want to start investing

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mike82

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i'm 25 and want to start investing in the stock market. i have zero experience/knowledge in this and am looking for someone to point me in the right direction to start. any good books/reads would be great, but something that can actually get me started doing things not just reading about it.
 


I'm sure some people here probably dabble in stocks but why not try a stock market forum??
 
try this site www. howthemarketworks. com
its virtual stock trading.
it made me realize that i dont want to invest in the stock market.
 
Watch CNBC (everything except Jim Cramer), read a Peter Lynch book, and read the 30 minute market summaries on Yahoo Finance.
 
invest in a low or no fee index fund . . . put the money in and forget about it .. for 10 years or so .. .altho this might not be a good time to get into the us market.. . .anything overseas might be good, or gold .. . times are going to get a bit bumpy .. .

maybe buy guns .. .
 
I trade/invest in the stock market and times are pretty rough right now. The nasdaq has been down every day (8 straight sessions) this year so far. Pretty much everything but gold and oil (and some solar and drug stocks) have been getting hammered recently.

Here are some things you can do...

1. Create a stock portfolio at yahoo.com to track your stocks (pretend) and get a feel for how things are trading
2. Learn to read a balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows
3. Learn what all the ratios mean
4. Listen to some conference calls on some companies
5. Keep CNBC on the television while you do your internet marketing stuff (this is what I do)

Books are good to get a general understanding of how the stock market works and to understanding terminology, but there is also a feel aspect to the stock market as well, so I recommend creating a yahoo stock portfolio and just watch how stocks trade for a good 6 months before actually investing any real money.

Here are some names that I like for you to watch...

ABX - gold miner
NEM - gold miner
LMC - copper, zinc, nickel, lead miner
WDC - hard drives
HOKU - solar (extremely volatile, but fun to watch)
AOB - chinese pharmaceutical company

This should get you started...

Andrew
 
If you're serious in wanting to get into investing as a profession / serious hobby, go the amazon or books a million and get a few books: Anything by Benjamin Graham -- definitely "The Intelligent Investor". If you totally want to geek out on becoming a financial guru, start out with some basics -- Dave Ramsey! I learned about all of this after I found myself enslaved in debt with a boat payment, two car payments, etc ... If I could grab any 25 year old by the neck, i'd tell them to avoid these costly mistakes! Stay low and avoid any type of loans if you can ... It's hard in our society, but man, its nice to actually _own_ things vs renting them at interest!

By the way, once all this mortgage stuff blows over, bank stocks will rise. I'm investing heavily in regional banks right now and I have a feeling in late 09, early 2010, my portfolio is going to be pretty happy :)
 
mike82 said:
i'm 25 and want to start investing in the stock market. i have zero experience/knowledge in this and am looking for someone to point me in the right direction to start. any good books/reads would be great, but something that can actually get me started doing things not just reading about it.
Click to expand...

1st advice: don't listen to advices on the internet.
2nd advice: only play with money that you can afford to lose.
3rd advice: see advice #1

forget about paper trading, paper trading will teach you nothing because on paper we are all millionaires.

get some $500, throw it into an online broker account and pick your choice of a stock. and there the journey begins: why did you make this choice, where will the stock go to, and so on and so on. all those wuestion are to be answered and the answer won't come by itself.

now, you are either dumb and don't care (that is cool, if you are still profitable then let me invest some some money into your trading book, because obviously you are one lucky guy) or someow you do care and want to know those answers to these questions.

soon enough, you will find, that this is either the job of your lifetime or that you are bored/frustrated for life.

however, there is a very true saying: once the cab drivers start talking to you about the markets, it is time to sell short.

for the moment being, a lot of cab drivers talk about the markets.
 
Try this warriorforum.com... They have the best people to sell ebooks about stock investing and trading.
 
mike82 said:
i'm 25 and want to start investing in the stock market. i have zero experience/knowledge in this and am looking for someone to point me in the right direction to start. any good books/reads would be great, but something that can actually get me started doing things not just reading about it.
Click to expand...

Wickedfire is a stock marketing forum :eek: i never knew that hehe! theres something new everyday!:bowdown:
 
If you want to get a quick education that will make you good returns, please read this article.

'Lazy' portfolios beat benchmarks again; here are top performers - MarketWatch

The gist is that index funds that track the overall market consistently beat the gurus.

Start now, get a Roth IRA going, and start putting the max allowable each year (4000 bucks) into a set of index mutual funds. The compounding interest over 30-40 years will make you a TON of money.
 
cyberworkspace said:
however, there is a very true saying: once the cab drivers start talking to you about the markets, it is time to sell short.
Click to expand...

great quote,and so true :)

beside that,if you want get into trading/investing seriously,do your homework.
get some books and learn the in and out of the stock market and the market in general,learn about trading psychology (thats a main point where many ppl fail when they start out trading),elaborate a trading plan with money and risk managment,do research on the stocks in your niche you plan to invest or speculate in(wich are 2 different things),find the right time frame wich fits you to trade(day trading,swing,long term,investing ?),start to invest everyday a few hours and read the charts,news and analyze what you see,learn about fundamental and technical analysis,and the list goes on....
IMO if you want to trade seriously give yourself a year to learn and understand!! the basics how the financial markets work.
if not,the money will be better spend at vegas,its more fun,that for sure ;p
few points worth to remind:
dont bet on the markets,if you dont know what you are doing or why you are buying x stock,dont do it.stick to your trading plan,for betting see the above vegas comment.
NEVER invest on loans.
NEVER invest money you cant afford to lose.
NEVER invest if you arent in a stable financial situation.
good books to read:
"Trade your way to financial freedom" by van k. tharp
"Emotion free trading" by Larry levin
"Trading for a living" by Alexander Elder
"Come into my trading Room" by alexander elder
"Trading in the Zone" by Douglas Mark
"The Disciplined Trader" by douglas mark

all of those aim specialy to the new trader and deal in a big part with trading psychology.

other worthy reads:
"Reminiscences of a stock operator" by Edwin LeFevre;its from 1921 and a great read :)
"Stock Market Wizards" and "Market Wizards" by Jack Schwager,interviews of top traders.
and one of my favs, even it doesnt have much to do with the markets:
"Secrets of the Federal Reserve - The London Connection" by Eustace Mullins,originaly by Ezra Pound.this one actually should be a must read for every US citizen.
if you need a download link,drop me a pm.
final note,be prepared to pay your "school money",everyone does ;)

ps:if you just want to invest some $(ergo buying X and forgetting about it for a few years) then most of the above is off-topic and you should maybe look into funds,but to have some generel understanding of the markets cant hurt.
blehh long post
 
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