Jump into the stock market
I'm still fairly new to the world of the stock market, so instead of giving you advice on what to invest in, or how to find a good stock or ETF, I would prefer to direct you in the way to find a good online broker.
Online Brokers
There are two criteria that you'll need to pay especially close attention to when searching for a broker. First, you need to find a broker with a low cost for a trade. Whenever you place a trade, your investment has to make enough profit to recover the cost of a trade before you can even start making money. Second, you need to find a broker whose minimum is low enough for your situation. If you only have $1000 to invest, a broker that requires a minimum investment of $2000 isn't going to do you any good.
My recommendations
I personally have only used one online broker, but I would like to recommend two. I have used ShareBuilder for a few years and I have been extremely satisfied with it. It is perfect for beginners who are just starting with the stock market, and aren't willing to invest thousands of dollars immediately. It doesn't have a minimum, and it offers two types of trades. You can do a one-time automatic investment for $4, but all automatic investments occur on Tuesdays. You can choose to do a real-time trade, but it will cost $9.95. Regardless, the fact that it has a low cost per trade of $4 and no minimum makes it my top recommendation.
If you would like to support celtickane.com, you can sign up for ShareBuilder.com via my referral link -- you will receive $25 toward your first investment, and I'll get 5 free investment transactions (a value of $4 each). If you'd prefer to not get a sign-up incentive, you can join without the $25 bonus.
For those with at least $2500 to invest, Zecco is an excellent choice. It offers investors ten free stock trades per month as long as you have at least $2500 in equity (meaning at least $2500 in cash and stock). The obvious advantage of Zecco is that you don't have to make up the cost of a trade before you can start making a profit.
What next?
Once you've found a good broker, you need to decide how you're going to invest your money. I am far from an expert on this topic, so I would prefer to direct you to the further education section instead.
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