[newmainer]

ok- i'm not sure if i put this in the right place and maybe i'll cross post in working mamas forum-<br><br>
but i was thinking lately that maybe i could do some self-education around stock trading and... play a little. not like day trading and executing millisecond trades, but starting with a few hundred bucks, always saving any profits and just seeing where it goes.<br><br>
if anyone is doing this- i'm looking for educational resources; web, book, etc...

 

[traycanadian]

Hope you don't mind if I sub to your thread! I'm interested too. I keep seeing infomercials and ads for services like Investools and wonder if anyone uses them successfully or does it on their own.

 

[Billie]

I'm subbing too. Back when I was in high school, I was in a small group that worked together to research stock options, but then I got into sports and didn't have the time anymore. I'd be interested in hearing from someone who is doing this.

 

[selendang]

I don't, but I know those who do. They do their homework so they don't lose too much. Even so, sometimes you just never know. I'm way too chicken to do this. Good for you Mamas who are so brave!

 

[AprilDaisy]

I am actually reading, "Chicks laying nest eggs", by Karin Housley. It explains how 10 women got together and formed an investment club, learned what the stock market is, how to study companies, what it all means, returns, etc...<br><br>
I am really enjoying reading it as it's a little comedy mixed in with alot of simple facts. So far, so good. I'm hoping to be much more knowledgeable when I'm done reading.

 

[Billie]

Thanks for the book recommendation. Sounds great! I'm going to see if it's at the library tomorrow. If not I'll pick it up from Amazon. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wink1.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wink1">

 

[sphinxie]

I've often heard "a random walk down wall street" recommended as an introductory book, but I haven't yet read it myself.

 

[newmainer]

those books sounds good.. i'll check them out.<br><br>
i have this day dream that i if can come up with a good strategy- like never investing profits, only investing the same start up over and over again- that i could do it safely. also, if i dont' depend on it as any kind of stable income- just a way to try and make some extra cash.<br><br>
i know there are lots of stock trading simulation 'games' online that you can start with- i think those would be cool to try. years ago i read 'The Online Trading Bible' and although the amount of research you need to do is daunting at times, it really made a lot of sense just to do it, that with care you can manage your money well.<br><br>
i just think it's crazy that there's this vehicle out there for making money and i'm not taking advantage of it!

 

[WendyC]

I am looking into trading on the forex. This may be unbelievably nieve - but seems like if you put the work in, study, put a bunch of time in on the free trial 'fake money' programs, then surely you can make something. However from what I am learning, the forex is unmoderated and there are abundant scams and traps out there to avoid, not to mention you have to very carefully manage your money once you do turn a profit.<br><br>
Seems like a perfect thing for a SAHM to do. I am going to wade in carefully - but I am getting kinda excited about it. Why aren't more moms doing this??!!

 

[newmainer]

i think it can get stressful, and you have to more or less always be on top of it. I think what i'm interested in doing is called 'position' or 'swing' trading- when you're buying and holding for a few weeks or months- not as quick as day trading by any means, but not for any long term investments either.<br><br>
i did some quick searches on amazon, and it looks like the 'Trading for Dummies' books are good and well rated... i think i might try and get those from the library and start there and basically follow the recommendations of highly rated sources, from websites to simulations, etc...<br><br>
I also heard a piece on public radio the other day about an alternative exchange called BATS... apparently they charge way less than NASDAQ and DOW to execute trades and they are now the 3rd largest volume exchange in the country (out of 11... i didn't even know there was anything other than NASDAQ and DOW!!)<br><br>
so, lots' to learn... but interesting... at least to me. we'll see if i start losing money!!

