12-16-2003
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#1
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Slower than a rusty Honda
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After reading in another thread people were talking about the stock market.
I have no idea how to get in to it. How you can buy stock or how the point system works. I wish i had a clue, because i was watching dow on cnn or something a little over a year ago and at the morning bell it dropped and dropped and dropped from what it was at and it went down to about -60 or something and i was like shit well i could buy some now, now more then an hour later it was ^120 and at closing bell it was around 240 yes this was an all day event for me watching dow anybody know how much money that could have been?
can you just invest a 100 dollars or do you have to buy an entire share of a stock?
what whats going on
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I LIKE TURTLES
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12-16-2003
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#2
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Admin
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Don't invest in the stock market unless you have alot of extra money (expendible) laying around. This is extra money that you have nothing else to do with. If your saving up for a turbo or something, don't put that money in the stock market. Most places like Ameritrade require a $2,000 minimum to open an account.
For someone who isn't very familiar with the market, and who doesn't have the time or energy to watch it constantly (basically everyone except for mutual fund managers and day traders), your best bet would be to put the money into a mutual fund. That's basically a pile of diverse stocks from several different companies, covering a few different industries. The good fund managers will do thier research and pick companies that have good potential to grow, as well as pick a few cornerstones of the market, that will not fluctuate as much.
One thing to remember, is that it's temting to put money in and try to make a quick buck. And that is entirely possible, but your biggest gains will come from the long term investments. 5 or more years.
What I would do if I was you, is to do some research on money management. There's about 5 billion books you can find on the subject. Once you know a little more about the market place and how it works, your potential gains and losses, you will feel much more comfortable about the decisions you make. One thing to keep in mind is to not go off of something you hear on the news, or read on the internet. Do your own research, and decide what's best for you.
Personally, if I was in your shoes, I would open up an IRA. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The best time to put money into a retirement account is when you're young. I know it;s not as glamorous as making $5 million in 2 weeks in the market, but come on. That never really happens. Here in the real world, your best bet is to plan for long term investing. Saving even a few hundred dollars (or more... whatever you can put in) will pay huge dividends in 35-40 years. You could buy a new turbo now, or you could buy a new car when you retire. Yes, it really does make that much of a difference.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you not to play in the stock market, but the most important thing is to research your options, and decide what is best for you.
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12-16-2003
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#3
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Slower than a rusty Honda
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i doubt i would invest, now anyways. i was just wondering i know the basics of the market but im just curious to as how in depth it goes.
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I LIKE TURTLES
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12-16-2003
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#4
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Admin
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I would still suggest opening an IRA though. Actually I would suggest that to anyone who hasn't done that yet.
This will give you an idea of what a little extra time can do for your retirement.
If at age 25, you made a single deposit into an IRA of $1,000, and never put anything else in there, in 40 years, at 8% interest, you would have $21,724.52. Not enough to retire, but I'm just using this to show how much difference 10 years can make.
If you waited until age 35, and made a single deposit, you would have $10,062.66.
If you waited until 45, you would only have $4,660.96
An extra 10 years can more than double your outcome. An extra 20 years will quadruple it.
[cheesy line] Don't work for your money, make your money work for you. [/cheesy line]
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12-16-2003
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#5
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Mazda Bitch
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: MN
Posts: 3,208
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I highly recommend investing in mutual funds and/or IRA's as Mark was writing about.
I have 3 main investments right now.
My WalMart stock which I bought while working there. I have more than doubled what I invested. Which isn't much to the big players, but when your in college, I'd say it's pretty good.
I have a Mutual Fund (Templeton Growth Fund A *I believe A). My parents started that when I was younger, like only $1K I think. It was just a few shares. I now have nearly 600 hundred shares because I have my divendends reinvested, vs. being paid out. I have added a little over time, but not much at all.
I started 401K when I started my real job out of college. I put minimal in it. I need to increase to start picking up. But like Mark said, the sooner you can put something away in a long term investment, the better off you will be.
All you need to do is contact a broker that can give you advice of what would be good for your situation. They can give recommendations and what not to help you out too.
I would avoid playing the stock market until you know all the ins and outs and have money to blow.
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12-16-2003
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#6
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Cottage Grove, MN
Posts: 2,120
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I have a Scottrade account, takes $500 to get started. There is no minimum to buy. You could buy one $1 share if you wanted. Trades cost $7, but you can get free ones when you sign up.
I currently own 1,294 shares of sirius satellite radio. I bought 100 @ $1.13, 255 @ $1.97, and more recently 939 @ $2.13...
Looks like they signed a deal with the NFL today and it is up $.05...May not seem like a lot but when you multiply that times 1,294 shares I actually made a little over $64 in the past few hours alone. I can't wait until it is worth $10 a share!
But like they said, it is a risk, and I could lose a lot of money if something was to happen, so cross your fingers for me!
