Investing for Dummies

[JohnnyDrfiter22]

Just trying to see if anyone else here is into investing. Whats your goals and how you are accomplishing them?

I use sharebuilder for a few years now, I took a break for awhile but looking to get back into it.

[simmode1]

I'm just starting to look into it. Got a buddy who's telling me to start learning at Investipedia & Penny Stocks...

[Martino]

I've played with penny stocks here and there. Have made a couple hundred dollars.

The friend who pushed me into it a little bit was continuously banking $1000-$3000 every month or so. It consumed him however.

[S14DB]

Don't forget about taxes.

[ZenkiKid]

Originally Posted by Martino

The friend who pushed me into it a little bit was continuously banking $1000-$3000 every month or so. It consumed him however.

and THAT is what i am scared of haha.

I bet he looks at his phone so much like hes running a fantasy football team.


Does sharebuilder do penny stocks too? I wanna start with penny stocks as a way to get my feet wet. Dont care about making or losing money at first just wanna learn before I really go deep into this.

[Martino]

Originally Posted by ZenkiKid

and THAT is what i am scared of haha.

I bet he looks at his phone so much like hes running a fantasy football team.

He was working with me at my office for a bit to relieve some help. He basically set up the computer we had in the back to stream his charts constantly.

His phone was also attached to his hands as he was in a bunch of chat groups where a lot of talk goes on.

He takes a couple days break once in a while from it. But when there's downtime for him and he's not working during the week it's all he does. I have seen a huge return in it for him though...but I guess you REALLY need to be dedicated.

[simmode1]

It's funny, my friend who just started doing penny stocks is like that. He rattles off performance numbers like guys do over NFL or NBA stats. But I have WAY more respect for someone who is fanatical about financial betterment than someone memorizing useless sports trivia. Seems like a great way to get your feet wet. I found a guy who's been investing for a long while & I'm trying to get him to mentor me. Seems like the fastest ways to financial independance is thru investing in futures & real estate properties. Do not count on a 9 to 5 to carry you through retirement.

[JohnnyDrfiter22]

When I first started in the stock market I tried penny stocks; I did use sharebuilder; I have one awesome story.

in 2005-6 I heard about this company in China, it was the only Coal company in that country and they had just started out. the ticker is PUDA, I sunk about 3K into this company over a course of 4-5 years. it started out at 4 cents a share. 08-09 it got momentum I was seeing $5 a share. when I finally sold it in 2010 when I decided to buy a house I sold it at $10 a share. I didn't become a millionaire but it was awesome.

Right now I feel like the stock market is overpriced and it will most likely come down but wont be until mid 2015.

[iRONDONkey]

i threw some money into a brokerage account just to play with, currently hold BABA and GPRO.

[ZenkiKid]

Originally Posted by JohnnyDrfiter22

When I first started in the stock market I tried penny stocks; I did use sharebuilder; I have one awesome story.

in 2005-6 I heard about this company in China, it was the only Coal company in that country and they had just started out. the ticker is PUDA, I sunk about 3K into this company over a course of 4-5 years. it started out at 4 cents a share. 08-09 it got momentum I was seeing $5 a share. when I finally sold it in 2010 when I decided to buy a house I sold it at $10 a share. I didn't become a millionaire but it was awesome.

Right now I feel like the stock market is overpriced and it will most likely come down but wont be until mid 2015.

So, that stock helped you buy a house?

[JohnnyDrfiter22]

It made for a good down payment, It helped re-build my drift slut for the 101038489th time, a few other things

[defcon86nwh]

Interested as well. I've been saying I'd get into penny stocks, but never have. Maybe I need to do this now.

[KAT-PWR]

Kick myself everyday i didn't buy go-pro stock. I was new to investing and didn't know it was their IPO when their ticker came up on my scottrade app (awesome by the way, fees suck)
Bought some Apple stock after they split when it was 92, i believe they're around 114 now. Apple is a solid stock, big initial price but a tank of a stock in my book.
Also currently hold
3d printing stock ( i love 3d but its a long term game) VJET
Bank of america BAC
A penny stock (Alkame)

Stocks are a very tricky game, you can treat it like gambling... or you can treat it as a hobby. The first you do not keep up with your stocks, don't know what exactly your buying, no research, etc. Or you can do the latter and spend a lot of time following and constantly researching your stocks.

