Stocks

[KirkV]

I never really thought to ask ...anyone else dabble in the stock market? If so we should get together online and discuss ideas etc. I love making money lol.:toot:

[Jeramie]

I like making money but I'm not crazy about the stock market. Ive thought about buying up stock in things like BP and waiting for the rebound but honestly the return isn't great unless you can invest thousands.

I do however own Honeywell stock. Its part of the retirement package we get for working for Honeywell.

[buckee]

I have only played the market once, a few years back now. I invested $1,500 in what I thought would be a sure thing. It was "Fuel cell technology". It was a penny stock when I bought it, and started rising quickly. ...then, the technology was tested and failed....it crashed...I lost....end of story.

[The_Kat]

Yup yup, I invest in stocks that pay high dividends and have yielded good returns on a $10,000 investment in 10 years.

I'd be really interested in playing with penny stocks if I had faster internet and more time on my hands....theres money to be made if you can get a feel for the up/down trend. I wanted to invest in 10k into devasted stock when the market crashed in 08, but shyed due to my grandpa and some close friends advice. If I had done what I was going to do I would have already turned 10,000 into almost 45,000.

[KirkV]

I shy from the pennies unless it is a news play and get in and out in the same day. I never hold a penny stock overnight NEVER. I tend to be more of a chart reader and follow the indicators and they tell a lot about when to get into and out of a stock.

I have had pretty good success with the likes of CAT and SIRI on doubling my monies and take a good look at rebounding stocks on good companies after bad news. Monsanto MON has just given me a quick $250 in two days and I got back out. I feel it may still have a little life in it though, but I like taking profits and moving on.:clap:

[The_Kat]

C is very good stock! I wish I coulda got ahold of Amazon around 65$....holy crap!

[swohiodave]

I hold a couple thousand dollars in proctor and gamble stock but it will sit long term until retirement. I would rather have my money working in an IRA right now.

[KirkV]

Yeah PG is a pretty flat stock over the test of time and does no have much variation.

[Hoosierbuck]

We have 401's and Roth IRA's and my state retirement plan, all of which are stock plans. Plus my wife earns shares of her company as bonuses and options and such. The market is a good investment, if you are in for the long run and don't anticipate needing to make withdrawals in the short term. Right now most everything is down, so your money buys more shares per dollar and will grow that much more quickly when the market gets back up to speed.

I don't micro manage or day trade or anything. Select moderate risk funds and ride out the hiccups. The last half of last year my state fund grew by over 11%.

HB

[The_Kat]

last half of last year my state fund grew by over 11%.

HB

Thats amazing for an entire fund to do that! WOW:flex:

[KirkV]

If you look at DODGX it grew almost 20% since august one of my favorites in my 401K!

[TBow]

For most average investors, if they opt to play the market with "self-directed" portfolios, the term, "Would'a, Should'a Could'a", is a never-ending 8-track tape.

When I retired a year and a half ago, I took a portion of my severance and put it into a self-directed account. I had never played the stock market before, but a family member who had dabbled for years offered me some guidance. Too bad I didn't pay attention to their investment advice and have a diversified portfolio with sound stocks that payed decent dividends. I like most people tried to pick those stocks that you hoped would be an out'ta the park grand slam, but good luck with that. You are just as apt to go on the downside as opposed to increasing your bottom line. As has been said, if you play small stocks, take your profits when it's presented, and don't hold long. If you can make a couple hundred dollars on a short investment, as has been said, take it.

Another strong piece of advice for the stock market is, PATIENCE! Don't panic when the volatility takes your stocks in a downward move. If you buy on published breaking news of a stock, then it may already have been too late to buy in. The saying, "buy low, sell high", is sound basic advice if you use the KISS principle.

If you think you can invest in the market and stocks and then just go away and don't check the markets daily if not hourly, then you will become frustrated with it and your results. Playing the market can be an almost full-time job in itself if you hope to make it work for you.

I floundered terribly for over a year from when I first started playing with my miniscule account, but I was retired and had a sound retirement annuity to pay the bills and didn't have to rely on my investments to live. So in that sense it was kind'a like gambling and I looked at it as something to keep me entertained and amused. My knowledge and abilities have certainly improved, but I am no where near on the road to being a millionaire, nor will I likely ever become one.

I laughed this year Richard Branson (owner of Virgin Enterprises) was interviewed and was asked for advice on how to become a millionaire. "Easy!", he said. "Just start with a billion dollars and invest in an airline!".

I watch the business networks regularly. Keep an eye daily (when I can) on the market numbers. I listen to guest investment and business personnel on the TV and research tips and guests' "top picks" before making any purchases. There is a lot of good information on the Internet that can help you with investment strategies and establishing a sound investment portfolio.......if you have the time, patience and can afford downswings as the market is accustomed to. A good investor will use downswings in the market to his/her advantage and will actually make money if wise investments and cash reserves are had.

For the average investor who doesn't have the time nor patience, or has to rely on their investments to live, then you either better be good, or really really lucky at this game they call the Market. Either that, or use a professional, and established, investment councellor. There will be admin fees and the chances of hitting one out of the park will certainly be less with that route, but your investments MAY be more secure. But don't fool yourself. Even investment houses can see portfolios slide when the markets see major instantaneous drops as was seen over the past couple years. But for those who had cash sitting in the wings, the toppling of the Market in 08/09 was a buying opportunity.

