It’s great to see more blogs spreading the word about SOUND financial investment practices. There’s so much noise online about making fortunes (Jim Cramer, anyone?) but the cautions are just as important as the encouragements. Any advice that tells people to carefully watch those interest rates is definitely worth taking–spending a dollar to make a dime is crazy, but with so much snake oil out there, it can start to sound like a good idea.

If you’re just starting to learn about long-term investing let me offer three words: “index mutual funds”. Index funds are a low-cost, low-maintenace way to invest in a large number of companies that tend to grow in similar ways. Index mutual funds enable you to make the most of investing small amounts since many of them have no sales charges or trading fees. With 4-5 index mutual funds focused on different areas of the economy (i.e., large-cap, small-cap, international) you can build a diversified, low-cost portfolio that will grow for you in the long run. Good luck!

The best advice I can give is to seek a trusted financial advisor and educate yourself. I would ask a few people that you trust and who are doing well with their investments their advice and find out who their advisors are. Then sit down with a few of these advisors and interview them to see which one would be the best fit for you. In addition, do some research about your potential financial advisor – here is a site http://www.sec.gov/investor/brokers.htm – and stocks/mutual funds you are looking to purchase. You can find detailed information about stocks and mutual funds by going to http://www.yahoofinance.com and typing in a stock or mutual fund’s symbol. If you are looking to invest in low-moderate risk funds, your rate of return might not be very high. You also have to remember that there is a chance that you could lose any money you invest in the stock market. I am almost certain that this will not happen but this money is not guaranteed. If you are afraid of this risk you could always buy cds or savings bonds although this is risky because of inflation. The most important thing to remember is that the person that cares the most about your finances is the one that stares back at you when you look at a mirrior. You have to invest in a way that helps you sleep better at night.