01-20-2016, 02:14 PM
I would sit down and draw up a plan, a plan that is sustainable for the long term that benefits you and your household. It sounds like your decisions were made because there was no plan in place for you to follow. Speaking from personal experiences, if you have "Bad Debt" such as credit cards or any high interest loans outstanding, that would be on the top of my list to pay off before any monies would be deployed into the stock market. Starting out I would also keep my house slush money separate from my investment accounts. If investing is a must and you're committed to it 100% then I would look at the advantages and disadvantages of starting a retirement account such as a 401k (if available) and or a IRA/ROTH IRA vs a regular brokerage account that is tailored to your plan. Once a decision is made, I would start with a good solid core holding whether it's a couple of individual stocks or a mutual/index fund then branch off from there as time moves forward. I would also, READ READ and READ some more then never stop. Remember, there's no rush, the stock market is not going anywhere.