An S&P 500 Index fund is how I got started. That said, before putting a penny into any kind of stock investment I'd make sure I had a handle on my debt situation and had a well funded savings account to handle any emergency expenses.

Sart with an index mutual fund. Vanguard has some nice ones.

so im 22 years old, im really interested in the stock market, plain and simple my goal is to have enough money to never have to worry about money or the cost of the things i want later in life(granted, the sooner the better) currently im only working part time and am able to invest around $275 a month.

i just want to know where i should focus on and get this compound ball rolling so i can reinvest what i earn. ive heard etfs. ive heard mutual funds/bonds ive heard stocks, where do i need to focus on here so i can start making some kind of money?

my question is what exactly do i need to invest in to see some kind of return on my money? i know $275 a month inst much but i just want to get started here,any kind of gain is a good right?