Expert: Paul Henneman - 2/15/2004

Question
I am a beginner. want to invest for my future

but don't have money. how & where to start? Is

there any monthly thing I can invest a small

amount each month?

sincerly
J

Answer
J,
  Thank you for your question! Yes, there is something you can do to get started. Successfull investing is comprised of a lifetime of saving and adding to your investments. Very, very few people start with large amounts initially. Save what you can each and every month, and in a few decades your portfolio will be impressive.
  I suggest a money market account to begin your savings plan. This is like a savings account, but will give you at least a small interest payment on the amount you have in the account. And, you can easily access the funds in an emergency (but don't do it unless it is a real emergency!)  The one i like best is NetBank (www.NetBank.com) They are federally insured and have the best return interest rate on any money market account of this type I have seen. Once you have a few thousand, however long this takes, you can begin thinking about investments into mutual funds and other things.
  Another note: if you have any debt, pay it off. It does not make sense to save money and invest if for example you have any credit card debt that is 15% or more interest. If you pay off all debt that you can, you will have that much more to invest each month. Start with the smallest debt, pay it off, then use the extra income you have from one less bill each month to increase payments to the next smallest bill.
  I hope this helps! Please do not hesitate to follow up with me if I can be of any additional service,

Sincerely,
Paul Henneman
President
ValuEngine, Inc.
www.ValuEngine.com