No money,bad credit is there a way to start investing?

[Reynaldo Tello]

I'm just starting 

[Thomas S.]

First step is getting your life on track. You need a solid W2 income and cash savings along with good credit. Solid income combined with frugal lifestyle will get you to where you need to be.

Investing is not a path out of debt it is a method to increase wealth.

Motivation and hard work will get you to a position to be able to consider investing.

[Derrick E.]

Create a budget which allows you to save, save, and save some more. You can't go out to eat every day, can't buy lots of Christmas presents for family, can't go to flea markets, no vacations,  can't buy random things at Wal Mart. You need to be prepared to stay home and find something fun to do. I know it sounds obvious, but at the end of the day most people won't give these things up. 

Then you need to sit down and look at your debt. Try to pay off the loans that make the most sense first. Either something within striking distance or the one with the highest interest rate, etc. Try to open up some cash flow by paying off bad debt. If you have a car payment try to sell it and get out of the payment. Then go buy a used car with cash. 

Best of luck!

[Leticia Alcantara]

Iiooo

[Leather Nix]

Also, start working on improving your credit. The forum on myfico.com is a great place to learn how to do it.

[Reynaldo Tello]

Thanks everyone,i will try to save money but on the mean time while I'm doing that and try to get my credit up.what can i do to expand my knowledge?

[Reynaldo Tello]

Thanks leather I need to do that asap.do you suggest a way to improve my credit a lil faster?

[Ryan Cox]

The BP books and the community forums are a fantastic place to gain knowledge.  Learning the wholesale business would be an opportunity to take action and make some money as you are trying to establish a financial foundation.

Best of luck!

[Aaron H.]

Fix the credit and have a solid reserve fund first. Doesn't mean you have to be 100% out of debt, but investing before you have a solid handle on your own financial situation is asking for trouble.

Read every book at the library on real estate, read the forums, ask questions. Free, and will put you in a good spot down the line.

[Account Closed]

You should look over your credit and see what parts are hurting the most. For instance, if you have maxed out credit cards, see if you can get credit limit increases or apply for a new credit card. I know that might sound crazy but hear me out. ONLY do this if you are in a position that you will no longer use the cards. I say this because a large factor in your credit score is credit usage. So, for example. If  you have a $1000 credit limit and you have used $1000 of credit,  you credit usage would be at 100% when, ideally, you would want to be under 30%. But say you got another card that was $500. Now, you may take a hit for a hard inquiry and a new account, but your credit usage drops from 100% to 67% without you making any payments towards your debt because now its $1000 out of $1500. Now, again, this advice is ONLY if you are absolutely sure you will not continue to use the credit cards. You need to be very honest with yourself if you decide to do that. Also, if you make multiple hard inquiries within a couple of days of each other, the credit bureaus will only count it as one inquiry so if you do decide to go this route, do it at once. Don't make inquiries month after month because those stay on your credit for 2 years and once you get over 4 inquiries it really starts to hurt things. This was a big way I increase my credit by over 100 points in 8 months in addition to making large payments towards my debt but expanding my total credit limit was a nice helpful boost. Also, check out when things are due to fall off your credit report. Inquiries are 2 years. Negative remarks are 7 years. So you may be naturally do for a boost with time so check where you are. Additionally, if possible, do not close your accounts. Length of credit history is also a big factor. Debt consolidation companies will often suggest that but if you close all your accounts, you eliminate your credit history and you still have to pay off the debt. Just be disciplined and you'll do great!

[Reynaldo Tello]

Thanks everyone