need advice on buying stock

[isephmusic]

hello im very inexperienced in the whole concept so please be kind and post any links on information i should read about first.

id like to buy some stock in apple with the money i have saved up on a few summers . maybe start out with something small like 10 and see how the return on investment is. its more just as a way to get my feet in the water since ive never bought any type of stock. should i start out with something smaller ? its just its really low right now and if it goes back up to what it was before the iphone 5 release it would be really good easy money.

how do you go about buying stock? what is the cheapest way to do so, since i know you must pay a broker, or is there anyway around this ? all tips and advice appreciated. thanks !

[linds15]

should really learn the basics of the market and do a ton more research before actually investing. for starters don't buy apple as your first stock, especially only 10. investopedia has lots of information on trading, and i believe it still has a virtual simulation so you can play around for a couple months with no consequences

[mobilehaathi]

Don't take stock advice from the Internet.

Frankly, you sound like you have absolutely no idea what you're getting yourself into. Stocks are not a game.

[b3av3r]

Originally Posted by mobilehaathi

Don't take stock advice from the Internet.

Frankly, you sound like you have absolutely no idea what you're getting yourself into. Stocks are not a game.

werd

I had some extra money to invest a while back, around 8k, and I thought I might buy some stocks as an investment. I found out the more time I spent researching the more I realized I didn't know what I was doing and I got very overwhelmed.

The only advice I can give you is that you better not expect to get rich quick or you will be disappointed.

[cuencap]

I disagree with a comment above

for starters don't buy apple as your first stock, especially only 10
What is wrong with a no debt company that makes $30 billion a quarter and also has a 2% dividend stock? If you are saying isephmusic shouldn't buy only 10 shares, I ask you why? Stocks are a matter of percentage returns, not about the number of shares you can buy. A 5% increase on 10 shares at $500 is the exact same as 1000 shares at $5.

As for stocks not being a game, I agree. I would do your due diligence with all the resources you can find (internet articles are OK, depending on the source).

At the end of the day, you are buying a portion of a company when you buy their stock. Therefore, start with brands you love, trust, and believe will be around for a long long time. That being said, don't invest with your heart, invest with your head.

[throAU]

2c.

buy gold and silver instead - or at least buy some as a hedge against inflation / currency devaluation.

currency devaluation = price of real things goes up.

the currency in the US (amongst other places) is going to be de-valued continually for the foreseeable future, as the government keeps spending trillions more per year than they bring in, in tax.

Assuming the US governemnt keeps its 1.6 trillion or so budget deficit per year, they will need to devalue the currency by ~10%+ per year to keep up via Quantitative Easing (money printing).

Unless your stock is making a guaranteed 10%+ per year return (probably more - to beat the currency devaluation) you are going backwards.



edit:
don't blindly take my advice either obviously. Do your own research - just don't forget to take currency devaluation into account when looking at stock prices.

Stock growing by 10% per year is essentially standing still (or worse), in terms of wealth creation at the moment....

[dacreativeguy]

Take your $5000 to Vegas. You'll still end up broke, but will likely have more fun.

[glenthompson]

Open an account with one of the online brokers like Schwab or E-trade.

Better yet, open a Roth IRA with someone like Vanguard. Better to save for retirement when you're young. Costs a lot more later when you're playing catch up. Put the money in low cost index funds.

[jetjaguar]

Originally Posted by glenthompson

Open an account with one of the online brokers like Schwab or E-trade.

Better yet, open a Roth IRA with someone like Vanguard. Better to save for retirement when you're young. Costs a lot more later when you're playing catch up. Put the money in low cost index funds.

is vanguard worth it?

[glenthompson]

Originally Posted by jetjaguar

is vanguard worth it?

My company 401k was with them. Very low cost on most funds. Compare their costs to Fidelity for the same index funds (S&P 500 or similar) and calculate the effects over 30 to 40 years. Can mean 10s of thousands dollars more.

[jetjaguar]

Originally Posted by glenthompson

My company 401k was with them. Very low cost on most funds. Compare their costs to Fidelity for the same index funds (S&P 500 or similar) and calculate the effects over 30 to 40 years. Can mean 10s of thousands dollars more.

My two cousins use them for long term investing and stock trading .. no 401ks or anything like that .. im trying to pick who to go with .. i guess i have a lot more research to go.

My mother has a decent amount of money in stock passed down from her father but she doesnt know exactly what she has .. is there a service or a way to track your stock by social security number or something like that? She was going to transfer all to me but she doesnt even know what she has anymore?

Thanks

[RUGERMAN]

Originally Posted by jetjaguar

My two cousins use them for long term investing and stock trading .. no 401ks or anything like that .. im trying to pick who to go with .. i guess i have a lot more research to go.

My mother has a decent amount of money in stock passed down from her father but she doesnt know exactly what she has .. is there a service or a way to track your stock by social security number or something like that? She was going to transfer all to me but she doesnt even know what she has anymore?

Thanks

All she has to do is call and ask.

[AppleDApp]

I'd recommend starting or adding to your RRSP. Or invest in mutual funds. The key is to diversify your investments. Do your research before investing try meeting with a financial planner at your bank.