Investing is a huge component of personal finance, and one that can often be intimidating for beginners. If you’ve never invested before, you probably don’t know where to begin, how to invest, where to invest, or what are good strategies.
You may have questions like: What’s the best investment option for you? Should you choose stocks and bonds, or is gold your claim to fame? How much money should you put in? How long should you be an investor?
All these questions can have you hesitant to begin at all, but there are a few websites that can certainly put your mind at ease, guide you through the process, and get you started in no time.
Invest in the Markets
Invest in the Markets is a website ran by Doctor Stock, a man with a Ph.D in communications and a knack for diagnosing and providing solutions for people’s stock market ailments. He’s been investing in the stock market for over 20 years and he’s been able to help family, friends, and complete strangers preserve their capital, minimize their risks, and maximize their returns in the stock market, even through the 1987 stock market crash, the dot com bubble burst, and the most recent 2007-2008 financial crisis. While he’s not a financial advisor, he has experience in how to be a successful investor through education, research, and trial and error.
Invest in the Markets has a great section for those who are just starting to invest, which includes frequently asked questions like “how does the stock market work”, “how do I choose a broker”, and “how do I diversify my portfolio”. With a newsletter, webinars, and stock market challenges, you can bet (or invest) your time in this website.
The Dividend Ninja
Would you like to become a ninja at investing? Dividend Ninja takes a no nonsense approach to investing, with a three step strategy toward investing: asset allocation, building a core of index funds, and investing in dividend stocks. Ninja believes you should stray away from penny stocks and mutual funds, and instead, encourages you to know what you’re buying before making a purchase, and buying stocks when others are fearful.
Dividend Ninja recommends several books to read to learn more about the market, interviews with other successful investors, and 9 “ninja lessons” that he learned so you can learn from his mistakes. This is a resource for those who don’t want to take the traditional approach to investing, but still want to see results.
Invest It Wisely
When you think about investments, you may initially just think about money, but what about how you invest your time and your energy? Kevin from Invest It Wisely shows you how to study a variety of things, not just the stock market, to make the wisest investment decisions in your life.
Analyzing the economy and politics, Invest It Wisely reveals that there are many factors in making wise investment decisions. He discusses why it’s wise to consider your retirement, your real estate investments, paying down debt, and building your wealth in a variety of ways. You’ll also learn about precious metals and how to avoid scams, things that many people have fallen victim to recently. Invest It Wisely gives you a younger, yet, wider perspective on becoming an investor.
Investor Junkie
Larry Ludwig of Investor Junkie doesn’t think investing stops at stocks, rather, he believes investing is anything you set aside money for, with the hopes of having more in the end. He talks about investing as a way to create another stream of income, whether passive or active, including stocks, bonds, real estate, businesses, and alternative investments like peer to peer (P2P) lending. Larry’s investment portfolio includes businesses, retirement accounts, a rental property, and taxable savings, so you can’t say he’s a one investment type of guy. He believes you should diversify and not put all your eggs in one basket.
Investor Junkie is written from someone’s tried and true method, not someone who’s just hoping their advice works for you. He stays abreast about what’s going on in the financial industry by reading numerous books, partaking in courses, and studying various blogs and newspapers so that he can give you his opinion on what’s going on. You may find that you, too, will become an investor junkie, dabbling a bit in businesses, a bit in bonds, and a bit in real estate when you check out the site.
Oblivious Investor
If your head absolutely spins when you think about how much time you have to commit to being a successful investor, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the Oblivious Investor, where simple, low-maintenance investing is the way to go.
Mike is a licensed CPA in Missouri and a registered CPA in Illinois who previously worked as a financial advisor at Edward Jones and worked as a tax accountant for a large real estate agency in Chicago. His three principles are simple: diversify your portfolio, minimize cost, and ignore the noise from the media about what the stock market is doing from day to day. He’s been featured in magazines like Forbes, Money Magazine, and AARP magazine, and has several easily digestible books on investing including Investing Made Simple and Can I Retire.
For those who are looking to invest so that they can supplement their retirement, Mike breaks down the 401(K), IRA, and other retirement planning options. He gives you many options without you having to drown in overwhelming information on where to begin.
Getting Started Without Stress
These websites will give you the information you need without having to take a vacation just to scratch the surface. You can get started right away without having to stress about the amount of money you’re putting out and worrying about how much money you’ll be getting back. Learn from the best and grow your portfolio in no time.
I am a beginning investor. Thanks for the list.