Each one of these questions deserves an article, and I will address my solution for the latter. The decision of how much to send each month should be rooted to the assumption that regular purchases will be made over a long period of time. Dollar-cost averaging gives us great strength in risk reduction.
Most people choose to send the same amount to their selected companies every month.
This simple solution is effective because it not only lends itself to the automatic investment options many companies offer, but it also takes the guesswork out of the equation. When I considered this option, I understood the strength in purchasing a larger number of shares when the price was down. After all, the companies are selected with a time frame of ten or more years in mind, and we fully expect them to rebound from short-term problems. The determination is made by comparing the current price to the company's 52-week high and low. However, I ran into a problem using this methodology.