I want to start investing?

As a rule of thumb we are all generally advised to put aside 2-6 months living expenses in a savings account as a rainy day fund before we get into investing. One of the reasons being that if you want to get a good return on your investment then you need to be able to ride out downturns in the market and if you need money to pay bills you can't be as selective about when you withdraw money and you may end up taking it out at the worst possible time. So the standard advice would probably be to put that $1000 in a savings account (I wouldn't sweat too much about which one exactly - any major bank will have a reasonable savings account and the difference between 3% and 5% will be $20 for you in a year and it might not be worth the hassle to open a new account).

Then you should get some advice from a Financial Planner on which mutual fund to invest in and get into the habit of saving a sum of money each month. If the market goes up then great, if not then you get to buy more of that investement with your money that month - it's called "dollar cost averaging", its the simplest form of investing and it's made me loads of money over the last 15 years for absolutely zero effort once I got it going.

You may be in this habit already but take a good long look at how you spend your money and if you need to stop spending (cut back at least) on things Starbucks coffees, smoking and eating out/ preprepared food. Money saved here can be added to your saving sum. It all adds up quite quickly and nicely. It also reduces your monthly outgoings and therefore the amount of money you should have saved before you start to invest so you can start investing earlier - bonus.

So get a foundation of savings and then get help. Financial advisors will work for a commission from the firm that that get you to invest in so be ballsy and speak to 2 or 3 for free until you find one you like and trust. The right one won't promise you the earth but will help you see the light at the end of the tunnel and will tell you upfront what I have said about getting rainy day savings in hand before you start to invest. If they don't, run away from them, they are just salesmen.

To answer the last point, nothing is as safe as a savings account but as you have so many years ahead of you once you have the savings locked away you should consider going for higher levels of risk so that the money has a chance to grow more quickly.

Bon chance.

Personally I'd put at least a little money into the stock market. The market is volatile, but over the long term it outperforms other asset classes (bonds, cds, etc). You can open an account with a broker called Zecco (www.zecco.com) that won't charge you a fee for opening an account, or a fee to buy or sell stocks.

Try investing in the SPDR fund or the iShares fund (ticker symbols IVV and SPY). These both hold stock in the 500 biggest companies in the US, which is safer than betting on just one company. This won't make you rich overnight, but if you put away a little extra every now and again you should be able to build up a substantial nest egg over time.

One thing though--don't invest cash you'll need in the near future (under 5 years) in the stock market.

I was paying a broker too much money for what I was getting. I decided to let go of my broker (in October 2008- which is significant) and invest on my own. My bank offers on-line banking. I made an appointment with the investment banker and she showed me the ropes. I do my own research and I decide which stocks I will buy. I like having the control to buy and sell stocks and I have some good hunches that have made me a nice profit. There are sites that charge a nominal fee, and I truly mean nominal, like $7.00 for a transaction but I prefer investing through my bank. My stock portfolio is there at a click of a button along with my banking. I think you might like going through your bank if you are new to investing. Good luck.

Good for you for starting so young! Go to clarkhoward.com he is a consumer advocate who has several suggestions of no load muttual funds for getting started with a small investment. Consistently add to your investment on a monthly basis and over the long term and you will build wealth for yourself. Do not worry about the market ups and downs...You are investing for 40 years from now.

I think it is good that you are thinking about the future. If you are interested in stocks, I would start out with the more conservative positions such as the GE, McDonalds (MCD) and other dividend driven stocks. Once you get comfortable, then start looking at a more agressive growth stocks. Here are some ideas, http://www.ibooyah.com/

Open a brokerage account at Zecco and I will help you for FREE. (I am a Portfolio Manager)