Making Your Investment Dollars Work for You

Investments are scary for some people, especially those who have never invested before. We grow up hearing horror stories about how this person or that person lost everything they had on some bad investment some odd years ago and it builds in us a fear of investing so profound that it is sometimes easier to get a confirmed agoraphobic to march in the Macy's Day Parade than it is to get someone to put a few dollars into stocks or mutual funds.

Part of the problem is that people have the wrong idea about how investments should work. We're always looking for the big score, the quick road to riches, and the quick return investments that will turn ten thousand dollars into ten million dollars overnight. Guess what? These investments don't exist.

"What about Microsoft?" is the question many will ask here. "What about Ebay and Wal- Mart and Xerox and?" you get the picture. While it's true there have been some companies that have surprised everyone by becoming quick successes and their stockholders watched with excited eyes and dilated pupils as their portfolios did some colossal growing in short periods of time, these are the exception rather than the rule in investing. Investments should be looked at as long-term money makers and security providers, not a spin of the roulette wheel with a big payoff or a devastating loss.

If you're investing casually the best thing you could possibly do is find a stable company or mutual funds, put in your money, and forget about it. Those that watch the market reports constantly and suffer heart palpitations every time the company they have invested in drops a few points will either go crazy or wind up losing money by selling company stock at a lower price than they paid for fear that if they don't get out now, the bottom will drop out, leaving them with worthless stock. Don't worry. Coca-Cola is not going belly-up anytime soon.

Finance Tips by Mika Hamilton - Read more free investment tips, tutorials & reviews at http://www.Global-Investment-Institute.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Allianz investing $2.5B in Hartford Financial - The Associated Press

Resist urge to cut losses; keep investing - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Rich Japanese firms investing abroad - Minneapolis Star Tribune

2nd UPDATE:Ackman:Wachovia Should Sell Businesses Separately - CNNMoney.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200810061346DOWJONESDJONLINE000549_FORTUNE5.htmcid=1254866699ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNGeCdBAEvvWd27WXonoIirBHjSrhA2nd UPDATE:Ackman:Wachovia Should Sell Businesses Separately/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCNNMoney.comnbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Speaking at the fourth annual Value bInvesting/b Congress at Lincoln Center in New York , Ackman said his hedge fund has piled into Wachovia shares because he b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://www.streetinsider.com/Insiders%2BBlog/StreetInsider.com%2BReporting%2BFrom%2BValue%2BInvesting%2BCongress%2BToday/4044496.htmlcid=1254866699ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNHURUoAwH_ek9gbYsk9uFcfIn2dWQStreetInsider.com Reporting From Value bInvesting/b Congress Today/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrStreetInsider.com (subscription)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-2fd=Rurl=http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/10/06/Ackmans-Big-Bet-on-Wachoviacid=1254866699ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNFP1s001om2iP2vG5BNijbftMKZtgWhat#39;s Wachovia Worth?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrConde Nast Portfolio/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-3fd=Rurl=http://www.streetinsider.com/Insiders%2BBlog/Guess%2BAckmans%2BFirst%2BInvestment%2BIn%2BThe%2BFinancial%2BSector%2BIn%2BFive%2BYears%253F/4046095.htmlcid=1254866699ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNE6BwGRHD7RA5TSrw4b4EGhdUMvPQGuess Ackman#39;s First bInvestment/b In The Financial Sector In Five Years?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrStreetInsider.com (subscription)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-4fd=Rurl=http://www.streetinsider.com/Insiders%2BBlog/Pershing%2BSquares%2BAckman%2BIs%2BExcited%2BAbout%2BAIG/4046187.htmlcid=1254866699ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNEZOq8I5Cbsiw3Erc4kzQn8TmSyMAnobrStreetInsider.com (subscription)/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-5fd=Rurl=http://www.streetinsider.com/Insiders%2BBlog/Ackman%2BAnswers%2BA%2BQuestion%2BOn%2BSears%2BHoldings%2B(SHLD)/4045922.htmlcid=1254866699ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNEdWRlduy46Y1QfwiIreCkrKPuMwgnobrStreetInsider.com (subscription)/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254866699hl=ennobrall 15 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

