How hard is it to jump right into the stock market?

Is it diificult to make money in the stock market? I am looking to maybe do some trading on the side every now and then with Ameritrade or soemthing...Is the market very unpredicatable or can you be successful as long as you are keeping an eye on things (company news, etc.)?

It is not difficult to make money as long as you purchase shares in solid companies for the long term. Where people tend to loose their shirts is a). buying speculative stocks hoping for a fast killing b) buying and selling attempting to make a buck a trade. c) investing based on hot tips. d) buying at the top of the market and selling at the bottom.

The stock market is not something you can just jump right into unless you don't mind losing your hard earned money. Why don't you try http://www.Top10Traders.com - this is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in "play" money. Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors. When you feel comfortable with a stock that you have in your 'play' portfolio at http:www.top10traders.com then you can go out and buy the real thing. Good Luck!

you have to make sure that the company has been on the market for more than five years because there is a possiblity it will crash and come out, you have to research the company and see how well they do and what is their divident rate. good luck with investing

It's not too difficult if you're willing to put in some time to educate yourself. Just like driving, it's not too bad once you learn the basics and practice what you've learned.

So, congratulations on getting started. Itâ€™ll help you more than you know!

Your first dollars should be spent on getting educated on investing. You don't have to train to trade them professionally, but we are talking about your future here. So the more you learn, the more it'll help you! So let's start there. But it's truly up to you.

You ask a very broad question, so be prepared for a pretty long answer. Just take it in chunks!

How to invest depends on what you already know. We'll assume that you're beginning!

A good primer is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O'Neil. You can get it cheap just about anywhere. Itâ€™s widely available new or used.

Another good one is one of Jim Cramer's books (heâ€™s got a few).

But books will only get you so far. At some point, you'll also want to get at least a little training. There are some great education companies if you want to make the investment. Investools.com or optionetics.com are both very good companies as is tmitchell.com

For free, you can start by visiting thestreet.com and investopedia.com. That'll get you a pretty good primer so at least you'll understand what the markets are and what a stock is, etc.

If you get a chance, watch Mad Money on CNBC. Don't trade any of his picks until you track many of them over time. Just use the show to get you to understand some basics and get a feel for the market itself.

Next, subscribe to something like Investorsbusiness daily or something like that that can help you identify good stocks.

Once you understand stocks, go to 888options.com. It's a website that'll help you understand options (what they do, how they work, etc). You don't need to trade them, but the more you know, the more you'll see how options can really be the safest way to invest (once you're educated).

For discipline (which is crucial to successful trading), probably Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas or Mastering the Trade by John Carter

I know thatâ€™s a LOT to absorb. Just take it one step at a time for now. Start with a book or two to give you an idea of where to begin. Take your time, and let it seep in.

As you get up to speed, you should papertrade to practice (highly recommended). This should help reduce your losses in the beginning as you get used to buying/selling.

You can practice for free on almost any reputable broker site (optionsxpress, scottrade, thinkorswim, etc). And yes, you can definitely deal easily online.

Start slow, then as you figure things out, you can buy more shares.

Congrats again on getting started. If you have any questions, please let me know. I'll be glad to help you once you get started.

Hope this helps!

Investing can be a gamble for the uneducated. I would start by depositing cash with an online brokerage. (Fidelity, Ameritrade, etc) I would then pay a lot of attention to terms and definitions. Once you know what P/E and Book Value and other investment terms mean, you can start buying stocks.

You will find that there is no single winning strategy but thousands of losing strategies. That does not mean that investing has to be a gamble. You need to educate yourself and pay close attention to common sense. Most people buy stocks after they have already gone up.

Patient investors have a lot better chance at long term success than those who try to "time" the market.

Jumping into the market is not hard or few could do it. Thinking you can (or should) start day-trading right off is different. It is not a hobby to do on the side. Better to get your IRA invested in stokcs & get some inflation-beating assets in place. IAu - gold. SRO or SNH - Reits EAF - global stocks. Unpredictable in short run as people involved but long term trends clearer

It's not too difficult.... may take a week or two to have your account with a broker set up..... but other than that, not that hard.

The difficult bit is picking companies & successfully making some money on them... for that you need to pick up a few lessons on how everything works...... then spend some time doing research on some companies to potentially invest in
Try giving these sites a read before your cash goes anywhere near a broker:
http://www.fool.com/school/basics/investingbasics.htm
http://www.investopedia.com
http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/warrenbuffett/a/aawarrenbio.htm

The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, the most successful in the stock market forever says, buy and hold.
Buy good stocks and hold on to them.
Since he is the second richest man in the world, you might want to listen to him.
Day trading was hot when the market went up every day during the dot com bubble.
Invest. if you want to gamble, casinos are everywhere.
Dave

You can open an on line account and day trade. If I were you, I'd stick my money in a good mutual fund and watch the market for a while, look at what the fund is investing in, then open, as you said, an Ameritrade or Schwab or whatever account. But know what you are doing. If you day trade often, the fees may eat up a passel of your profits or enlarge your losses.

wanna get rich quick, buy lottery tickets. the stock market is brutal, and those who play w/o doing their homework lose, everytime.

stick with mutual funds and invest long term.

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