There of course are different ways to go about stock buying, depending on a number of factors. Not the least of which might be your age. The mantra I have always heard and lived by is to invest in more ‘risky’ investments using your age as the percentage that represents the more ‘conservative’ part of your portfolio. So if you are 40 years old, this idea would state that you should have 40% of your portfolio in more conservative investments, and 60% in riskier investments. I’ll leave determining what is conservative and what is risky up to you and your financial planner, but suffice it to say, it might be a good thing to think about when determining what stocks to buy, and how to buy stock in general.

Buying stocks can be done many ways, but quickly increasing in popularity is the idea that you can buy stocks online. This is done through an online broker where you set up a trading account, fund it with your desired amount of money, and can instantly begin buying and selling stocks at will. I wouldn’t use the ease with which you can buy stock trick you into buying every new IPO or to make you buy penny stocks on a whim. Even though it is cheap to buy stock online remember that your money is at risk with every trade that you place, so it must be done prudently. Buying stocks for the long term, from good reputable company is a far better option than looking to buy stocks off of some ‘good stocks to buy’ list of the day.

Stock buying in my opinion is still one of the last ways that the little guy can get ahead. Through prudent market research, watching companies and stock prices as they rise and fall, you can essentially buy-in and own a portion of some of the greatest companies this world has to offer. That is not something that should be taken lightly, but definitely something that every person who has considered the idea of buying stocks should do.

This is often called the Foreign Exchange or ‘Forex’ Market.  The currency market has been gaining rapidly in popularity over the past few years, and is a fantastic alternative for those who don’t wish to buy stock. It provides a 24 hour market, as well as more volatility (which can lower the amounts of slippage and gapping that you see) as well as less currency pairs to trade than there are stocks, as sometimes I feel that ‘less is more’. Forex can be a great way to make great money over time, but take care as in recent times it has fallen prey to many scams and fly-by-night websites, more akin to the Ponzi schemes that have plagued the investment world than good, legitimate invest opportunities.

Commodities

These have been around for a long time, but are still a favorite of many.  Beans, wheat, you name it. Traded often by way of futures or options (a whole different ball-game) these can be a great way to earn money from the markets, once again like the others, if you know what you are doing. Gold and silver are also common things to trade. Gold, being inversely related to the U.S. dollar, has had quite a run over the past few  years, and has always been knows as a ‘safer’ alternative for those who don’t want to sell and buy stock or other investments. You can even buy gold bars that you keep physically, if you want.

Mutual Funds

Worth mentioning, some buy stock, and some buy groups of stocks.  It is thought by some that buying an individual stock is more risky than buying a blanket of stocks that might be hedged in certain ways.  While some stocks in the mutual fund might lose value, others might make up for it and then some by gaining value. There are many different combinations of stocks that are bought and sold through mutual funds, and it all comes down to knowing your risk aversity, as well as studying the groups of stocks that you are going to find in any mutual fund.