I would like to invest in stock, but I am a beginner. Where do I start?

Answer 1

Congratulations on getting started. It’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.

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 like Real Money (he’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 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). 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.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Trade can be made at etrade and a number of online brokerages. They offer cheap per trade fees but no advice. Access to research is key to investing wisely. A more conservative approach is DRIP direct investment nd Dividend Reinvestment Programs. In this scenario you send money directly to the company. These are usually big fortune 500 companies. This is a great wy to weather ups nd downs by a theory called Dollar cost averaging. Meaning thought all the ups and downs the stock should still obtain a 8%-12% return over the long term.

Answer 3

A LOT of people will tell you a LOT of things. That first guy did good with the IBD (Investors Business Daily) btw.

Go to http://finance.yahoo.com
You can research all publicly traded companies around the world and get most of the information professionals like myself have.

Now, first, I'd just get and ING Savings account - ~5% interest and the money is liquid and you'll never lose it.

Beyond that, I'd go with a giant that's down on it's luck right now... Like FORD MOTOR CORP (stock symbol:F). They HAD a dividend that got cut down, and they've been losing in sales, but there about a century old, weathered the Great Depression and the fuel crisis of the 80s, and they're LOW. I'd hold them for the long term.

www.scottrade.com is a good company to use for trades, it's cheap an efficient. I've used it myself.

DISCLOSURE: I'm retired and I've been out of the game for a while.
And, this answer is for entertainment purposes only.

Answer 4

i lost $$$ on the market, so u prob. dont want my advice; but i think i can give you a few tips

1) practice first on a free virtual account (see link)
2) understand the basics (see links)...
3) obviously, BLASH (buy low and sell high)
4) use websites like scottrade.com or vanguard
5) DON'T USE BROKERS, unless you can 100% trust him/her

http://www.virtualstockexchange.com/game...
http://www.investingtutorial.info/...
also try yahoo finance, msn money, and litwick.com

this is simple math that everyone should know:
lets say you buy 500 shares for $2.00 apiece; hence, 1000 dollars. Lets say total commission fees is fourteen bucks, for both buying and sellback. Hence, total costs are $1014.00. Thus, the break-even value (1014 divided by 500 shares) is exactly $2.028, but lets round up to $2.03 to be safe. Thus, you are gonna want to sell your original shares for over 3 cents higher. Certainly, the high the better, to maximize your profit (and compensate for all costs, like taxes and miscellaneous costs).

anyhow, let me end my answer here with two bits:
1) "do your homework" which means read up on the company's fundamentals (like its history, its competition, etc.)
2) if you are interested, also try to look for patterns in its price history (known as technical analysis; about 50% of modern investors believe this just bullcrap tho)

good luck, have patience; i'm no expert, but ive been in the trenches at least

Answer 5

If you don't want to use a full service broker, one that will guide you along the way, then you will need to do a lot of research. After you feel like you know the basics, set up a fictitious portfolio and trade it like it was real money. Try that for a few months at least, then dive into the mayhem.

Answer 6

Start with Motely Fool .Com and look at their Fool's School. It'll teach you everything you need to know, from reading a balance sheet to selecting stocks to finding a good broker.

Answer 7

www.wwipg.com

you can invest with a 100% guarantee, no risk like the stock market and you still can make as much

Answer 8

Check out http://www.mymoney.gov/
There are other links that will help.

Answer 9

maybe try www.nystockexc.com