I have $7,000, what should I invest it in?

Open a Roth IRA.
Then continue to fund it.

Get an annuity started through a nonprofit organization.

I have mine set up so they can use the money now and when I retire I will get a monthly stipend from them.

Pay off any consumer debt.

How about some Berkshire Hathaway.

@SuperMouse: You cited class B; check out the price/share of Berkshire Hathaway class A

@Yvening Star: Do you want to do good or invest it conservatively for your future?

What state do you live in?

@gailcalled that’s why I cited class B! My dream is to someday afford a Class A, until then I’ll have to settle for Baby Berks!

I can remember being shocked when Berk. H hit $8,000. That price seemed crazy and way beyond my dreams. Today it is over $120, 000. No dividends, however. I wonder whether you can sell or buy one share fairly easily.

Facebook. I see their growth continuing, at least for the next years.

Do you have any retirement savings? If not, then that is where your money should be invested. Explore with a financial adviser the relative merits of the different types of IRAs.

I shall be investing in Facebook, I suspect. But that’s because I own shares of a mutual fund that invests in S&P 500 stocks. Facebook is sure to leap into that category on day one.

I would never, though, invest in Facebook as a one-off kind of thing. I got burned big during the dot com days, and would never trust myself to pick an individual stock. In fact, if you hear I’m buying Facebook, you might want to short it.

But I don’t think the OP was looking for stock advice. I think they are looking more for something like a partnership in an urban farm or a fish farm or helping someone to get a tutoring service off the ground or something like that. Micro-investing.

Facebook is selling their shares at 38 dollars a share right now. Its a good time to buy in.

I wouldn’t put more than 5% of my portfolio into Facebook, if that much. It may have a high growth potential, but it is also high risk IMO. Especially if Schumer succeeds in getting his legislation against Saverin passed.

First, as @Rarebear mentions, if you have any consumer debt, pay it off. The interest you pay on consumer debt is more than the average rate of return you would get on investing your $7,000.

If you have no consumer debt, credit cards, e.g.then…

Investing in “possibly smaller projects, so that I can help someone as well as make money” is a nice idea, it sounds win-win, but it is incredibly risky. As the State of Wisconsin says: “never make a small business investment that you cannot afford to lose entirely.” You may do well, but the chances are greater that you could lose it all, the whole $7,000 dollars. You can take big hits in the stock market but you generally don’t lose everything.

What you might want to consider, if you do want to help people, is to take maybe $500, or more, or less, whatever you feel you can manage, of that money and use it to make micro-loans, with an organization like Kiva.com. I have been lending the same $300 with Kiva for about 5 years now. I don’t make any money, but I get my money back and I am able to help people. Then take the rest of the money and invest it in something that isn’t so risky as investing in small start up enterprises.

It would likely be a bad idea to buy “face book” now. The Wall Street Journal and also Jim Cramer from “Mad Money” think that face book is over-priced. Big mistake to buy (face book) now according to Cramer. Wait a few months and watch the face book stock price drop and then buy.

If you don’t have an IRA then you could start a Roth with Vanguard in the S & P 500 stocks. Also buy a couple one ounce gold coins as the price of gold has dropped a bit. whatever you do don’t spent it.