Turning Family Dreams into Goals Taking Stock Put the Power of Time to Work Building Your Family's Financial Future Who Wants to Send Their Kids to College? Slow and Steady... Why Trading Stocks Doesn't Work The Beauty of the Blues Long-term Family Investing Made Simple

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Your Starting-Out Strategy

Here's an easy 4-step plan to get you started on building an effective long-term investment strategy for yourself and your family:  DECIDE ON YOUR GOALS So you need money...but what do you need it for, and when? Do you need it five years from now to buy a house? Ten years to send a child to college? Twenty years to send him to Harvard Law School? Or thirty years from now so you can retire in the style you'd like to become accustomed to? There are two schools of thought for you to consider if your goal is farther away. You should decide which investment approach is right for you. You can opt for "quieter" stocks with lower but steadier       records of return. You can also choose "more aggressive" stocks since       you have time on your side to help you ride-out those       dreadful market dips. Keep your family's goals and timeframe in mind as you select your stocks and investment approach. DO YOUR HOMEWORK Any investor worth his or her portfolio will tell you that in order to make smart investment decisions, you'll need to research a company before you buy their stock. In general, the more informed your buying decision, the better you'll feel about it. Fortunately, BUYandHOLD provides all the resources you may need. Just go to the "Research Stocks" section link on the far left-hand side of the home page. Information is organized by category and by company for easy browsing and is also randomly searchable. Each company listing includes related news, charts and ratings from stock analysts. BUY THE STOCKS YOU CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF Once you've made your choice, go ahead and buy that stock. If you are planning to trade (buy or sell) stocks as often as 5-6 times per month to diversify your portfolio and take advantage of dollar cost averaging, then our Unlimited Investing Plan may be the best choice for you. Our Unlimited Investing Plan includes all buy, sell and E-ZVestsm trades for $14.99 per month with no additional commissions. Our Basic Investing Plan includes your first two buy, sell or E-ZVestsm trades. All additional trades during that month are only $2.99 each. If you trade between two to four stocks per month, this may be the right plan for you. Click here to learn more about which plan might work best for you. DIVERSIFY YOUR PORTFOLIO Once you get used to the process of selecting and buying stocks (and it won't take very long), keep in mind that a good stock portfolio contains a variety of stocks. Think in terms of selecting stocks not only from several different companies but also from several different industries. This way, if one company's stock goes down or one industry suffers a setback, your finances won't be hit as hard. Okay, now let's talk about how to get yourself up to speed on what stocks are best for you and your family to invest in.