More comments from Carl Icahn from the Value Investing Congress: - StreetInsider.com (subscription)

Tamarack Funds Announces Participation in US Treasury Department#39;s ... - MarketWatch

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.planadviser.com/investing/article.php/2922cid=1252238052ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNHMJpGhbYvU-HqgfvEiln58P1YoBQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=P3_Oj4chvbsJimgurl=www.planadviser.com/images/articles/2008/10/federalreserve.jpg width=80 height=54 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Planadviser.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/tamarack-funds-announces-participation-us/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BBD2D3D46-B493-43DA-B5F1-500D91993CF8%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1252238052ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNEVmNwEPRIlmjRp5ZBeva1WdahGHgTamarack Funds Announces Participation in US Treasury Department#39;s b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Although the Funds seek to preserve the value of your binvestment/b at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by binvesting/b in the Funds. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-1fd=Rurl=http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/10/05/news/business/52ff151ab1bfc16b872574d8002109a3.txtcid=1252238052ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNG4d6NtOMxr-G4wsGo-3U4vcOGYKwCan you be a successful investor?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCasper Star-Tribune Online/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-2fd=Rurl=http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php%3FfileR%3D20081004180651194%26dir%3D2008/10/04%26secID%3Dlivenewscid=1252238052ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNFwH7-Vye9lXmz8segTwnySZ49OWQThe mutual methods/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMyiris.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-3fd=Rurl=http://www.divine.ca/en/career-and-money/articles/c_20_i_3444/mutual-fund-investing-1.htmlcid=1252238052ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNG3G7wg7ZvNo1oVZzEN9NEyOged7QMutual Fund bInvesting/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDivine/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-4fd=Rurl=http://online.barrons.com/article/SB122309058657004731.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_barronscid=1252238052ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNGz6ano7y5Qr0uiCaJSfdPh1x-oMwnobrBarron's/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-5fd=Rurl=http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php%3Fautono%3D336365cid=1252238052ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNHncg4lRYRtxqDi8NcFU5dLIU3fbgnobrBusiness Standard/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1252238052hl=ennobrall 215 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Sustainable investing to get boost from tie-up-PRI - Reuters

Elliot Gue Hosts Premier Interactive Online Investors#39; Energy Summit - MarketWatch

Value Investing#39;s a No-Go for Now - TheStreet.com

The Wallet covers the latest personal finance and investing news ... - Wall Street Journal Blogs

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9i-0fd=Rurl=http://blogs.wsj.com/wallet/2008/10/06/loose-change-10608/%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=0ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNH0-jRoiKNczs95pMxVcCLI7X-dFQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=PCL2sx5_GbIJimgurl=s.wsj.net/media/super_art_200v_20081006093527.jpg width=56 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Wall Street Journal Blogs/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://blogs.wsj.com/wallet/2008/10/06/loose-change-10608/%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=0ei=YgDrSM6KM5_S9QTW0dX7CAusg=AFQjCNH0-jRoiKNczs95pMxVcCLI7X-dFQThe Wallet covers the latest personal finance and binvesting/b news b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWall Street Journal Blogs,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr16 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b consumers offer up more and more valuable goods to shops. [NPR] -A new type of binvestment/b is gaining muscle in the global economy - comic art. [Portfolio]/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Investing - Google News

RELATED ARTICLES

Approaches to Investing
Here is a small summary of the three major approaches to investing:1. Fundamental AnalysisTruly superior companies exist, are sometimes undervalued by markets, and can be identified by mostly financial research.

Credit Scores = ROI Profits for Real Estate Investors
Strong credit saves real estate investors money on mortgage finance costs. A good credit score, along with the other credit and mortgage qualifications, means that investors can pay lower fees for financing, such as points and interest charges.

Trading Tips No 4: Technical Analysis The Holy Grail Syndrome
Everyone knows that the Holy Grail of investing and trading is a myth. Finding a good technical analysis tool that will give you a trading system that wins all the time is called the holy grail of trading.

When It Comes To Investing, Asking The Right Questions Can Help You Make The Right Decisions
Are you ready to open your pathway to financial independence?Well you should be. The sooner the better.

