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Investing

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
Last week the company I work for gave us a profit sharing bonus. It wasn't a lot, a little over $500, but its money I didnt have before. I'm considering using it to dip my toe into the stock market. I understand that when the market is down is when to buy.
Any advice is welcome. How does a newbie get started? Are online brokers like etrade or td Ameritrade the route to go? Or should I go a different direction? Any suggestions on good stocks for a beginner to start with
 
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Jamie

Senior Member
5,690
177
Ohio
how you invest is determined almost solely by your objectives and risk tolerance. it's just my opinion, but gambling as a part time day trader is exactly that; gambling. investing in the stock market is pretty complicated. if you are serious about it, pay a professional to help you.

when I started investing I went to the local Edward Jones office and sat down with a financial planner. make sure anyone you are working is a fiduciary. Personally, I like to look the people who are managing my assets in the eye when I'm speaking with them.

beyond that, we began seriously investing in 2009 when the markets were down big for different reasons. it's is very likely that the stock market will recover much more quickly this time, but you never know. it's a great time to invest as there is real money to be made really fast if the markets roar back to life in the next few months. for just starting, I think that finding stocks with growth potential that also pay a solid dividend (say in the 3-4% range or more). stocks that pay a healthy dividend can provide income/gains even if the stock price is not rising quickly.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
I second the Edward Jones option. I’ve been utilizing their services for four years. Very happy. I also dick around with e-trading using a mobile app called Robinhood. I basically treat it like my gambling money. Consequently, I’m down a good portion on the gambling side. But it’s kinda fun.

So I would say you need to determine what it is you plan to accomplish. If your plan Is long term with consistent investment, I suggest seaking the guidance of a pro.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
HBAN has always been a reasonably safe and somewhat predictable stock. My old boss retired at 45 with millions by placing all his eggs in this single ticker. He moved to AZ. His father had the same successes going back another generation. He died a rich man. They introduced this ticker to me in 1988. I’ve bought and sold around 25,000 shares of it since then. Buy low, sell high, be patient, and reinvest the dividends paid out.
 

Iowa_Buckeye

Smartest person here
1,776
85
Linn County Iowa
I’d suggest opening brokerage and ROTH accounts with Vanguard. They are easy-peasy to open, but it takes a few days to get linked to your bank account. So I’d do it soon if you are wanting to take advantage of the low market prices. Then stick your money in a low expense ratio index fund such as VTSAX, VFIAX, VIIIX, etc. They each have minimum investment amounts so that may play a role in what one you can pick.
If you do not have a ROTH yet, that would be what I would suggest. Of course you can’t touch that till you are 59.5, but the sooner you start contributing to a ROTH the better. Your ‘old’ self will thank you later.
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,690
177
Ohio
I should point out that I'm no longer with Edward Jones. my guy there got recruited away by Wells Fargo shortly after all the problems they had a few years ago. I had no desire to take my money to Wells Fargo. At the time, I found out that a friend of the family had been my mothers' financial planner since before she retired. She knew him from working for 5/3 bank for 20 some years. He's a Navy veteran, a very enthusiastic money manager and owns his business. Edward Jones did a good job for us, but I feel like I'm in better hands now. We were thinking of moving on to my moms guy, anyway, so it was a perfect time to leave Edward Jones. I didn't much care for the new guy there, anyway.
 
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5Cent

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
12,291
212
North Central Ohio
I'm a Fidelity guy and agree with Jamie's advise, except I am OK with choosing the investments in my 401K, IRS and Roth IRA. Diversify, diversify, diversify and be aggressive with stocks until you approach retirement age, if your risk tolerance allows. It's best to invest, keep tabs on it each quarter/every 6 months/1x a year to see if any major overhauls are needed to align to your long-term/retirement plan. The phone apps are really nice for a quick view vs. having to login in each time.

You will drive yourself nuts looking at it everyday/every week. Let your $ work for you while you work on other items. Good luck and happy investing!
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,690
177
Ohio
I actively manage everything I'm invested in. our brokerage acct (all stocks), our Roth IRA's. the only thing I don't actively manage is my SEP. all un coordination with my financial planner.
 

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
I have a 401k through my employer, and up until the last couple weeks it was doing pretty well. The investments I'm looking at would be in addition to my 401k.
At this point, I'm not even sure what my "goals" are... I just know I can do a little more with a little extra cash than stick it in my savings.
I have an appointment with a guy from Edward Jones on tuesday... I'll see what advice he can give me
 
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hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
After reading your last post, here is another thought: Put that $500 into your 401k. Choose a higher risk category if you'd like. Or not. Put it in with the other money. Right now we are buying stocks on sale. Personally. . . I'd sit on it. Wait on this yo-yo of a market to quit bouncing so much. Then sink it in when things begin to climb again. When the market is falling, it tends to keep falling. When the market is climbing, it tends to keep climbing.

Overall: Do something. You are on the right track in my opinion. You are planning. Many don't plan at all. I'm no financial advisor but I do read a lot. Just remember: Nobody cares more about your money than YOU!
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Other than employer-provided retirement accounts and a few things for the girls, I have never actively invested until today. I consolidated some debt through Sofi and their app has day trading abilities, plus they gave me some free $ for setting up auto-withdraws on my loan. I bought some stock in Siemens based on my work in robotics and automation, some Under Armour because they are way down (cheap play) and bound to pick up with summer coming, and have $ pending in 3M since I couldn't afford a whole stock, so I'm waiting it out with a partial play. I figured it was worth $100 to "gamble".
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,690
177
Ohio
about a month ago I was talking with my financial planner. in light of everything that is happening and the bottom was dropping out of the market he's telling me half of his clients are in panic mode and half are excited about it. I'm of the latter, and started seeing dollar signs when the market went below 25k. we made some significant additional purchases of stocks we already owned that have been doing well when the DOW was just over 19k, almost low pointing it perfectly. bought all of them measurably lower than the first time we bought. one notable one is BP. we bought a few hundred shares right after the Gulf oil spill at about $27/share when their stock tanked. it pays a great dividend, and at one point it was over $55(doubling my money) a share. it hasn't been anywhere near that in several years, but we bought more BP a few weeks ago for $17 and change as the dividend has remained solid. I think we've tripled our money on BP in about 10 years. according to Cliff, "fortunes are made when there's blood in the streets, my friend." we'll see.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
My financial guy 2 weeks ago bought me some stocks in Tesla, Scott’s Miracle Grow (MMJ related), and some facial imaging security screening company. Thinking toward future needs of technology. He did buy low (Tesla at $512/share) so next year we’ll see how well he did.
 
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