Expert: Steve Hach - 4/17/2008

Question
Hi. I want to first understand the market, stocks, trading &start investing. My knowledge regarding above stuffs is literally zero . Can you guide me so that I can really understand how business works and how the market trading is and gets affected by various reasons like inflation etc. Thank you

Answer
Chetan,

There are a few books that can really help a new investor.

One is "Investing for Dummies" and it is just like every other book in the "for Dummies" series, a good basic outline.

This book covers a lot of topics and despite its insulting title, it is a good read.

I would also suggest some of the books by Suze Ormond on how to handle money and invest.

William O'Neill is also a good author to look for if you want a more advanced discussion of the technically-focused approach to investing.

In addition to these books, you may find that reading a good newspaper like the new york times and wall street journal is very helpful.

I also like some of the financial blogs like this one:
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/

The easiest place to start for many investors is their own IRA or company 401k plan.  That is usually a no brainer.

Also, if I could also provide some general advice:

AVOID DEBT
cut up or do not use credit cards
do not fall for "get rich quick" scams
save as much as possible from your paycheck
start now, even if you save a little bit per week--25-50$-- in 35 years this will be a huge sum of money.

Best,

Steve