Retirement Is A Scary Proposition If Youre Without A Plan, And Running Out Of Time
Of the 75 million baby boomers nearing retirement today, many are:* Debt Ridden* Severely unprepared for retirement* Under Funded* Without a StrategyThis is a very serious problem in a country that we can all remember used to assure most people of a retirement where you are taken care of financially.We all know that social security alone is not the answer to this problem.

Real Estate Clubs Hot Among Investors
Six or seven years ago, the stock market was booming, Internet companies that no one had ever heard of were valued at billions of dollars, and anyone and everyone was investing their money in tech stocks. Then, in 2000, the stock market crashed, the Internet companies closed their doors, investors lost trillions of dollars, and life went back to normal, more or less.

Can Using Sales Leaseback Method of Investment Property Acquisition Reduce Risk?
Sales Leaseback compared to traditional property investmentCan a Sales Leaseback arrangement make investing in Orlando investmentproperties more safe and reliable?Yes. Providing a guaranteed rental amount each month is the safest andmost reliable way to realize a return on your investment.

Investing and Asset Allocation
Sometimes you spend sleepless nights worrying about which stocks to buy and which to sell, which funds to own and which to dump and whether to get into bonds.All of these are legitimate concerns, but the greatest determinant of your success as an investor will not be your sagacity in selecting specific stocks, bonds or funds for your portfolio.

The Demise of Buy & Hold
Based on consistent results I think Buy & Hold should be renamed Buy, Hold & Bye-Bye. It sounded great for a while, especially for the huge majority of investors who don't have the time or interest in really doing due diligence on investments.

Remembering TEOTWAWKI and Learning from It
Its only been about 5 years since we had major scares in the marketplace regarding Y2K. You might recall that many computer systems were not programmed to be able to understand the change from 1999 to 2000.

Investing Online Has Its Rewards: Find Out How To Take Advantage Of Them
Computerized investing. Online investing.

Four Key Components To Building A Trading System
Need some insight on what you should really be striving for when you're building a mechanical trading system? When it comes down to it, there are really only a few criteria that are used in judging the merits of a trading system. The most obvious one is profitability - does the system work? But really, there's more to it than just that.

When NOT to Invest
Unfortunately, many investors who are seduced by the lure of easy money try to become "active" investors before they have the skills, the resources, or the appropriate intellectual framework to do so.This is not to say that investing in stocks is extraordinarily difficult .

Is Offshore Banking for You?
You've probably heard about people who keep their money offshore. Most likely you assume they're all wealthy businessmen; millionaires, who have so much money they somehow 'qualify' to move it out of the country, right? Wrong! Offshore banking can be a benefit for anybody regardless of income.

The Power of Small Numbers: Trading Success is Based on Consistency, Not Home Runs
Online trading is so seductive - just sit, click, and rake in the profits! But as anyone who has ever seriously attempted online trading will probably tell you, it's just not as easy as it sounds.Many beginning traders are seduced by the lure of the "home run", that big trade that makes you an instant millionaire and retires you overnight to your own private island paradise.

Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 3)
Putting Rare Coin Market Cycles to Work for You..

Seven Investment Terms Everyone Should Know
For those who have never given their financial future a second thought, the term "Financial Planning" could be a scary one. Investments can be a smart way to invest money for your future, but it can be confusing for those who have no experience in the financial business.

The Three Legged Stool
My paternal grandparents were born near Lake Como, Italy. My grandfather learned how to farm, and he did just that until he died chopping wood at age 88.

Stock Market Horizons: Gold $3,000, Oil $70
In the last two decades, even though gold prices have dwindled from $850 to $350 an ounce, there are still market gurus who predict gold price to hit $3000 an ounce. Hecla seems to be quite bullish about the future.

Scots Beat Yanks in China Bank Deal
With visions of an ATM in every neighborhood in China, foreign banks and investment firms are queuing up to join the "China Club."Moneybags CommunismThe initiation fee for the "China Club" is straightforward and pure moneybags communism: invest cold hard cash in its largely insolvent state-owned banks, put your reputation on the line, reassure nervous foreign investors about upcoming IPO's, and share your risk management, corporate banking and other expertise with eager Chinese executives.