They can begin their portfolio with as little as $25 per month to find out if it's something that suits them. For those who have decided that they would like to go for the full blooded approach of buying stocks and shares directly they need to have between $3,000 and $5,000 if they want to use a full service stock broker. It's the long term cost that can be the sting in the tail with any kind of debt consolidation loan. As a smart shopper you need to do the math on whether the amount you will pay over the life of your refinancing will be worth the monthly reduction in your outgoings. Sit down with a calculator and a pen and figure out the monthly payment of the loan multiplied by the term. Just don't use them as long term loans because they were never designed for that kind of borrowing. If you are finding that you have outstanding balances of two, three or more credit cards you will probably be well advised to look into taking out a debt consolidation loan. This will enable you to spread your borrowing over a fixed period of time. You need to consider whereabouts on the risk versus reward scale you fit to make sure you feel comfortable with your choice of investment. You can view starting your investing life at such a young age in one of three ways. The first is that it will allow you to begin with slow, steady and proven stocks. If they combine their outstanding finances into a one debt consoilidation loan they can usually reduce their monthly outgoings quite considerably. It is not just the reduction in the amount of money they have to find each month that makes debt consolidation loans so appealing to people. Perhaps the greatest benefit of all is the peace of mind such loans can bring. However if you choose to use a financial professional then you just need to make some enquiries to ascertain their track record. Don't assume that because they are a professional that they know everything about each different aspect of investing. Whichever type of investment you are considering make sure they have a proven track record in that particular field.