Whats the smartest way to invest your money?

say 5 or 10k where if you need itr you can get it with out a penalty

Stock market.

Don't know how to start?

First you need to start an account with a company like Schwab, Scottrade, Vanguard, or T. Rowe Price. The kind of account depends on what you are saving for. If retirement then a Roth IRA, college, then a 529 Plan, or for long-term savings with stocks, then just a regular stock account. After filling out a application, you send in the money, and it goes to your account. Then you get to pick what you want to invest in.

For a younger person it is better to be more aggesive in investing, so invest in stocks rather than CDs or bonds, and maybe mutual funds. Mutual funds are more diversified yet they usually don't make as much if you do proficient research for stocks.

So what do you want to look for when buying stocks from a company? Look into different companies that you know that you think do well, sell good products and have room for growth. Once you do that, look at the history of how the stock has done. Also look at the recent new, the ratings, more on what the company does, and what others say about it. Then when you narrow it out to a few companies that you know a good amount about, watch them some before you buy them, and see how it responds towards the recent new about them.

If you really don't have time and don't want to keep looking into new companies and you just want to forget about it, then you'll never get the full potential, but mutual funds will be a little better for that situation.

More on a Roth IRA. A Roth IRA is a retirement account where taxes are payed before hand. You can take the money out at 59 1/2 or later tax free. Otherwise you will be penalized 10%. However you can take out any money you put in at any time, just not the interest.

Real Estate

All money invested is GONE. The smartest way to handle money is to put it in something that the growth of the thing allows you to have income if you need it.

Real Estate, is the best for this purpose. You can buy under valued property, with the $5K - $10K, carry a mortgage. If you have a house, prepay your mortgage principal if it is real big - over $100,000. If your mortgage has a lot of equity in it, buy a second property. The rental income, should (1) pay for the rental property (mortgage and repairs) and (2) pay at lease $50 per month on the principal of your home.

You will find that you will be able to get the funds you need by refinancing, IF YOU REMEMBER TO PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME. The number of people that I know that don't pay on time is far greater than the number that can't pay their bills.

The best way is to learn as much as you can The worst way is to take tips or suggestions from strangers. Especially strangers that you have not idea what their qualifications are or what their motives are.

Consider yourself warned.........................

Read as much as you can........................................

Open a brokerage account at TD Ameritrade and invest in the ETF DIA.