Dec
16
New to Stocks?
December 16th, 2008 posted by
admin
I am looking for some advice on playing the stock market. I recently re-enlisted in Iraq and am well off financially for my age group. I have money in mulitple savings accounts that I continously add to every month and have no debt minus a credit card and a car loan. I currently have 1000 dollars that I would like to put into stocks. I know that this is not a lot of money for the stock market, but I want to start of with this and then add to every month or two. Im not worried about making a huge overnight profit and retiring when Im 25. I just want to continue to build a nice little nest for when I am older so my wife and I can live fairly nice.
What are some good books, magazines, online newsletters that I can read to get a good start?
What are some websites that I can use to help educate me in the stock market?
And what is some good advice for a newbie like myself? I would appreciate any help that anybody can provide. Thanks.
Mad Lab Capital, L.P. says:
December 18th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Book: any of Jim Cramer’s books….very straight-forward and understandable for someone unfamiliar with the ways of the market.
Websites: Yahoo Finance (fundamental info on particular companies), fool.com (commentary & reporting)
Aside from picking individual stocks, look into exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), which track an index or particular sector or industry. They are usually cost-effective, very liquid, and transparent.
If you pick stocks, stick with what you know/understand and don’t just take names from cocktail parties…very dangerous.
Pam says:
December 20th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I don’t know if this will help or not. Whenever selecting stocks or mutual funds, the main website I look at is morningstar.com. The stars that they assign is a good indicator for risk/return.
Also, when you do get started, do you plan on going through a site like TDAmeritrade? There are others, I use this one though. They have some good online information as well. If you send them $$, it basically is your own money market/savings account, and you are officially a member. Then you’ll have access to their resources. When you are ready to start dabbling in stocks, just “trade” ($10.99 per trade is the last I remember)….so many shares/at XX per share. I started dabbling in 2002 and have doubled my amount. But this is making only 5-10 trades per year.
gosh137 says:
December 21st, 2008 at 12:32 pm
For someone brand new to investing I suggest first read “Investing for Dummies” by Eric Tyson. Web sites: Vanguard.com. Click on “go to site>>>” click on “Planning and Education” tab on upper right. 2nd web site: .
For first investment: You should have a well diversified first investment to start a “nest egg.” Most no-low mutual funds require about $2500 to start, but there is two places (that I know of and have {in my opinion} good investments) to go to. One is T. Rowe Price (www.troweprice.com). They allow you to invest as little as $50 a month, each month until you reach their usual minimum of $2500. That have (in my opinion) very good “Target Retirement” funds that may be good for you. 2nd) Vanguard, which usually has a $3,000 minimum only requires $1,000 for its well diversified “Star” fund.
Empire Publishing says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:35 am
I would recommend any book written about Warren Buffet. They are all pretty much the same.
Empire Publishing
secnotes.talkspot.com
SMEAC says:
December 26th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Think of the markets as a gambleing casino,the risks are to great for nest egg purposes.Stick to fixed income securities like Gov Bonds or CDs or no load insurance annunities.
BlackThought says:
December 27th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
learn the psychology of trading, technical analysis, fundamental analysis. test yourself using a stock simulator until you think you’re ready.
Kilgore says:
December 29th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I would agree with mad lab (I gave a thumbs up or Pam) except for your situation. You will be oversees and your access to your stocks aren’t as easy as they are here. If some very bad news hit one of your stocks can you dump it? I might recommend taking a spider stock that tracks the DOW or Nasdaq. (QQQQ) If you can track your stocks, the resources listed by all of the previous posters is good, I’d add the Investor’s Business Daily to the list. Monday’s edition’s are more informative than the others. Stay safe over there.