TBow

[KirkV]

TBOW a lot of very sound advise there, and I could not have said it better. I watch my mutual funds in my 401K on a daily basis and make the determination to stay in it or get out and into a safer fund.

Learning charts and indicators can be a blessing in helping to predict what the fund or stock looks like it may do.

Yes I more than doubled my monies in cat and siri but just knew buying cat at $30 was a steal and it would rise again, The same with SIRI as the new car market was helping set the pace there.

You gave a lot of wise advise and the only thing I would add to a new investor would be tthat when you think you are ready to play the market, get online and set up a play money account. Test your methods with fake money before you tackle it with the real thing.

You will save yourself a ton of grief and heartache from the start and really find out if your methods work or not!

[fly]

Never got into the market, or playing the lottery, or casino gambling. Figure it would take a lot of time for me to know what the heck was going on and by the time I was half way decent I would have lost what little I have. I'll just work and make money the old fashoned way.

[BuckNrut]

11% is the rate the DOW grew last year - not that amazing when you think about it. Mutual Funds are often setup to mirror indexes.

I only invest what I can afford to lose, so right now I'm not active in the market.

[The_Kat]

11% is the rate the DOW grew last year - not that amazing when you think about it. Mutual Funds are often setup to mirror indexes.

I only invest what I can afford to lose, so right now I'm not active in the market.

In one quarter that is amazing!

[TBow]

Somewhat related to investement stratagies (of which the Market is certainly a part of), is retirement planning. Most people have no clue as to what type of capital, or savings would be required to sustain them in a comfortable retirement lifestyle, and one that would preferrably let them retire in their mid to late 50s (or even younger).

For instance, most investment or savings methods, will probably, at best, average interest on a year to year basis by approximately 5% to 7%. Yes some years will be higher, but others will offset that with lower increases if not losses. If you have to sustain your retirement lifestyle by occassionally dipping into your investment capital, then you will soon loose your opportunity to make money, and ultimately less annual interest income, which is what you would hope to live on.

At 5% to 7% interest, you would need to have an investment capital of 1 million dollars in order to gross $50K to $70K per year. Remember, you still have to pay taxes on that $50K to $70K as well, so it's not all free cash. That could range from $10K to $20K (or more) in income tax, so now your average NET income is $40K to $50K on your initial 1 million dollars. And don't forget about cost of living increases after you retire. You likely won't be getting indexing on your retirement income unless you're in a registered retirement plan that guarantees an annual annuity complete with indexing. Likey only about 10% to 15% of workers are in that type of retirement plan. If your investements are your sole source of income to allow you an early and long term comfortable retirement, then like most, you'd better start putting away a little bit every pay from an early age, if you remotely hope to have enough to sustain you in later years. If you're like the vast majority of North Americans, then other priorities like family and putting food on the table restrict your ability to free up that cash to put aside for 30 or 40 years down the road. You always tend to think that "NOW" is more important than "WAY IN THE FUTURE". How many have said to themselves during their 20s or 30s that they'll start worrying about that when they hit their 40s or even 50s. Well, it's sometimes too late for that by then if your goal is $500 thousand to $1 million for savings that's accrued by contributions (self and employer) and compound interest.

You have to make a commitment to put a little way, and stick with it. Don't keep dipping into it when you think the kids need new hockey skates or you'd like a new car or a trip south. Focus. Remember, a million dollars will only give you a comfortable retirement, not a mansion in Beverly Hills.

And you should try to enter your retirement years debt free if you can manage it. That means no mortgage and possibly a fully paid off and reasonably new vehicle in the driveway. Don't forget if you've got kids you'll have to worry about education costs and possibly weddings that could set you back if you opt to help them out.

And getting back to the Stock Market, you'll frequently hear amazing stories about people who made significant increases on a particular stock that will blow the 5% to 7% interest theory away. You may hear of increases of 20% or even greater on a certain stock, or even better, on an entire investement portfolio. But don't forget, during the 2008 to 2010 window in the Stock Market, reductions of 30% to 40% on most retirement portfolios was the norm, whether it was self-directed investing or through an investement agency. If you didn't panic sell, most stocks or plans came back for the most part, but it took 2 years to reclaim themselves. If you panicked and sold, then you lost all of that 30% to 40%....or more. And regardless of whether you held or sold, during those two years you would have lost your opportunity to make your planned and full retirement income.

I remember when I started working way back in the 70s. All of the guys in my shop were in their 50s and early 60s, and all they'd talk about at coffee breaks, was about retirement. That just bored the heck out of me, because it was 35 to 40 years down the road for me. Guess what? 30 to 35 years later, all I could talk about was retiement planning at coffee breaks. Luckily, my employer had a registered retirement plan that was mandatory for all employees to contribute to. If you are not in a mandatory retirement savings plan, then your word for the day is "FORESIGHT", not "HINDSIGHT".

TBow

Edited January 2, 2011 by TBow

[billkay]

You I do fairly regularly. Have done exceptionally well on several stocls and pretty poorly on a couple others. Ford was/is a great one for me, along with a couple nat gas companies. I've picked up a couple REITs recently and am enjoying the high dividends from them. The fact that they have increased several percentage points is a great thing as well. Do your homework and dont invest with scared money is the best advice I've been given, and can pass along.

Google has a free portfolio program, google finance, that allows you to track a real, or trial portfolio. Great way to get your toes wet.