With a struggling economy, the last thing on the mind of investors is what stock to buy next.
Investment professionals and advisers, however, say this could be perfect timing.
"Generally speaking, yes [this is a good time to buy] if you are careful," said Omar Benkato, finance professor. "Always the time to buy is when stocks are low. Buy when low, sell high."
According to Dean Meyers, investment representative at Edward Jones, the actual process of buying stock is complicated, but the transaction happens in a matter of seconds.
The first step to buying and selling stock is to open an account, Meyers said. The account can be through an online service, like E-Trade, or a middleman - a human broker. Brokers are found through investment firms like Edward Jones or Charles Schwaab.
Once the broker has set up an account, the investor tells the broker what stocks to purchase, Meyers said. The term stock refers to a certificate that is proof of investment in the company.
The broker then enters the buy into the company computer. The order is sent to the investment firm's headquarters, then the transaction is bounced electronically to the firm's "seat" on the stock exchange's floor, Meyers said.
On the exchange's floor, each company has market makers, who sell and trade the stock for company. Market makers only deal with licensed brokers, Meyers said.
The market makers use trading tickets, or sheets of paper that say what transactions need to be made. The market makers then use hand signals to tell the investment firms what is for sale.
"When you say 'buy'," Meyers said, "You're really saying 'buy at market.' That means buy at whatever price you can. You're not price-sensitive."
When stock is bought, it is then electronically sent back to the investment firm's headquarters, and the transaction is then sent back to the investor's local office.
"I've had sales back in less than three seconds," Meyers said.
According to Meyers, online investing happens much the same way, but it can be more dangerous for investors.
"Computerization and technology are good for the stock market," Meyers said. "It made a rich man's game - a very costly game - available to the retail public. It has also has done damage because of ignorance. Wall Street was not made for the individual investors, but now it can be done a minimal level. And that has created a lot of confusion.
"The biggest difference for full service firms versus online trading is giving and not giving advice. You can trade online for anywhere between $9 to $18, where as we charge $30 to $50. Online trading causes a lot confusion. Advisers makes sure you are diversified and have a game plan."
While most college students are planning on how to pay for their education, Meyers said it is important to begin planning for retirement as early as possible.
"Social Security is due to run out by 2027, which means my 37-year-old brother is going to be about the last generation to receive it," he said. "Set up an account and just start putting in whatever money you can."
If a college student can invest $25 a month until they turn 65, the total contributions would total $12,900. The retirement fund will be worth $324,326 when the student retires. At this rate, monthly payments to themselves would be almost triple of what Social Security would pay.
Once graduated, Meyers encourages people to put 10 percent of their income into their retirement fund.
"If you put 10 percent into your retirement, 10 percent to charity and live off 80 percent of your income, you'll have what we call retirement with the same standard of living," he said.
When looking into investing, Benkato says students need to understand their goals.
"If it's something they need in the short-run - one to two years - they shouldn't even think about the stock market," he said. "I'd say look into money markets because you'd earn a little more.
"But if it's for the long run, they may want to put money into mutual funds that specialize in growth stocks, because can they can afford the up and down of the short term."
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