Investing in stocks?

[yilduz]

I want to invest in stocks, I have wanted to for a couple of years. I've read a couple of books and looked through a few websites and I think I have a basic grasp of it. Obviously the thing I need most is experience, so I was just hoping I could borrow some from you guys.

I'm looking around trying to find the best site to invest through. So far I think I like Scottrade the best. Their rates seem low, they only require $500 to start with (I intend to start low so I don't lose all my money. The books told me to only invest with what I can live without) and their site is pretty easy to navigate. Anyone have any suggestions? Please keep in mind that I'm a newbie to stock investing.

Also, one thing the books and sites never really make completely clear is the process. What exactly happens, step-by-step, from opening the account to buying stocks and eventually selling them? What are the fees involved? I know there are fees, but the books are always vague on that.

I've also been told to invest in what I know and understand. Also, it seems best to invest in well established companies, so I'm looking to some of the technology companies I follow anyway to invest in.

Anyone have any other thoughts that may help me?

Thank you.

 

[Broker]

Paper trade first on sink or swim. Go on you tube and type in stocks etc and watch some videos. Learn all you can first, its very risky.

 

[forest]

Dont , dont invest in US stock market . PM me if you invest in others.

 

[camille7_7]

Learn as much as u can before u put any money in the market.....books are ok but it is also good to talk to people that have had a history in investing to see how much can really be lost or gained. Sometimes it is a shock to hear what can really happen.

As far as who is good to use to invest make sure to read all their FAQ pages and fees pages.

I personally use Firstrade because of the no minimum to open an account there and low fees but then again it is not the most known company so that may be a negative in the long run.

-Thanks
-Aaron

 

[priyakochin]

Before investing in stock market you must have a good idea about the market.

 

[sufi]

Learn a lot about market fluctuations etc. I have lost quite an amount in trading stocks so I wouldn't recommend it to small investors or to those who can't bear huge loss. You could try investing in Real estate because it always return good profit and a safe investment.

 

[yilduz]

I know it's good to learn about the market, I know it's good to know how things work, I know I have to know stuff - that's why I'm here, asking questions. If I knew people that knew the stock market, I'd be talking to them, but I don't, that's why I'm here.

Taking the advice of all those books I've read, I'm only investing what I can afford. I'm not hugely worried about losing all my money, I know bad things happen, but I'm not planning on investing in penny stocks to attempt to double my money over night. I'm looking at established companies, companies I've followed anyway over the years, companies I'm confident in. If they all happen to fail and go under, it wasn't meant to be. I understand there is risk and know that I can lose all that I put into it - but I feel it's important for me to get into this now. I feel it's important to start now because I'm still young and don't have the monetary responsibilities I will have in the future, and I want to know what I'm doing by then.

I've looked into real estate, but I don't have the money or investing experience for that right now. I've already thought about it and it's definitely something I want to get into eventually. In fact, I've looked at many different types of investments, and I want to eventually get into many of them. The stock market is where I want to start, though.

 

[maxeaus]

Although the fees are higher, it may be a good idea to pay for "full brokerage" services, in which you have a broker that gives you advice and helps with your trades. you could then get an idea how things work a little better.

If you are confident to do trades on your own, then go with a cheap internet broking service. I would say that now is the time to invest in several strong financial stocks, which have taken a beating already, this could be the biggest gainer over time (several years). This is of course if they do not go banktrupt tommorrow!

Maybe have a look what Warren Buffet is buying, and follow him, this is a good strategy i think long term. If you plan on investing now, i would strongly suggest you have the stomach for a wild ride in the short term. It may be wiser to wait until a sure upward pattern emerges for the stock market before diving in for the first time.

And please remember this is only general advice, trading in stocks carries large risk, please do not invest more than you can afford to lose. I am not Warren Buffet, i only wish i was!

 

[yilduz]

I just found out my boss invests a lot and apparently has a portfolio worth "a couple hundred thousand." He told me to go to sites like etrade where they have a tool you can use to "invest" pretend money into stocks just to see how the market works. That way you can watch the stocks you pick, see what kind of fees they charge, collect dividends when they come, etc...

I've gone to a few of those sites and can't find the tool he's talking about. Anyone know where I can find one of those?

