Please note the following is just Scrooges OPINION about investing.
Investing means you could lose money.

Investing doesn't have to be complicated. It does however need to be understood.

Mention investing to most people and watch their eyes gloss over.
While there are exceptions most people seem to fall into one of two categories.

1. They know absolutely nothing.

2. They know absolutely everything.

Of course neither is completely true.
 Nearly everyone has at least some basic understanding of what investing is.
 Also no one person could possibly know everything.

I've got GREAT NEWS for those of you who do fall into the ranks of the clueless. 
The know-nothings amongst us have a built-in advantage over the know-it-alls!

For those unsure of themselves you just have to remember three things.

1. Generally speaking low cost "index funds" beat their higher cost mutual fund counterparts in both market performance and of course in price. 
Theres any number of reasons for this but bottom line.
 It's better to stick with low cost index funds.

2. It's consistency, NOT TIMING, that produces the best long term results. 
Don't make occasional contributions as you feel comfortable do it monthly.
Remember time in the market beats timing the market. So be consistent.
 As in every month.

3. Buy the dips.
There will of course be bad days for the stock market. 
Sometimes, there could be a loss for the year. 
Don't panic.
 Don't sell. 
The absolutely worst thing you can do is sell a quality product (such as an index fund) when they're at their lowest. 

Your hurting yourself by locking in a guaranteed loss.
Solid investments with a solid long term performance record can be expected to recover from any temporary setbacks.
 When your index fund IS DOWN it's actually the best time to add even more to your account.
 Again don't try to time the market according to whether it's up or down at the moment.
 Buy a consistent amount every month and when stock prices are down add even more.

Investing is the long haul method to series life changing wealth.
Both long haul and life changing wealth are relative terms.
Even us low income earners can build significant, even enormous sums of wealth with index funds. 
It needn't take an entire lifetime.

This would be a good time to introduce you to the "rule of 72".
The rule of 72 is the number of years it takes to double by dividing the expended investment gain against the number of years it takes to equal to 72.
For instance, if your index fund makes exactly 9%, it will take exactly eight years to double (9x8 = 72).
If your investment makes 10% per year, it will take just over seven years (7x 10 years=70 just under 72).

Most people have some understanding that investing is important and may even have some thoughts on how to go about investing but very few really understand how large of a percentage your investment will represent.

Quick example:
John puts $200 per month in an S&P 500 index fund for ten years with a ten percent return.
After ten years the total John's $200 per month with the interest reinvested equals $39,972.77.
$24,000.00 from John's contribution and $15,972.77 from interest for a total of $39,972.77.

Same scenario as above after twenty years.
John has now put in $48,000.00 in twenty years and the interest has grown to $95,651.85. 
Nearly twice the amount John has put in.
Together the total to $143,651.85.

Make this a forty-year example and it almost explodes.
Forty years and John's put in $96,000.00.
The interest accrued? 
$1,014,069.63.

That's over a million dollars in INTEREST ALONE and aside from John's contribution.
The total after 40 years between contributions and interest gained comes to a total of $1,110,069.63.
That comes to about eleven times the contributions made.
Remember this is $200 per month without ever-increasing the monthly amount or once ever buying the dips.
 Which of course you should do.

This example helps explain the three most important aims and aspects of a solid investment strategy. 

1. A steady monthly commitment through thick and thin. Again buying the dips will boast your yearly returns even more.

2. The importance of investing in a proven investment vehicle  such as a low-cost income fund.

3. The final part. The patience to wait it out.

Of course it doesn't have to be forty years. 
You can contribute more than $200 per month and aggressively pay off debt to free up even more money to invest and otherwise build your saving.

Investing for the future can be as simple and profitable as the examples provided above.
Or it can be as complicated as you choose it to be. 
Don't be like the people who think they know everything.
Those are the ones chasing every hot stock and the newest financial craze.

This last point bears repeating.
Regardless of how solid your investing is it still takes time.
The sooner you get started the sooner your money can make you more money. 
Thats the long term aim to investing.