I am a long time lurker here and hope this thread doesn't draw mass flaming. I rode the real estate boom in sw florida since 2000. I quit my job and started buying and selling homes and made a nice living. In 2005 I made more money than I thought ever possible. Last year it was scary how little I made and just today I sold my last home and escaped the falling prices here. I am not at all interested in going back to a 9-5 life and love self employment. Im sure you are asked this too often but where do I start? I watch cnbc and they are having a fit over this market and say it is a wave and we need to ride it. I have a nice chunk of change and no debt and have paid off my home so I have time to learn. Thanks for any help.
Where to start? 1) Don't spend a DIME until you can show steady paper profits. You can lose your money a lot faster trading than in real estate, if you don't know what you are doing 2) Regardless of what people say here, I sense that most people don't really make a living from trading. Some do, but most do not. 3) Many will tell you to stare at charts until you know what makes them move. Many people do this and still never get it I think you can get there a lot faster by riding on the work of others. There are a few advisories/systems (stock, forex, futures, etc.) that do outperform. The moderators are sensitive here, so if you private message me, I will tell you a couple of places that monitor advisories, and you might be able to find a couple to subscribe to... 4) LEARN & EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT TRADING. This site is a good primer (someone sent this to me today, actually): Thoroughly study all the links under "ChartSchool Table of Contents": http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school Many will give you advice, only some of it is useful, so take care with this...
I would be happy with greater than 5% growth. I honestly feel left out watching the markets and have an interest understanding it. I have a propensity to gamble so I fear day trading. Used to do sports gambling until it was outlawed. Lots of scalping.
Invest your cash in dvy. This is a solid investment with 3% dividend. It can nicely substitute real estate for some time. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=DVY&t=5y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=
Yes, you need to open account with one of the stock brokers. You can find their advertisement images in the link above.
The best f'ing advice you will get on here. Maybe paper trade for a few months and see if you can break even, then trade small. good trading! el surdo
Depending on your modus operandi in real estate I suggest you apply the same philosphy with the market only because it may be a personality fit. If you rehab houses, this may be a several year project till payday, so goes the value plays in the market (good luck, locating the undervalued just as in real estate). If your a flipper you may still be with the same stock for some months, you'll be searching for catalysts to move a stock in the near future. If you want casino action, woo woo, the market has it all.