How to play the stock market?

Question

Hi, i'm 16 years old and i'm vastly fascinated with economy and i am really , seriously considering buying certain stocks and shares and investing my money into something. I have about $600 to invest with. I don't want to spend it buying a Playstation like my friends or w/e. i wanna invest it and actually make some money. Do you guys have any advice for me please. What i should know? what i should do? what i should invest in? I was thinking of buying some stocks from mcdonalds, disneyland, and walmart. where do i start. where can i buy them. What do i do with the stocks after i buy them??? wow so many questions . thank you!!

Answer 1

You don't "play" the stock market, it is a very serious endevour.

Before you invest in any security, the first investment you should make is in yourself, and the best investment you can make is by educating yourself.

Start your education by learning why you should invest and the importance of being able to make your own decisions or how the pro’s make theirs.

You have to learn what to do. how to do it, and why you are doing it.

Here is some reading material that can get you started in the right direction, The first book you should read is Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Then try some of these

What Works on Wall Street by James O'Shaunessey

Beating the Street by Peter Lynch

One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch

The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom

How to Make Money in Stocks” and 24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success both by  William O’Neil

Get into the habit of making daily visits to some websites like MSN Money and Yahoo Finance.  (http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp http://finance.yahoo.com/ )

While at MSN following the strategy lab analysts to get a feel for what the pros are doing and why.  This site has some basic information for beginners.

Other website that can provide instructions and help with procedures and terminology are

Investopedia - http://www.investopedia.com/  Stock Charts - http://stockcharts.com/

http://www.investorshub.com/  http://www.1source4stocks.com/

I started when I was twelve (many many) years ago, but I had new cars in high school, paid for my college education and best of all had a good time of it.

Go for it, and don't let anyone every tell you not to invest/trade, but just know what you are doing before you do anything.

Good Luck on your journey.

Answer 2

My advice...

The best thing you can do is some research. Knowledge is power.

So start with http://www.nyse.com/audience/individuali...

Just monitor the stocks you are interested in for a while, and find out as much as you can about them BEFORE you invest.

YOU have to be happy with your choices. It is YOUR money!

All the best.

Answer 3

The companies you listed are probably not the best choices, but they are of course not terrible, either.

With something like $600 I would look at 1 or 2 solid dividend paying companies. The larger the better. Find some that have increased dividend returns for 10 years or more and buy in. Then you'll get a small cheque every 3 months to either re-invest or to spend on things like Playstations like all your friends.

It's more fun that way.

Thankful For Fools

http://thankfulforfools.blogspot.com

Answer 4

Its just like gambling....you watch the ups and the downs...and you try to sell before something goes down and buy before something goes up.

Insider trading is illegal, but MANY people do it and never get caught and that's how the rich traders do it. There are....ways.....to get around any monitoring...........

That's when you know data before anyone else....and others have no access...

A lot of people have subscriptions to company insiders that sell the data online on the black market.....just as peoples identities are sold..

I wont tell you how to do it that way......because its illegal...