It’s always good to have a plan. Without a good solid plan or at least some idea of where you are going, you will get lost on the way through the new year. Be sure to make achievable goals. Here for all to see is my 2010 Financial Goals:
Learn and use swing trading
Open a CD account for youngest son
Continue to work toward my goal of trading to own my van
Read one financial book a month
Review and Readjust my 401k
Take one investing class
Learn and use Long Term Value Investing
In the spirit of goals, I’ll also list my goals for this blog:
2 posts a week (no excuses)
Podcast (later in the year)
Add video
New layout
New affiliates
Ebook (later in the year)
Email list
Requests and Suggestion box
Sound off in the comments and let me know what your financial goals are for 2010. Good luck on your financial goals and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I know this is a no brainer, but it’s always important to say it. Never, Never, Never ever invest money that you need right now.
A gentleman told me a story of some co-workers of his that did this. They took their pay check and invested the whole thing in to the stock market. When they needed money, like rent, they would sell stocks and pay the bill. This was back in the roaring dot com era. You can guess what happened. The dot com busted and some of them got evicted.
So, remember, never, never, never ever invest money you need right now. Share your comments below or subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up with updates!
Don’t risk your money on untested strategies. You will get bitten by the Wall Street sharks. I always test my new strategies on paper for a month. Its fantasy stock trading!
Here are the rules:
1. Pick your dollar amount. Be realistic. If you aren’t trading in the millions, don’t do it on paper. $500 is a good starting point.
2. Write down your rules and stick with them.
3. Your buy amount is the closing amount of the day you buy. Write down the date and amount.
4. When you sell, it’s the closing amount on the day you sell. Write this down as well.
5. After a month check your profit/loss. How did you do?
By doing this, you can decide if the strategy has merit or is a dud! Its better to find this out before you risk money. This is good for short term trading. If you are in the process of saving money (Part 1 – How much money do you need? Investing for only $50 a month) then use this to get more familiar with the market (long term or short term). You can modify the rules a bit to try day trading, but it’s more extreme.
Got a new rule to add, a question to ask or simply want to comment please do so below. I love comments, it brings joy to blogging!
Every Christmas and birthday my kids get many presents. A few weeks later the presents are mostly forgotten or broken. Such a waste! I started brainstorming ideas that could cut down on the clutter and be a long term benefit for them. I considered savings accounts, bonds, cds and the cookie jar. Stocks was the winner!
Here are my reasons for picking stocks:
1. High dividend stocks make money for them.
2. Stocks splits give them more stocks.
3. My teen thinks its cool to have a stock portfolio (my youngest,8, doesn’t care right now).
4. I pick stocks of products that they like. In our case, they get 4 McDonald’s stock a year.
5. If you aren’t into picking stocks, go with an index fund.
Four a year? That’s not much!
True, but take the case of my 8 year old. He will have 40 shares when he turns 18, plus the dividend that gets paid. It doesn’t take long for the stocks to accumulate enough dividend to start buying more stocks. Keep reinvesting the dividend, it adds up!
Risk
I know that the market will go up and down. This is a long term investment for them. I’m not taking too much risk
What about fees?
I use Sharebuilder for my kid’s portfolio. Their service is a bit odd in that you get a $4 fee when you buy on Tuesday (and only on Tuesday), other days it’s $12. Since my kids only buy twice a year and aren’t gaming the market it works out best for them. They also allow custodian accounts which is what you will need.
Action time:
1. Decid how much to buy.
2. Sign up for a service like Sharebuilder.
3. Open a custodian account in your child’s name.
4. Deposit the money.
5. Buy!
If your kids keep the investment going, they could potentially have a million when they retire. Like I said earlier, this is a long term benefit for them!
