Does anybody use Sharebuilder??

[Tse How]

Hi, I'm looking to start investing. I was wondering if Sharebuilder is a good way to go. I've heard some good things about it, but nothing concrete. I was wondering if anybody had personal experiences with them, and if it was worth the cost of investing through them. Thanks.

[Tse How]

Well, to be more clear, is there a better alternative to investing? I have maybe about 500 dollars I want to start with, looking at long term gains, with maybe occasional short term gambles. All suggestions are welcome, thanks.

[Merlin]

That's not a very big nut to start with but it can be the start of something great. What I think you should do is start by opening a brokerage account. Check around with E-trade and the like to see what their minimums are for opening an account and if they give you any kickers. Sometimes e-trade will give you $75 or so for opening the account. Once it is opened, then sit down and figure out your monthly budget and determine how much you can save. $50 a week, $50 every two weeks, $50 a month, you get the idea. Then whip out your palm pilot or Outlook and drop onto your calendar when you need to fund the account. STICK TO IT! Before you know it you will start to accumulate some serious money.

As for right now... Your best bet would be to start with mutual funds. This will give you some good market exposure while providing some diversification benefits. Mutual funds are pretty much where everyone starts, generally speaking. Look around for a decent capital appreciation type fund or maybe and S&P 500 fund.

As time passes and you build up your gurb stake a little higher, then you can branch out into individual securities. In the mean time learn a little accounting, at least to the point where you get comfortable reading a company's cash flow statement. That's the one with the real information. If you don't get to this point, stick to mutual funds.

Set your expectations for about a 5%-10% per year return and if you stay committed and disciplined to making contributions you'll start building wealth faster than you think.

[Tse How]

ok, thank you Merlin. Etrade is better?