Mutual funds are a collection of stocks managed by a company that charges fees. They allow you to diversify your portfolio when you don’t have a lot of money, but their fees tend to be very high compared with the earnings you could get if you just invested in, say, and ETF (spider) that is based on a large segment of the market (such as the S&P500). ETF’s are individual stocks that are comprised of several other stocks from a particular industry, index, etc. Bonds are basically a tool that can be used to raise capital by governments and other entities. You buy the bond, and they guarantee a set payment after a set period of time. Bonds are slow growing, and often don’t keep up with inflation, but are safe investments. Stocks are ownership in a particular company… for example, you can buy 100 shares of interest in General Electric.