1. Buy low and sell high.

2. Diversify. Don't place all of your eggs in one basket.

Invest in multiple:

• stocks
• mutual funds
• index funds
• 401K
• start up your own business

You will reduce the risk of losing everything.

Don't trade everyday. There is no such thing as market timing.

3. Use dollar cost averaging. Invest the same amount of money weekly or monthly no matter the stock price. Dollar cost averaging is an investing technique intended to reduce exposure to risk associated with making a single large purchase. The idea is simple: spend a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals on a particular investment or portfolio/part of a portfolio, regardless of the share price. In this way, more shares are purchased when prices are low and fewer shares are bought when prices are high. This in turns lessens long-term risk (e.g., investing a large amount in a single investment at the wrong time). Since in general the market goes up, this is widely considered a safe investing strategy over the long term, although other factors can of course come into play.

4. Take advantage of time and compound interest.

4. Only invest in stocks of companies that you love. Wait until the stock is down 50% or more to buy.

5. Invest in the Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX).

6. Always buy "no load" mutual funds and never buy mutual funds from a bank. Stock brokers don't necessarily try to scam you, but they have to put the interest of the bank above you. Study investing and do it yourself.

7. Invest knowing you will make money and not hoping you will.