What's the minimum amount of money you'd start with before buying stock?

I've got money in my scottrade account but I want to get a decent dividend on my investments.

What's the minimum amount of money you'd start with before buying stock?
Because there are so many good stocks trading at under $10 a share and Scottrade only charges $7 a trade, you could spend a few hundred and make a good investment. Decades ago at least $1000 was the typical answer. There are several closed-end funds that pay nice dividends and are going for less than $5 (like USA and ZTR). Also the Canadian Oil Trusts like HTE are under $10. But if McCain doesn't win the election, we all will be headed for a depression (because of Obama's higher taxes), and even these cheap stocks could go even lower. If McCain wins, look for a major stock rally on the 5th of Nov.
Reply:No matter how much money you have, I'd suggest that beginners start with mutual funds or ETFs instead of individual stocks (with the possible exception of REITs).





Two of the main problems that beginners have are insufficient funds to diversify properly, and insufficient knowledge. Starting with funds or ETFs gives you instant diversification with very low overhead. At a starting figure of, say, $1000, buying a single ETF will have a very low commission, as compared to buying 10 different stocks. ($1K is definitely too small if you're going to jump right into buying individual stocks.)





In particular, index funds or ETFs like the S%26amp;P 500 index funds will give you an excellent place to start while not spending much on fees or commissions, and not investing all your money into something stupid like penny stocks or a highflying 200 P/E stock.





Since your money is already in Scottrade, try SPY or VTI (both ETFs). That's an excellent place for anyone to start.















Reply:umm. depends?