I feel like this is terrible advice. If you have $10,000, there are safer ways to invest it. If you are using a short blog post to plan your retirement and ultimately your future, you are in trouble!<p>Check out mutual funds (managed) and index funds. Get your feet wet slowly in something with a low risk. Don't jump into the stock market and just choose companies you like across different industries. This is a recipe for disaster.<p>Get started by <i>learning</i> about the market instead of throwing money at it. Don't invest until you know who you're giving your money to, and what expectations you should have.<p>Some beginner sites that helped me out:<p><a href="http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/05/18/how-to-make-money-in-the-stock-market/" rel="nofollow">http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/05/18/how-to-make-money-...</a><p><a href="http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/06/07/where-should-i-invest-my-short-term-stash/" rel="nofollow">http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/06/07/where-should-i-inv...</a><p><a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance" rel="nofollow">http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance</a>
My first reaction is to flag and leave a snarky comment. Instead I'm going to comment and upvote.<p>This is terrible advice on investing and not a starting point. Hold cash? Wait for the right time? Give me a break. And then they recommend you invest with them!<p>I recommend The Four Pillars of Investing by William Bernstein.<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Four-Pillars-Investing-Portfolio/dp/0071747052" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/The-Four-Pillars-Investing-Portfolio/d...</a><p>At least he isn't trying to sell you anything besides the book.
Investing isn't easy - that's why I think its good to start earlier and learn quickly. This way, when you have a larger capital base, you've learned some lessons and hopefully conquered some behavioral pitfalls.