Investing Your Money Basics
Part of CNNMoney's "Money 101" Series

Learn the basics of investing your money with these tips on how to make money in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.  Here are the top things to know:

1. Over the long term, stocks have historically outperformed all other investments.

2. Over the short term, stocks can be hazardous to your financial health.

3. Risky investments generally pay more than safe ones (except when they fail).

4. The biggest single determiner of stock prices is earnings.

5. A bad year for bonds looks like a day at the beach for stocks.

6. Rising interest rates are bad for bonds.

7. Inflation may be the biggest threat to your long-term investments.

8. U.S. Treasure bonds are as close to a sure thing as an investor can get.

9. A diversified portfolio is less risky than a portfolio that is concentrated in one or a few investments.

10. Index mutual funds often outperform actively managed funds.

Now that you've got the highlights, get the full story HERE.

And here are some more articles from CNN Money 101 to help you out when considering investing your money:

Pros and Cons for Different Investments – The 1990s enjoyed the biggest bull market in U.S. history.  During the decade the Dow more than quadrupled.  While stocks, as represented by the S&P 500, have not always performed so extraordinarily, they have usually been the best performing asset class over time.  Learn more about both in this article.

Stock Values and Why They Change – While the stock market often seems to behave like a manic-deptressive who's been off his medication, in fact it's quite rational most of the time.

The Value of Investing in Bonds – Bonds are more predictable than stocks – but barely so.

Mutual Fund Fundamentals – Mutual funds offer a simple way to diversify your portfolio – albeit at a cost.

Understanding How Inflation Works – Most people think a market crash is the beggest danger to investors.  Wrong.