Hey i'm completely new to the stock game. I spent a few years studying real estate (fun stuff) and i've always been interested in trading stocks and as far as my retirement is concerned (which is way off) I'm going to need to know this stuff aswell as real estate investing to accomplish the goals i have set out. I've finally got around to getting my finances in order and have been putting money into a mutual fund earning an average a little over 10% a year i've got plans to either convert that fund into an IRA (no benefits at my current job) or open a separate account for that so i can start building that egg up. I'm looking at doing some independent trading to see if i can build some money of my own and am kinda finding all the information in this area overwhelming and i'm not sure were to start. With my current job i'd be able to day trade cause i usually work nights, i also want to look into longer term easy to manage investments aswell. The only set back i'm seeing right now (i know i'm not going to jump right in with the big players anytime soon) is lack of capital to invest. Everyone i've talked to (usually people who aren't into investing at all) say that you need a lot of money to start up and thats something i don't have. Are they right or not? (i'm voting for not) and were do i start(aside from checking out the articles/threads here which i'll be dedicating 30min to an hour a day browsing over the next few weeks) and are there programs/books that will help me to better understand what i'm getting into and help me make more profitable trades. Thanks in advance for any assistance you guys can give.
Start with 5K regardless of how much you really have. If you don't have at least 5K, save until you do. The 5K needs to be money you could light a match too and be nothing but pissed off. By that I mean, nobody likes to lose 5K, but you don't really need it to pay next months bills. Most of the intial 5K will be the dues you pay while learning. Trade small lots. Hope to cover your commissions and not get your ass handed to you too often. Start by reading these two books. Introduction to Technical Analysis by Martin Pring and Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy. Read both cover to cover at least three times before you ever make your first trade. Then jump in, the water is nice and warm. Watch out for the sharks! Good luck, in all seriousness. One more thing. You said you've got 30 minutes to an hour to devote. That won't due,not by a long shot. 4-6 hours a day reading, studying and observeing the market. Any less and you might as well go to a craps table and that's no B.S.
i agree with the captian, 5k will get u going, u can easily find 10 to 1 leverage and if u trade in tiny lots u can learn without loosing the whole 5k, but if u do loose it all, day trading probably isnt for u because u probably took too much risk before u were ready for it and day trading is all about self control
i like how you refer to it as a game...i look at it the same way. it is the most complex, most frustrating, most rewarding and punishing game on the planet. enjoy.
I highly recommend you don't waste your time learning to day trade because very few succeed at the retail level. You are better of getting another job or advancing your education to increase your retirement fund. There are almost no programs or seminars that will help you learn to trade, you are asking to get ripped off if you expect to get rich off a vendor's products. You need to find a mentor who is already successful to help you out if you want any chance of succeeding in a reasonable amount of time. You need 25k to day trade stocks minimum by the way. You probably will not listen to me, but good luck anyway.
Thanks for all the info so 5k is the start up eh? good deal i'll save for that. I'm not necessarily planning to focus on day trading. I'm thinkin more along the lines of month to month trading, finding businesses to hold on to for a little bit before selling them off for profits. Granted if i get good enough (i'm not crazy enough to start off trading day to day). I kinda figured the start up to invest success fully was gonna be kinda high (i know 5k isn't that high but from a 22 year old stand point its a little steep) but i waste that much money easily within a year so i'll just have to make it work . I'll probably just keep pumping money into my mutual fund till i get enough in there to draw out some to independently invest. As for the books they're on the list i do a lot of reading so that should give me something to do while i'm saving up that money. i'll be popping around the site picking up tid bits of info aswell. I'm also looking a building a little portfolio of ETFs just for shit to hold on to while i'm saving up so i have something to apply some of stuff i learn to.
While you are saving your 5k you can paper trade (no money) your strategy. This will let you test your strategy (but not your ability to execute it when real money is on the line). Don't fake it, try to make the decisions as though money was on the line and make a reasonable allowance for commissions and slippage when you "place" the trades.
http://www.realfasttrader.com/simulator.html Definately check that out, I think it's perfect if you want to hold overnight, it keeps the positions overnight on the platform, it's Das Trader Pro, which is pretty good. Check it out.
Awsome will do. I'm going to open an account after i get 500 saved up (which will come a lot sooner than the 5k) to get some stuff added to my portfolio (which now consists of 1 mutal fund ) but its not gonna be for day trading just adding to my current portfolio. I'll play with that money (it will be expendable cash none the less) while reading and learning the business (i'm a big reader and pretty fast learner) so i'll have some money building while i'm learning (thats the plan anyway) Thank you all for all the sound advice i've already ordered a couple of books including the ones listed to get some general info on the market and trading and charts and stuff.
ehh... you dont need 5k to start... do your homework and you can start with as little as your $500, you just have to be extra careful trading with so little money; commissions will rape you if you are in and out of your positions.... id suggest do some serious homework, pick a good value stock, stay in it while youre saving up more money... this will help you watch the market more intently because you will have real money in there and you will be on there all day 6 hours straight checking it i guarantee you.. basically my point is this; dont feel like you cant start until you save up 5K, get started now so when you have 5K you are ready to make it work for you