I'd recommend spending the money on a book explaining stocks. I like Jim Cramer, there are also plenty of other websites.

[Martino]

Originally Posted by JohnnyDrfiter22

When I first started in the stock market I tried penny stocks; I did use sharebuilder; I have one awesome story.

in 2005-6 I heard about this company in China, it was the only Coal company in that country and they had just started out. the ticker is PUDA, I sunk about 3K into this company over a course of 4-5 years. it started out at 4 cents a share. 08-09 it got momentum I was seeing $5 a share. when I finally sold it in 2010 when I decided to buy a house I sold it at $10 a share. I didn't become a millionaire but it was awesome.

Right now I feel like the stock market is overpriced and it will most likely come down but wont be until mid 2015.

If you had 75,000 shares total over the 4-5 years and sold at $10...that's an incredible score. I'd imagine after US taxes and fees you were down more then the typical 13% but if you walked out with even half of that you're laughing.

I'm also guessing you fell short of 75,000 shares as during that time you had probably sold and bought during periods. Either way, selling at $10 a share is incredible coming from penny stocks.

[iRONDONkey]

Originally Posted by Martino

If you had 75,000 shares total over the 4-5 years and sold at $10...that's an incredible score. I'd imagine after US taxes and fees you were down more then the typical 13% but if you walked out with even half of that you're laughing.

I'm also guessing you fell short of 75,000 shares as during that time you had probably sold and bought during periods. Either way, selling at $10 a share is incredible coming from penny stocks.

cap gains tax?
i thought it was well over 35%.. Lol

[S14DB]

Originally Posted by iRONDONkey

cap gains tax?
i thought it was well over 35%.. Lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax


Pish, I saw wolf of wall street. No one that plays the stock market pays taxes...

[ZenkiKid]

Gonna look into this and start doing this in January.

Scott Trade or sharebuilder?

[Martino]

Originally Posted by iRONDONkey

cap gains tax?
i thought it was well over 35%.. Lol

For Canada we're almost half of what profit is plus whatever you claim as income. So a profit is entirely margined by what you're doing. Essentially "investing" not claimed as an income of salary or anything is the capital gain and marginal tax rate (at the time).

No idea what it's like for you state side fellas, but I can only imagine it's just as harsh.

[S14DB]

Originally Posted by Martino

For Canada we're almost half of what profit is plus whatever you claim as income. So a profit is entirely margined by what you're doing. Essentially "investing" not claimed as an income of salary or anything is the capital gain and marginal tax rate (at the time).

No idea what it's like for you state side fellas, but I can only imagine it's just as harsh.

This is why it's important to know your liability before you get into stocks. You can fuck yourself real fast at the end of the year short selling.

[Martino]

Originally Posted by S14DB

This is why it's important to know your liability before you get into stocks. You can fuck yourself real fast at the end of the year short selling.

Forsure, especially when you're dealing with larger numbers. Fortunately for most people dealing with penny stocks their initial investment is usually within an affordable range and whatever has hit bottom is usually just a breaking even point of funds. Short selling has led to huge mistakes though, especially when your buy back is more than what you let them go for at a peak time.

[JohnnyDrfiter22]

I really like sharebuilder, there is also Kingtrader which has a cheaper price per trade.

Those of you talking about Go-pro, you could look into the company that creates the software or camera for the go pro.

3 main things I look at when researching and deciding to purchase a stock is:

P/E means price to earnings
Dividends if it pays
Value; but you could look at a few things: debt to income, how much is the company worth

[S14DB]

Originally Posted by johnnydrfiter22

those of you talking about go-pro, you could look into the company that creates the software or camera for the go pro.

nasdaq: Amba

[Whitey13]

Id recommend that anyone looking to build wealth read 'The Total Money Makeover' by Dave Ramsey.

Being debt free is a hell of a way to start piling up cash.

[crzsteveo]

GOPRO was hotcakes! Ive been watching stocks since I was 17 and getting a feel on how they react to certain things happening in the world or in the news.

for example, the whole ebola scare sky rocketed certain companies, like lake industries (LAKE) and a few pharmaceutical companies. Tekmira (TKMR), Chimerix (CMRX). and now that ebola is dying down, so are their stocks, for the most part.

