First, what type of investments do you plan to make?  Are you going to buy and hold stocks, do stock day trading, invest in bonds, trade commodities, or do something else entirely?  If you are unsure, learn a little about as many securities as possible and make your decision.  Once you know that, become a master of whatever security you plan to invest in.

Next, you’ll need to set up a brokerage firm or find a way to buy the securities you plan to invest in. You’ll need a brokerage account if you want to buy most securities such as stocks.  However, this isn’t the case for all investments.  For example, to get government bonds, you can buy them online or at your bank.

Next, you will be managing your portfolio.  Continue to add more and more money to your investments.  If you need to sell a stock, sell it.  If you want to buy a new stock or bond, buy it if you can.  Do your research and keep learning.  Investing isn’t something you start and finish.  You have to keep up with it.

These are just the bare basics to get you started investing.  You’ve decided that investing is the best action for you to take at this time, and that is great.  Now you need to be proactive in your strategy and keep making your investments better.  Sometimes you’ll make bad investments, but if you can shoot for a rate of return that is as high as possible, you are moving in the right direction.  To move on to more advanced techniques, read and study what successful investors do.