Attention newbie investors!

Darren said: "I have one bit of advice to you as you enter the exciting and glamorous world of stock investing: [URL="http://www.superiorinvestor.net/blog/2006/08/15/never-be-in-a-hurry-to-lose-money/"]never be in a hurry to lose money[/URL]"

thezster said: "All to often I see new investors (really speculators based on their style) - trying to "jump on the bandwagon" with no true research/basis for their moves. As a seasoned (translated into - "old") investor/speculator - My truest mantra is: "every day is an opportunity" - it just takes a bit of thinking to figure out where that opportunity lies. Never - ever - get in a rush!!!! :)"

AlfredSokol said: "This is true of a lot of things. Never rush into: 1) War 2) Marriage :)"

Harry said: "Don't dive in without doing homework!"

RionSmith said: "Only thing I disagree with in your article, was your suggestion that they might be better off going to Vegas. Vegas is designed to take your money, while the stock market is apathetic. If you invest your money no matter how rushed/ignorant you are, at least someone isn't trying to take it from you."

thezster said: "[QUOTE=RionSmith]Only thing I disagree with in your article, was your suggestion that they might be better off going to Vegas. Vegas is designed to take your money, while the stock market is apathetic. If you invest your money no matter how rushed/ignorant you are, at least someone isn't trying to take it from you.[/QUOTE] I believe the point was - they would be "better off" going to Vegas - meaning the odds aren't much different from an uninformed/rushed trade - but, in Vegas, at least you get free drinks while your "trading"......."

RupertB said: "Well said. Even if your ultimate goal is to day or momentum trade, its still important to get a fundamental understanding of how the market works, how stocks are valued (as opposed to "priced"), and, once you've made your fortune scalping, how to invest it in securities that won't go away with your money. I like the baseball analogy (Buffett's, I think) where no one ever calls a strike. You can just watch the pitches go by until you get the one that's a "can't miss" and then BAM! Anyone who doesn't understand what a balance sheet, income statement, & cash flow statement tell you about a company AND why the [I]price[/I] of a stock tells you nothing about the [I]value[/I] of a stock, has IMO no business putting their money in the market or calling themselves an "investor"."

AlfredSokol said: "Good points by everyone. You have to understand about 10 fundamental concepts to have a chance succeeding. How long that takes to learn is up to you, but it won't be 10 minutes. And if you get in the habit of wanting advice from others you need to watch out. Most advice is self-serving whether intentional or not."

RionSmith said: "[QUOTE=thezster]I believe the point was - they would be "better off" going to Vegas - meaning the odds aren't much different from an uninformed/rushed trade - but, in Vegas, at least you get free drinks while your "trading".......[/QUOTE] I know what he meant, I was just being an overly critical prick."

thezster said: "[QUOTE=RionSmith]I know what he meant, I was just being an overly critical prick.[/QUOTE] And, I might add... you did a damned fine job of it.... :D"

RionSmith said: "[QUOTE=thezster]And, I might add... you did a damned fine job of it.... :D[/QUOTE] Thanks, nothing more satisfying than a job well done."