That's not to say that you can't invest without learning about the stock market but it will be a far riskier proposition. You don't need to know every last detail about how the markets operate but knowing the basics will enable you to spot potential problems far more easily. There are a number of different ways of learning about the stock market and you should choose one which is best suited to your own particular learning style. The stock market is in its simplest form just an auction but it is one with a sting in the tail for the unwary. To help you start understanding the stock market you need to think of what makes it work. Very simply the market is driven by supply and demand. That means that if there is only a very limited number of shares in a particular company available the demand for them will be far greater than if the market place is awash with them. The 13th Century Italians almost certainly had the closest share trading markets to what we would recognize today. The Venetian traders were probably the first ones to begin dealing with government securities and even back then there was insider trading going on. In fact as early as 1351 there was a law passed in Venice which was designed to stop people spreading rumors that would drive down prices. While it's not the buyers market it was there is still some competition out there and you need to exploit it to your advantage. After all, over a few years all those dollars soon mount up in your favour. If you're a home owner you will find that you can often get a much more favourable rate if you take a loan which is secured on your property. That is because the truth is that even the most prudent investments carry a degree of risk with them. If you don't feel comfortable with the possibility of losing your money then it's more than likely that the stock market isn't for you. The next step in getting started is to make certain that you understand the need to leave your money invested for a reasonable period of time. The question is if you've got a bad credit history will the banks still lend to you? The answer is probably. That's because a bad credit debt consolidation loan can make as much sense for them as it can for you. You see the banks really don't care about you. I know, that came as a surprise right? But they do care about themselves - second surprise!