What's next?

I am trying to debate what's going to happen to this blog now! There are so many areas I could expand it out to!

Do you guys have any ideas? I could post random "cool stuff" about stocks... As I watch stocks I can point out different factors, tip you off with ideas on stocks? Ways to a make an extra buck?

Post away under this post to let me know what you would like to happen to the blog!

Oh and "BTW", I am planning on a podcast! :D

Think you can't be an entrepreneur? Think twice!

One of my first posts was about making the money you are going to need to invest....

I found a fun article about other entrepreneurs like ourselves!

Check it out:

NY Times: Barons Before Bedtime

Let's Start Buying Stocks! Step: 3, Post 2

Now that you are tracking your stocks, you have to watch for a time to sell them!

Most of the time, an investor looks at trends in the stock. You watch for events that might push the stock higher. For an example, most stocks like to gain anywhere from 10-20% or farther right after an earnings release (if they actually made money :D).

Look at the picture below:

As you can tell from this graph. Towards the end it is very visible when earnings where released! It is show by spikes in the stock followed by a period of calm etc.

As in the example above you want to sell when you have made money! Always sell when you reach what your initial goal was. If you are lucky enough to have your stock double, sell off what you put in, don't be greedy, that never end up well!

If you want to send me 2 cents click a link! Look forward to my next post!

Let's Start Buying Stocks! Step: 3, Post 1

Now that you have purchased the actually the stock you need to watch it and sell it when you feel necessary.

There are multiple online software "trackers" to keep track of your stocks!

Some of these are...

Very clear, makes sense and secure!

I have never used this service myself, but I am told that it works great with your yahoo account!

These are two of the most popular. 

Most brokers such as eTrade, Zecco, and Scottstrade allow you to view all your stocks and set alerts for them.

Watch for the next post on when to sell your stock!

Let's Start Buying Stocks! Step: 2

Now, it's actually time to go ahead and buy up that stock that you always wanted to buy!

After responsibly researching the stock it is time to work on actually getting that stock in your Portfolio.

It is quite easy, most brokers have a "trading" page of somesort that will allow you to purchase whatever stock you would ever want to.

But, there is some terminology that is quite important that you should learn.... Below is a vocab list that might help you along the way.

Fund: This can be a mutual, or any other kind of fun.

Execute: This means, Go ahead and BUY!

Buy: To purchase the stock.

Overweight: The stock is at a good level, but not as low as you would want to buy at nore would you want to sell at this level. This is normally something annalist's talk about.

Stop Limit: If the stock goes below say "---" price sell it. Depending on the broker this definition may vary...

Options: This involves buying stocks without money you have, tricky, so for the moment you will probably not be interested in buying stocks this way.

Order: Just like a restaurant you give the waitress an order, here you are telling the stock broker if you want mustard or ketchup.

Market Order: A type of order to buy the stock with that will buy it at whatever price it is at when you click "execute".

Limit Order: This is an order that says only buy if this stock is at or below this price.

These are a few, there are many more.

Do you have on you are wondering about? Add a comment and I will get you a good Definition!

Let's start buying stocks! Step 1: Research the Stock

The first thing to do before purchasing a stock is to research it. Make sure you know what your buying in to and if it is a real good idea after all.

Before you start researching your stock you have to find the company that catches your eye, or the company that all your friends buy their clothes from. It could be anything. You can also find companies through services such as Yahoo Finance and Google Finance, you can browse through companies with filters, look for articles etc. Your individual broker may offer other services such as Stock Ratings, and "Research" Tools.

Now that you have your company you need to make sure that it is a "sturdy" company, and you need to double check that it will eventually make you some money.

Let's now take for an example, Google, or NASDAQ:GOOG.

Some things to check....

Is it Financially Ok? Is Google making money?

You can go to www.morningstar.com and search the ticker (=GOOG) scroll down and find the Financial Health grade, below it is an A that is very good, stick with A through C's.

Does Google, GOOG, have enough trading going on? Check out the Avg Vol (Average Volume), make sure it is above 100,000 that is a great number to stick with! Look below (Highlighted, on Google Finance), a good 3.0 Million or so.

Check out what it's growth grade is, stick with A's and B's. This is on www.morningstar.com again.

