Earning Money

Two nights ago, I was watching Larry King with Suze Orman on it and Orman got a question from a guy who was asking whether he should sell his gold coins that he has or keep them because they are going to continue going up in value. Suze Orman went on to answer the question for the man with a simple answer: “Gold is a good long term investment. However, GOLD is a good investment, not gold mines.” That is not a direct quote, but that is what she said.

And what she said was a good thing. She said that the purchase of gold was actually a good investment. And that’s true because it’s an item that is always going to be in demand. Gold will always look good. Gold will always be something that people like and that is why I think that she was right in her statement about the gold trade. And I think that if you can start investing in it NOW, in ten or twenty years, gold will be worth a lot more because, naturally, things disappear over time and with a smaller supply, there is a greater demand.

However, what she said was good actually. For a long term investment, investing in the actual mines is dangerous because those mines can run out. Also, a business can always cave and that is not as safe an investment. I’m not saying you shouldn’t invest in the mines. I think that they are a pretty good investment, but I am not a stock market expert; this woman is pretty good with economics, so I tend to listen to what they have to say.

So, what does that mean for you? That means that if you have gold coins or gold pieces of jewelry that you are unsure of what to do with, hold on to it. As time goes on, its value will continue to go up. People will always want to have more gold because like I said before, it is a beautiful metal. Hold on to what gold you have and if you have the money, go ahead and invest in it. It’s one of those things that you can hold onto and I don’t really see you going wrong with. But, ask an expert and see what they have to say before you invest a lot into it. If you do ask, post a comment and let me know!

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I talk a lot about making money on the web and all of that, but I wanted to talk for a moment on another venture that I am beginning to dabble in. And, the truth is, it is one that you CAN do even as a student. Sure, if you want to become a millionaire by the time you are twenty one with just one hundred dollars to invest in stock, it is not likely. But if you are looking to start small and begin to grow, you can make money, there is no denying it. But, we’ll get to that in a moment.

The stock market is a way to trade stock obviously. But, what some people don’t understand is that stock is actually a part of the company. When a company goes public, it is said to be worth X amount of shares at X amount of dollars per share. So, people buy these shares up, yada yada, and the price begins to fluctuate. Stock prices fluctuate based on the buying and selling of the shares. However, they also fluctuate if the company is doing incredible. So, in a sense, you want to buy stock with a solid company. A company goes public because they get the money from the sale of the stock. And that money can be used to expand. That’s why the biggest companies are public. They have the money to continuously expand.

So, how can you invest in the stock market as a student? Put one hundred dollars aside. That’s it. Just put one hundred dollars aside that you are willing to spend. The rule of the stock market is, though, never to invest in the market unless you can risk losing that money. You can lose money in the market. But, you can also gain it. You’ll want to talk to a broker and just tell him/her that you are starting small and just want to see what you can do. They’ll give you a good stock to try in, get ten shares probably, and call it a day. In a future post, I’ll give you the e-mail of my stock broker. He really knows his shit which is why I will recommend him.

By investing that one hundred dollars, if you start to make money, you can sell the shares and perhaps buy shares in another company. You take the profits that you’ve earned and expand more and more. That is the trick with the stock market. Continue to expand. But, the rule of thumb that I live by is to really figure out what you’re trying to do. Is it for long term investing or short term investing? I own shares of Intel (INTC) and I think it is a company for the long term. But, if I were to buy shares of a company that do best in the fourth quarter, I’d want it to be for short term earning. Figure out what you want before you invest. So, take your one hundred bucks and think about investing.

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