Quote from: Sophia1029 on April 25, 2015, 05:25:48 AM

I am sorry if this is in the wrong place, I really know very little about economics/financial stuff.

I am 23 and a college student and a part time employee and my annual income is around $7,000 (I focus more on school right now than work).
I have always wanted to learn how to invest but every time I try to research I get overwhelmed and it feels too complicated to me. But then I found this company website/Iphone app called Betterment and have been reading a lot of good reviews about it both from the App store and on websites. (I am in no way advertising this or spamming, this is a sincere post) Basically it manages your portfolio, it helps you set a goal and gives you advice on what to invest in and everything is just done there and to me it actually looks doable for once. The fees are really low and based on your account balanced. Basically if I start with $50 the monthly fee is $0.02 and if I had $30,000 in the account it would be $6 a month.
But here is also a general warning given in an article about it which scares me:
"In this Betterment review, I have to provide a common sense reminder. Like all market investments, Betterments stock and bond investments are subject to market risk. If the markets are up, your balance will likely grow. When markets go down, your balance will likely shrink. You have no guarantees and Betterment is not a FDIC insured savings account.

If you need your money in the short term, a savings account might be the best place for it, because youre guaranteed to get back the the same dollars you put in (known as your principal).

When you invest in stocks and bonds, risk is present and you can lose money. The fact that you are taking more risk also means that youll likely earn higher returns over the long term."

So this statement made me want to ask you guys that I assume are more experienced investors, is it too late to start investing? Do you think the American or USD economy will crash drastically soon and is it even worth it???
Would you recommend this for a beginner.. trying this site?

BTW here is the article review I looked at:
http://cashcowcouple.com/service-reviews/betterment-review/

EDIT: This site is appealing to me because they apparently no longer have a minimum starting balance and having very little money I could start with a very small amount.
Basically I want to know if this looks like a legit, safe, and good site for a beginner like me from an experienced investor. Also, does it look like I can take out money from profits at any time? Or do I have to keep money in my account and not touch it? Idk these things.

I read their terms and conditions and they trade in the same securities that they advise people on. They also hide the investment agreement until you give them your info and become a customer. I would guess that agreement says they can change the fees and terms at any time...

I personally don't play games with anybody in NYC, and I would also suggest developing useful, salable skills and start selling a product or service instead of worrying about this "investment" stuff. Most of it is just built by fly by night entrepreneurs looking for a quick sale - it is not for your benefit, but for theirs.