how much can i realistically make in the stock market?

Question

I am currently a student and im just trying to save up to buy a decent car and some books. i have 2500 ready to invest. i already chose to use scottrade

Answer 1

It is pretty difficult to make money in the stocks over a short time period. If you are planning to use this money in the next year or two, you should not be in stocks, or even bonds for that matter. You should be in a money market account or a high interest internet savings account such as ones offered by Citibank or ING Direct.
If you are in the stock market for the short term, you can make a lot or more likely lose a lot, since the gyrations of the market are quite unpredictable short term, and if you have a deadline to pull the money out, it may not co-incide with a high point of the stock or fund you are in. Good luck.

Answer 2

With $2500 to invest with, you can buy 100 shares of a $25 stock or 200 shares of a 12.50 stock. If you do your homework and choose a stock that has a high probability of upward movement, you may make several hundred dollars. If you choose the wrong stock and it goes down, you may loose several hundred dollars or more.

The point is, it takes money to make money. Since you are a student, your time would be much better suited to accumulate more money and spend your extra hours studying and making good grades.

If you have $2500 to invest, put it in a good mutual fund, probably an index fund. There are many good ones to choose from out there. After you have an extra $10 or $20K, then that would be the time to start "playing" the market.

Invest your time in school and studying the market, so when you graduate you'll be well equipped to compete with the other players.
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Answer 3

IMO, you should not place money in the stock market that will be used for purchases a few years down the road. Stocks are volatile and thus you need at least 10 years to get the most benefit from them. Instead, stick that money in a money market account.

Here is an excerpt from my free book:

"Please do not confuse a long-term annualized return with a "usual" or expected return. The market usually cycles through extensive periods of low returns followed by extensive periods of high returns. Averaging these periods together gives us a number somewhere in the middle, even though the assets did not really behave in this manner during any given time period.

Over 200 years, stocks have provided an annualized real return of 7%. (Real return is the return above inflation.) But ask anyone who invested in the 1968-1982 period, when stocks provided a real 0.2% annualized return, if they thought stocks provided good returns? It sure didn't feel like it. That 14-year period was a crappy time for the market. In fact, there have been three separate 20-year periods in the 1900's when U.S. stocks provided annualized real returns close to zero, meaning that stocks only kept up with inflation during that time. It is entirely possible for this to happen again.

My point is that stock market returns are dynamic. Simply looking at average returns does not give you a feel for investing. It is more than just a mathematical mean. It is a rollercoaster ride with unpredictable twists and turns. Expect the unexpected from the stock market. There is no "usual" return." - page 183

"Lest we think the markets are always generous, check out the data for U.S. stocks and bonds in the 15-year period of 1966 to 1981. Inflation took away all of investor's gains. 15 years later, investors were worse off than when they started, in terms of the purchasing power of their money." - page 190

Anyone can download a free copy of my book from my website. Click on my profile and read my info to get the address. It took me 16 months to write the book, so the book's quality is pretty high.

Answer 4

60% of investing success comes from how the market moves. 30% from the sector the stock is selected from and only about 10% in stock selection.

My goal is to exceed the market average by doing better than the S&P and DJ30 averages. The vast majority of mutual funds do less than this. A indexed averaged fund comes out even. I was up 22% in 2006 compared to about 15% market average. I was ecstatic.

I have a broker but also like to invest through my Credit Union. They let me invest in a nice select of funds with very little service charge.

Answer 5

Many people make a living trading the markets. But you will make a common mistake if you think you can find that one stock or investment that will achieve your monetary goal in a given amount of time. That's no different from you finding out you have a kidney stone and you're going to operate on yourself and guess where exactly is it and how to take it out. Have more respect to the market. Once you do, you can realistically keep making the amount you need forever.

Answer 6

i made 10% in 2 moths. but becareful about commissions they will eat away at your profits.I'm only 15
An example
If you bought Apple on March 9 at 88 bucks today you would be up 40% on that stock and you probly have a ipod so look at something you know of.

Answer 7

expect to make a couple hundred over a couple months with safe investing.