You need to consider some basics before you enter the world of investing in stocks. The main reason: the stock market is a field dominated by savvy investors, who know the ins and outs of making profitable trades. For people who are not on the inside, Wall Street can be a very dangerous place. Here are a few tips that can help you in your beginning stages:

1) Don't even consider "tips" that tell you about "hot stocks". Consider the source: if you had a huge, cannot miss, money making investment tip, would you offer it the world at large, free of charge? You wouldn't, and neither would anyone else. If someone is touting a can't miss stock, they most likely have a financial interest in seeing the stock rise. Conversely, if they are rooting for the stock to miss, you can almost rest assured that have "shorted" the issue.

2) Always do your due dilligence. You'll hear this advice over and over again, and that's because it's extremely important and bears repeating. You must always do your own due dilligence. Relying on the advice of others, no matter how well intentioned it may be, is almost always a recipe for disaster. Make sure you dig in and really examine the public numbers and financial releases from companies. Nothing tells the story more clearly than the numbers. Ignore basic touting techniques like press releases which have very little substance, and rely instead on hype to tell the company's story.

3) Only invest money you can afford to lose. Sure this is a basic point, but tons of people miss it. You should only invest money that you can honestly afford to lose, and without any tears, if the worst case scenario comes to fruition. Everyone enters into investments with the right idea of earning big profits, but in many cases, this never pans out. If you lose your rent money, you can rest assured that your days of dabbling in the stock market will come to a very quick and bitter end. ut asides small amounts of money each week from your paycheck for savings and investment and use that.

The learning curve for investing in stocks can be steep, but in the final analysis is well worth it. In no other endeavor can you make the types of returns that are associated with the world's greatest stock investors. But make sure to take your time, and keep detailed records of all of your transactions, with particular attention being paid to what you were thinking when you made the trade. Over time, this record will become an invaluable instrument for helping you determine what type of trade makes you the most money, and it will also give you insights into your character as a trader. There's plenty more to learn, of course, but hopefully these basic ideas will help you on your stock investing journey. Good luck.

About the author:

Darren McLaughlin is the webmaster of the Stock Market Basics resource center.