 

[useless]

i am just in college and have been investing for some months now .... but have been making lil profit even in tis bad market

 

[cancerian]

Perhaps, this is what you want?

Virtual Stock Exchange

http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/Homepage.aspx

http://www.howthemarketworks.com/

 

[useless]

these are for the us ... any one has such for Indian stocks

 

[Keral_Patel]

Stocks I would rather invest in domains or real estate.

 

[Dangerman]

I recently found this site.
http://www.winninginvesting.com/basic_training.htm
I haven't had time to look thru it yet but looks interesting, and has links to other sites on this page
http://www.winninginvesting.com/best_investing_sites.htm

I also like stockcharts.com and http://finance.yahoo.com/ to find news on stocks.

I opened an account at qtrade.ca and just started trading. I didn't want to paper trade because I thought it might hinder me rather than help. I didn't want to have to unlearn bad habits from paper trading. Anyway, I'm a real novice and not that smart. I deposited money into a Canadian account and traded both Canadian and US stocks. It wasn't until about a month later when I realized I lost almost $5,000 just in currency exchange fees from buying and selling US stocks from my Canadian account. I noticed it when I bought 100 shares of a certain stock. It went up 2 dollars, so I sold it and found instead of making about $200, I had a loss of about $10 because of the exchange fees. I then put money in my US account....hey, I'm getting better already!...lesson #1..trade US stocks from the US account...duhh! Along the way I learned a few other painful lessons....like try to avoid earnings season...I bought UTX and CPHD just before they reported their quarterly earnings...so I check my stocks the next day and "what!!??!" It dropped off a cliff! What the heck is earnings season!? For example, tomorrow some people are going to be very dissapointed if they own RIMM. Check it out at http://finance.yahoo.com/ It dropped about $18 in after hours trading because of dissapointing results in it's quarterly report. I was actually considering buying some shares yesterday because of an expert's opinion on tv and also it's come down a fair amount recently, and looking at the chart, it seems like it could bounce up a few dollars from here,...instead it's going to open about $18 less...that's about an $1,800 loss on 100 shares in one night. I was thinking maybe I should buy tomorrow at the open and hope for a bounce up during the next few days which I think is a fairly reasonable bet but I don't think I'll do that since I'm trying to play it safe for awhile. A week ago I was down about $34,500... today it's about $10,000 less and I hope to break even eventually, ....by then I should be a lot better at trading stocks,..I hope. Obviously I'm still learning but feeling better and more in control but who knows...it's too early to tell yet...maybe I'm heading for a cliff and don't know it. It's a difficult time to trade but I figure the upside is if I can make trades and survive in this difficult market, that will help me to learn. My goal is to eventually get good enough to make an annual return of about 20%. Then I'll be one of those stock trading guys!. However if I can't make a decent profit or if I get tired of it or if it keeps taking up too much of my time I'll just let the bank invest it for me.

 

[useless]

now is the right time to invest ... with market low u only can gain

 

[holyroller]

now is the right time to invest ... with market low u only can gain

I wouldn't exactly call the market low, in fact there is still a long way for it too fall.

It is worth checking out forums like www.Trade2Win.com.

 

[exponent]

I've been investing in dividend stocks and a few growth stocks.

I've got 25 shares of WMZ (Williams Pipeline Partners), 25 shares of AHR (Anthracite Capital) and 10 shares of BWLD (Buffalo Wild Wings). My goal is to earn $100 per month from dividends by next September.

 

[yilduz]

These are the kind of posts I was looking for. Thanks guys, this gives me a lot to work with. Unfortunately, I have to get ready to go to work, but I've bookmarked all the links given and will look at them tonight. It really is a huge help.

Stupid work... >_>
Oh well, maybe I'll get the chance to talk to my boss about it a bit more today. Maybe he'll have some more words of wisdom. I'm getting all excited now. lol

 

[sundaybluez]

I belive playing small time scripts, small script also help you play safe in stock market.

As a minor change of .5 or .10 makes quite a lot of difference to the profit margin.

Blue chips are good but only when you have ample time to wait for your profit and have some good investment amount in your bag.

 

[CrazyTech]

It's dangerous to call a bottom right now, so be careful who you listen to. Yes you do invest low, sell high, but there are always exceptions. Just be careful and be aware of what you are doing right now. It's a volatile time.