Is anyone rich here?
I am richer than I was before I started investing.
My #1 piece of advice-
Start TODAY.
Open an online brokerage account, and browse around.
Get used to their format (they are all different).
Look up stocks, and start decipering what the specs and statistics mean.
Put some in a "watch list".
I joined an investment club in 1999 with $25 a month.
They went in a different direction than me, and we parted ways.
I did so well on my own, that I increased my contributions to at one point over $1000 a month.
I don't actually contribute anymore, but the dividends and distributions, plus sales continue to gow the account and give me funds to invest in other stocks.
#2 piece of advice-
Take market analysts advice with a grain of salt.
What they say may not be anywhere near your comfort level or strategy.
Pay attention, but don't blindly follow.
#3 Pay attention to what's happening around you.
I watched Dollar General beat wal-mart at their own game.
...if only I had invested.
I did wacth Hewlet Packard make a crap load of money off the burgeoning network and internet boom, and cashed in there.
I watched ford almost beat the great recession and cashed in there.
I watched Jamie Dimon turn JP Morgan into a juggernaut of a financial empire...and I'm still cashihg in on that.
#4- don't panic and sell when the market dives.
Those are actually GREAT times to buy.
I've made more off the four worst periods the market has had since 1999 than any other "business as usual" periods in between.
Good luck, and see item #1.