Chris
__________________
Chris Carey, President
Modern Automotive Performance
P: 763-545-3800
E: chris@maperformance.com
We want your business! Please contact me directly for a quote or stop by the facility for a quick tour!
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12-16-2003
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#7
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Admin
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One other thing to remember with the stock market (even with mutual funds) is that the market will fluctuate. There will be times when the value of your portfolio will go up a lot in a matter of days. Don;t use that as an incentive to sell and make a quick buck. You have to remind yourself that you're in this for the long term.
On the other hand, there will be times when your portfolio will go down (sometimes significantly) Don't let this scare you too much. Don't jump ship just because your portfolio went down a couple hundred bucks. Mine has gone down as much as $1,500 in a couple of days. But it came back up. Just remember, that even if your stock is down, it's not really a loss until you sell it.
However, if your portfolio is going down, while the rest of the market is going up, take a closer look at your investments. Read the latest news from the companies, find out if there's a reason why yours are going down. If you find bad news you might have to move things around. But don't act too quickly. The market can be funny at times.
Sometimes a company will release an awesome earnings report, where sales are up, overhead costs are down, and a line of promising new products is ready to hit the market, and for some reason the stock will go down. I can't really explain why this happens, but don;t let it scare you. But if you read news about the CEO laundering money into an off shore account, then you might want to think about selling it.
I made the mistake when I was younger to try and jump in the market and make some quick cash. Well, that didn't work. In fact I lost about $500. The main reson I failed is because I didn't do enough research up front, and I only had dollar signs in my eye. Had I done my research I would not have picked those stocks, and even if I did, I would not have sold them when I did. I needed some extra cash for something, and I was forced to sell them before I wanted to at a loss.
Anyway, I talk too much. I would suggest reading a good book on the subject.
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12-16-2003
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#8
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Hellbound
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: St Paul
Posts: 1,390
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Just take a hundred or so and play with some penny stocks or something small like Over The Counter stocks on the OTCBB.No need to start an online account, just find a local broker, setup a account with them(usually free).It will at least give you a feel of how things work, and don't let the fact that they are pennies per share fool you, if you find a good one with lots of activity you can still make some good money off them with little risk(not likely, but it happens).IRA's are a good solid investment for the future, but you are limited on how much you can invest per year.I don't really like mutual funds,with the research and time it takes you find a good one, you might as well just researched some stocks and invested in them,Higher risk but definately a better money maker.
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-Nulli Secundus-
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12-16-2003
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#9
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Mazda Bitch
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: MN
Posts: 3,208
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That's why you have a good broker who does the research on what mutual funds are good.
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12-16-2003
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#10
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Area code 166 represent
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Crystal, MN
Posts: 10,329
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I have nothing invested, live paycheck to paycheck and plain and simple coudl care less about money. It does dirty things to people. I let the sugga mama worry abotu that shit.
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'16 Focus ST - Daily Duty
'93 mr2 - Track car in progress
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12-17-2003
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#11
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Hellbound
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: St Paul
Posts: 1,390
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Quote:
Originally posted by DSMChick@Dec 16 2003, 09:44 PM
That's why you have a good broker who does the research on what mutual funds are good.
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I tend to have problems accepting suggestions, when my money is involved.
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-Nulli Secundus-
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12-17-2003
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#12
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Business as usual
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Isanti, MN
Drives: Dodge Viper and Honda Insight
Posts: 2,206
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I invested money in a mp3 company a while ago. Was making good money on it untill all the napster shit happened. I pretty much lost it all (~$400).
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97 Viper GTS
03 Mercedes CLK500 rollin on dubs...
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12-17-2003
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#13
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Mazda Bitch
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: MN
Posts: 3,208
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Quote:
Originally posted by LightningGSX+Dec 17 2003, 12:38 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (LightningGSX @ Dec 17 2003, 12:38 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-DSMChick@Dec 16 2003, 09:44 PM
That's why you have a good broker who does the research on what mutual funds are good.
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I tend to have problems accepting suggestions, when my money is involved.
[/b][/quote]
Then you obviously haven't found a good broker. I use the one my parents have used for 15+ years and would trust him with everything. But that's because he's made my parents money, and he's making me money. He makes suggestions, then tells you what to research and provides you information to do so.
But to each his own, right?  If you've been sucessful doing your own research, props to you 
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12-17-2003
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#14
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 350
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Buy land, they arn't making any more of it.
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12-17-2003
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#15
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Cottage Grove, MN
Posts: 2,120
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An example of the risk...my stock went down .12 cents today...That equates to ove $100...Good thing I am in it for the long run.
Chris
__________________
Chris Carey, President
Modern Automotive Performance
P: 763-545-3800
E: chris@maperformance.com
We want your business! Please contact me directly for a quote or stop by the facility for a quick tour!
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