Making Your Investment Dollars Work for You

Investments are scary for some people, especially those who have never invested before. We grow up hearing horror stories about how this person or that person lost everything they had on some bad investment some odd years ago and it builds in us a fear of investing so profound that it is sometimes easier to get a confirmed agoraphobic to march in the Macy's Day Parade than it is to get someone to put a few dollars into stocks or mutual funds.

Part of the problem is that people have the wrong idea about how investments should work. We're always looking for the big score, the quick road to riches, and the quick return investments that will turn ten thousand dollars into ten million dollars overnight. Guess what? These investments don't exist.

"What about Microsoft?" is the question many will ask here. "What about Ebay and Wal- Mart and Xerox and?" you get the picture. While it's true there have been some companies that have surprised everyone by becoming quick successes and their stockholders watched with excited eyes and dilated pupils as their portfolios did some colossal growing in short periods of time, these are the exception rather than the rule in investing. Investments should be looked at as long-term money makers and security providers, not a spin of the roulette wheel with a big payoff or a devastating loss.

If you're investing casually the best thing you could possibly do is find a stable company or mutual funds, put in your money, and forget about it. Those that watch the market reports constantly and suffer heart palpitations every time the company they have invested in drops a few points will either go crazy or wind up losing money by selling company stock at a lower price than they paid for fear that if they don't get out now, the bottom will drop out, leaving them with worthless stock. Don't worry. Coca-Cola is not going belly-up anytime soon.

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Your Most Important Investing Decision of the Next 10 Years TheStreet.com And these are some of the most boring companies you can think of -- real-state investment trusts (REITs), pipeline operators and cigarette makers. But they all have one thing in common. As the chief investment strategist behind High-Yield Investing, ... and more »

Franklin Templeton Investments Ranked #1 for 10-Year Performance in Barron's ... MarketWatch (press release) SAN MATEO, CA, Feb 06, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Franklin Templeton Investments ranked #1 out of 45 mutual fund families for its funds' 10-year performance in Barron's annual review of fund families.(1) Barron's rankings are based on ... Delaware Investments Tops “Barron's Fund Families Report” for 2011Business Wire (press release) all 9 news articles »

Ask the Experts: What looks attractive for investors? Kansas City Star By CLAUDIA BUCK With the economy starting to perk up, investors are wondering where they should be looking next. Here with some recommendations is Glenn Kenes, managing director of investments with Barber-Kenes Capital Management Group in Auburn, ... and more »

Freedom Investing 2012 Forbes I've been discussing foreign freedom investing for a decade now. In the spring of 2010, I used the term “Ring-of-Fire” to describe countries with a high debt and deficit and suggested avoiding them. A year later, I revisited that advice and counseled ... and more »

Is This Situation Special Enough? Motley Fool Huge profits are possible, and he achieved 50% annualized returns for a decade investing in them. We'll look at some announcements presenting an opportunity for profit and pair that with the views of the 180000 members of Motley Fool CAPS to see what ... Another Blowout Quarter for This Mobile MonsterDailyFinance all 76 news articles »

TD Ameritrade Investor Poll: Younger Investors More Likely to Invest "More" in ... MarketWatch (press release) OMAHA, Neb., Feb 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The European debt crisis, US unemployment, the housing market, and political uncertainty - a laundry list of issues that may be causing investors to think more cautiously about their financial futures. and more »

Kaspersky to buy out US investors, rules out IPO Reuters CANCUN, MEXICO (Reuters) - Russian tech entrepreneur Eugene Kaspersky, who runs the world's fourth-biggest maker of anti-virus software, is parting ways with a group of US investors who bought 20 percent of his company a year ago when he was ... and more »

Investments for Income Lovers DailyFinance With interest rates at historical lows, folks are having a hard time squeezing any meaningful income out of their investments. While you don't want to go out too far on a limb in search of higher yields, there are some steps you can take to boost your ...

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Various Ways to Invest in Gold, Silver and Other Precious Metals CoinWeek (blog) By Mark Ferguson on February 6, 2012 11:43 AM By Mark Ferguson for CoinWeek – MFRareCoins.com Using gold as an example, the first investing decision you need to make is whether you want to invest in “paper gold” or “physical gold. What Lies Ahead For Stocks, Gold, Silver And Platinum After The Greek Default?Seeking Alpha all 96 news articles »

MarkWest expanding in Marshall, investing in Ohio The Steubenville Herald-Star based company also will build totally new processing plants on the western side of the Ohio River in Monroe and Harrison counties, an investment that Ohio Gov. John Kasich said will total about $500 million. Although Kasich quoted the $500 million ... and more »