I.Dup. Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 My dh wants me to start buying/selling stocks. He might as well have asked me to repair foreign cars, I have no idea how to do this. He thinks I will make more money doing that then in my current job (not hard to believe as I'm hardly making anything right now). Do any of you do this? Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 TBH I think this is a horrid, horrid idea. If it was so easy to jump into and make lots of money then there wouldn't be so many out there who lose their shirt. I think for anyone who does it long term and is sucessful they put a lot of time into researching etc. It is risky for people who know what they are doing let alone someone who doesn't have a clue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Any advice? Laugh, while you ask what possessed him to assume you'd just love to jump into a job you know nothing about it. :tongue_smilie: Sorry, but if that appeals to you, then maybe that would be a valid suggestion, but I don't think that's as the go-to job for mothers of small children who need to earn some extra money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 TBH I think this is a horrid, horrid idea. If it was so easy to jump into and make lots of money then there wouldn't be so many out there who lose their shirt. I think for anyone who does it long term and is sucessful they put a lot of time into researching etc. It is risky for people who know what they are doing let alone someone who doesn't have a clue. :iagree:Have him read Investing For Dummies. He goes over the stats on timing the market, etc and how sane, balanced, long-term investment with low fees is the way to go. Any Eric Tyson book is thorough and easy to understand without insulting your intelligence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 LOL, yeah I was a bit worried myself. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 :iagree:Have him read Investing For Dummies. He goes over the stats on timing the market, etc and how sane, balanced, long-term investment with low fees is the way to go. Any Eric Tyson book is thorough and easy to understand without insulting your intelligence. Thank you for the rec! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Dh and I buy and sell stock in our IRA accounts. We put alot of time and effort into figuring out what to buy when and what to sell when and then we worry over what the economy is going to do and what is going on in politics. I would not jump into it without a fair amount of research. And then you buy low and sell high. :) If only we could always do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 If you are really going to do it, I would get a subscription to the WSJ and Money magazine and prepare to spend a lot of time learning about the economy, individual companies, and the markets in which they operate. I don't see how you would have time to do it with homeschooling your family. Our families are similar in size and I don't have time to do it, even though I invested actively for 15 years. Remember that you can also lose a lot more money than you make at your current job. With no background in it and with what you have on hour plate right now, I wouldn't try to do it as a way to generate income. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I agree with the Wall Street Journal and would add Morning Star. We use it all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I think that's a great way to potentially lose a lot of money and waste a lot of time. :) Instead, I'd recommend investing in mutual funds and letting a professional handle it. Most investment companies have tons of different mutual funds for all kinds of risk levels, terms of investment, personal preferences (we invest in a "social choice" fund that tries to invest in environmentally and socially conscious companies), etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I think there are better, more secure ways of making money. This is one of the few jobs where you could potentially *lose* a lot of money. Bad idea. What job does he do now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I agree with the Wall Street Journal and would add Morning Star. We use it all the time. Yes, definitely Morning Star if you are going to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted August 18, 2012 Author Share Posted August 18, 2012 Thanks for the advice everyone. :) What job does he do now? He's a helicopter mechanic. He makes plenty to pay our bills and food, etc, but extra is always nice. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Instead, I'd recommend investing in mutual funds and letting a professional handle it. Most investment companies have tons of different mutual funds for all kinds of risk levels, terms of investment, personal preferences (we invest in a "social choice" fund that tries to invest in environmentally and socially conscious companies), etc. And mutual funds NOT in a retirement account are another great way to lose a lot of money! Just wait for the tax bill on your "GAINS" when the overall fund is down (meaning it is worth less than when you bought in). :thumbdown: Most funds are complete bs in terms of thinking of the investor's tax treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 My dh wants me to start buying/selling stocks. He might as well have asked me to repair foreign cars, I have no idea how to do this. He thinks I will make more money doing that then in my current job (not hard to believe as I'm hardly making anything right now). Do any of you do this? Any advice? You'd be better off trying to repair the foreign cars. I'm sure your dh is a great guy, but this is the worst possible thing that you could possibly do to try to make money. