Good stock investments? best suggestion for someone starting small?

good stock investments? best suggestion for someone starting small? I'm looking to start saving up some money so any suggetions would be extremely helpful =]

First, I would make sure you have at least 3 months salary saved up in the bank or in a money market fund for an emergency fund. Financial disasters like getting layed off or sick happen to all of us.

Second, I would pay off all high interest debt. Pay off everything you can except the house mortgage. Paying off debt is one of the best investments you can make. You will have more money in the future because you won't have credit card bills to pay.

Third, if you have money left, start investing in stocks, bonds, and money market funds. You want to buy a diversified portfolio of stocks, as individual stocks are too risky. For most folks this means buying mutual funds. I like Vanguard.com, other people like Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, and DFA. Buy no-load, low cost funds. If you are like most people you will invest part of your money conservatively, in money market funds and bond funds, and part aggressively in stock funds. Vanguard.com has an on-line questionnaire which will give you an idea how aggressive you want to be.

Investing in a mutual fund IRA for retirement may give you an income tax break. Talk to your tax adviser. You may also be able to invest in a stock mutual fund via a 401K plan at work.

Taking advice off someone you met over the Internet and know nothing about is risky. Read these websites for further information.

Gold

STARBUCKS!! I watch their stocks go up every day.

Starbucks! Right now the stock just split so it is relitvly low! Also for a long time investment Try Gap Inc. they are low but have a good chance of going back up!

I would recommend one of the ETF's It is a way to own stock in several companies including stock in specific countries. I like PGJ. It is a way to own a lot of the biggest companies in China's booming economy.

atleast u should have mentioned which market like NASDAQ, DOW, NIKKIE, BSE, NSE ...................
if its the NSE or BSE go for NAVA BHARAT FERRO trading at 118 today likely to go to 400 in the medium term

Vanguard Total Stock Market Mutual Fund is very diversified and has low admin. fees.

Don't buy just one stock, if somethings happens to that company you will loose money. Just buy a mutual fund. You should also first set up an IRA to take advantage of the tax deference.

I would suggest ETF's like previous poster said. They are relatively cheap and can be very diverse. Elsewhere, invest in index mutual funds that have low expense rate. Look for no-load mutual funds. I would not suggest investing in stocks if you do not have much cash because they are more volatile.