What was once a hobby for the seriously rich has, over the last decade or so become considerably more accessible for a "normal" person - somebody who works and, perhaps has a small amount of surplus revenue available at the end of each month. Seeing the money you invest grow over a specific period of time is something that appeals to plenty of people; however, losing money every month is not something that most of us could afford particularly in this current economic climate.

When it comes to getting started on the stock market, it would be a great idea to think about the things that interest you. Lots of people don’t consider investing in valuable commodities such as gold and silver purely because they think they'd need to invest a lot of money. Nothing could be further from the truth. By spending only a few pounds it's possible to trade in and out of a few grams of gold or silver. Increasing the value of these metals by dealing may be beneficial as the cost is quite low.

Brokers were something that you used to require in order to invest and the problem with this was that their fees were usually quite high. Trading in stocks and shares was the forte of the broker and if you had a careful broker you would automatically be advised to invest in Blue Chip companies. The simple reason they suggested Blue Chip companies was because they were looked upon as the safest sort of investment and because dividends were paid twice yearly. Unit Trusts were also the remit of the stock broker and it meant that you could pool your investment with other small investments to make one larger investment.

There days it's a simple process to trade shares through online brokers. Instead of paying huge fees to the traditional stock broker who would work from a luxurious office, the fees for online brokers are considerably less. It was once the case that clients would always follow the advice offered by the stock broker. If the client was extremely wealthy then the stock broker would head out to visit them at their home or office. The modern online broker charges each time a buyer makes a "trade" and is charged in the region of £10 each time.

The actual concept behind stock market investing was always that it's better to buy at low prices and sell at high prices. This theory sounds great but it is not always that simple. You will have a few options when it comes to trading such as spread betting or forex but what you choose is up to you. One of the most important things to consider is how much you are prepared to spend on your portfolio before you begin trading on the stock market. Once that revenue has been laid aside and hasn’t been required for an emergency it's probably the right time to start - with a small investment.