GOPRO is long gone now for making any reasonable profit on it.

When it IPOed, It was around 25 a share, went to 50ish in September and almost topped off at 100. then crashes came, and the usual. Now the lockup period is almost over (180 days) so once December 26th hits, the people who bought on the IPO price are going to dump their shares on the market and take their profit and run. Dec 26th probably would be a good time to buy GOPRO, BUT its a big risk. A lot investors/shows/news articles etc., bash gopro. like Cramer....

But I think ill buy a couple depending on how much GOPRO drops on the 26th.

[t_rempel]

Nice to see topics about growing our cash instead of spending it all!

Something to keep in mind about penny stocks, is that people only tell you about their winners. They aren't nearly as eager to talk about their losers. I see penny stocks as more of a game than an investment because a lot of the time it's like playing darts with a blindfold.

If you're really serious about building a portfolio, you're going to look at quality companies that will grow for you over the long term. That's how you make money without it being your full-time job.
If you're looking for somewhere to start, there are some great values in oil right now due to the low price per barrel.

[JohnnyDrfiter22]

http://investorplace.com/2014/11/10-.../#.VG_A0mCKB7g


This article was writing 2 Days ago, a lot of these 10 ten stocks are all China based.

I really like XRS- Its a company that provides after school tutoring in China... Education over there is one of the top priorities.

[seesquared]

I get a discount on my company stock that also pays a dividend. I just reinvest the dividend and try to forget it's there and let it grow(even if it is slow)

I finally have enough capital to do some proper investing in stocks. I actually took a year to learn the forex market as well. It is and cannot stress enough a VERY VOLATILE market but if you are patient enough to wait on some moves, you can make some decent money, sometimes in a short amount of time. It is very easy to get over leveraged though and I see a lot of people blow accounts.

I found a few threads through the years that former brokers contribute to and their style of trading stocks and forex is so simple it's crazy. But if you look at the markets, it works.

My thing is making money from more than one source of income. I make a very nice wage from my everyday job, plus a little money from stocks, a little from forex, and I also flip cars on the side here locally. It adds up throughout the year. I don't have any financial worries

Of course the biggest thing of all is the overhead. I have my rent, phone, car insurance, and electric/internet/water bills. That's it.

[JohnnyDrfiter22]

Originally Posted by seesquared

I get a discount on my company stock that also pays a dividend. I just reinvest the dividend and try to forget it's there and let it grow(even if it is slow)

I finally have enough capital to do some proper investing in stocks. I actually took a year to learn the forex market as well. It is and cannot stress enough a VERY VOLATILE market but if you are patient enough to wait on some moves, you can make some decent money, sometimes in a short amount of time. It is very easy to get over leveraged though and I see a lot of people blow accounts.

I found a few threads through the years that former brokers contribute to and their style of trading stocks and forex is so simple it's crazy. But if you look at the markets, it works.

My thing is making money from more than one source of income. I make a very nice wage from my everyday job, plus a little money from stocks, a little from forex, and I also flip cars on the side here locally. It adds up throughout the year. I don't have any financial worries

Of course the biggest thing of all is the overhead. I have my rent, phone, car insurance, and electric/internet/water bills. That's it.

Do you have any links to the forex stuff? I wouldn't mind looking into this

[joeapple8]

I just started working on my 401k this year, I've managed to put away 3k and it's earning 8.25% barely beating inflation but i'm still learning, I want to make a big purchase in some utilities once I sell one of my cars, use the dividends on that to buy some apple or google stocks.

I'd really like to learn more on strategies and what not.

[ZenkiKid]

Originally Posted by joeapple8

I just started working on my 401k this year, I've managed to put away 3k and it's earning 8.25% barely beating inflation but i'm still learning, I want to make a big purchase in some utilities once I sell one of my cars, use the dividends on that to buy some apple or google stocks.

I'd really like to learn more on strategies and what not.

I started a serious one like about 2 years ago and I am somewhere above $5k (Conbined from two jobs with 401ks set up. I worked for a total cheap ass of an employer in one and a generous one in the second.). Havent checked on the exact number