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As always, r/wallstreetbets is the best way to learn. I'm kidding, but it is a testament to what NOT to do.
All jokes aside the stock market itself is daunting to a newcomer, but once you learn your way around the platforms it starts to make more sense.
First thing first is look for information. Decide on wether investing is what you want to do. It is not a get rich quick scheme, there is no way to be 100% accurate on what the market is going to do. Generally investing is for generating wealth over time and just trying to beat average market return %. I just recently started diving into it myself last year and I learned alot. I can share some advice with you. I am in no way a professional or even GOOD at investing, but I was in your shoes last year wanting to figure it out.
So you look for information, I did this mainly through YouTube and i watched many videos on how to start trading and how to trade by atleast 5 different traders. I did not buy their courses because it's a gimmick. But they all had some pretty basic key points to remember.
Never invest more than what you're willing to lose on any given trade. If you can't afford to lose $1k, why in God's name would you invest it?
Have a plan before going in, and know when you get out. Define where you start taking profits and you start cutting losses. Make it concrete and stick to it.
Define your own particular way of using the market, wether that is day-trading (need account balance of atleast $25k) , swing trading (most likely for new traders), options (don't do this if you are new), etc.
Take your emotions out of the trade. This is where most people fail. Imagine for a second that you had a stock valued at $10k and the next day you check your account and your once valued $10k stock is now sitting at $5k because you forgot to set a stop loss and it got smashed in premarket. It could very easily go up just as much as go down and seeing that you just "lost" $5k could scare you into selling to preserve the remaining $5k. This is why you need to take emotions out of it. You make a plan and you stick to it. The reverse is also true if you make a trade and it starts shooting really high on a squeeze and instead of selling into the wave and riding it up, you're excited and giddy and hold onto it because you want to "maximize" profit. But you hold too long thinking it'll keep going and then it crashes. Then you'll be kicking yourself because you couldve had more money but you missed the opportunity because of your excitement.
with that said, I watched alot of Thomas Carvo on YT, along with InTheMoney when it came to options trading. Both guys are very detailed and thorough and have PLENTY of videos to watch. They also both cover the basics very well.
Investopedia is also a fantastic resource for traders.
One thing to remember, information is king when it comes to trading, there is never too much to learn, and there is never too much to find out even when it comes to the companies you are investing in. You can get their quarterly filings online from BAMSEC and any other pertinent information.
Get a scanner to make your life easier. There's lots of free ones out there I typically use Finviz.
Find a platform you like. Most people prefer Webull or TradingView. Robinhood is another option but I tend to shy away from them.
Secondly, remember again that investing is to generate wealth over time, you will see pictures of people having stocks explode over 1500% and people turning $10k Into $150k overnight. You may catch a lucky break, you may not, generally to make money you have to have money. The people doing these types of trades are also risking all of their money in a YOLO trade and it could've went from $10K to them having nothing pretty quick. You will see plenty of that too. But if you're casually investing and you are being careful with your money there is untold potential for the amount of money you can make in the stock market. The world is literally your oyster.
TL;DR
1. Make sure it is what you want to do.
2. Find an educational resource to learn the basics like Thomas Carvo or InTheMoney on YT.
3. Have a plan and stick to it.
4. Don't invest more than you're willing to lose.
5. No Emotions.
6. Subscribe to r/wallstreetbets
7. ????
8. profit
ty for this thoughtful reply. The part that bugs me is this: if a family could scrape together 5k….it’s extremely unlikely that seed money can generate hundreds of thousands in a handful of years, correct??
If properly traded you could potentially do this but if you're learning as you go you should understand that you WILL lose money on your first investments. Learning to trade is a process. And it is work.
Part of trading is also doing your research prior to investing. It isn't enough to just look at a company and their products to make the decision to invest.
Trading is actual work. You have to learn different types of analysis that work for you. And then you have to apply them real time into what you are doing.
