I agree with some of the resources listed here. I'd prefer Investopedia over Fool.com, since Fool is always trying to sell you something.
Go to the library and get books from Ric Edelman, they are entertaining and filled with good advice. Personally, I'd steer clear of Suze Orman, but many find some of her advice helpful.
Learn as much as you can. The more you learn, the more educated discussions you can have with a professional advisor if you choose that route.
Trading, btw, is not for everyone. Trading can be costly from a tax perspective and it can be very difficult to analyze your overall performance. Low costs and tax efficiency are important.
If you feel overwhelmed, get some help from a financial advisor. But interview several before making a choice. If any of them A.) talk about product, or B.) ask you for a check, in the first meeting, leave! Find out how they are paid (fee-only advisors are NOT necessarily better than comissioned advisors, you just have to know what you are getting).
Go to
Stock Broker Fraud Blog :: Published by Houston Securities Fraud Lawyers Shepherd Smith & Edwards to read about pending cases/lawsuits against specific firms. This can give you some insight into their companies. Edward Jones, for example, who once offered me a position, got in trouble a few years ago, for the very thing I anticipated. EJ accepts money (bribes? kickbacks?) from mutual fund companies to be on their list of preferred vendors, and EJ advisors typically only sell off that list. So you are not getting the best mutual funds the market has to offer, you are getting the best EJ has to offer, from only those companies willing to bribe them. Ick!
And it's still going on today (it's just fully disclosed on their website).
As always, a good advisor is worth their weight in gold. And the bad ones, unfortunately, can cost you dearly.