Investing while in college?

I am not that familiar yet with investing, but I am reading along when I have time. What I want to know Is:

Is it required to have an income to buy shares?

And is there a minimum amount of cash I would need to even start investing? I had %26lt;$2000 to spend and my friend told me to put it to good use and buy shares but I%26#039;ve read around that there is a minimum of $10,000 to start. He said that if I start early there is a low risk because I am still young(19) since I won%26#039;t lose alot as opposed to other adults with assets.

Another option I%26#039;ve been looking at are CD%26#039;s, can anyone recommend any good banks with good rates? (I am in So Cal)

I will be doing my own research to expand my knowledge on investing, but would like some input on how, if possible, I can put this money to good use.

Investing while in college?loan officer

it is good that u can start with cash that you can afford to lose. so, here is my tips to get you started in stock investing.

fundamentally, you can use various key financial ratios to start screening which stock worth your hard earned money. from there, you can go to the next level by further study how they perform qualitatively. Look here for more info:

How to Pick A Good Stock

http://www.stock-investment-made-easy.co...

Guide in Analyzing Stock

http://www.stock-investment-made-easy.co...

then, you must study how much the stock worth. to do this stock valuation, you have to calculate intrinsic value. once you got it, buy the stock when it is at its margin of safety, either it was discounted than its intrinsic value, or discounted from the past historical prices. Look here for details:

How to Calculate Intrinsic Value

http://www.stock-investment-made-easy.co...

How to Determine Margin of Safety

http://www.stock-investment-made-easy.co...

now the last point but the most important things, how you can make money from it? look, good company will grow over time. if you invest for your retirement, you can sell the stock after 20 years with as much as 30% return per year! doesn%26#039;t it sounds good? and besides, you%26#039;ll be earning dividends year after year, which will also grow annually!

Penny Stocks, Short Cut to Wealth

http://www.stock-investment-made-easy.co...

Investing while in college?

loan

You%26#039;re not really going to be able to invest while in college. That is, unless you go part-time and work full-time.

Your friend is wrong. There is always risk. Think about it. You have less than $2000 and you could lose it all. I would consider that a risk, wouldn%26#039;t you? Sure, you don%26#039;t have a mortgage or two car payments. But you can still always be more broke!

The stock market is a sticky thing. You can certainly invest just about any amount through an online broker but, for example, if Google shares are $700 each and you have less than $2000 and most brokers charge a fee... it%26#039;s going to be a slow start.

I would recommend ING Direct for CD%26#039;s.|||forget cds they suck, go here for a 4.5% savings account.

http://www.hsbcdirect.com/1/2/1/offer?co...

buying stocks is also good, just pick one good stock and buy as much as you can. and sit on it. it should earn you on average 10% a year. do not diversify thats what people who like to stay poor do. the rich can diversify because they have a lot of money. put all your money in where you get the highest return on your investment.

fear is an investors worst enemy, do not move you money around to much let it sit in one place and make you money.|||I have been investing for 44 years and can tell you from experience that the direction you are going is one way to get wealthy. You do not need any one set amount of cash. Find an on-line broker and get started.

I had a good job, before retiring, and made five times more money in the market than all of my 32 years of pay checks. My first buy was for $400. Don%26#039;t waste your time on CD,s.|||No you do not have to have an income to start investing in your future. I would like to commend you for being a 19 yr. old who is even thinking about his future. Even though you have no income you have a lump sum amount that you can invest. You have to continue to do your research and see what route works better for the goal you want to achieve. I would say a Mutual Fund is a good option. You could purchase a mutual fund that will invest in several stocks for you. At least your $2000 will be gaining interest. Then when you do get a job just keep adding to it or purchase more.|||1. An income is not required to buy shares in a taxable account. However, once you do so, you may have a slight income (the dividends that you receive from the shares), on which you may owe income tax. An income is required to buy shares in certain types of accounts designed for retirement savings, such as IRAs.

2. There is not a minimum of $10,000 to buy shares, except in a few companies. You can usually get started with less.

3. Investing while in college without an income usually does not work, because college students without an income usually need all their money for other purposes (tuition, pizza, etc.).

4. There is a risk and you may lose money. Do not invest the money that you will need while a student. However, you may invest money that you will not need until you are old (retired or over 60), because even if you lose money some years, you will probably make it back in other years.|||Well, I just put my money in a CD and I got 4.98% for 4 months....If you compound it for a whole year...It would come out to 15.3%...which is astronomical....CDs go up and down depending on what the Feds do to interest rates....I was lucky I locked in...Just go into any bank and take a look at their sign...See what they are paying for CDs...Remember to take note how many months the CD is...This can make the difference of making 10% a year, or 15% a year...|||For the last 4 months the FXCM sentiment aggressive fund has 52% return. (www.fxcm.com). If you open an account through a broker (such as Self-Actualizer Financial Solutions), you can get a big discount on the performance fees--see www.self-actualizer-fs.com

You can open an account with as little as $1,000 until Nov 30; that minimum will increase to $5,000 on Dec 1, as per FXCM.