 

[WendyC]

So I got a couple of books at the library that I have been reading that have been excellent and helpful for all types of trading. They were highly reccomended from a couple of forex forums.<br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325&tag=motheringhud-20&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FTrading-Living-Psychology-Tactics-Management%2Fdp%2F0471592242%2Fref%3Dsr_1_16%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1201441857%26sr%3D1-16" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Living...441857&sr=1-16</a><br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325&tag=motheringhud-20&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FTrade-Your-Way-Financial-Freedom%2Fdp%2F007147871X%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_sr_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1201442178%26sr%3D1-1" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Trade-Your-Way...1442178&sr=1-1</a><br><br><br>
The more I read the more I think psychologically speaking this field is a really good match for me because I can maintain unattachment from loosing and am not going for extreamly high risk overnight millions. What I really need help with is the technical side of the thing.<br><br>
I have been going through forex 'school' on <a href="http://www.babypips.com" target="_blank">www.babypips.com</a> and it has been really good. I have learned a lot but I really want to master the technical anyalsis part. Have you started working on analysing charts yet? I have been looking at candlestick charts and trying to decode it all. I know eventually these things will come easy, but right now i am struggling to remember even the basic terminology.<br><br>
Swing trading sounds interesting - however if I am specializing in trading currencies the money is probably not going to be in holding on to it for a few weeks, since the dollar is so weak right now. In my practice account I managed to loose $1200 of the 'play' money, BUT the last two days I brought my account back up with two successful trades of $300 and $500. Unfortuantly those trades were based more on "gee I wonder how this button works" and not on any intelligent analysis.<br><br>
So much more work to do. Glad to have someone trying to decode this world with me! I am having a lot of fun working through these things.

 

[WendyC]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>traycanadian</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/10265383"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Hope you don't mind if I sub to your thread! I'm interested too. I keep seeing infomercials and ads for services like Investools and wonder if anyone uses them successfully or does it on their own.</div>
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</tr></table></div>
From what I have learned - generally speaking those informercial ads for programs don't work mainly because they cut out the most important part of trading which is human emotion. Which is something that can't be impartially tracked by a computer program. For example say you have a program that tracks the moving average and forecasts that you should hit X level today and it would be a good time to buy. Well, then a bomb explodes and kills the CEO of such and such corporation and everyone panics and sells. If you were just letting the computer tick along you would loose a lot of money.<br><br>
HOWEVER - from what I am learning - knowing a variety of systems with the understanding that none are magic can give you a significant edge.

 

[kalisis]

I traded the silver market for a couple of years. I started right after DS was born and just closed my account late last year. In all honesty, it was very stressful. I was always worried about making the wrong decision and losing my money (which I did, right off the bat, but then managed to make it back). I originally had a broker who I relied on for info, but after I lost about 10,000 b/c of him, I ditched him and did it all myself.<br><br>
I'm thinking that this is probably what I will do with my time as a single parent in the near future. It's unstable, but with the right setup, I have confidence I can do it. I will have both the kids in some kind of part-time care and that will give me a few hours a day to concentrate on it. It takes a lot of time to keep up with all the news, which is the best way I found to figure out the trends.<br><br>
It took a lot of trial and error for me to learn what I was willing to do, what kinds of risks I could take, but there is potential there.<br><br>
I also wanted to say that my STBXH bought the wisetrade software...retail. It seriously wasn't worth all the money and as a pp said, isn't 100% reliable.

 

[JulieNicole23]

Isn't there a website that you can use fake money just to practice??

 

[WendyC]

I am just working with currency trading - which has LOADS of free 'demo' accounts to practice on. I don't know about stocks, I didn't see anything - but that doesn't mean it doesn't exsist. For the record, I downloaded the software from fxcm.com and I like it. A lot of forex people love the Oanda.com site for real trading, but the demo isn't too great. Also interbankfx has a demo that a lot of people use. Its great practice for learning technical analysis.<br><br>
Good luck with the silver market - Ashley! Geeze with this uptrend just buy and hold, I don't think you can loose right now!

 

[kalisis]

Well, I closed my acct when I left DH. I haven't had the time or brainspace to keep up with the market right now, but it's too bad b/c I had to sell a Jan 08 contract for a loss then and it'd have made me enough to pay off my credit cards now!<br><br>
Aaaah, the joys of the market!