Are you afraid to read this article? don’t be Everyone (18+) can invest in the stock market, regardless of job, education, and location…and it’s easy! Whether you’re a work-at-home mom, blogger, entrepreneur, student, or whatever, investing in the stock market is as simple as finding a product you use and predicting that the company will result in something newer and better. .
I am 18 years old and have $1,500 in stocks in a brokerage account. I’m sure you are considering all the bad economic news that has been released, and really the height of the crisis came in early January. I started my trading account on the 1st of January and so far I have positive profits. If you haven’t seriously thought about buying stocks, now is the time.
Here are five clear reasons why you shouldn’t be afraid to invest in stocks:
1. “Big Dogs” Don’t Want You To Do It It’s a fact. Plain and simple, the big players in the market (mutual funds, investment banks, stock advisors, etc.) don’t want you to get into their rich game because it’s a market they used to control. Slowly but steadily, more and more people are buying stocks…and for good reason! The stock market is the best way to make money ever created, and it is completely open to the public. If you think you’re too inexperienced to own stocks, think again! One thing that really benefits small investors is that they don’t move the market. When you trade, no one will see that impact… so you can basically sneak in and out of companies taking profits off the table left and right.
I want to see the age at which everyone plays the stock market. I think it will come sooner than we expect. Not only is it a fun gaming experience, but owning shares will educate you on the way business works! If an 18-year-old student can solve this game, so can you! 😉
2. The Stock Market Normally Goes Up Don’t always buy into the doomsday hype of the recession. It is a fact, in fact, that throughout the history of the stock market, the average recession has seen S&P Index returns of +3.14% during the actual recession, and +28.20% three years after the first signs of recovery. recession warning. The stock market has the ability to weather a storm, and it looks like the most brutal hit has already been dealt…although we could fall a bit further. The point of the matter is that as long as you’re investing in the right areas, you should be sufficiently recession-protected to make money regardless of the macroeconomic conditions at play.
3. It is cheap and affordable to invest now!
Over the past decade, tons of discount brokers have lowered their fees to encourage you to use their services and invest. Stock trading has become faster, cheaper and easier than ever in the 21st century! There are services like Zecco.com that offer $0 commission rates, and more reputable and established brokers that charge $7.99 per trade. Considering that you will probably buy stocks that cost a total of $250-1000 per purchase, commission rates are a blip on the radar.
These discount (or premium if you’re interested) brokers offer fast and reliable services that basically do it all for you. I’m currently with Scottrade, and they have programs that they give you for free to research stocks, see what the experts are saying, and even track all your taxable earnings for you. It’s easier than ever to sign up for an account and deposit as little as $500 to be on your way! Check out my “getting started” post for more information.
4. Upside potential outweighs downside risk
Many of my friends at Penn State are hesitant to get into the stock market game. They claim they are “just not ready” or “too scared to make the first move”… I call this a bunch of crap. Investing is not about letting everything flow in seven lucky ones. When you buy a stock, you own a piece of that company, if the share price goes down, it goes down… but you shouldn’t lose more than 20% of your initial investment in any case. Your money is usually safe in stocks, so stop worrying and focus on the bright side!
At this point, I want to mention my portfolio performance in 2008. Initially, I got off to a horrible start with everything trading lower due to bad news. Lately everything has evened out and I’m actually sitting on a profit! I have stocks like Yamana Gold where I made gains of over 26% in a month, and stocks like NVidia where I lost 15.5%. The point is that you have your winners and your losers. Take the bad with the good, and you have a favorable number of pros versus cons. If you play your cards right, you will see more money than surfing the Internet could bring you.
5. It’s easy and people want to help you
I have already mentioned how easy it is to get started in the stock market. Stockbrokers like TD Ameritrade, Scottrade, and Charles Schwaub are practically throwing themselves at their feet. People want to help you these days, and it’s so easy to get started you won’t believe your eyes. If you don’t know where to invest, turn on CNBC for an hour. Oh really. Jim Cramer? Easy money? These programs are packed with investment ideas that are well researched. It just becomes your job to do some more research on these stocks to make sure they’re right for you.
The Internet can be your best investment friend. I suggest the Motley Fool to read about great stock opportunities. There are even bloggers looking to help you out, like the clever profiteer and a guy called the Net Fool.
The bottom line: There is NO better way to get high returns on your investment than with the stock market. Whether you’re looking for high-growth risky plays, or established conglomerate powerhouses… almost any solid trade should make you money. Consider an initial deposit of $100 earning only 10% (you can do better ;)) over five years… BAM! That’s about $1,650. What if you added $100 each year to that big deposit? SHAZAM! That’s a whopping $2,300. The magic is in the fact that when the value of your shares increases, you basically own more of that company, nominally speaking. Instead of making money on your $1,000, you’re making money on your $2,300! The possibilities are endless and it’s easier than ever to get into action. -The network idiot