JOEZ was set nicely for a good upward trend. I was excited about the chart and the upward movement it was making. I bought it at just the right time (at the bottom of it’s trending cycle). It did everything I expected. Then one day, bang, it jumped 15%. 15%! Yes, what I should have done was sell it. The trend was broken. Unfortunately, I was only tracking a trend that broke it’s trend downward. The next day, bang, 15% loss. I went from a $200 profit to a $6 loss. Of course, my trailing stop loss kicked in and sold.

Moral of the story:

When a trend is broken (up or down), it’s time to sell.

Happy trading!

Let’s do the math:

To make a million dollars in one week:

1. Invest enough money in stock that can be sold for a million dollar profit.
• Let’s say you have a stock that will go up 10% in one week.
• You’ll need to invest $10,000,000 to make your profit. If you have that much money, why do you need to get rich quick?
2. Invest $1,000 that grows to a million in one week.
• You would need to find that wonder stock that will grow 1,000%. To my knowledge, that doesn’t happen.

Sorry to burst the “get rich quick” bubble.

But, there is a way…

What you can do is grow your wealth using the stock market. Investing is more like growing a garden than winning the lottery (I’ll do that comparison later). Like a garden, you need to sow good seeds or in this case buy good stocks. You also need to weed out the bad stocks that bring down your portfolio.

Some ways to do this are:

1. Value investing
2. Large Cap Stocks
3. Small Cap Stocks
4. Trending

I won’t include day trading, because this is too risky. Besides, I’m a lunch break investor. I don’t have time to sit around watching the stock market. Any strategy should be easy to follow and not take up to much of your time.

Thanks for reading and happy trading!

Here are my Lunch Break Investing Rules:

1. Only buys stocks on the watch list.
2. Must be trending upward.
3. Must have a trending sweep of at least 10%.
4. Buy only at the bottom trend line.
5. Set a loss limit (2-3%).
5. Set a trailing stop loss to 8% below the bought price (dollar amount on the stop loss, not percent)
6. Set a profit limit (5-10%).
6. Allow the stock to trend upward until trailing stop loss is activated.
7. Never break any of these rules.
8. Adapt my strategy as needed.

Over the next several weeks I will be expanding on each of these items.  I will also concentrate on the automation and mobile techniques.

Comment and share!

Most accounts can be started for $500 or less. Use your tax return or start a saving account to save the money to start investing. Also see my post about getting started even if you make minimum wage.

2. It’s the wrong time.

The worst time to invest in the stock market is tomorrow. Tomorrow is too late. Today is always the best time. Your money can’t grow until you invest it.

3. Recession!

Remember the often used “Buy low and sell high.” Guess what a recession does to stocks; it pushes them down to the “low” point of the last statement.

4. It’s too complicated.

It can be. Depending on your investing goals and strategy. Of course, it can be so simple you can do it on your lunch break. Like me!

5. I don’t have enough time.

Like step 4, most investing can be done in under an hour. I do most, if not all of my investing homework at lunch.

6. I’ll lose ALL my money.

Diversify! Unless you have a string of bad luck and all the companies go out of business, you won’t loss all your money. Keep in mind one of the goals of investing is to persevere your capital. It’s ok to take a loss if it minimizes the damage one or two bad stocks can do to your portfolio. And remember, always have a loss limit.

Got other excuses you have heard and want to share, COMMENT!

Now if you are like me and when you got started you had no idea what a loss limit was, then you may have a few that have lost big. Here are 4 questions to ask before you sell:

Is this a long term goal/investment? The beauty of the stock market is that it does bounce back. Depending on the industry and the company, you could see it bounce back.

Is it a good value company? Do your homework. Is it a good value stock. This is a good sign it could bounce back.

How much are you down? If you are down over 25%, then it may be time to sell and take the hit. Keep in mind that farther it goes down the more it has to earn to bounce back to your entry point.

Can you off set your winnings with this loss? Taxes! Uncle Sam gives investors some breaks. One is that you are taxed on your profits minus losses. Check the tax law or a trusted accountant for more details.

If you have other suggestions, please leave a comment below!

Get in and get started. Learn the ropes and make some money. And of course, check back here or subscribe to the RSS for more articles and tips!

1. How much and how long?
These are your first decisions. Depending on how much and how long will determine your APR (annual return of premium). Maturity time can range from 6 months to 60 months. Remember, you will be penalize if you cash in before the maturity date. Only deposit money that you don’t need during your allotted time period.

2. Compare rates
Check your local banks web sites. Most list the current rates and a few have helpful calculators to show how much you can earn. Some have a minimum amount to open an account. You can also use web sites like Bankrate.com or a brokerage service like Scottrade.com.

3. Check the bank for FDIC deposit insurance
The FDIC insures your CD up to $250,000. If the bank is not FDIC insured, DO NOT buy a CD from them. You can LOSE all your money. Check FDIC.gov for more information.

4. Buy and enjoy earning interest.

Got other tips to share on CD’s, leave a comment!

I use Scottrade, so my steps are more geared toward their service, but its similar for most places.

Step 1:

Log into your brokerage’s web site and click buy. Scottrade’s option is on the left side. Be sure you have enough money deposited into your account. If you do not, deposit the money and proceed to step 2.

Step 2:

Enter the stock ticker symbol. (Example: GE is General Electric and PG is Proctor and Gamble)

Step 3:

Enter the number of shares you are buying. To find this number you take the amount you are investing divided by the current share amount.

$1,000 (amount invested) / $10.00 (the current share price) = 100 shares.

Be sure to leave a little extra available for the commission and price changes.

Step 4:

Market vs. Limit

The “Market” options buys the stock at the current price or close to it when you click buy.

The “Limit” option allows you to enter how much you are willing to pay for the stock.

I used to use a limit on all my buys until I figured out that I was wasting more time chasing a stock within pennies of where I wanted to buy. I now only use the “market” option. Those few penny changes doesn’t worry me as much. If I was trading millions (I wish), it would be different.

Step 5:

Click Review/Buy (wording may vary by service).

Step 6:

Celebrate! You bought stocks and are on your way to accomplishing your financial goals!

Happy 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!