What would be a good way to invest money?

i have some money that i have saved for a few years. it don't add up to much, but it may be enough to invest into something or to put into a ira. I have no savings for retirement and i am almost 30, wanting to get started. i have no clues or ideas about investing or ira's, cd's or nothing. I talked with my bank, they said to look on the net because i didn't have enough money to put on one of their cd's. i have 3500.00. Can i use this amount to invest or to buy stocks? any suggestions?

Think about opening an IRA. A company called Vanguard has inexpensive IRAs. At your age, a Roth IRA would be a good idea. You may be charged a small annual fee until you get the balance of the IRA up to something like $5,000. But you're better off starting your retirement savings now. Make sure you have at least $3,500 of earned income this year (such as from a job), because you can only put earned income into an IRA.

You have to invest the IRA money into some kind of investment. Vanguard has a kind of mutual fund called a lifecycle fund. That would be a convenient investment, since the fund managers do all the investment work for you. If you plan to retire around age 60 to 65, the lifecycle fund called Target Retirement 2040 might be good for you. The webpage listed below discusses lifecycle funds in greater detail.

Since you're new to investing, you probably should call the Vanguard people and talk to them over the phone. You may get a better idea of how things work if you speak with them. 1-877-662-7447.

You are 30 years old and have 3500.00 dollars in your account, What have you been doing all your life.

At least open up a money market account and earn some interest until you can buy a cd. Cd's can earn almost 5% interest- you don have to lock it in though for a period of time. Look into a credit union as well.

go to bankrate.com, and entrepeneur.com At these websites you can find low cost cds, low cost stocks, diferent banks with different offers etc. Hope i helped. Good luck

a good way to invest money is to learn about investing. never put money in something you don't understand or because someone told you to. read or have someone teach you about investing and the different options and then you make a decision based on knowledge, not what you were told to do.

and don't invest too much money if you are in debt. pay off the debt first and then focus on investing.

At age 30, I suggest a Roth IRA. Go to vanguard.com and open an account, then invest the $3500 in a Roth IRA (important that it's a Roth) with the money invested in a low-expense stock index fund -- VFINX is a great fund that invests in the top 500 companies in America and charges only 0.20% per year to do so (which is good!).

Don't be intimidated -- you're doing the right thing by investing. Let this be the first of many many steps for you:

(1) find a way to live beneath your means. You want to invest automatically out of every paycheck, for the rest of your career.
(2) if you can, invest in a 401k or 403b through your employer -- especially if they're willing to match your investment (many companies do). Talk to your co-workers or your HR department about this -- it's a really good deal.
(3) If you don't already own your own home, start making plans to do so. In the US, at least, the tax laws are set up to the advantage of a home owner.

Good luck to you -- 30 isn't too late to get started and establish a life that's financially secure.

Doug