Look to see if analyst's think it is a good idea to buy into... This is on finance.yahoo.com. Click on Analyst Opinion....

Once that opens, make sure that it is somewhere in 1.0 through 2.5 or so.

Check the P/S Ratios. Make sure that they are somewhere between 3.0 and 5.0. This is done to make sure that you will get some growth sometime, again no guarantees, but very probable!

GOOG is above that this means that it is "momentum" priced. If you are going to buy into GOOG, make sure that you have a strong market.

Last but not least, make sure that you company is making money for you, this is priced per share. Make sure that it is positive NOT NEGATIVE!

Now. Should you buy it or scrap the idea?

Google passed all the tests except the P/S one. Do we have a strong market as of this post? In my opinion no, yours? There will be always some-kind of risk involved in buying stocks, always.

Personally, I would buy into GOOG, it might make me some money in the future. What about you? It's your decision.

I would not recommend buying a stock if the failed more than one of these so called "tests".

Have fun! And if you feel like contributing your two cents click on a link below! 

One more thing before you start trading.... The Markets!

There are 4 MAIN different types of Markets.

These are were stocks are traded and when bunched up together they creat averages... Ever heard of "The Nasdaq lost 10 points today" etc. on the news?


These include:

The NASDAQ, this is a big computer system that has no real traders in "red" jackets involved... Most of the Technology stocks are traded on this system.

The Dow Jones, this is where most big industries and manufactures are traded.

The NYSE, New York Stock Exchange, this is where big corporations are traded. These are the real guys in the red jackets!

The S&P 500, this is where 500 of the biggest and most stable companies are added together, if this goes down it is not good at all!

Those are the main markets.

Have Fun!

What kind of an investor are you?

Investors are a dime a dozen, and there are countless ways to invest money into thousands of different markets. Successful investors are knowledgeable in multiple markets, generally specializing in more than one, so as not to keep all their money in one place. When first starting out in investing, it may be a good idea to look into an investment club which provides many opportunities for the new investor. 

There are five types of investors that fit well within the investment club structure:

1. The "I'm not ready to go out on my own!" Investor: This investor is someone who just does not yet have the expertise or knowledge required to be successful in any market. By participating in an investment club, this investor will learn from a pool of like-minded people on how best to invest their money, make smart financial decisions, and manage their money.

2. The "I am passionate about learning new things!" Investor: This investor is a person that loves to continually expand their world with new things, new ideas, and new people. Investment clubs are designed to explore the wide world of investing and educate members by having them participate first-hand.

3. The "I love to socialize AND make money!" Investor: Some people join investment clubs simply because they enjoy meeting new people, team problem-solving, team planning. With online investment clubs being all the rage, people from anywhere in the world are able to participate, pool their resources, and have fun doing it.

4. The "I want to make extra money for college/retirement/vacations" Investor: These days, it seems that everyone is looking for ways to supplement their income. It could be to pay for tuition or plan retirement or even to add to a limited income due to retirement. An investing club offers direction and education, and that helps avoid the dangers of a trial and error approach.

5. The "I want to invest but do not have a large amount of funds to start with" Investor: Most people don't have large sums of money sitting around, but they do have an extra $20 a month to add to a pool of money to be invested as a whole. Given that starting out alone with such a small initial outlay can prove near impossible, pooling resources with an investment club is an ideal solution.

It is impossible to categorize all the different types of investors, but as the need for supplemental income increases, more and more people are looking for solutions to their financial needs.  Most people don't even know that investing could be their solution to their needs. If you are new to the world of investing, or perhaps unsure whether or not it is even a feasible and affordable option, it is definitely worth considering joining an investment club.

Setting up your Brokerage Account- "The Popular 3"

This is one of the trickiest things sometimes, but sometimes it's the easiest... It all depends on your broker...

Most online brokers have a "sign up" or "open account" option somewhere on the site. When you click on that it will ask you what type of brokerage account.... There are 3 main types:

- Individual Account - This is designated for one person, over 18.
-Dual or Joint Account - These are if you are married, or if you are over 18 and would like to share your account with someone, and have equal power over it.
-Custodial Account - This type of an account it designed so that it is in the name of that person under 18 it is still your parents option to allow you to run it or not, though I am assuming they will.

