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If you were to sit at your computer and search the Internet for “investing advice,” in less than one second you would be presented with more than 24 million Web site options from which to choose. Chances are, you would find a different opinion on almost every site. With so much conflicting information. in addition to the highly-publicized stock market fluctuations during the past few years, it is easy to see why the average American is leery about throwing his or her financial hat into the investing ring.

According to Cheryl Allebrand of Bankrate.com, half of Americans say that investing is confusing. John Bogle, founder and former CEO of Vanguard, adds that “[those] who say they don’t find investing confusing are lying through their teeth.” He goes on to acknowledge that the current system of investing “places the focus on complexity rather than simplicity.”

If you are ready to invest but are confused by all of the options and are not sure where to begin, start by assessing your financial needs and goals. Next, determine how much time you have in which to save for these goals. Once you have outlined your financial goals and have established a timeline, you will be ready to choose the investment options that best fit your needs.

Write Down Your Goals

The first step in deciding how and where to invest your money is to write down your financial goals. The following are the three most common areas of financial concern for most Americans:

1) Having enough funds to pay for emergencies.

2) Being able to pay for their child’s college education.

3) Having sufficient resources to fund retirement.

Since these three areas are on different timelines, investors with these financial concerns need to determine the number of years remaining to meet each need. For instance, a 40-year-old man with a 12-year-old child will have six more years in which to save for his child’s college education and approximately 25 years to save for retirement. Unlike college and retirement, emergencies can happen at any moment so these funds will need to be readily available.

Once you have determined your own financial goals, decide how much you can afford to set aside each month to fund your future financial needs and establish the percentage that will go to each fund. Now, you are ready to choose the best investment options to fit your needs.

Classify and Choose Your Investments

When selecting investment options, consider the timeline of your financial goals. Funds that will need to be available in a year should be invested differently from those which will not be needed for another 10 years. Consider the following guidelines to help you determine the best way to invest for your financial goals:

Short-Term (2 years or less)

For funds that need to be readily available, such as emergency funds, it is best to invest in stable, low-risk cash accounts such as certificates of deposit or savings accounts. While the returns on these short-term investments are relatively low, there is little to no risk in having your money in these accounts. As Dan Caplinger poignantly stated, “[Only] one investment promises you that tomorrow it’ll be worth exactly what you paid for it, plus a tiny bit more. It’s cash, and it belongs in your portfolio.”

Mid-Term (3 to 7 years)

For financial obligations that are three to seven years away, look for income-producing investments. Intermediate-term bonds, longer-term certificates of deposit and balanced funds are just a few examples of good mid-term investments. While long-term CDs are a relatively low-risk investment, bonds will vary in their degree of risk and rate of return. If you decide to invest in bonds, be sure to choose bonds that will mature within your financial timeline. Some bonds offer tax-free returns which are attractive to many investors.

Another option for mid-term investing is a conservative balanced fund. Sometimes called hybrid funds, balanced funds are a popular choice for conservative investors because they offer stocks, bonds and money market securities all in one fund. Because of their diversity, balanced funds tend to ride out the fluctuations of the stock market without losing too much value. On the other hand, when the market is soaring, conservative balanced funds tend to earn less of a return than the more aggressive all-stock funds.

Long-Term (8 or more years)

When investing your money over a longer-term, look for higher-return options such as stocks. Since stocks are inherently risky, it is very important to choose a stock portfolio that is well-diversified rather than to put all of your eggs into one financial basket. Invest in stocks from a variety of industries that people rely upon on a daily basis–some examples are utility, food, banking and oil industries. If you are uncomfortable selecting stocks on your own, most investment brokers offer a wide variety of diversified stock portfolios from which to choose and will even classify the amount of risk associated with each portfolio. Whether you have a conservative or an aggressive investing strategy, there will be a fund to meet your need.

Keep in mind that long-term investing can be a frustrating venture. A sudden drop in value of a long-term investment can lead many investors to withdraw all of their funds for fear of losing their entire investment. According to the investing advice Web site The Motley Fool, this is the last thing that an investor should do: “If you look back at history and study how investing fortunes were made, you’ll find it wasn’t by jumping in and out of stocks based on fear … but by buying great businesses and investing in them over the long haul.” Observing the tendency that many investors had to constantly buy and sell, seasoned investor Warren Buffett offered this prudent advice–”Much success can be attributed to inactivity.”

Schedule an Annual “Check-up”

It is a good idea to reassess your financial goals at least once a year. Evaluate your investments to determine whether or not they are still in line with your financial timeline. If they aren’t, then simply make the necessary adjustments to put the funds where they are needed.

Buffett, a businessman, industrialist and philanthropist, is widely recognized as one of the most successful investors of all time. His thirst for investing began early, at a time when most boys his age were more interested in tossing a ball or playing jacks at the park. When he was only 11 years old, he began dabbling in the world of high finance. Buffett made his first investment in the stock market by purchasing three shares of Cities Service Preferred stock for both himself and his sister, Doris, at a cost of $38 per share. Not long after making this purchase, the stock price dropped to $27 per share. Fighting the impulse to sell and accept his losses, Buffett decided to hold on to his investment and waited until the stock reached a price of $40 to sell and reap the rewards of making a small gain. However, when the stock shot up to $200 per share shortly after he sold, he learned an important lesson that would remain with him throughout his life–patience is a virtue. Later, after many years of experience which developed alongside the upswings and downturns of the tumultuous stock market, Buffett was able to reflect on his years of investing and trading to recognize that, “in the business world, the rear view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”