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How/where did you learn what you know about stocks?
I've heard a lot about stocks and the stock market and want to know the best way to be successful on stocks? and how to know which stocks to buy? as well as at what age do you recommend buying a stock? Also, what is a good amount of money to put into stocks? #money #stocks #stockmarket #online
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6 answers
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Alyssa’s Answer
My company partners with a non-profit called "3rd Decade" to provide financial education for FREE to people between the age of 18-35. You will learn from financial experts on everything from budgeting to stocks and investing. You can learn more here:
https://3rddecade.org/faq/
I learned about stocks and investing in college and then once I graduated, I learned more when I started working for a mutual fund company. Learning from academics is the best place to learn and ensure you're getting good advice.
Be weary of investing in individual stocks - as others mentioned, investing in an individual stock is very risky and should be viewed the same as gambling in Vegas. If you have money to spare or can afford to lose it, then investing in individual stocks can be a fun "game". But if you're looking to invest to grow your savings for things like debt, college, a car, a house, retirement - then you should consider buying a well diversified portfolio like a Russell 3000 index fund or ETF. And it's never to early to start investing. In fact, the younger you start, the better! As long as you're investing wisely, you can really see your investment grow over 10-20-30 years!
https://3rddecade.org/faq/
I learned about stocks and investing in college and then once I graduated, I learned more when I started working for a mutual fund company. Learning from academics is the best place to learn and ensure you're getting good advice.
Be weary of investing in individual stocks - as others mentioned, investing in an individual stock is very risky and should be viewed the same as gambling in Vegas. If you have money to spare or can afford to lose it, then investing in individual stocks can be a fun "game". But if you're looking to invest to grow your savings for things like debt, college, a car, a house, retirement - then you should consider buying a well diversified portfolio like a Russell 3000 index fund or ETF. And it's never to early to start investing. In fact, the younger you start, the better! As long as you're investing wisely, you can really see your investment grow over 10-20-30 years!
Updated
Pete’s Answer
Knowledge of stocks and finance will serve you for many years if you learn early. The best thing to decide is how much money you want to spend and then how much of that you are ready to lose. Choosing individual stocks with little experience is the same as gambling. If you are not comfortable losing money, don't buy stocks! Initially you should research how financial markets work, the different types of offerings that exist, fundamental terminology, taxes you'll have to pay, and the various rules. YouTube or different brokerages have a lot of this information available, just beware someone trying to sell you a particular product.
If you want to jump in right away, it's very easy these days to buy index ETFs that let you own a slice of the whole market. You can buy the classic SPY S&P 500 ETF or each brokerage usually has their own flavor of these like Schwab's SCHB or Vanguard's VTI. There are many trading platforms that allow you to buy and sell these without commission costs. And the mechanics work just as if they were stocks, with less of the risk that comes with tying yourself to a single company's performance. If you do really want a single stock though you can probably find a slice or fractional share that lets you invest with amounts as low as $5.
Starting out - don't spend a lot, don't sacrifice your other more important obligations to buy stocks, and remember to keep an eye on how they are doing. You probably will not make or lose a lot of money right away, which is good! But if you find it fun you can grow your investments over time for when you need that money later.
If you want to jump in right away, it's very easy these days to buy index ETFs that let you own a slice of the whole market. You can buy the classic SPY S&P 500 ETF or each brokerage usually has their own flavor of these like Schwab's SCHB or Vanguard's VTI. There are many trading platforms that allow you to buy and sell these without commission costs. And the mechanics work just as if they were stocks, with less of the risk that comes with tying yourself to a single company's performance. If you do really want a single stock though you can probably find a slice or fractional share that lets you invest with amounts as low as $5.
Starting out - don't spend a lot, don't sacrifice your other more important obligations to buy stocks, and remember to keep an eye on how they are doing. You probably will not make or lose a lot of money right away, which is good! But if you find it fun you can grow your investments over time for when you need that money later.
Thanks for a response
Okayra
Updated
Taylor’s Answer
Majority of my knowledge of the stock market has been self taught. Reading articles on reputable websites like The Street or Bloomberg, as well as reading books. Jim Cramer has some great books for beginners that explain how the stock market works and what to look for when investing.
Thank you for a response
Okayra
Updated
Majid’s Answer
I would encourage you to watch and learn from Warren Buffet. Stocks have really shown to be the best if you have the patience to wait, and the money to invest in. That money must not be interfering with your expense needs and shoudnt bother if you lost it even though in the long term investing you wouldnt at all. Would encourage again Warrent Buffet and his tutor Grahm as they explain the way which is logical and simple.
Thank you, will take that advice
Okayra
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
10% of what I know about stocks came from school, and the remaining 90% came from my professional experience. Like anything else in life, you learn a lot from experience and there is no better way to learn it. Find a way to get yourself involved in the industry. If you don't work in it, start subscribing to news outlets such as CNBC, WSJ, The FT, etc. Their lingo may seem like a different language, but take key words and do your own personal research. I would recommend investopedia.com as I like to think of it as the "merriam-webster" of the financial industry. They explain everything perfectly ranging from novice investors to the most tenured analysts. They also provide short clips for more visual/audio learners. The more exposure you have to the industry, the more experience you will have, and the more you will learn.
Updated
Simeon’s Answer
For stocks related information, I'd recommend seeking out reputable financial videos on Youtube. I recommend Two Cents; it's a channel produced by two financial advisors and is a part of PBS public programming. I picked up most of my knowledge of stocks from YouTube. In general, the key to stocks is buying a diversity of proven stocks. An easy way to do this is to purchase an ETF, which is a bundle of safe, proven stocks. There is still a fee to pay, but it's lower than if you had your money processed by an investor on your behalf. Technically, the earlier the better it is for investing because of the time value of money, but its important that you always have cash to meet your immediate needs and in times of emergency. Make sure that you don't put your rainy day fund into stock investments.
Thank you for a response
Okayra