Where the HELL do I start.....

You gotta start somewhere.

What I might advise is to set up an auto deposit to a place like Ameritrade..if you have 200 to start and can afford 100 a month, then do that..get signed up, deposit some money, let it build while earning interest until you either want to buy a mutual fund, or a stock (preferrably a fund) and get going that way.

The most important advice I could give you though is if you are only investing a small ammt a year, make sure you invest in an IRA..if you can make it a Roth. Tax free growth in a Roth and it is building for retirement.

Thanks for the help so far guys, as for a 401k plan fish naked, I've worked for the railroad for almost 10 yrs now, and I've contributed to my 401k plan for 8 of those yrs at 8%. Funny thing though, billion dollar railroad can't even match a contribution, what kind of shit is that?

I have a savings account with E trade, but that's with my girlfriend, so I'll probably start another one thru them, lol, and start building before buying some mutual funds.

Like WS said, make it a Roth if you qualify under the income limitations.  You can contribute up to 4K for 2007 (thru April 15) and 5K for 2008.  If you wanted you could automatically have it contribute a certain amount per month and then buy the same fund.  Maybe just pick an index fund.  The important thing is to save.  Can't go too terribly wrong with an index fund or a target date fund.  If it's long-term savings, a retirement (Roth or Traditional) is best so you don't have to worry about taxes for trading in the account and dividends and cap gains.  It's all deferred.  And with a Roth, you can withdraw contributions at any time tax-free and then can withdraw everything tax-free at retirement.  A Roth is a no-brainer if you qualify and can afford to save IMO.