If You're Scared of Losing Your Money in the Stock Market...

I'm by no means a financial expert, but I do think I understand what kind of things work for people my age. One thing I know I'm afraid of is investing in the stock market. I'm young, and therefore don't have a ton of money to my name. Just the thought of a little bit of the money I have being lost is scary. After doing some quick research about a month and a half ago, I think I've found something that works very well until I eventually invest in some stocks.

I looked into E-Trade and found out it is more than a website where you can buy and sell stocks. I discovered E-Trade is now a major player in the banking industry. You can buy CD's from E-Trade, and sign up for checking and savings accounts. And you can do it all from the chair in front of your computer. If you look on their webpage, you will see they have what they call a "Complete Savings Account." It pays 3.30% interest, they say that is 8 times the national average, and I know my previous savings account was earning less than 1%.

I signed up for a Complete Savings Account and the beauty is, you can link it with any external bank account. I still have a checking account with Bank of America. I can still deposit and withdraw money at will from my Bank of America account and then transfer funds over to the E-Trade account. While the Complete Savings Account doesn't have the potential to boom, as the stock market does, it is consistent. For a recent college graduate, putting away a portion of your paycheck into a Complete Savings Account every two weeks will probably yield a greater financial gain than the stock market in these current times.

I know the potential isn't there to double your investment in two weeks, but with this method, you won't lose your money either.