At 22 years old, I've already seen how easy it is to fall into financial traps, and I've decided to finally take steps to ensure my future is secure beyond a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. Unfortunately, I'm lost on where to start.
I have read the advice guides and seen just about every tip and trick in the book about how to proceed, so I have a basic understanding of the options before me in terms of savings and investments to make. But when it comes to actually doing something with my hard-earned money, I've got cold feet.
The biggest investment cliché I keep running into tells me over and over not to put all my financial eggs in one basket. So I decide to go with that bit of guidance and get started.
The problem is, to keep diversified and keep my eggs in several places I might spread myself too thin. I'm still young, still in college, and haven't had a steady reliable source of income for long enough to build a significant amount to work with. I would estimate that I'm looking at a starting investment amount of $10,000 -- barely enough to open some higher-end accounts or funds, but certainly enough to do something with besides leave it in a low-yield savings account. But the concept of keeping things diverse is a wise one, so I just need to figure out how to diversify without putting such small amounts of money in each basket that it makes no sense or difference.
