I Finally Started Investing in the Stock Market
Here’s how I’ve been doing, and what steps you can take to invest with confidence.
My best friend’s wealthy mom once told me that “the best time to invest your money in the stock market is yesterday.” I had always been fascinated by the idea of investing, but I did not understand how to put my desires into action. My parents were not heavily involved in the stock market and my siblings aren’t very keen on it either. I always thought that you had to pay a stockbroker in order to invest, so I figured it just wasn’t worth my time. Now, I wish I had started investing years ago.
Starting Out
Two months ago, a friend introduced me to the popular Robinhood App and it was a gamechanger. With Robinhood, you can invest on your own without having to go through a stockbroker, and they give you one stock for free just for signing up, which is pretty cool. There is also no monthly fee or obligation to buy a specific number of stocks; you can invest as much or as little money as you’d like. I began to fall in love with the stock market and made it a priority to educate myself as much as possible before investing a dime.
If you struggle to understand the stock market as I did, YouTube is an excellent resource that I strongly recommend. I spent two days watching videos of highly intelligent stockbrokers educating me on the ins and outs of the market. I quickly gained confidence and began to map out a blueprint of how I was going to invest. I also spent time reading articles on financial websites like Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and Yahoo Finance to look for their recommendations on which stocks to invest my money in.
The Beginning
When you finally understand how the stock market operates, you’ll realize it is a beautiful thing. Investing in Wall Street is a science and it's thrilling to see how much money can be made by simply just watching it. The money is working for you, not the other way around, and that my friends is an amazing feeling; truly capitalism at its finest. In just two months, I went from not even having the Robinhood app on my phone to opening it at least 20 times a day during trading hours.
Since I started using Robinhood, I’ve made over $200 after investing just $400 of my own money. I know this isn’t a massive profit margin (I’m no Warren Buffett), but I consider it an accomplishment since I knew nothing about investing two months ago. All of the stocks I invested in are continuing to make gains every week with the hopes that they will continue to grow and grow as the weeks go on.
I tend to target numerous stocks that are less than one dollar per share because they are cheap and have a high rate of potential return. For example, I recently bought 31 shares of a stock that was listed at $0.40 per share. Over the span of just one week, that stock increased to $2.00 per share, netting me a nice profit of around $50. As the stock keeps rising to $3.00 and $4.00, I keep making more and more money! Also, if you think a stock has peaked and will drop back down in price, then you can choose to sell the stock at its highest point and pocket the cash! Beware the risks of selling a stock too early though as it is painful to watch a recently sold stock go on to increase substantially.
Why Invest?
I invest to have an alternate stream of income and to accumulate money for my future. My goal is to retire before I am age 50 and I’m counting on the stock market to help me make this a reality. Certainly investing has its financial risks, but if you properly educate yourself, follow the right trends and keep a consistent eye on the market, you can be a successful investor and it will change your life! Plus, we can all agree that making money is fun!!