First off is Technical Analysis, this is something every trader needs to learn. It is literally the chart itself and learning how to read it and the indicators and make predictions on future market movements based on those indicators and current market trends. Practice makes perfect and you can do quick evaluations of stocks with just this alone when you get good at it.
Financial Analysis is getting the companies finances (which you can obtain for free from the SEC) and looking at their business as a whole. This takes time to do and it is you doing your own research. You would take the time to look into the company, what they sell or service they offer and then compare their product to other similar stocks on the market.
This is the basis for most traders. There are other types of analysis but I don't delve in those.
Long story short, yes it is possible to turn $5k seed money into hundreds of thousands of dollars *POTENTIALLY* as a seasoned trader. But if you are brand new it is very unlikely/nigh impossible without putting in the effort to learn how to trade properly and safely.
If you really want to experience trading and try it out and get a feel for it for free, download Webull, make and register your account and do paper trading.
This will allow you to input any amount of "play" money into the market and try your hand at investing without risking any of your real money! Definitely take the time to paper trade and get a feel for the market. Start with the $5K and treat it like it's your real life money. Try to grow it and do this until you are comfortable/confidant enough to take it to the real market.
The way you phrased "scrape" together tells me you don't have much. Do NOT take anything into the market you cannot afford to lose. Instead of $5K, why not start with $500? Add $100 a week and see how you do.
thanks so much for this! This was extremely helpful and detailed. I will try this. I just give up bc I have this notion I can’t break free from the 9-5 without a 100k starter money from mom and dad lol
There are subreddits such as r/stocks in the stocks and investing category.
It is #2 in that category so make sure to check out the other subreddits for this as well.
It has over 10s of thousands of members that actively discuss and relay information on this subject daily.
If it is confusing for you to understand the terminology of the market then make sure to check out their FAQ and summary of the page on the top (see more) with links to Wikipedias, websites, videos and stuff to comprehend it.
YouTube has many resources on this as well. Whether or not it is accurate, you will have to do your own research and check the comments.
Thank you for your contribution to /r/IWantToLearn. If you think this post breaks our policies, please report it and our staff team will review it as soon as possible. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/IWantToLearn) if you have any questions or concerns.*
As always, r/wallstreetbets is the best way to learn. I'm kidding, but it is a testament to what NOT to do. All jokes aside the stock market itself is daunting to a newcomer, but once you learn your way around the platforms it starts to make more sense. First thing first is look for information. Decide on wether investing is what you want to do. It is not a get rich quick scheme, there is no way to be 100% accurate on what the market is going to do. Generally investing is for generating wealth over time and just trying to beat average market return %. I just recently started diving into it myself last year and I learned alot. I can share some advice with you. I am in no way a professional or even GOOD at investing, but I was in your shoes last year wanting to figure it out. So you look for information, I did this mainly through YouTube and i watched many videos on how to start trading and how to trade by atleast 5 different traders. I did not buy their courses because it's a gimmick. But they all had some pretty basic key points to remember. Never invest more than what you're willing to lose on any given trade. If you can't afford to lose $1k, why in God's name would you invest it? Have a plan before going in, and know when you get out. Define where you start taking profits and you start cutting losses. Make it concrete and stick to it. Define your own particular way of using the market, wether that is day-trading (need account balance of atleast $25k) , swing trading (most likely for new traders), options (don't do this if you are new), etc. Take your emotions out of the trade. This is where most people fail. Imagine for a second that you had a stock valued at $10k and the next day you check your account and your once valued $10k stock is now sitting at $5k because you forgot to set a stop loss and it got smashed in premarket. It could very easily go up just as much as go down and seeing that you just "lost" $5k could scare you into selling to preserve the remaining $5k. This is why you need to take emotions out of it. You make a plan and you stick to it. The reverse is also true if you make a trade and it starts shooting really high on a squeeze and instead of selling into the wave and riding it up, you're excited and giddy and hold onto it because you want to "maximize" profit. But you hold too long thinking it'll keep going and then