How do i get started buying stocks?

Question

I am wanting to get into buying stocks but I have no clue how it works. How much money is needed? and if i start losing money does it mean i would end up paying or what. know any good sites with good information for beginners?

Answer 1

Congratulations on getting started. It’ll help you more than you know! 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 since you say you've got no clue!

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

Another good one is one of Jim Cramer's books.

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 that’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).

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.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

You can start an account at sharebuilder.com with no money - there is no minimum balance. You can always lose money if you invest in the stock market. But over the long term, the stock market outperforms most other investments (including real estate).

A great site to look at if you are looking for advice on investing is http://www.top10traders.com The site lists out which investors are doing the best and what stocks they have bought. Just click on the portfolio of the best investors and you can see the stocks they like.This is a totally free site. You can create your own portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in 'play' money, and then watch how your stocks compare against other traders. 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 at sharebuilder. Good Luck!

Answer 3

The answers you're getting are either poor or deceitful. Start by reading some good books. The "Dummy" series has some good ones to get you started. Then move on to some other books in the areas of investing that interest you. The last thing you should do is open a brokerage account. Wait until you understand enough to know what you need and want. Otherwise you'll wind up with a mediocre broker like e-Trade or Sharebulider.

Answer 4

www.investopedia.com < www.sharebulider.com <
start with as much as $10
seach for sharebuilder promo codes and you can get a free $50
the most you could lose is what you put in, you wouldn't have to pay more.
if you buy stocks at $50 and they go down to 0, you owe nothing and are owed nothing although this is unlikely to happen.
look into ETFs they trade like stocks but are less risky because its like a mutual fund but without the fees, but you still have to pay commission, sharebuilder has the cheapest commission... $4, they are for long term investors, set up an automatic investment plan.
look into QQQQ and SPY and DIA, they are the most popular index funds.

good luck

Answer 5

It's actually easier than it looks..... how much money is needed.... depends on the broker, and what they charge in fees..... with the traditional brokers, who charge around $10 commission fee per purchase, you need to buy at least $1,000 worth of stocks in order to (hopefully) quickly break even on your purchase and (hopefully) start making a profit on it. With some of the newer "discount brokerages", such as Sharebuilder.com you only need to stick about $100 or less on a stock purchase to break even quickly.
Remember - the more times you buy & sell stock, the more commission fees you'll have to pay. The more commission fees you pay, the more it'll eat into and / or wipe out any profit you make.
Also..... if somebody gives you a "hot stock tip", don't take their word for it.... consider it more of a lead to research into that company yourself before making up your own mind.

Before you choose a broker, first learn as much as you can about working the stockmarket from these sites:
http://www.fool.com/school/basics/basics.htm
http://www.investopedia.com
http://beginnersinvest.about.com/library/titans/bl-warrenbuffett.htm

You may also want to get some practise in with a fantasy portfolio (there are plenty of them games online if you know where to look), so you just lose pretend money rather than your own when getting the hang of things.

Then you can start choosing a broker, such as Sharebuilder.com (I use a UK version of it, operated by the HALIFAX).

While they process your application, start researching a few companies for your first purchase.... and use the portfolio service @ Yahoo Finance to set up a "watch list".
a good place to research (in addition to Yahoo Finance) is http://quote.fool.com
A few suggestions to get you started researching are:
Anheuser-Busch (BUD)
Walmart (WMT)
Union Pacific (UNP)
Coca Cola (KO)
Toyota (TM)
Vonage (VG)

And no.... if you start loosing money, you don't end up paying...... just get a Portfolio valuation with a "-" sign next to the total for that stock.

Answer 6

Penny stocks are loosely categorized companies with share prices of below $5 and with market caps of under $200 million. They are sometimes referred to as "the slot machines of the equity market" because of the money involved. There may be a good place for penny stocks in the portfolio of an experienced, advanced investor, however, if you follow this guide you will learn the most efficient strategies https://tr.im/e3f14

Answer 7

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Answer 8

try the motly fool. it a stock newsletter that teaches about investing.
Sharebuilders lets you by stock for as little as $10.- or try a site that letts you build a portfolio and trade with pretend monies

Answer 9

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Good Luck and Best Wishes!