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or six months. You buy these at a bank. When you do, you agree to put your money in the CD for a fixed time, during which you cannot get it out, but it earns interest, which will be given to you along with the starting amount at the end of the term. They can be bought for periods as short as three months, or as long as five years.

Investments that take a longer term outlook would include real estate, many stocks and most mutual funds. There are too many variations on each of these investments to go in to each in detail here, but these are generally considered investments you should plan on sticking with for at least a year, if not much longer.

The last important step to consider when getting started with investing is how much risk you are willing to take. Risk can have a profound impact on what you invest in and what sort of return you make on your investment. Generally, the more risk you take, the more you are likely to make. Of course, with greater risk comes a greater chance that you could loose the money you started out with as well, so beware! High risk investments for rookies include most stocks and many mutual funds (although not all). I wouldn't suggest anyone make a significant investment in real estate without doing A LOT of research. Safer investments would include interest bearing bank accounts (which are so safe they are insured against loss), money markets and CD's (not the music kind).

I said it before, but I'll repeat myself at the end. A successful investor does not just wake up in the morning knowing where to put their money. You must educate yourself by doing a lot of research before you commit your money to anything significant. Read reputable magazines such as Money - talk to people who are knowledgeable investors. Make a plan. Once you have a basic idea of what you are doing, you will be well on your way to building wealth. Best of luck!

Learn more about this author, Erich Rosenberger M.D..
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