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Trying to get into the stock market
Posted on 10/25/12 at 10:49 am
Posted on 10/25/12 at 10:49 am
Now that I have a job and am starting to save money, I think it would be a good idea for me to invest some money. Since I'm new at it I want to start off very small. I'm thinking $100-$200 to get me started and aclamated to how the market works. Any tips on how to invest, where to go to get good information on trends and projections, and good cheap stocks to get me started? Any help is appreciated
Posted on 10/25/12 at 10:51 am to Tiger1242
My advice would be to save up to at least 1000 dollars because at 100 and 200 dollars any profit you make will be eaten by brokerage fees. Now once you get to 1000 I don't really have any advice. I've doubled my money once and lost half my money once. I just got lucky.
Posted on 10/25/12 at 11:07 am to reb13
quote:
My advice would be to save up to at least 1000 dollars because at 100 and 200 dollars any profit you make will be eaten by brokerage fees.
I've heard similar advice, that I need at least $500 to invest. The thing is I want to find out if the stock market is something I can work well into making me money, or if I'm just going to bleed money into it. I would rather risk $100-$200 to find out which type of person I am, rather than $500-$1000, even if that means my return on investment is minimal at first
Posted on 10/25/12 at 11:32 am to Tiger1242
Of course you're going to bleed money into it. Everyone does. The question is, will you take more out than you give back? I don't think $100-$200 is nearly enough to make for a relevant trial run. Besides brokerage fees taking out 5-10% of your bankroll, assuming you do just one trade to buy and hold, there's not enough risk involved to make it much different than doing a fantasy trial. Plus, it severely restricts the stocks you can buy. Finally, I think it would be a mistake to conclude anything from some limited experiment like this. I mean, so what if you invest $200 and cash out at $300? Does that mean you're good to go? And what if your $200 drops to $175 or something, you get nervous, sell, and watch it go to $250 in a few days, if only you would have held? And what if $200 is small enough that you won't care if it drops to $100 on some bad news, during which time, it might have made sense to take a loss at a higher level? With only $200 to invest, you're going to be limited in the trades you can do, and you won't get a very representative experience of all the things that can and will happen when you start doing it for real.
Posted on 10/25/12 at 11:39 am to Spock's Eyebrow
quote:
I don't think $100-$200 is nearly enough to make for a relevant trial run. Besides brokerage fees taking out 5-10% of your bankroll, assuming you do just one trade to buy and hold, there's not enough risk involved to make it much different than doing a fantasy trial. Plus, it severely restricts the stocks you can buy. Finally, I think it would be a mistake to conclude anything from some limited experiment like this. I mean, so what if you invest $200 and cash out at $300? Does that mean you're good to go? And what if your $200 drops to $175 or something, you get nervous, sell, and watch it go to $250 in a few days, if only you would have held? And what if $200 is small enough that you won't care if it drops to $100 on some bad news, during which time, it might have made sense to take a loss at a higher level? With only $200 to invest, you're going to be limited in the trades you can do, and you won't get a very representative experience of all the things that can and will happen when you start doing it for real.
Hmmm this makes a lot of sense actually, I guess I should suck it up and put some actual money into it...
Posted on 10/25/12 at 11:40 am to Tiger1242
edited to delete duplicate post
This post was edited on 10/25/12 at 11:42 am
Posted on 10/25/12 at 11:47 am to Tiger1242
You should Dollar Cost Average $100 a month into it for the next 30 years. Buy good mutual funds and hold on to them. Thank me later.
Posted on 10/25/12 at 11:52 am to Tiger1242
Also, ignore any tips anybody posts on the money board for penny stocks.
Posted on 10/25/12 at 12:45 pm to Broke
quote:
You should Dollar Cost Average $100 a month into it for the next 30 years. Buy good mutual funds and hold on to them. Thank me later
This
Start learning by researching to find a good mutual fund. Look at diversification vs return and look at what stocks the fund invests in and figure out why.
Posted on 10/25/12 at 1:24 pm to Chris4x4gill2
quote:
quote: You should Dollar Cost Average $100 a month into it for the next 30 years. Buy good mutual funds and hold on to them. Thank me later This Start learning by researching to find a good mutual fund. Look at diversification vs return and look at what stocks the fund invests in and figure out why.
Don't forget about fees. IMO low cost index funds are better than a "good" mutual fund.
Posted on 10/25/12 at 2:28 pm to jmtigers
quote:
IMO low cost index funds are better than a "good" mutual fund.
But do they perform better? That's what I thought. Loaded question
Posted on 10/25/12 at 2:37 pm to Broke
Go with Broke's advice. Dollar cost average into a strong blue chip index fund for the long haul and FORGET about trying to pick individual winners or time the market.
Posted on 10/25/12 at 2:41 pm to Broke
quote:
But do they perform better?
Mostly, but astute selection of mutual funds may produce benefits.
Posted on 10/25/12 at 3:28 pm to Tiger1242
(no message)
This post was edited on 1/12/13 at 9:06 pm
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