I'm kind of new to the scene of investing, but my competitive nature has me wanting in on this. Anybody have any tips? I really am starting from scratch, so any and every opinion will be accounted for.

I also would like to know more about this from anyone who is or has invested. I am in the same boat as @BoyWonder with this.

My first word of caution would be that it's not a competition. Not between you and others. Not between you and the market. That mentality could lead to bad trades for the wrong reasons.

With that said, educate yourself before investing. You don't have to be able to sell the business' financials and their future to Wall Street analysts but you should have a high-level idea of what they do and what others think.

 

Do NOT rush. Don't worry about "getting in at the right time." Classic mistake.

 

Don't try to time the market. Classic mistake.

 

When you find a good company buy it. If you really like it a price variation of a dollar or two shouldn't matter unless you are trying to make a quick buck(another classic mistake).

 

I use Motley Fool as my source of info. There are others. Read them. Try to digest some of what they are saying. Look up things you don't understand. Ask others that you trust.

 

Think long-term if you're buying a stock. Remember - you're buying a business.

 

I rarely check my stocks to see what it is doing. I'm long on all of them. Occasionally, I sell off some that I've given plenty of time to perform but they have not.

 

Don't be too quick to take a profit. You can cost yourself a lot more profit.

 

Consider using an advisor. I don't but plenty do. However, I'd caution you that if you're just beginning you probably have a very small amount to invest. You are not going to get the needed attention of an advisor. It's just the way it is.

 

Do not invest ANYTHING in the market until you have saved enough money to pay for emergencies. Your car is going to need work at some point. You may lose your job or part of your income. The refrigerator needs to be replaced.

 

General rule of thumb is 6 months worth of monthly expenses.

With that said, educate yourself before investing. You don't have to be able to sell the business' financials and their future to Wall Street analysts but you should have a high-level idea of what they do and what others think.

 

Do NOT rush. Don't worry about "getting in at the right time." Classic mistake.

 

Don't try to time the market. Classic mistake.

 

When you find a good company buy it. If you really like it a price variation of a dollar or two shouldn't matter unless you are trying to make a quick buck(another classic mistake).

 

I use Motley Fool as my source of info. There are others. Read them. Try to digest some of what they are saying. Look up things you don't understand. Ask others that you trust.

 

Think long-term if you're buying a stock. Remember - you're buying a business.

 

I rarely check my stocks to see what it is doing. I'm long on all of them. Occasionally, I sell off some that I've given plenty of time to perform but they have not.

 

Don't be too quick to take a profit. You can cost yourself a lot more profit.

 

Consider using an advisor. I don't but plenty do. However, I'd caution you that if you're just beginning you probably have a very small amount to invest. You are not going to get the needed attention of an advisor. It's just the way it is.

 

Do not invest ANYTHING in the market until you have saved enough money to pay for emergencies. Your car is going to need work at some point. You may lose your job or part of your income. The refrigerator needs to be replaced.

 

General rule of thumb is 6 months worth of monthly expenses.

 

Lots of excellent advice here.

Lots of excellent advice here.

 

And as my guy RP will tell you get as much debt paid off as possible.

 

You should have no credit card debt because that interest just kills you.

 

He and I will disagree somewhat on paying off cars and house immediately but the overall thought of "low debt" should be in the front of your mind.

Clyde has all valid points.

I think you also need to set your goal. Are you looking at this as retirement, saving for a house, etc.

Patience is key. Always good to buy once a month versus all at once. That way you are average buying, not risking the high low buys Clyde referenced.

I tend to buy things I believe in. If you drive by a restaurant and you eat the and enjoy it and it always seems busy. Look into it.

If you don't buy Fords, why would you buy their stock?

Clyde has all valid points.

I think you also need to set your goal. Are you looking at this as retirement, saving for a house, etc.

Patience is key. Always good to buy once a month versus all at once. That way you are average buying, not risking the high low buys Clyde referenced.

I tend to buy things I believe in. If you drive by a restaurant and you eat the and enjoy it and it always seems busy. Look into it.

If you don't buy Fords, why would you buy their stock?

 

And don't listen to just one person. TAC knows what he is talking about but we disagree sometimes. I would NOT say to not invest in Ford just because you don't drive one.

Another I used to consider when I was a rookie:

 

Looking for stocks with a low price so I could buy a lot of shares.

 

You're not investing shares. You're investing money. I once bought one or two shares of Warren Buffet's company and the share price was about $3,000.

 

You need to look at it as: I have X amount of dollars. How can I grow that the best? If it's 1 share , great. Do not fall into the trap of "if I can't buy 100 shares then ...."

 

I bought 40 shares of Netflix a few years ago. Cost me about $1200 total. Now worth $34k.

 

P.S. Don't get hung up on people's home runs like above. Those people that yammer about their big ones also have ones they don't want to mention. It happens.

And don't listen to just one person. TAC knows what he is talking about but we disagree sometimes. I would NOT say to not invest in Ford just because you don't drive one.

Agreed, I don't drink coffee but Starbucks has just about doubled for me. Pay attention to things that are getting popular and things you know about.

 

 

All the posts above are good advice and each person has their own way of doing things. Read a lot and figure out what works for you over time. Sounds like you are likely young and a ways away from retirement. I would be 100% invested in stocks with some mutual funds mixed in.

Penny stocks are a waste of time.

....

 

Make a lot.

Save a lot.

Think long-term.

Don't look at it as "being competitive".

 

The one place Clyde and I disagree is how to manage the portfolio. While managing it yourself works for Clyde, I would tell you that is a bad idea for 90% of the population. Everyone has 50 "financial planners" in their phone's contacts, and I would tell you (strongly urge) not to use any of them. Don't give your money to a friend or family member to manage. Find the biggest and best person you can find that will take your account and trust them (after vetting them thoroughly).

Agreed, I don't drink coffee but Starbucks has just about doubled for me. Pay attention to things that are getting popular and things you know about.

 

As you know, I'm right there with you on Starbucks. I've had less than 3 sips of coffee in my life, but purchased Starbucks several years ago after reading about their plan to grow into China/Asia. It was simple, really. Starbucks is extremely popular; coffee is addicting; and there are a TON of people over there. So I bought the stock and it has paid off.

My first piece of advice would be to invest in good companies -- and it's even better if those companies pay dividends. This goes hand in hand with thinking long-term. A stock's price is volatile, but dividends are consistent. When the stock market crashed in '08, I tried to focus on "blue chip" companies that pay regular dividends. I then programmed my account to re-invest those dividends into the same stocks, automatically purchasing new shares for me.

Probably worth taking a look at ETFs. It's not as "fun" or "competitive" but it will allow you to grow your money with a market instead of trying to beat it (which most people don't). I feel like I'm young enough I can ignore my own advice here and stay in stocks, but I own some index funds to balance it out too.