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't even consider this! I know that everyone knows some guy who knows a guy who claims to have made a fortune as a day trader. I also know that the "some guy" is probably a big fat liar. The vast majority of people who start day trading in stocks lose everything they put into it, and keep losing more money because they get desperate over the money they've already lost, so they think if they just try a little harder and spend a little more money...... and things very rarely end well. I know from the experience of a few of our friends and clients, that even when you know what you're doing, you can still lose a ton of money if you're not lucky (and there's a lot of luck involved in investing in the right stocks at the right time, and in knowing when to get rid of them) but if you go in blind, you can almost guarantee that you might as well have just tossed the money out the window and been done with it. One guy we knew lost over $50K and another lost $400K, so we're not talking about pennies here. They'd both thought day trading was their road to easy money, and it wasn't.) I'm sorry to sound so discouraging, but this is such a terrible, terrible idea. Unless you have a LOT of money to lose, and you won't miss the cash if you lose it, you really need to concentrate on finding safe, low-risk investments where your principal is secure, not trading in stocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Thanks for the advice everyone. :) He's a helicopter mechanic. He makes plenty to pay our bills and food, etc, but extra is always nice. :) Tell him that you could take up gambling instead. Same difference, really, for a layperson. At least you get free drinks at a casino! Eta: what is that movie where Kevin Bacon is a bike messenger? Y'all should watch that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Tell him that you could take up gambling instead. Same difference, really, for a layperson. At least you get free drinks at a casino! Sounds like a plan to me! :D And really, why sit around at the computer all day when you can be hitting the boardwalk in Atlantic City or casino-hopping in Vegas? (Your dh won't mind watching the kids while you're gone, right? ;)) Eta: what is that movie where Kevin Bacon is a bike messenger? Y'all should watch that. Was it Quicksilver? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted August 18, 2012 Author Share Posted August 18, 2012 Got it, thank you all. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Was it Quicksilver? Yes! That is the one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Day trading should be the exclusive domain of sophisticated investors. Profits are taxed as ordinary income for income tax purposes. While households with funds to invest do need to learn about how the financial markets work, day trading is definitely not the way to go about it. "Random Walk Down Wall Street" is another decent read. I would also recommend Motley Fools website and book as well as the "Investing for Dummies" that someone else mentioned. Long term investing has the advantage of a preferential tax rate on long term capital gains. I probably would put bulk of funds in a well balanced, moderate risk mutual fund and hold on to it for a number of years instead of purchasing individual stocks and bonds. Having said that, one of my biggest losses ever was an Asian fund that tanked years ago. If you choose the automatic reinvestment plans for either individual stocks or for mutuals, remember to set aside funds to cover the taxes on the dividends or capital gains that are automatically reinvested. Another strategy would be to get a DRIP (dividend reinvestment plan) account for stocks with a proven track record. Qualified dividends and long term (held a year or more) capital gains currently have a preferential tax rate of 15%. I would avoid hedge funds, derivatives, MBS, and other investments that can be too difficult for ordinary investor to understand even if the returns are good. Be prepared for anger when you understand how certain strategies work for the benefit of elite investors at the expense of ordinary people. Overall you need to be prepared to be patient enough to ride out the flat times in the financial markets. Hope this helps some. Have you thought about other ways of earning extra money? Housecleaning and office cleaning services? Petsitting? My children and I did petsitting only for people in our subdivision. Offering childcare for parents who want to go out on a date? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Several years ago, a group of friends in our church family formed a little investment group. They were (somehow) making money as the stock market declined. But then something happened, and they all lost the money they had invested . . . and then some. The young man leading the group was emotionally devastated for nearly a year, and each member of the group of course lost his original investment as well as the virtual "pot" of money which had grown quite large over the year of their investing. Sad for all, but thankfully it directed several of the young men into more stable vocational pursuits. Most people don't have the stomach for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 No. Just no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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