I want to start trading stocks this year, something that will give me a little extra money every month.?

I have absolutely NO experience whatsoever--very green at this! What are the steps I have to take? What broker is best to use or do you suggest that I do it myself? How do I add money to my account, analyze stock, see how it's done in person? I think I would benefit by seeing it done by someone! Currently, I would like to earn about $500 to $1,000 a month extra from it but, eventually, I would like to do it as my sole income. I am currently reading,"Teach Yourself Investing in 24 Hours" by Ken Little and will read "A Beginner's Guide to Day Trading Online" next. I would like to take some courses at the community college level but not earn a degree at it. Do you think I am doing the right thing and how might I improve in this process?

Day trading is very risky and very expensive. I recommend having your money managed by an advisor you can trust at a reputable firm (Merrill, Smith Barney, etc.) or even a local advisory firm. You will pay extra for it, but it saves you a great deal of time and worry.

If you have time to do it yourself, stick to highly rated mutual funds and ETFs. The key is to be diversified by owning large companies, small companies, bonds, international, etc. in all different industries. This allows you to be a long term investor and ride out short term volatility. Mutual funds and ETFs are the best way to accomplish this.

As with everything of value, you must master the basics. You must understand the basic economy and investing strategies.

There is no other way then through the hard work of learning I can show you what and how to learn, the rest is up to you.

Step 1.
First decide what kind of brokerage you want to work with. You can open a brokerage account in your bank,
with a large full service brokerage or an internet brokerage. I find when I get help, most people want to sell me
things that are better for them then they are for meâ€¦. So I use http://www.scottrade.com because itâ€™s cheap and
easy with low frills. I like their streaming quotes and I do my own research and make my own investments. But
any low cost internet brokerage service is fine.

Step 2. get a subscription to Barrons or Investors Business Dailyâ€¦ Don't worry about the cost, and donâ€™t skip
this step. Do this for at least 6 months or a year. At first, It seems a bit mysterious, but pretty soon you start to
understand the terms and things that investors are looking for and what they are afraid of.

Step 3. If you have some money to invest, put it in 3 month CDâ€™s right now. First the market is unstable and second you have some homework in Step 4 to do before you do any investing.

Step 4. Go out to the internet and search on the following subjects. Become very familiar with the concepts.
Asset allocation
Long term investing
asset correlation
dollar cost averaging
inflation
Roth ira vs ira
Large med small cap stocks
Value vs growth stocks
Indexed funds
No load mutual funds
ETF (also ETN and CEF all similar but with special differences)
Sector funds
Bonds, CD, preferred stock
dividends
International funds
emerging markets
commodities
Market cycles
volatility
Fundamental analysis
Technical analysis
Life insurance term vs whole
In most cases, I think it is wise to use indexed mutual funds and ETF to build the base of your portfolio.

Step 5 go to http://clearstation.etrade.com/ and sign up for a free account. Play around there by looking at
graphs and fundamentals. If you click on the graph names, you will get clear information about what the graph
is based on and how to interpret it. I think itâ€™s also a good idea to pretend you have $10,000 and start buying
and selling on paper. Keep track of where you are each day for a monthâ€¦ Itâ€™s a lot easier to lose play money then real moneyâ€¦.
WARNING: donâ€™t rely on technical analysis alone. These graphs are good at telling you WHEN to buy and sell, but now Whether or WHAT to buy.

Step 6. Itâ€™s always a good Idea to see a CFP (certified financial planner) especially if you have a family. But be sure to go to one who charges a fee, rather then one who gets paid a commission on your investments. Their job is to work for your benefit, not to sell you investments. They can cover subjects like employee benefits, insurance, budgeting, living trusts, 401k, taxes and real estate as well as investment types and investment types to keep away from.
But you can buy the CFP study guide at any book store and learn a lot about those topics yourself.

Always strive to do your own researchâ€¦ youâ€™ll find everyone sounds like an expert so take everything people tell you with a grain of salt. Itâ€™s not easy in the beginning but soon you will be the expert.

