SumGuy
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As pointed out already, trading stocks isn't something you should do on a whim. If you are serious about keeping your money, you should research and learn as much as you can first. And be sure you are reading current material. The stock market today is a different animal (though it's still an animal) than many years ago, so you don't want to invest on outdated strategies.
I definitely do not recommend day trading (or even short-term investing) if you are a beginner. First, you need at least $25,000 to day trade. Also taxes are much worse for short-term investors. And finally, timing the market can be an exercise in futility (or at least luck). Stocks can swing with any bit of news, rumor, speculation or even just market sentiment -- and they don't always swing in the direction you'd expect. I've seen great earning calls followed by stock price drops. I've seen horrible news followed by a runup in price. And if seeing your balance fluctuate by thousands in a day bothers you, then don't even consider investing at all.
Anyway once upon a time, the stock market was based mostly on fundamentals (you'll hear that term a lot). This means that stock prices were typically based on the financials of a company. Nowadays, however, the valuations (another term you'll read a lot about) are so astronomical, that the market appears to be mostly driven by news and sentiment. Fundamentals are still involved, but they don't seem to be underpinning the current that causes rising and falling tides of a stock price. The most recognizable one I can think of today would be Tesla ($TSLA) -- it has had a meteoric rise in stock price, which has confounded financial analysts. It has a current P/E of 1,116 which means investors feel the company is worth one thousand times each dollar it earns (there's a bit more to it than that but that's the general idea).
So like others have said, if you don't want to spend the time and energy trying to understand and predict all of the nuances of the market, it may be best just to turn your money over to a professional. Or at the very least, give them most of it while you keep only a small portion for yourself to try the stock market with. The market is a great way to make money, but also a great way to lose it. I would say to enter the stock market with a small amount like $5,000 or whatever you can afford for at least a couple of years until you feel comfortable. Even if you're doing great after a year, don't be tempted to add more money until after the full two years is up. You'll be surprised at how quickly things can turn.
I definitely do not recommend day trading (or even short-term investing) if you are a beginner. First, you need at least $25,000 to day trade. Also taxes are much worse for short-term investors. And finally, timing the market can be an exercise in futility (or at least luck). Stocks can swing with any bit of news, rumor, speculation or even just market sentiment -- and they don't always swing in the direction you'd expect. I've seen great earning calls followed by stock price drops. I've seen horrible news followed by a runup in price. And if seeing your balance fluctuate by thousands in a day bothers you, then don't even consider investing at all.
Anyway once upon a time, the stock market was based mostly on fundamentals (you'll hear that term a lot). This means that stock prices were typically based on the financials of a company. Nowadays, however, the valuations (another term you'll read a lot about) are so astronomical, that the market appears to be mostly driven by news and sentiment. Fundamentals are still involved, but they don't seem to be underpinning the current that causes rising and falling tides of a stock price. The most recognizable one I can think of today would be Tesla ($TSLA) -- it has had a meteoric rise in stock price, which has confounded financial analysts. It has a current P/E of 1,116 which means investors feel the company is worth one thousand times each dollar it earns (there's a bit more to it than that but that's the general idea).
So like others have said, if you don't want to spend the time and energy trying to understand and predict all of the nuances of the market, it may be best just to turn your money over to a professional. Or at the very least, give them most of it while you keep only a small portion for yourself to try the stock market with. The market is a great way to make money, but also a great way to lose it. I would say to enter the stock market with a small amount like $5,000 or whatever you can afford for at least a couple of years until you feel comfortable. Even if you're doing great after a year, don't be tempted to add more money until after the full two years is up. You'll be surprised at how quickly things can turn.