Hello everyone , im 18 and am learning to be a carpenter in my second year ,

I have recently become intrested in investing money i have saved into something , i come up with theorys at work about why such and such is a great place to invest my money , but before i take a leap , i need to know some basics ,

I was wondering if anyone had the time to introduce me to this world , i would like to know the ins and outs of bonds and stocks , people i speak to dont seem to confidently explain to me ,

Thanks alot for any replys in advance

The ins and outs covers a wide range. I suggest that you ask specific questions (or browse the posts here to get some info).

Welcome to the forums.

I think its great that you decide to invest your money.

You will have many options and strategies to choose from. First you need to define your investment goals and then look at different strategies which will be able to deliver you the returns that you seek.

There will be several decision you need to make before you start. It is not as easy as 'give me the ins and outs' but its also not as hard as the majority may think it is.

1. Decide if you want to learn on your own or if you want to invest with the help of a third-party.

2. Choose a good broker. I recommend an on-line broker. A full commissioned broker is a waste of your money.

3. Define your strategy. Stick to it.

4. Don't ever get emotionally attached to your investments. You will loose that way.

5. Have an exit strategy in place before you enter your trade/investment. Once you enter the trade/investment don't adjust it your exit strategy.

6. Don't listen to broker recommendations. They may push products which are more beneficial to them then to you.

7. Analys´ts are the worst stock pickers. Don't pay attention to them.

8. Mutual fund managers are the worst professional investors. I recommend that you avoid them.

9. Financial planners, at least the majority of them, are a waste of money as well. The budget and savings plans they come up with is common sense and you can do that witha littl research. There are some good once in the market, no doubt, but I am not sure if you will get access to them.

10. Don't get discouraged by losses.

The above are just a few pointers to consider.

Triton, I agree with you. In my experience one of the most important strategies is to have a stop loss on any stock that you hold, whether that be a fixed or running stop loss.

Personally, I do not use and do not like stop-loss orders but that is completely dependent on the strategy that you follow.