Facts show that even students and the unemployed are increasing the amount they owe. So what can we do about this situation? Well the first thing to recognize is that we are all responsible for our own borrowing. That being the case we can start to take steps to reduce the amount of money that we owe and also the amount we have to pay out each month. " If you are planning to make an investment doesn't it make sense to check things for yourself? After all no one will ever take as much care of your money as you will yourself. One thing which many people tend to forget when they first start to invest in the markets is that they are investing for the medium to long term. Debt is also something that many of us have been told since childhood is a bad thing. And that just adds to our woes. Here we are unexpectedly in a traumatic situation and we get hit by the double whammy of sudden debt and guilt! If you think it will never happen to you don't be too sure. Think of something as simple as an accident, it doesn't even have to be your fault, and you get hospitalized for a couple of months. Even with a helpful stock broker it would be foolish to risk your hard earned cash by investing in something you don't fully understand. There are plenty of good stock market dictionaries that you can find either online or as a printed book. Once you've got an idea of the terminology you might want to consider paper trading even when you're getting a broker's advice. What Caused The 1929 Crash Of Stock Market Prices The 1929 crash of stock market prices was unprecedented in modern times. Nothing had prepared investors, who had been living high on the hog throughout the Roaring Twenties, for the disaster that hit them at the end of October 1929. Crash of stock market prices can be expected from time to time as markets correct themselves following false highs but what happened that October began an economic downturn that lasted for years. These can be an excellent alternative for anyone who has the confidence to make their own investment decisions. Something which does need considering is the question of charges. This applies whichever type of broker and whatever method is used for that very first investment. Many new investors wrongly assume that all their money will go directly into buying the investment they have chosen and forget that there are different prices for buying and selling stocks.