advice wanted

[Jo-boater]

From reading through some of the investment posts on here, it seems that many of you guys have a decent handle on how to make a little money in the market. I have never been able to make money consistently with it, but I still try to make it work. The times where it seems like I have made a good buy that goes up and could make me money, I wait to long and it comes back down and does not seem to make it back up. My question is, when do you decide to sell? Do you set a percentage profit as your goal, and when and if it reaches this goal, do you sell all or just some of your shares? If you have a certain amount you expect it to get to and it does not seem to be headed that high, what determines if you want to keep it? I know there are thousands of different scenarios to answer this with, but I just wanted to see what tips you may have so I might can get a little better at this. The only stock I currently have is ABAT.

[jchief]

Like to hear some feedback also. Interested in trying to play in the market myself.

[Hopedale Hustler]

as a young person i am really interested in this topic...i am seriously considering getting into the market and trying to make some money....

[fishinpox]

I have a fair share of $ invested in the market , I've watched it go down I've watched it go up .... I just let it be and stay in for the long haul (retirement) the only time I buy/ sell quick is if my investment guy calls me and tells me about something pretty certain or if it works it will pay off big . I didn't start investing untill I had a 12 month security blanket in cash in the bank .

[southern151]

I would invest time with a firm more than I would most of the opnions here. We are all professionals in something here but, I can't think of more than one that may be a professional number cruncher and I don't even know that the stock market is something he would advise on.

Just my .02.

[Gerald]

Wise investing is a start to hopefully make some money.

Pox said it well:

I didn't start investing untill I had a 12 month security blanket in cash in the bank .

IMO......most younger people don't put enough importance in managing there money. I often shake my head when I read reports of the fancy "stuff" people spend there money on. If you don't have a sizeable amount in savings, you are probably not spending your money wisely. Now keep in mind......you are hearing this from a #1 tight wad when it comes to spending money.

But after living very comfortablely most of my life and rasing a family of 3 children .......I was able to retire almost 12 years ago at the age of 53.

Answer this question: After one year, which will put the most money in your savings account?

Investing say $ 10,000 in a couple of good stocks or making a shopping list before you go shopping and then after a week go buy the items on the list that you "need". This cuts out all "impulse" buying.

Now back to your question......When to sell? There is really no good answer, if there were.....there would be a lot more rich people. Investing is kind of like going to school or learning what to do on your new job. It take a certain amount of time and studying to know about the company and what is there business and how is it effected by other global changes.

Just about all stock prices will rise and fall with the market. The better stocks will hold there value [not go down as much] in a falling market. But when to sell....that is the question. Some people [individuals & investment brokers] set goals and sell [or buy] based on their goals. If your stock goes up and reaches your goal, maybe selling half would be wise after making a good gain. If the stock starts going down later sell the remaining shares......knowing you made some money.

Or you can watch certain key changes.....such as the stock price crossing below the 50 day moving average. Many consider this a "sell" indicator. Going above the 50 DMA could be a buy indicator.

Keep in mind..... with all the "professional" watching the market as a full time job and lots of information available to them.......they are not right all the time. Hopefully they are right more than half the time. Also you have to be aware of the "cost" of buying and selling. To make money, you have to invest a fairly large amount to lower the % of expences. And is safer to buy more than one stock. Then after you get more invested, you can spread out you investments into more stocks.

Perhaps one way to learn more about the stock market is to join an investment group. A group of people....just like you....that want to learn more about investing.

[Jo-boater]

Thanks guys for some good, wise, sound advice. It is much appreciated.

["W"]

I like what I call for sure stock with good Divides for my long term investments.... Like AT&T...they pay me 6% on my money no matter what the stock does.... Major Oil company's like Chevron,Exxon,BP and Shell are good buys... And other Oil Company's that are growing...like Apache or ATP....
Wal Mart will always be around and GE

Get with your local broker and get a feel for the market....I just did a 10 year assessment of my stocks and have gained 175% with my best year at 39.5 % gain....I also day trade and short term trade... I usually play low money stocks around a dollar or less.... Just 2 cents can make you hundreds of dollars if you buy enough shares....

[Gerald]

If you want to start learning more about the stock market, here some free sources to look at for information. Some web sites require annual fees to get more than just the basic information about stocks.

http://finance.yahoo.com/

http://investing.money.msn.com/inves...market-summary

http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/qui...&freq=1&time=8

http://www.zacks.com/

[Paul Constance]

Gerald is right on!

[2ndamendment]

If the comfort level is not there or have a desire for more security, investing in good quality mutual funds is a better option over individual stocks.

[Jo-boater]

Originally Posted by 2ndamendment

If the comfort level is not there or have a desire for more security, investing in good quality mutual funds is a better option over individual stocks.

So for mutual funds have worked out better for me also.

[mikedatiger]

Originally Posted by Jo-boater

From reading through some of the investment posts on here, it seems that many of you guys have a decent handle on how to make a little money in the market. I have never been able to make money consistently with it, but I still try to make it work. The times where it seems like I have made a good buy that goes up and could make me money, I wait to long and it comes back down and does not seem to make it back up. My question is, when do you decide to sell? Do you set a percentage profit as your goal, and when and if it reaches this goal, do you sell all or just some of your shares? If you have a certain amount you expect it to get to and it does not seem to be headed that high, what determines if you want to keep it? I know there are thousands of different scenarios to answer this with, but I just wanted to see what tips you may have so I might can get a little better at this. The only stock I currently have is ABAT.

I have said it, and will say it again and again. Learn to use stop limits. When you buy a stock you should immediately know what your maximum pain threshold will be - i.e. what you are willing to lose. And you have to be willing to walk away from the stock. Same goes with your gain - stop limits help you lock in your gain - it's up to you to determine what's enough.

I quit "playing" the market a few years ago, but I day traded heavily for years and I had to learn about limits the hard way. Now I just hold a few high dividend investments and index funds. It's hard to beat the market (over time), and the law of averages says the best bet is to put your money into a market fund. The average 30 year return in the market is roughly 11% and that includes the recent downturn.

This article is old, but well worth the read: http://www.slate.com/id/2158085/

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Jo-boater

So for mutual funds have worked out better for me also.

Mutual funds can be fairly good investment.

Keep in mind that there are hundreds of Mutual funds. Most funds "specialize" in what kind of stocks they have in the funds.

Buying a fund is no different than buying a stock....... you have to do some research to know what you are buying.

Morningstar.com is a good place to get information.

Also keep in mind that some funds are "closed", meaning they are not allowing anyone to invest any more money in that fund. Yes....funds get so big that they set limits on how much money they want to manage.

A couple to look at.... ????

PSPFX
POPAX
PRSCX
FSLBX

[Saint]

I much prefer ETFs to mutual funds. However, I like to think I have a fair grasp on the market. We are currently at a time where most people think they have moved to the safety of bonds only to find out over the next year or so their account value has been killed. Good luck.

[PUREBAY2200]

Originally Posted by fishinpox

I have a fair share of $ invested in the market , I've watched it go down I've watched it go up .... I just let it be and stay in for the long haul (retirement) the only time I buy/ sell quick is if my investment guy calls me and tells me about something pretty certain or if it works it will pay off big . I didn't start investing untill I had a 12 month security blanket in cash in the bank .

Well stated, savings account is very important. And if Ur married life insurance is also a priority.
If Ur dumping 1000$ mth into a 401k and u die all Ur family gets is that money minus taxes ans early withdrawal penalty.
So as u plan Ur 401k contribution remember life insurance had it's place in every solid financial plan.