There is no doubt that almost everybody wants to get into the stock market. You hear stories about 300% return, but you never feel it could happen to you. Maybe you are too scared to enter the stock market? Well, those fears are usually derived from the lack of information. For instance, did you know that it basically cost you nothing to start up an online brokerage account? All you need is the money that you plan to invest.
At one point and time, those people who made 300% started from scratch. They knew basically nothing, but one day they decided to take that “risk” and it paid off. Moreover, that so called “risk” people claim exist can really be lowered if you just have the resources. My goal today is to try and get some new investors into the stock market or at least start learning.
When first starting out, I feel that more sources will expose people to more information. As time goes on and you begin understanding more about stocks, then you can slowly get rid of some of the resources you feel that you really don’t need.
Online Brokerage
- TDAmeritrade – This is the brokerage I use. The ONLY fee for trading stocks is $9.95 per trade and no maintenance fees. I really only use them to conduct the trading. I prefer to get my stock news from other various sites that I will mention later in the post.
- Zecco – I have signed up here, but I haven’t actually used it. No maintenance fees and 10 free trades per month ($4.95 per trade if more then 10). It is a fairly new company, but it is growing at a good rate.
- Investopedia -This is basically like the encyclopedia of investing. Anything you need can probably be found here.
- Minyanville – This is a more entertaining yet informative site. They have a good “university” program, which is probably the best part of their site.
Stock Information and News (either way you go, they are basically all the same)
- Google Finance – Has a homepage set-up that is very customizable. The chart format of a stock’s page is pretty handy.
- Marketwatch – Combines news, education, and stock profile.
- Yahoo Finance – Like Google Finance except more people friendly (has more colors and pictures)
- CNBC – I mainly use this in correlation with the actual tv channel. When I am at home during the day, this channel is always on, and they do a good job combining the two. I also recommend people watching Jim Cramer and FastMoney, besides just being informative, they are also entertaining.
- Stockpickr – Community of stock investors (pro and non). See portfolios of everybody, ask, and answer questions.
Stock Blogs and Other Sites
- Bloggingstocks – I really like this site. This is probably my favorite because it is one big blog that has tons of contributors, and tons of daily updates.
- Stock Trading to Go – Fairly new list in my database, so I don’t know all the ins and outs of it yet, but it seems like a pretty good find. It is a combination of blog, stock education, and stories.
Obviously, there are many more sites out there, and I probably even forgot to mention some that I have been to, but each site works for different people. Now that you have got a list of good resources, START READING. It is pretty much that simple. Once you get the basic feel of whats going on, then start tracking different stocks and see what makes them move. Remember the most important step to success is to continue reading TheWildInvestor. Who knows, maybe one day you will have your own 300% return story.
Do you have any other resources or tips that might help other people out?