I'm such a dumbass, lol.

My original financial strategy was to invest in an FDIC-insured money market account at a bank. At least twice bank attendants there confirmed that'd I'd be paid $17.50 on $2500 each month in interest. Yesterday I was in the area and the gut said it'd be a real good idea to check just one more time before committing to an account that penalizes you for withdrawing the total sum. Asked a new attendant, who checked with the manager, who clarified that the $17.50'd be earned
per the year. That's it. Can't live on $17.50 a year. If it were $17.50 each month, that'd be nice, but no... *Imitates Archie Bunker's "PFFTBB!!" sound."
So, hopes of prospering that way went up in smoke, so now I pretty much have to invest in whatever the stock market has to offer. The higher the yield is the more risk, but if you buy a lot of those high-yield preferreds from all different kinds of sectors you'd protect yourself. Also, ALWAYS check the dividend history. If the stock started at 8% interest yield, but then shot up to 9.5%, that's probably a sign the company is in trouble.
This morning I've been doing my rounds on this list:
Highest Yielding Preferred Stocks - Slide 1 of 50. Then you go click on the "Dividend History" tab, so you can check its chart on how its common and preferred stocks have done over the years. ALWAYS check the dividend history. If it was giving $0.24 per month, but then dipped down to $0.18, what does that mean? Is that a good thing? I'm a guy of sub-average intellect so I've gotta analyze this stuff really hard just to ensure due diligence. If a company, say, has had a SOLID (non-changing) dividend for 5+ years, to me that sounds like a good thing. If you really want to sleep well at night invest in Dividend Aristocrats, which are preferreds that have paid solid dividends for the last 25 years, AND whose dividends have increased in amount.
Strategy is key when it comes to investing, and so's patience. You can't get emotional or faithful about it. Study the numbers religiously, question stuff, and keep in mind that successful investors understand and anticipate human behavior. Those who perceived the value of Viagra before it massively skyrocketed in value, well, they suspected humans would like the boost in sexual performance. Also keep in my futuristic technology and advancements in research... consider what's both futuristic and practical. Also, whenever you're at large malls, take a stroll around and look at the shops that are always busy and packed full of customers. If you're looking for stability over high yield, they might be good options, too.
Personally, I'm not sure whether to invest in multiple Real Estate sectors or not. That list mentioned earlier is chock-full of real estate companies. Then again there was that housing bubble burst thingy in 2008, I think...? Real estate looks promising, ESPECIALLY "Reality Income" (O), but the gut tells me this bubble could burst. Oh, and before I forget volatility is another important factor to consider. If memory serves the less volatile the stock is, the less likely it'll come crashing down from bankruptcy (I think?). Then again, less risk, less reward. If you're interested in trading stocks, consider taking advantage of volatility while using limit orders to ward against slippage, which is when you try to buy/sell a stock, but you get stiffed a bit (you buy 100 $20 stocks, and at the last moment each one shoots up to $25. Congrats, you're screwed.


). Also, if you use an online brokerage like Scottrade you can put all of the companies that interest you on a watchlist that updates around every 30 minutes when the market's open.
*DISCLAIMER: This is from a newbie investor. Please don't take my words as solid investment advice.