Donâ€™t get involved with day trading, futures, currency, options (unless you get stock options at work), commodities, annuities or other derivative type investments at this time. Wait unitl you have some experience.

Good Luck

Nothing wrong with getting involved with the market but make sure you treat your trades like a business not a hobby. Many investors go to books for information but not all of the tricks of the trade are taught. Investors Business Daily is a great source to review, but day trading is the quickest way to losing money for the inexperienced. For now Focus on winners and invest in what you know and understand. Also check out some sites that offer trading selection services, but first identify what style of trading will work for you. For example, are you a long term holder meaning a year or more or are you a swing trader, holding time from 2 weeks to 3 months and so on. Once you address your style then you will start your journey with the stock market..

Most retail investors lose $$ in the market & usually lose it to prfessional traders.
You will probably lose $500 to $1000 a month.

Reliance Money is offering most dynamic web based trading environment to its customers. Its trading website comes with special security features that provide ample security to the users. Reliance money provides the lowest brokerage rate to customers with features like special security features security token, which makes your online trading more secure.

Good god, stay away from day trading. People have lost their shirts, doing that, and I hope any decent how-to book on investing would strongly discourage it.

Do a lot more studying before you start to trade stocks. Seeing all of the questions you don't know the answers to, you're not ready to trade stocks, yet. Go to the bookstore, and read as many books on investing as you can. Read Forbes Magazine, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal, if you want to eventually make this your sole source of income.

I am not ready to trade stocks yet, either. I have bought shares in mutual funds--one for retirement, and one in the healthcare sector, whose purpose is to, as you said, gain some extra income.

I invest with Schwab, but I'm sure any of the other investment houses are also good. Just be sure to pick a place that pays its employees salaries and not commissions.

Trying to "day trade" is what a lot of beginners do, and most of them fail. Even professional traders are challenged. Consider mutual funds or at least ETFs instead.

First you should just study the market for about six months to a year so that you develop a sixth sense about it... and believe me you will develop a feel for it. Dont believe anyone without doing your own due diligence.
Please do not believe the BS espewed by the likes of CNN or Forbes or any of the main line media. They are followers not predictors of the future economy.
Do not day trade until you have learned to trade on a longer time frame. Most people lose when day trading.
Study both fundamentals and charts.
Right now is a very volatile time for the markets so it is a great time to study and observe them but a risky time to invest.
Here is a great unbiased site for any investor. Read the editorials by people who have been in the business for years.
http://www.financialsense.com/index.html

any internet broker is good, I'm using for years etrade
after you open acount you send check to etrade. for earning $500/mont you have to: invest a lot or risk hi,
Try to buy cheap stock with hig dividents first.
for example BTO $6. after a year return 18%
even if it goes down you earn, You could lern everything you self by spending same time, following, the news, and reading explanations from brokers on line. Good luck Janusz

With "absolutely NO experience whatsoever," I would suggest you take a serious moment to ask yourself if what you are considering (i.e. Daytrading) is the best thing to do. I have been investing on my own for 7 years and still consider myself a beginner and I would never risk my money daytrading. That figure of "$500 to $1000 a month" comes at a price, too. You'd have to be slinging around some serious cash ($100K or more) or taking those trades on margin, which I cannot stress enough that it isn't a good idea. You must remember that each trade, depending on which online or real-live broker you use, can cost you anywhere between $5 and $30. Then there's the taxes that are 30% of the money you get from selling (not just the profits) if you sell in the short term (less than 365 days, I believe).
My suggestion: Go to the library, ask the librarians to help you find articles about all those guys in 2000 and 2001 who lost everything daytrading and went nuts and shot up the places they were daytrading at. Then ask yourself if you want to risk it.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment:

Archive: Forum -Forum -Finance - Links - 1 - 2 - RSS - All RSS Feeds
The Causes and the Results. 0.014
Copyright (c) 2011 Financial Crisis Monday, May 28, 2012 - Terms of use - Privacy Policy