what are stocks and how can i get started in it?

Question

are stocks like goods and merchandise ect? what do i need to do. im only 16, so this isn't gonna be like a ful time job. just want money i guess :) and i heard you can open an account with scottrade, but idk how it works and what i can do with it. any input is appreciated

Answer 1

Stocks are buying into a % of a company .
Most brokers need in the $5,000 to $10,000 range to start .
Begin by following yahoo finance and study the investing ed section .

http://finance.yahoo.com/

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Answer 2

At 16 years-old, it is a perfect time for you to begin investing.

Stocks are ownership of a company. Lets say a company issues 1,000,000 shares. You buy 10 of them. You are a 1/100,000th of an owner. This allows you to vote 10 times also. Although most companies that issue stock (well those worth buying) issue a lot more then 1 million shares, this can be sued to understand ownership.

Before buying stocks with actual money, I suggest using http://www.investopedia.com and building a virtual portfolio. It will show you the risks involved in stock ownership. if you handle your virtual portfolio correctly, you would do substantial homework before purchasing a stock. If you own a company, you should know exactly what they do, where they do it and if they are making a profit.

Mad Money on CNBC is a good show to learn about stocks. Also Jim Cramer's book; Mad Money, Watch TV Get Rich) is a good for information and so is Peter Lynch's Beat the Street.

Best of luck. This is a complicated game we play. I hope you take advantage of your youth and begin you path to wealth now.

Answer 3

If you're only 16 you might not be able to purchase stocks without an adult. Not sure, but here's a link for beginning investors.

Answer 4

read the following books first. they helped me out a bunch.

1) the intelligent investor
2) security analysis