Advice for the stock market.

Newbie, would like to do a starting $5,000 investment

[sadelb]

I was just wondering what advice you guys would have for a newbie like me getting involved in the stock market. My plan is to make an initial $5,000 investment. My goal is short term earnings rather then long term. I know the risk is higher but I would like to buy and sell stocks on a week to week or month to month basis. Could I possibly do pretty well with a $5,000 investment if I pick the right stocks? Any tips, strategies, things that work for you guys? Thanks

Ben

[Macguru]

>>things that work for you guys?

Hi Ben,

An old crystal ball and some windex.

[graywolf]

I got some beach front property just outside of vegas for sale, or how about the Brooklyn Bridge i'm practically giving it away ;-)

Seriously, I think a foo thread on a Webmaster forum would be pretty low on the list of places to look for financial advice. Try Fool.com [fool.com] that's a much better place to learn how to invest.

[sadelb]

I will check out fool.com but to tell you the truth I have gotten some pretty good advice in the past in this foo section.

[Macguru]

>>I have gotten some pretty good advice in the past in this foo section.

I see... So you actually tried the old syringe and windex trick?

[mcavic]

The short answer is yes, you can succeed if you have the patience and skill, and $5,000 is a good starting amount, assuming it's not your grocery money.

It's really difficult to set hard and fast rules for trading. There are many different schools of thought, and it's the kind of thing that you have to have a knack for. You also need to devote a large amount of time to research.

Two things to avoid: investing too much in one stock, and panic selling. Remember that if you expect a stock to go up 100%, you must be prepared for it to fall 50%.

<snip>

[edited by: lawman at 9:56 am (utc) on May 4, 2005]

[Mardi_Gras]

>Could I possibly do pretty well with a $5,000 investment if I pick the right stocks?

I bet you can turn that $5,000 into nothing in no time. Lots of people have.

Find a way to invest with less certainty of disaster.

[mcavic]

Can you blindly toss money into some stocks and hope to make money? No.

Can you learn to trade stocks successfully and make a business out of it? Yes. But it takes a lot of work.

The first thing you need is the confidence and determination. Confidence doesn't guarantee success. But a lack of confidence guarantees failure.

[hannamyluv]

I'd only invest in stocks if you are looking to go for the long term. Short term traders rarly make much money.

You should also have a strong tolerance for risk. Watching a stock plummet can be hard and you have to think 10-20 years down the road as far as profits.

[mcavic]

If you're looking for safety and long term, think mutual funds and index funds. If you have a good long term portfolio, you can set it and forget it, for the most part. You can't turn your back on a short-term portfolio.

[Rugles]

I bought some GM a couple of weeks ago. Looks like a good investment today!

:-)

I have been investing on and off for 25 years, in small amounts like you are. The best advice I could give is to mix up your portfolio. Buy some for the long term and some for the short term. This way you hedge your bets.
The other advice....... is to buy stocks you know, like products you use, companies you deal with, etc. So if you bought a new product at the grocery store, and you like it, chances are everyone else will like it too. I heard Jim Cramer say the samething once, he does research when grocery shopping.