Investing money...how to make more from what you have?

I was given $20,000 when my father passed away.

He gave me $10,000 when he became ill and another $10,000 in a CD when he passed. I now have everything he gave me in one CD for the next 3 months until i decide what i want to do.

Any suggestions??? Invest in stocks, bonds, etc.

First rule of stocks, be prepared to lose everything you invest.

You'll hardly be able to invest without knowledge. With knowledge, you won't need more than a grand to start effective investing.

If you're sure about stocks, I'd suggest penny stocks. Higher risk, but higher payout. You might want to start learning about regular stocks right now as well, since the American market is in the crapper, and it's a good idea to start buying soon.

I'd suggest sticking that money into a nice LONG [40+ years] investment, forgetting about it, and getting a nice nest egg surprise down the road.

If you're young, you should get an IRA, as the taxes are d effered till the payout. So you'll be able to keep on rolling your gains into more gains.

A financial planner is where you might end up eventually. I wouldn't if I were you place everything into stocks...because they might be bad stocks and then you'll have nothing left.

Bonds are good if you're scared of risk and want a sure return, sort of like in a CD, but for a much longer period of time.

Most likely you'll be looking into mutual funds if you still after a while don't know exactly what to do with your money. The reason for mutual funds is because they offer you a series of stocks...placed together in one package...allowing for a diversification of risk. If one of the stocks does bad then you'll still have many others in that same mutal fund to go off of.

If you're thinking in the long term...a Roth IRA would be the best. Why...simply because it allows you to use after tax dollars and grows at an impressive rate. When you remove that money you won't be taxed...since the money you placed into it will be after taxed anyways. One thing to think of...is that you won't be able to remove the money from the IRA...well you won't be able to remove the accrued interest before the age of 59 and a half I believe it is. So that would mean you'd have to use the actual principle if something were to go wrong....that's not the best since you'll most likely want ot live off of the interest and not the principle. Either way...it's a great financial vehicle.

Contact a licensed financial planner...and they'll let you know what options they have.

With 20k, a licensed financial planner will charge you a large sum to help you invest.

You can do your own research and shop around.

I would suggest IRAs, Roth IRA, or a mutual fund, if you're not familiar with the stock market. After all, out of all the people who plays the stock market, only 3% profit, the rest fail.

If you're choosing a mutual fund, I'd suggest Vanguard. I love them.

I think you should also read some celebrity financial planner books. People have different opinions on all the books, but hey, they have different opinions on finances too. At least, this way, you'll be able to make up your own mind about what you want to do with your money.

You can try Suzie Orman's books. I like her, she's pretty down to earth.

... stay away from Robert Kiyosaki. He's more a scam artist than he is a financial adviser.

I like Suzie Orman too...she's straight forward. Robert Kiyosaki does not claim to be a financial planner so don't purchase his books if you're thinking he's going to tell you what stocks to buy and bonds and such...he doesn't have that expertise and he focuses more on changing the mind concepts of an individual than giving specific financial information...or telling one exactly what to do. Many people don't understand his way of teaching...but I love the guy and how he teaches.

If you're looking for an exact example on what to do with that money...Suzie Orman would be a great place to start. You can go to her website and maybe get a response from asking that exact question on there.

Good luck.