| One of the hardest things for most people to decide | | | | value as your stock prices fluctuate. For some, this is |
| when they first begin buying stocks is what their | | | | caused by them making the mistake of investing |
| minimum investment should be. Uncertainty and lack | | | | money that they cannot afford to lose; for others it |
| of knowledge leads many to believe that their | | | | is just the natural feeling of discomfort we all |
| investment activity should begin with the purchase of | | | | experience when suffering disappointment. |
| a few dozen shares of a very cheap stock. The | | | | For most novices buying stocks for the first time, |
| truth of the matter is that someone with that | | | | particularly without the benefit of sound guidance, |
| attitude should probably be investing their money in a | | | | the first stocks almost invariably lose money. The |
| surer investment instrument like a government bond | | | | key to maintaining the correct attitude about your |
| or a standard savings account. | | | | investment strategy is to remember that even the |
| For those who have a more grounded view of | | | | best investors pick stocks that fall in value, and this is |
| buying stocks, the minimum amount to invest is | | | | all just part of the process. Never lose sight of the |
| determined by the investor's aversion to risk. If, for | | | | fact that to truly be successful in your investing |
| example, a $2,000 investment is going to undermine | | | | activity you will need to have an outlook that |
| your financial security in the event that you lose | | | | extends beyond short term gains. |
| everything, that $2,000 is too much. And for those | | | | As a rule, the minimum amount that you should |
| who think that a $2,000 investment is too small to | | | | invest should always be determined by your comfort |
| bother with, basic math will reveal that there are a | | | | level with losing that amount of money. If it seems |
| tremendous number of stocks available at a low price | | | | to be too much money to lose, it probably is. Buying |
| for which $2,000 would constitute a fair investment. | | | | stocks is not a game, but with the right attitude, it is |
| When buying stocks for the first time, it is almost | | | | possible to have a winning strategy that enables your |
| impossible to avoid that sinking feeling in your | | | | investments to grow over time. |
| stomach when your first investment begins to shed | | | | |