If you are a teenage investor then you are looking at a Custodial Account, some brokers have these and some not. Say for example, Sharebuilder does, but Zecco does not. If you would like to trade with Zecco and not Sharebuilder then you will have to have your parent open it in their name, and allow you to use it as yours, but it is still under your name.

Also, just to remember if your parent already has a brokerage account, make sure that they know that they can have multiple accounts, it's not illegal, it's actually legal.


There are many other types of Brokerage accounts such as ESA (Educational Savings Account), or IRA (Individual Retirement Account), I will not go into detail on these accounts for the moment since they are not apart of the "Popular 3".

Finding a Good Broker

So now that you have the cash saved up to start investing you need to figure out who your going to use to get it into the market, and to do that you need a broker.

Brokers are very important things, and need to be selected taking your time and with some thought.

When I looked at brokers I classified them into three different sections:

-High Cost (higher fees, most of the time they are more "seniored", they are the oldies at doing it)
-Middle Cost (higher start up costs, minimum account money requirements...)
-Low Cost (these brokers are new at it, normally have no account minimums, maybe not the best platforms etc)

Now, let's explain these one by one....

High Cost Broker

This type of broker has higher costs to invest, but normally they have better resources and have more "ease of use". These brokers have also been out there a long time, normally they won't have the technical "difficulties" or the horrible customer service. These could be brokers such as "Scottrade", "T. Rowe Price", "eTrade",and "Ameritrade".

Middle Cost Brokers

This type of broker is normally the one right in the middle. They don't have real high fees, but they might have some account minimums and "opening" costs.
Some examples: "ShareBuilder", and "Options House".

Low Cost or "Best Value" Brokers

These kinds of brokers are newer to the "marketplace" of brokers, have low fees, possibly not the best platforms, but they work and have the bare minimums.
These might be: "Zecco", and a few others that you might find, there are not many of these.

What I Think....

Here are a few things I would recommend...

-If you are just starting out go with someone like "Sharebuilder", I had an account with them for a year or so while starting out, they offer cheap enough trades, have great customer support for people with "questions' and they have great support forums etc. so you don't need to feel dumb if asking one of those "should be obvious" questions...

-If you are someone who has been doing this for a while but needs a good inexpensive but still competent way of trading try "Zecco". These people are very professional, have tons of options, and their site by my opinion is one of the best out there. It is superbly fast and easy enough to use.
They also have 3 ways to get customer support, Live chat, Call, or email. There is an interesting "social" side of the site, which allows you the investor to speak with other investors, ask questions and see what other people are investing in.

Overall I would recommend Zecco, they also give out free trades!!!

The Collateral

To do ANYTHING on the market you need to have money, sometype of money and something that can back up your money with.

Mainly this means you need a source of cash.

That could be Mommy and Daddy's allowance to your own business or job.

Personally, I have my own business. A Lawn Care business (www.zippzs.com). I look at business as the best way to make that cash because you have control over how much you get and exactly what happens.

Some Business ideas:

- Lawn Care/Mowing Business
- Computer help/repair Business
- Lemonade Stand (if you do a good job you can actually make something!)
- Fresh Produce Stand (have a garden....?)
- Leaf Removal
- Internet Businesses ....

There are so many types of business's you could have as a Teen.... Check out JuniorBiz Money Making Ideas this is a great site with tons of resources on how to start and "work" your business.

Option 2

Work for someone. The Restaurant down the road?

You get what I mean.

Option 3

Use your parents money. Most teans get an average allowance of 35$ a month, in a year that can add up.. Just do the math...

There are virtually unlighted ways to make money,these are some of the most popular waysnto get that "collateral" to start & support that investment account of yours.

Look out for our next post soon!



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Why I Created this Blog....

I designed this blog because I wanted to teach Young People like myself how interesting and very rewarding the art of investing is...

Investing for me is not only "making money" it's also an art, you have to learn the skills of the trade to do anything. You need to learn how to do Research in a different way, Read into things like an investor, Learn the bells & rings of the art, the vocab associated with it. In this blog you'll learn all this and much much more.

This "trade" is one of the "funnest" things to do and it's something that will define your financials now and for the future.

And the first thing we need to talk about is how to get the cash to start out.

Look to the next post for info!