Anyone invest in stocks?

[lucentenigma]

I am self employed so I don't have a pension or 401k to look forward to, so investing is the only way for me to secure a retirement. I opened a e-trade brokerage account about three weeks ago. I'm not trying to pay rent by trading stocks, I'm a investor. Anyways I did alot of research and thought I was picking winning secure stocks (yeah right). Well in the last three weeks I lost over 5% mostly due to Apple going down 11%. What I'm looking for is somone with more experience than me (I'm 26 with very little knowledge in the market) that might be able to give me a few pointers. Right now I'm thinking of ditching the Apple and buying some GoldCorp(GG). Or maybe I would be better off buying old baseball cards? My fees are $12 a trade so that comes into play also. Well thanks in advance for any help....
Lucent

[DaStooge]

If you are investing then you need to research for the long term. Look at the trends for companies over a long period of time. I wouldn't be too concerned with the loss after 3 weeks, most likely in the long run you will earn a return on your investment.

[arbycoffee]

Slotter is the pachitalk stock wizard

[linchris]

We don't invest in stocks, but funds we do. Funds are a lot stocks put together. We have done really good with the fund fcntx with fidelity. Like a 25% gain. It has been over a year and we have it in a Roth IRA so when we take it out when older then we do not have to pay taxes. We are in it for the long haul and at your young age you should be too. Put money in and leave it alone. That is what I would do.

Linda

[lucentenigma]

Thanks Linda. I have been looking into opening an ira or roth ira for the tax benefit. And yes I'm in for the long haul and once I put it in I'm not going to touch it. It just gets a little overwhelming sometimes, there is so much information out there and so many different things to invest in (stocks,bonds,mutuals,ect,ect.) and so many different ways to go about it. I guess that is why people have phd's and spend every breathing moment learning about the market.

[Tulsa]

You have to have insight or insider information. Being lucky doesn't hurt either.

[DaStooge]

You have to have insight or insider information. Being lucky doesn't hurt either.

just ask Martha Stewart

[poolenglish]

Just remember, the stock markek is legal gambling.
You can invest in a mutual fund which spreads you money to many stocks, which have a good record.
Or.... speculate on unknowns. It is all a gamble, but a mutual fund does not put all of your eggs in one basket. A Mutual fund would be a safe beginning for retirement.

[slotter]

I'm not a day trader who invests short term. And, on a 3 week purchase we're certainly looking VERY short term. You should research the companies you are thinking of investing in and if they have a good product and are financially stable, you'll likely make money by investing with them.

Some of my best investments over the years have been companies I've personally become involved with due to my own interests. I've bought Walgreen's -- worked there for a long time, Harley Davidson -- love my bike, Dish -- thought the satellite TV market was a good alternative to cable, and so on.

If there were any geniuses out there who knew exactly what to invest in they'd be very wealthy. Like anything else that is going to pay you decent dollars, investing takes a lot of hard work. Look at the companies and products you know of, study them and make an informed decision whether you should invest your hard earned dollars.

It worked for me, at least on a long term basis.

As mentioned above, investing in the market as a whole in a mutual fund is a good way to get involved and lessen the risk that comes from buying individual stocks. I recommend Vanguard Index 500 or another similar mutual for getting your feet wet there.

[luckydog]

Ebay stock has always gone up and has had a lot of splits

[coldluck]

A lot of people may think otherwise but I have been grabbing up G.M.C. stock, all time low but I think that will take a good turn down the road! as stated above it is just a legale form of gambling , I also consider the money I put in to a mutual fund 401-k and any other investments as Monopoly money...that way it doesn't seem so bad when the market takes a dip!

[slotter]

Have bought Ford at low points and resold at higher levels and done well by buying and selling . Ford and GM are right now pretty darn low. But, then again, Toyota and other car companies are making better autos and have have a better buyer perception, therefore Ford and GM should be hitting low numbers.

Oh, and LD, I acquired eBay a long while back and continue to hold it. It's done well, although it is off it's highs. I'm still thinking it has a long way to climb.

[luckydog]

My sister and brother-in-law have been buying low and selling high [Goodyear stock] for over 40 years.

Their broker told them it wasn't a good investment

She worked in a Goodyear tire store for years.

They have made good money on it

[deton8r]

I dabble in the market a bit. I got burned pretty bad a few years back and changed my strategy. If you don't have enough money to diversify, you should probably consider mutual funds or ETFs (exchange trade funds). I bought into the ETF for Brazil (ticker EWZ) last fall and it has done quite well for me.

If this is strictly for retirement, you should set up a Keogh so you can invest tax deferred. It's basically like a 401k for self-employed individuals.

[RKnarr01]

I just got involved in investing like 3 days ago and dropped 300 into EWZ. 300 isnt much but im 20 and in college so a hundred or so a month should get me started!

[linchris]

Here is a site that I found to be informative and if you have any questions you can ask.


http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?act=idx


Linda

[arbycoffee]

Thank you everyone allot of us old times learned some good info too

[jwegger]

Before you invest you need to look at your investment goals, are you looking at portfolio growth, income, or capital preservation. Each of these will have specific types of stocks that you would want to look at. Growth stocks generally have more risk, income stocks generally do not go up in down alot in price but they pay good dividends, capital preservation stocks generally hold their value well and have fair dividends.
If you know little about how the market works buy a couple of books and read about the fundaments, understand what makes the market work and how that will affect your investments. Once you decide how much you want to invest and how much you want to put toward each strategy then you can look at stocks that will fit your investment profile. You can get alot of free information off the internet, I like to use the stock scouter ratings on msnbc as a starting point. (Currently Apple is a 7 out of 10) they give you alot of information on the funadementals of the company and the outlook, risk/reward for many stocks. From there you can do your own research to pick stocks that are best suited for your goals.
If you have specific questions PM me and I'll do my best to help
Jim

[Hondopachislo]

I think I`m going to invest my money in a hearing aid company stock. Think of all the future "hard of hearing people" there is going to be. You can`t pull up to an intersection without someones stereo blasting away.

[Sid]

I think I`m going to invest my money in a hearing aid company stock. Think of all the future "hard of hearing people" there is going to be. You can`t pull up to an intersection without someones stereo blasting away.

one could always invest in a cemetary? People are always dying to get in.
(self groan)