Investing in shares is one of the best way of increasing one's income and savings.  It really makes perfect sense to invest in another's business without the uncertainty instead of putting up your own business and investing your life-savings on it despite the uncertainty.

One may not immediately be aware of it, but stock investing is a means to stable personal financial status. It is not unnatural for people at this day and age to look for opportunities to augment their income. Someone who works for a living, is more often than not unsatisfied with what he is earning from his day job. The nine-to-five work arrangement may sure provide for his daily expenses, but rarely does he manage to save a good amount of it. Most of the income from employment is spent on necessities, barely leaving any amount to allocate for extra income. For those fortunate enough to have surplus income, they invest the money by depositing it in a bank and letting the money grow via the bank's imposed interest rates. However, the income generated via this rather traditional way is not as profitable as one may think.

Usually, the inflation rate is higher than the interest rate which makes the bank alternative a losing deal. It is this seemingly lack of opportunity to grow one's savings which drives most of the working men and women to take on extra jobs other than their regular apartment. This is one way of increasing one's income and savings, but eventually it takes its toll on the health of the working individual, as his rest period and time off work is severely compromised. There are those who have saved a significant amount of money start their own business, only to see this grandiose plan flounder because of sheer inability to handle a business. All these high-effort but low-return means to get your hands into more money leaves us with one overlooked alternative that relatively requires less effort but offers the biggest bang for your buck: stock investing.

It is not difficult at all to succeed in stock investing. It is usually a matter of choosing what companies to invest in and when to invest in these companies. It is always wise to invest in financially and operationally sound companies. At the end of the day, even the hottest stocks may turn cold after the volatile market forces have run its course. A good company to invest in has a good product or service to go with it. Reputable companies, the so-called blue chip companies, may have stocks that are higher in price. But these are the stocks that are the envy of all investors, because it is optimal in terms of risk and profit.

As mentioned earlier, stock investing is not only knowing the companies but also knowing the timing of investment. Smart investors are on the look-out for fluctuations that may prove to be the very opportunities to increase the monetary equivalent he is playing in the stock market. Thus it is advisable to watch out for the business environment in order to be made aware of the conditions that may prove to be pivotal in holding or selling the stock. In this manner, stock investing is much like surfing: spotting when or when not to ride the waves.

Nowadays, stock investing can already be done by the man on the street. One does not need brokers to successfully invest in the stock market. There are online stock broker services that initially help the investor to get started. But once stock investor gets the hang of stock investing, he can directly to the investing and trading with the aid of the online portal.

When you take a closer look, the alternative means of extra income via stock investing is just a spin-off of earning from a business. Instead of putting up your own business and investing your life-savings on it despite the uncertainty, it makes perfect sense to invest in another's business without the uncertainty. It is a calculated bet on a business entity, pinning one's hopes that this company will win him the big prize. In a nutshell, an investment made to a company is being made when one does stock investing, as stocks are the basic unit of investment. You let the companies you have invested in make use of your well-earned money, so they can further expand their operations and thus generate more income for the benefit of itself and for the investor. The second richest man in the world, Warren Buffett, has made his millions from stock investing. This is quite an invitation to most of us not familiar with investing in the stock market.