Minimum Amount to Start Investing

Hi Stockgirl,

I think the amount of money needed to start investing all depends on what your purpose for the funds are.

If you start with a 2K account but you plan on consistently adding to it while homing your investing skills then maybe that makes sense for some people.

But as you said if you have other payments (car, house, ect.) then your right you are probably better off waiting until at least 25k before the benefits outweigh the costs.

I guess it all depends

No such thing as a minimum. But the number one mistake most people make when buying there fiirst stock is to think you must buy at last 100. If they only have $1,000 then they look at $10 and under stock. If like a $80 stock, just buy 12 shares. Screw diversity. you'll become divers over time as you buy more stocks each year. A small pot cannot be diversify and make money.

for a guy that functions a 5th grader grammer level i do alright...No such thing as a minimum. But the number one mistake most people make when buying there fiirst stock is to think you must buy at last 100 shares. If they only have $1,000 then they look at $10 and under stock. If you like a $80 stock, just buy 12 shares. Screw diversity. You'll become diversify over time as you buy more stocks each year. A small pot cannot be diversify and make money.

To start a portfolio, the more the better.
However, most newbies do not want to plunk down $25k and let itself sort it out. One has to start somewhere. Now what would that amount be?

to put it into Poker playing terms...all you need is a chip and and chair! You should only start to invest with money that you can afford to lose. Beginner investors can be the BEST or WORST, since they may not know what to look for other then "I heard of that company and I like what they sell". The best way to start investing (IMO) is to open a Sharebuilder account and start a DRIP plan. You can invest just $25 a week into a stock and you can add more $ to the plan at any time.

Since the most one can really afford to lose is ZERO, one should start with a demo account, or paper trade, for a couple of years before literally paying for "loser" education.

I say maximum is $500 for the first year of trading. If 90% of newbies lose their first year, then it would be wise for newbies to keep their 'educational costs' low

Between the gamblers refernce and ivest what you can lose reference. Most newbies make the mistake of letting loses run and cutting profits. You are either right or your wrong with your first stock. If you sell the right stock at 10% profits to find a wrong stock that you let fell to minus 50% you maybe batting 500 but your money sure won't know it.

My goodness what a snobby perspective Stockgirl. Hey the beauty in these times is low minmums allow the long-tail into the market.

Like mentioned before - no one wants to lose a dime. But damn doesn't the ideal of waiting until you scrap 25K together suck for the average person. That is so old school....maybe we should also believe social security will exist too!

Plus if you make maoney with 500 bucks over and over adventually you will have 25K. You gotta start sowmewhere and the interst on saving accounts are awful.

Any discussion of investing needs to have some view of the level of diversification available to the account owner, and the nature of any other savings they may have, such as an IRA or 401(k). The timeline of the investor is crucial. If one needs the money in two or three years, I think few financial planners would recommend delving into a handful of stocks in an attempt to create gains based on the volatility of today's markets.

Another factor to consider is how active this investor needs to be. With $5000 across ten stocks, even $10 commissions will really impact returns unless one holds stocks for the long-haul.

While much of the focus on this website is short and long positions on individual stocks, the market is loaded with exchange traded funds that create substantially more diversification right off the bat. I don't have a magic number, but feel comfortable saying that if one can only afford to hold less then 10 individual stock positions, then the majority of the investments must be in ETF's or mutual funds.

I also think it's important to note the broad bias inherent in the phrase "investing." Not only should you have diversification across firms, sectors and international stocks, but asset classes themselves. This means that individuals looking to "invest" should not only consider firms that may do well in these economic conditions, but also consider the diversification of fixed income products, commodities and foreign currencies as well. If you are worried about the long-term purchasing power of the US dollar, consider just holding a portion of your investments in foreign currencies that earn the local rate of interest instead of cash dollars (like FXE, or FXF). If you think it's a no-brainer that the price of oil will continue to rise, consider things like USO, which rises as crude oil rises. Are prices going to continue to rise in the grocery store? Look at DBA, which tracks the price of sugar, wheat, and other agricultural commodities -- not just the companies that produce them. It's my view that these asset classes add substantially to the diversification effect in any portfolio, and it separates the swings the market applies to stock prices of companies like Exxon or ADM from the products they produce.

The use of extra capital is relevant to the rate at which it can be invested. A person with a $500 loan of 1% should not repay it if a rate of 6% can be had, provided they can cover the cash flow.

I think that getreal is right with respect to costs of position. However, I do think that any amount invested is better than nothing. If one has 1000 to invest in ABC @ $20 a share and commissions of $10 a transaction costs per share are approx. 1% and the shares will need to appreciate $.20 to cover the transaction. Minimizing costs are what a person of any amount need to be concerned with and the expected return of the position over time.

I feel that learning costs, as many of you mentioned, will be incured through time whether through losing positions, opportunity costs of education (self or institution), or through practice accounts. Education of the markets and securities will have costs whether their realized or economic and cannot be avoided. As my previous remarks were tangential to the topic, in the end my opinion is even 1 penny invested is a positive. (the general concern is where and at what rate).

pay off all your credit cards debts, car debts, student loan debts, first.

Why stretch to get 8+% returns when living debt free will save you 8%-20% on your debt.

Investing
Your first investment should be to protect yourself, six (6) months of savings in a safe savings vehicle, IRA, 401k, savings, CD’s, ect, a fall back position should anything change in your life style.
I like the analogy Ascending Investment Partners made comparing it to playing poker the market is not kind if you don’t do your homework. Practice on paper is the best way to develop a style that works for you. The biggest loss is also your biggest gain a loss on paper is a great teacher, like any sound enterprise a game plan set a direction that keeps the emotions out of the equation. Those who enter into an investment without having an exit tragedy will almost always loose. One of the advantages of having a site like this is you can learn what not to do, the first year on this site was a great eye opener for me, the biggest rule I learned is listen to every one but check the facts before making a leap.
I get more out of the criticism from members on this site because on occasion those comments help me from making a hasty decision. Once you protect yourself there is wrong amount to start with, the wrong thing is to do nothing. Gene

It all depends what you want, if you are looking to slowly save for retirement or get a little extra income then there is no minimum but if you are interested in using the market to do more than simply support some measly 401 and use it to actually build your wealth that I suggest that you start as early as possible and with whatever money you have

Every person should begin investing and following the markets as soon as they have any money, who better to look out for your financial future than you

two options you have!
1-start with small amount and take the most risk possible. try to doulbe or tripple your money in short term. than play safe.
2-start with large amount and keep it safe average %10-15 year diversified portofolio.

I you ask me what I do. I look for the biggest losers of the day in stock markets. Then decide which company can turn that loose in a gain fairly quick. i put my money on that and wait until I satisfied!
You can start to tommorrow with LCC, UAUA, AAI

just and idea:)

interesting idea Baris, how did you come up and develop your methodology?

I wait for the market close. then pull those web sites.
go through the companies last 2-3 year performances reasons for why a big decline in oneday. then decide.

Today's pick is: DAKT (good luck)

http://finance.yahoo.com/losers?e=us

http://finance.aol.com/usw/quotes/mostactives?exchange=0&type=4

Thanks for the insight and the heads up Baris