Hello everyone, My name is Daniel and I live in NC. I have been a lurker on the boards for a while and finally decided to make an account and start contributing to the board. I just wanted to drop in and introduce myself. I have not yet started trading as I have little time, money and experience but I feel I am finally ready to start. After reading numerous books, spent months on different boards trying to learn as much as I can before I start putting real money at stake I found ET to be most knowledgeable as far as other communities and look foward to being a member here. Here is my situation, and I take all the advise given so please, feel free to respond with whatever you feel I might need to know or anything. I am starting off with $300, and will contribute $300 each month. I know its not much but I am not looking to make huge returns. I am looking to not LOSE money. So what I was looking to start with were either ETFs or options, and I understand options would not be the first choice for most new investors, but I feel they are not as difficult to understand as they look. Any advise will be greatly appreciated! Thanks again, D
First of all let me congratulate you on spelling "LOSE" correctly. That's a good sign. You probably know this, but I believe that you need at least 2000 to trade - some brokers require more. Of course, to have some cushion and flexibility, I would suggest starting with more, say, 5-10K. I agree with you that options are not as hard to understand as people make it. Consistently making money with options isn't easy - but for me, generally it's easier than just trading the underlying. I suggest that you become familiar with various option strategies, especially simple spreads to get a feel for the option game. I think that your idea of starting with ETFs or options - perhaps ETF options is a solid way to start. Many of these markets are very liquid and give everyone including beginners a reasonably fair game. Trading can be made simple or complex. The difficult part is to develop methods that make money over time and different market conditions. IOW - it's pretty easy to make money on one trade, but try 100 or 1000s of trades and see how you fare. If you want to be a trader that is what you have to learn to do. Develop your own style, methodology. As you gain experience you learn to sift through the BS and learn. Ask questions. The idea is to make money - not to look brilliant on ET- lol.
Why the hell not? Thats crazy talk. Risk the whole lot, each month, go for a strong 4-8 bagger gain, or your kidding yourself, never beat fees and commisions. If there is anything you can find to actually DO with $300, then your in business, but i like the idea myself-one trade, per month, make it a winner, or else!! Plenty of time to learn in the meantime, too, a bonus, plenty of trade evaluation. I beleive my advice is sound, but I'm assuming this is a joke thread, of course.