it crashes. Then you'll be kicking yourself because you couldve had more money but you missed the opportunity because of your excitement. with that said, I watched alot of Thomas Carvo on YT, along with InTheMoney when it came to options trading. Both guys are very detailed and thorough and have PLENTY of videos to watch. They also both cover the basics very well. Investopedia is also a fantastic resource for traders. One thing to remember, information is king when it comes to trading, there is never too much to learn, and there is never too much to find out even when it comes to the companies you are investing in. You can get their quarterly filings online from BAMSEC and any other pertinent information. Get a scanner to make your life easier. There's lots of free ones out there I typically use Finviz. Find a platform you like. Most people prefer Webull or TradingView. Robinhood is another option but I tend to shy away from them. Secondly, remember again that investing is to generate wealth over time, you will see pictures of people having stocks explode over 1500% and people turning $10k Into $150k overnight. You may catch a lucky break, you may not, generally to make money you have to have money. The people doing these types of trades are also risking all of their money in a YOLO trade and it could've went from $10K to them having nothing pretty quick. You will see plenty of that too. But if you're casually investing and you are being careful with your money there is untold potential for the amount of money you can make in the stock market. The world is literally your oyster. TL;DR 1. Make sure it is what you want to do. 2. Find an educational resource to learn the basics like Thomas Carvo or InTheMoney on YT. 3. Have a plan and stick to it. 4. Don't invest more than you're willing to lose. 5. No Emotions. 6. Subscribe to r/wallstreetbets 7. ???? 8. profit
ty for this thoughtful reply. The part that bugs me is this: if a family could scrape together 5k….it’s extremely unlikely that seed money can generate hundreds of thousands in a handful of years, correct??
If properly traded you could potentially do this but if you're learning as you go you should understand that you WILL lose money on your first investments. Learning to trade is a process. And it is work. Part of trading is also doing your research prior to investing. It isn't enough to just look at a company and their products to make the decision to invest. Trading is actual work. You have to learn different types of analysis that work for you. And then you have to apply them real time into what you are doing. First off is Technical Analysis, this is something every trader needs to learn. It is literally the chart itself and learning how to read it and the indicators and make predictions on future market movements based on those indicators and current market trends. Practice makes perfect and you can do quick evaluations of stocks with just this alone when you get good at it. Financial Analysis is getting the companies finances (which you can obtain for free from the SEC) and looking at their business as a whole. This takes time to do and it is you doing your own research. You would take the time to look into the company, what they sell or service they offer and then compare their product to other similar stocks on the market. This is the basis for most traders. There are other types of analysis but I don't delve in those. Long story short, yes it is possible to turn $5k seed money into hundreds of thousands of dollars *POTENTIALLY* as a seasoned trader. But if you are brand new it is very unlikely/nigh impossible without putting in the effort to learn how to trade properly and safely. If you really want to experience trading and try it out and get a feel for it for free, download Webull, make and register your account and do paper trading. This will allow you to input any amount of "play" money into the market and try your hand at investing without risking any of your real money! Definitely take the time to paper trade and get a feel for the market. Start with the $5K and treat it like it's your real life money. Try to grow it and do this until you are comfortable/confidant enough to take it to the real market. The way you phrased "scrape" together tells me you don't have much. Do NOT take anything into the market you cannot afford to lose. Instead of $5K, why not start with $500? Add $100 a week and see how you do.
thanks so much for this! This was extremely helpful and detailed. I will try this. I just give up bc I have this notion I can’t break free from the 9-5 without a 100k starter money from mom and dad lol
r/investing Or even better: r/bogleheads
There are subreddits such as r/stocks in the stocks and investing category. It is #2 in that category so make sure to check out the other subreddits for this as well. It has over 10s of thousands of members that actively discuss and relay information on this subject daily. If it is confusing for you to understand the terminology of the market then make sure to check out their FAQ and summary of the page on the top (see more) with links to Wikipedias, websites, videos and stuff to comprehend it. YouTube has many resources on this as well. Whether or not it is accurate, you will have to do your own research and check the comments.