying stocks again. But you might want to stop and think twice before stock buying, since the market is still quite unsettled, due to unemployment fears, dollar weakness, and other factors.

When faced with an uncertain market, deciding what stocks to buy can be difficult. With years of a stock bubble in our past, we keep looking for returns that come only with situations that are bound to reverse. For example, throughout most of the 2000′s decade, the market was inflated by extremely low interest rates, and the resulting massive lending and borrowing by consumers and businesses alike. As we all know, the bursting of this bubble was a rude awakening for people around the globe.

It’s hard not to keep coming back to buying stocks as a way to rebuild one’s investment nest egg or portfolio. Today, stock picking is nowhere near as easy as it was in the 1990′s or in the last decade, since stock bubbles drove all stocks up, and everyone had winning stock picks whether they were experts or not. Instead, the choice now of which stocks to buy will require more education, even for experienced investors, and decisions that must be made more frequently, instead of expecting the market to always go up. Stock buying has some new twists in it, which can make it both more risky and less risky for the average investor.

You might consider buying ETFs. Exchange traded funds are similar to mutual funds, but they trade like stocks. So you can purchase the indexes, you can purchase currencies or commodities, but you are buying shares just like stocks, and not having to deal with minimum investments and so on. Another way to trade this uncertain market is to buy options. Options are becoming popular, because the returns are greater incrementally than they would be trading the underlying stock. They can also be an excellent way to protect one’s self against market fluctuations. You can purchase “put” to protect against stocks going down, and “call” options to capitalize on stocks going up. This is a whole area of investing that requires education and expertise, so be sure you also invest time in learning to trade these derivatives, and not just invest money blindly. While stock buying might have changed, there is always a way to make money in any market. Finding new ideas for buying stocks and new vehicles for investing is one way you can get into the market to make money no matter the market direction.

Here at Saving Cash Tips, we’re hosting Part 2 of the Investing Carnival. We’ve been checking out some posts on investing blogs around the web, looking for good ideas about how to invest. Here are some posts we think you’ll find helpful in your investing efforts:

In this tough economy it can be hard to stay focused on saving for retirement. At
Retire Early Guide they teach you effective savings tips so that you can stay on top of saving for your future now! The site covers topics such as paying off your mortgage faster, saving for your childrens education and cutting variable expenses!

Jim Cramer has given me great insight into the stock market through a service he created called Action Alerts Plus which allows us to watch as he makes his own trades through a charitable trust portfolio. Read my review and sign up for a free two week trial.

And here’s some good advice about 401k rollover options: When deciding to leave your current employer, you have more to think about than your new job. If you have invested in the company’s 401k you need to decide what you will do with your retirement funds.  Educating yourself about your rollover options is crucial before taking action.

Ty Coon over at Stock Market Investing Today has started his Poor Man’s Stock Market Investing Challenge. He’s helping people use a stock simulator to learn how to start investing in the stock market.

According to Stock Market for Beginners Guide, for all newbies who wish to make money in the stock market the difference in making big bucks versus losing is the education. To begin it is important to understand how the stock market works and how the stock exchanges operate. Understanding the stock market today will help avoid a few costly mistakes while you are a beginner. It will also help as then you will be a notch above those who venture into the stock market with no knowledge and understanding of the markets.

At 401k Rollover Answers, they’ve pointed out that in this time when many people are facing a job transition, one of the important details that can fall through the cracks is the question of what to do with one’s 401k account. It is a good idea to do some research before deciding what to do with the retirement fund from your old company. This article demonstrates some of the common mistakes people make, from cashing it out early, to forgetting they’ll need to pay back a 401k loan.

Hope you find these Investing Carnival links profitable!