$500 to play with..any ideas?

Hey guys when I turned 18, my dad opened me up a scotttrade account with $500 in it. In now 20 and never once even touched it. Stocks do greatly interest me but there is so much info out there that I honestly just don't know where to start. It would be nice to turn a profit but the market is so out of wack right now. I guess im just looking for a starting point/suggestions. Thank you for your time.

 

Dow went up 412 points today; maybe look into that bro or gold;
idk if you can afford either though im gunna start investing soon though

 

Dude You shoulda spent it all on something bogus yesterday cuz everything jumped today cuz of the crash.

 

Try some non-financial, blue chip stocks out. The market's still very depressed (under-valued)

 

Listen to this guy;
Its very bad the market
Im waiting until it gets better

If you read about the economy; then you would know we might go through 2nd round of the recession.
Good luck bro

 

Which is when you buy... as it'll rise. -.-

 

Stock market with $500 is not the way to go especially with the current economic climate. To turn a profit especially short term, you'd need a risky portfolio and a lot of capital.

Unless a stock dramatically increases its value overnight, you'll be waiting a while.

 

Just invest in a good computer and bots that will make u more then some shitty stocks with 500$ L

 

Ok I guess inshould of made myself more clear. I don't expect to make alot of money. Honestly I just want to use the $500 to test the water and learn a few things. I want to use this $500 as a learning tool not so much as a way to turn a profit.

 

If you dont want to do stocks (if you live in the UK), why not try NS&I Premium bonds, its like savings and a lottery in a way and you can make loads from it, a friend of mine recently won £1000 but has been winning little bits quite often

You dont loose anything but you have the chance of winning anything from £1 to £1,000,000

 

You can't learn or make much money with 500 dollars to start with. Alot of stocks cost 200+ so you'd only be able to invest in smaller more risky stocks. If you want to learn and not make a profit, go to http://www.marketwatch.com/game/. It lets you choose the amount of money to start with and then you invest in real stocks and its a mirror of the real stock market. For example, if you invest in lets say apple and apple stock gains value your stock will gain the exact amount of value as if you had invested real money.

I started with that site back when it was www.virtualstockexchange.com but it got moved to www.marketwatch.com/game/. I've learned alot and now i do a bit of investing using etrade.

 

Try value stocks; value stocks are stocks from large companies that ultimately grow. Buy into Microsoft it only costs around $24. HP is another good stock its price hovers around $30. You can buy from almost any big company because they almost always gain value and in the long run will increase the value of your investment.

 

Another mention - commodities are probably the most solid investment in the current fragile state of the economy. i.e. gold, silver, etc

 

If you like music buy dr.dre headphones

 

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If you aren't going to touch this money for a while, put it in a safe bond (anything AAA rated or American).

If you are, then put it in a non-financial Dow stock. Watch Mad Money on CNBC, he has some good tips that have made me some money. If you are doing stocks, put your money in a company that offers dividends. They pay you just to own the stock!

 

American I wouldn't put in any bond over 10 yrs tbh. Their AA+ rating means a higher interest rate which means their debt is just going to expand at a faster rate. Who knows if that'll even lead to anything, but better to be safe.

 

If your willing to invest long-turn. Buy up a stock that is down due to recession but you don’t think is going to under (Do some investigating). If you buy a stock @ $2.5 and it doubles to $5 you double your money. I would say this could double within 6months-2years.

 

I agree with whoever said 'premium bonds'. You don't lose anything, and you have the chance to gain - there's no effort involved, as there is when investing.

 

bonds are definitely the best way to go. My dad gets me bonds from every paycheck he recieves, and there is zero risk that anything will happen to your money.

 

buy/make a bot farm