Although you may not realize it, you probably already know a lot about investing. When you study hard for school, you get good grades. What you’re doing is investing time, energy, and brain power, so that you can go on to college or a great job. Your return on that investment is personal success.

It’s the same with money.  When you invest, you use cash to buy an investment, like a stock or mutual fund, expecting it to increase in value or pay you income. If that happens, you have more money than you put in originally. Your return on that investment is a profit.

Starting to invest is the beginning of a long adventure. It’s something you can do throughout your life, so that you will have enough money to pay for college, buy a home, and live on when you retire. It’s also something that you’ll get better at the more you do it.