Understand Your Investments

If the thought of riding the stock market roller coaster makes you more than a little queasy, we understand. But investing doesn’t have to be intimidating. When you master a few basic financial principles and start tracking your investments with Mint.com, you’ll be ready to weather the ups and downs of the market.

Mint.com shows you your portfolio alongside your checking, savings, and loans so you'll have
a complete picture of your net worth. Learn more about tracking investments with Mint.com or

Are you ready to invest?

Before you even make your first trade, make sure you are standing on solid financial ground. Sign up with Mint.com so you can track your spending, income, net worth and account balances all in one place. Only when you have a feel for where you stand now should you start investing for the future.

Determine your risk profile

Your emotional makeup can play a large role in how you invest. If you’re the kind of person that flips out every time the stock market takes a nosedive, you may want to resist the temptation to invest in high-risk get-rich-quick schemes.

Invest for the long haul

If you’re just starting out in the stock market, use Mint’s updated budget feature to see how investing a fixed dollar amount every month will affect your budget and financial health. If you invest the same amount every time, you’ll purchase more shares when prices are low and fewer when prices are high.

Diversify your investments

Don’t invest in a single stock or sector of the economy. Instead look for mutual funds that invest across many businesses. Or try index funds, which are less subject to seismic shifts in the market, and have the extra benefit of much lower fees: often less than 0.20% annually.

Contribute every month

Keep making regular, steady investments into your 401k & IRA, which you can then track right alongside your other accounts in Mint.com. If your employer offers dollar-for-dollar 401k contribution matching, that's like getting an instant 100% return. Slow and steady wins the race in the stock market.

Track your investments with Mint

Mint shows you your portfolio alongside your checking, savings, and loans so you'll have a complete picture of your net worth.
Sign up now or learn more

Want to learn more? See our features on Stocks, Real Estate, Commodities and Mutual Funds.