There are conflicting reports that Muslim and Jewish merchants in Cairo were the first to establish a stock market while the traditionalists maintain the oldest ones were actually in Italy and these are usually the starting point when considering a brief history of stock market trading. The 13th Century Italians almost certainly had the closest share trading markets to what we would recognize today. Safe investing is really just a matter of following some common sense guidelines when it comes to that risk. Some of the best known and most successful investors of all time such as Ben Graham, Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch are all known for looking for straight forward opportunities to put their money into. Your choice is limited only by your imagination and of course the depth of your pockets! Whichever way you decide to invest there are some "rules" which carry across regardless. One of the fundamentals is to know what you are doing. Without this you are not investing but gambling. Let's take an example of the silver markets about 30 years ago. While a couple of extra days won't make much difference at this stage they could add months or even years on to the length of your repayment schedule. And the old adage of time is money is very true if that happens. That's your time and more importantly your money! Certainly don't dismiss the profit making companies who offer bill consolidation services out of hand without checking all the figures very carefully. This can be sometimes overlooked in the excitement of making your first investment but it can have a serious impact on your performance. If you are what is called "risk averse" you will probably be a nervous wreck if you put all your money into high risk shares. By learning to manage your risk levels you can ensure that you only select positions you will feel comfortable with over the medium to long term life of your portfolio. So in this beginners guide to investing we will cover some of the essential points but please keep in mind that investment in the stock market is a complicated and potentially risky business. One of the very first things to cover is the need for every investor to work out for him or herself a level of risk that they feel comfortable with.