Looking to invest a little in stocks

Considering the way the world is headed with the European / Asian markets. Bernake's new QE policy. I like that your a gambler. Faith in that paper stuff shows real resolve and faith in a failing system. But if you REALLY want to "crapshoot" your money? Penny stocks. Go big or go home.

Personally I like metals. Atleast its a tangible asset.

Quote from nevrknow : Considering the way the world is headed with the European / Asian markets. Bernake's new QE policy. I like that your a gambler. Faith in that paper stuff shows real resolve and faith in a failing system. But if you REALLY want to "crapshoot" your money? Penny stocks. Go big or go home. Personally I like metals. Atleast its a tangible asset.

I was doing some reading on fool.com. They say don't invest in gold right now because as the market comes back, gold value will decrease.

I've wanted to try penny stocks for a very long time. I've never had the guts to try because I have NO idea how to pick the stocks. On that note, how do transaction fees impact making money on penny stocks? For example, the website I do my trading with charges $5/transaction. Meaning I would have to make MORE than $10 per stock before I sell. Correct?

1) Price doesnt matter, valuation matters
2) Learn how stocks are valued, (book value, earnings, guidance)

Once you learn how stocks are valued, you can laugh at some of the prices people are buying them at.

Amazon has a PE of roughly 100, meaning its being valued at roughly 100 years of what its earning today.

Apple meanwhile is only trading at about 10 times earnings, and 3 times book value (if i remember correctly), so basically if suddenly iphones stop selling, or the apple fad goes away, the stock surely wont go bankrupt, but can see its price get cut in 3rds.

My suggestion is invest in companies that are boring, have steady customers, churn out steady earnings, and dont need a FAD to do well. (think: Facebook, Apple, Zynga?)

So redefine your SAFE to be STEADY, and without HYPE.

Google and Exxon may fit that criteria, there are many others as well.

Correct on your fees. And ANY opinion on this subject will be very subjective to ifs/whens/ and buts. Having said that. Where were they in 08 when the bottom fell and I bought metals? Lets just say I'm ok with my decision .

2 trains of thought here. You want to have fun with your $$. So try one of the numerous websites dedicated to penny stocks and play like everyone else. Proven fact a monkey can throw darts at a chart and pick winners. No brainer.

Or you can try a theory I have found to be profitable myself. Be brave when everyone else is scared and scared when everyone else is brave. I took that one from a guy called Warren Buffet. Ever heard of him?

There is much fun and profit in "bucking the trend" and making $$ when most are losing. I find it very satisfying.

When you get to the point where you don't care if your stock goes up or down, you're ready to "have fun in the stock market."

No one makes money in the market picking stocks because no one can do it. It's a zero-sum game and you have to sell to win. There are either successful trades or unsuccessful trades based on the many factors decided upon before taking the trade in the first place. The rest is odds which you have zero control over.

There really is no safe bet when you are trying to make a few bucks by playing a short term bet. Short term bets are supposed to be risky. If you wanted something safe for a few months then you should just open up a 6 month CD.
What ever money you put into the market, kiss it good-bye before doing so as you must accept the fact that you might as well never see it again.

Thanks for the advice. I meant to reply earlier.

I sent in my deposit yesterday, so I need to make some decisions in the next week...

Quote from akkkmed : Thanks for the advice. I meant to reply earlier. I sent in my deposit yesterday, so I need to make some decisions in the next week...

Penny stocks? Did you read some email or someone telling you about some pump and dump penny stock?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_and_dump


If you're going to invest in penny stocks or invest at all without knowing anything about accounting, balance sheets and valuation, you might as well go to vegas.

Quote from rebat : Penny stocks? Did you read some email or someone telling you about some pump and dump penny stock? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_and_dump If you're going to invest in penny stocks or invest at all without knowing anything about accounting, balance sheets and valuation, you might as well go to vegas.

Perfect timing. I just finished my first accounting exam! (entry level accounting class in college)

I'd wait until after the election to invest.

if you have no idea about how to value stocks but want to trade stocks, i would stick with ETF's. They are like mutual funds but rather than "trade" at the end of the day, with ETF you can trade all day, so to speak.
However, they are not all the same and you can get burned especially those index ETFs that are highly leveraged like those from proshares, yes, i've been burned on them before because i didnt do my homework.

There are dividend paying ETFs like SDY or VIG (from Vanguard). You can see what the top ten holdings are so its like buying a basket of those stocks.
I would stick with Vanguards ETFs because of its low annual fees (yes, they are like mutual funds with annual fees)
What's great about ETFs is that you can select which sectors you want to be in , eg. energy, financials, indexes, emerging market, etc.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/mo...50742446/1

Quote from arcticmaniac : if you have no idea about how to value stocks but want to trade stocks, i would stick with ETF's. They are like mutual funds but rather than "trade" at the end of the day, with ETF you can trade all day, so to speak. However, they are not all the same and you can get burned especially those index ETFs that are highly leveraged like those from proshares, yes, i've been burned on them before because i didnt do my homework. There are dividend paying ETFs like SDY or VIG (from Vanguard). You can see what the top ten holdings are so its like buying a basket of those stocks. I would stick with Vanguards ETFs because of its low annual fees (yes, they are like mutual funds with annual fees) What's great about ETFs is that you can select which sectors you want to be in , eg. energy, financials, indexes, emerging market, etc. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/mo...50742446/1

Actually you can see ALL of their holdings, not just the top ten.

Quote from okashira : Actually you can see ALL of their holdings, not just the top ten.

true, but sometimes with mutual funds/ETF, the top ten can make up like over 25% of the entire portfolio which may be several hundred of stocks. this gives you a broad gauge. i've seen some dividend ETFs where the top ten are mostly made up of financial companies, so its almost like owning a financial ETF with a GE, IBM thrown in. Though GE does have a finance arm too...