Most people don't realize that with investing, the less risk you have the more reward you get. That is why Buffett gets all of the money. Now, speculating is different. With speculation your principal is at risk, where in investing your principal is not.
So, if you are an investor, the first thing you need to think about is how much you can lose. If you have no clue then you should hold off. In speculating, someone might be willing to risk 10K on something that if it turns out well would bring a return of 200K, but if it turned out wrong the 10K would be wiped out.
You could probably invest in companies like Exxon, Microsoft, and a few others and have very little chance of losing your principal. You would get dividends each year that totaled a few percent, as well, so as long as the stock stayed even through the years you would make money because of the dividends.
If you feel the need to do something now, you should go the investing route, or the safe route, where you probably won't get monster gains, but you will at least keep up with the Joneses and learn a bit while you get your feet wet.
Warren Buffet's first two rules are:
1) Don't lose money
2) Don't forget rule number one
You cannot take backwards steps and lose the principal of your investment. If you start with 100K and you lose 50 percent, then gain 50 percent you are not even.
Start with 100K and lose 50 percent and you now have 50K. Now you need to gain 100 percent just to get even.
I have a good one now that is a special situations play. KIDEQ at 35 cents. It is going over $2 within a few months. That is something you will be able to participate in once you learn the ropes. Even though it is a LOCK to go higher, you should always do your own due diligence. And if you made a lot of money on KIDEQ you would think that investing is easy, and it is not easy.
You can watch it though.....KIDEQ 35 cents on January 9th....heading over $2 and possibly $5. They just won an important trial and they are selling the company.