There are several different sorts of investments out there, and there are several factors, which you should use to determine where you should invest your funds.

Naturally, determining where you will invest begins with researching the different kinds of investment on the market, determining your risk tolerance, and determining your investment style and your financial aims.

If you were going to buy a new car, for instance, you would do quite a bit of research before making a final decision and a purchase. You would not consider purchasing a car that you had not fully looked over and taken for a test drive. Investing works in much the same way.

You would, naturally, learn as much about the prospective investment as possible, and you would want to learn how previous investors have done as well. It's only common sense, isn't it?

Does learning about the stock market and investments take a lot of time? Yes, but it is definitely time well spent. There are hundreds of of books and websites on the topic, and you can even take college level courses on the subject, which is what stock brokers do. If you have access to the Internet, you can actually play the stock market with pretend money in order to get a feel for how it all works.

You can make pretend investments in a pretend portfolio often called a 'Wish List' and see how they do. Create a search with any search engine for 'Stock Market Games' or 'Stock Market Simulations', although almost any online stock broker provides these services. It really is a fantastic way to start to learn about how investing on the stock market actually works.

Other types of investments outside of the stock market do not always have simulators, so you must learn about those types of investments the hard way - by reading.

As a potential investor, you should read any you possibly can get your hands on about investing, but start at the beginning level of investment books and websites first, otherwise, you will find that you quickly get lost.

Lastly, speak to a financial planner. Tell her your aims and ask them for their suggestions. This is what they do for a living! A good financial planner can easily help you determine where to invest your funds, and help you set up a plan to reach all of your financial aims. Many planner will even teach you about investing along the way, so make sure to pay close attention to what they are saying to you!