evsoul

iTrader: (1)

yeah, its not about making money right now, more of a i wanna get the feel and learn it through experience. like i said just to see what its like.

and i would invest in individual companies based on the research of the market they are in etc etc. not saying all my money would go 100% into an individual company/'s

but i am reading a lot, and i will check out that book "The Automatic Millionaire" while i goto school i wanna have something to play with as i learn more. i just dont want to touch CD's and all that, not interested, i am 22 and want to be risky while i can.

evsoul

iTrader: (1)

i am not gonna take anything to heart. i am mainly just seeing if there are fellow investors out there that have a bit more experience to point me to some good books/sites and learning.

darkonion

iTrader: (31)

Yeah. Like the other said...

Don't day trade!!!

I am 20 and it is good that I started early. Learned a few lessons here and there. One of my other lessons is don't buy penny stocks. If you are uncomfortable with buying individual stocks, I would recommend investing in either ETF's or Mutual funds. I am assuming that you are in the same boat as me.

darkonion <--- poor college student

I know it might be hard at the beginning, but diversify!!!

I think it is also important that you keep the right mindset. Don't be an impulsive buyer/seller. Take your time and do your research.

Here is the link to the book. If you guys buy the book through the link, I get some "dismal" commission. :P

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...&link_code=as1

stevenkhau

iTrader: (11)

btw...i made bank on EBAY...lost most of it on Redhat.

<-- stoopid, I know...

Thank god for Baidu though

Oh and F#$% Lay and Skilling...ALL of my energy based funds tanked like by a 1/3rd when the **** hit the fan.

the market can be fun, but oh so stressful when you bite it...I can honestly say I understand why all those people jumped off buildings. it hurt from a big loss far outweighs the joys from a big gain.

ucbsti

iTrader: (9)

any mutual fund/money market suggestions? Looking to get a 8-10% return instead of the 4.5% from ING

evsoul

iTrader: (1)

ya im not really doing it to make money. eitherway i have a huge job waiting for me when i graduate so i just wanna learn. not investing enough to be worried about losing cash. maybe a grand to 2 grand.. which is a lot but not enough to jump off a building.

kdmai

Some great tips listed already. The number 1 mistake people usually make when investing is that they buy their entire position in one buy order. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. So let's say you want a 1000 shares of a stock. Do not buy all 1000 shares right away. Maybe, buy 250 shares, if it goes up, great. If it goes down, buy another 250...and gradually buy in until you get your 1000 shares. It's pretty much useless to predict whether the market will go up or down at any given time, so that's why you should slowly position yourself in. If you luck out and your stock skyrockets, get rid of a few shares, don't be greedy. Likewise, if it tanks, then buy more shares and average your cost down. Establish a core position that you will hold for the long term and trade partial positions as the stock moves up/down in the short term.

Jakes02

iTrader: (1)

i use scottrade and i have no complaints at all. stephenkhau i feel ya. i got burned with titanium metals(tie) but i jumped ship and i'm maintaining with bema gold(bgo) i have this little crappy company entree gold (egi) and they haven't been doing too bad. qwest(q) is slowly going to eat me alive i think. for anyone looking to get into the market in the near term....DON"T.
start an account with scottrade or whoever you choose and wait for the time the the stock markets falls more. ups and downs are a daily occurence so be ready BUT don't jump on a stock until it is really hurt. don't only read the charts. read the financials also!!!!!!
www.smartmoney.com has a bunch of info and you can open a free account and you can build a portfolio so that you can watch what the stocks you are interested in are doing. google finance also has alot of good info.
BTW the stocks i have listed above are NOT to be taken as financial advice. if you want to PM me i can give you more ideas for gathering information and what some things mean but cannot give stock picks. it's a good way to make a quick enemy. good luck

subie OCD

iTrader: (11)

If you need CD rates, Im your man. If anyone needs rates, send me a PM.

atc5

iTrader: (7)

who isn't?

That said, energy funds have been interesting to me for the last few years....

darkonion

iTrader: (31)

If you have 2k, and the money is intended for long term investment, try dropping it in an IRA. When I mean long term, I mean long term. That's like... when you are 59 1/2 or something.

There are two types of IRA: the traditional and the roth. Pretty much the difference is... one is pre-tax (Roth) and one is post tax(traditional). The nice thing about an IRA is that you can take a portion of your paycheck (something like $3500/year) and put it into the account (TAX-FREE). In other words, that $3500 that would usually be income taxed is saved tax-free. I am not exactly sure about the rules, but each year, I think you are allowed $3000 in capital gains (cash growth) tax-free. So, the first $3000 in each year in cash you make off your account goes tax free. You can't take money out... but at least it isn't being taxed as income.

Roth is slightly different. You are pre-taxed. Any contribution you make is taxed... but any growth on the account afterward is tax-free.

Anyone that is financial minded, please proof this and make sure everything is right.

My recommendation is open a Scottrade IRA account. You might want to ask someone on whether to get a Roth or Traditional. Drop an initial deposit of $600. I would recommend in investing in 2 bactches of $300. And just get the feel of it. When you feel comfortable, add more money and start investing in other items.

Here is a list of things that you might be interested in:

AAPL - Apple
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
ING - ING Group
C - Citigroup
T - ATT
GE - General Electric
PG - Procter and Gamble
SBUX - Starbucks
XOM - Exxon Mobile

All these companies are pretty secure. I doubt anyone of them will fold over within the next 10, if not 20 years. Do your research and take you pick. And if you can't decide, then just choose the company you would like to own.

stevenkhau

iTrader: (11)

You got the Roth and traditional backwards...well sorta. The Roth explanation is right, except, that's actually post-tax contribution. In any event, go Roth all the way. Put it in, play around with the money and don't pay any tax on the gains. Only problem is, you can't withdraw it until life isn't worth living any more

BTW...I dunno about AMD with the Conroe being released. And the prob with Apple is lotsa hype and marketing but poor returns.

But XOM and GE is gonna make bank!!!!!

Jakes02

iTrader: (1)

darkonion you have the Roth and traditional backwards. the advantage of the Roth is the fact that if you put 2,000 a year in then you are getting the interest for that 2,000. the traditional is pre-tax and you only gain interest on the remaining amount. i would agree that an IRA is the first thing you should do with extra money. $200 a month will let you retire wealthy.

Jakes02

iTrader: (1)

stevenkhau you beat me, lol.

qwest is gonna start wreckin shop.

darkonion

iTrader: (31)

Thanks guys. I knew that I had something backward. My brain was pretty much fried. I have been studying the same stupid subject since 8 in the morning.