The idea of financial stability gradually becomes a real issue as you reach your late 20s and early 30s. You realize that the more you earn, the more you need to grow your savings for you to be able to maintain the kind of lifestyle you're used to having. Unfortunately, putting your money in a piggy bank won't work anymore; this time, you need to make smart decisions and explore new ways for you to earn, such as through investments.

There are different kinds of investments which complement different kinds of saving and spending behaviors. But before we get into the nitty-gritty of things, you'll need to know certain terms that you'll often come across when you talk about finances. Here are a few of them:

• A portfolio is a company's collection of investments or financial assets. If you're into playing the stock market (which we'll discuss later on), this is something that you'll want to look over.

• Securities are tradable financial assets. These can pertain to cash, notes, and stocks, among others.

• Assets are things that have economic value that can be owned and controlled by an investor.

• Liabilities are an investor's payables, or transactions that need settling.

• Equity is the value of an investment after all liabilities have been paid.

Now that you have an idea of what the basics are, you can start looking though different investment options that we have listed for you. It's good to remember that if you ever decide to put your money into one or several of these options, you must first have back-up cash, since you'll need to totally let go of any amount that you plan on investing. In short, don't ever risk your entire life savings so in case things go south, you have something to fall back on.