Guidence, Help, And Input, Please!

SHIFTY101EASY said: "okay, i sort of have two questions. first... im at that age in high school where you have to begin wondering what your going to do with the rest of your life. Although i have basically no experience with the stock market, i have too many people i know who have become millionaires to ignore the intriguing lures of the stock market. Anyways, ive been reading a lot about all of it lately and have decided to sort of keep a line of work involved in the stock market as an option...what kind of degrees, colleges, and courses are needed to become say...a stock broker or something? what other lines of work have to do with the stock market that are pretty promising? Anyways, just some general info on that since im becoming more interested in that that area. (its basically between computers and investing that im interested in right now) Second... if you dont have a ton of money, and would like to get your feet wet in some short term stock, how do you reccomend going about doing that? is there any way to get started with say...less than 500 dollars? or would i have to dig deeper into my savings. If so id probably have to wait on this investing because im planning on buying a certain car soon so i can get a job to start making money to begin restoring it. (the mustang) okay, well anyways, just some general facts, tips, or direction for me to go with for investing and pursing a career in the stock market would be great, thanks! (p.s. anyone know any good schools for this type of job in california?) EDIT: do you have to be a math genius to to well?"

travllr said: "Some basics: Understand the difference between the terms FA and TA (clue: one's fundamental, and the other is technical; they're both analysis techniques). Read: TA for short term FA for long (but watch out for that buy and hold, except for maybe a portion which you shall determine based on your personality characteristics) Get down a few chart basics, like trend lines and bollinger bands. You'll figure out more. Buy a clunker - NOT the Mustang (remember, beauty is only sheet metal deep, and that's goin' nowhere but to iron oxide), put the extra money into a brokerage account (Ameritrade, any others who will let you buy 1000's of shares - for your some day mad money - at a flat rate). Use the brokerage account's ***access to live data feed*** into a program of your choice: maybe quotetracker (free) first, then esignal later, at a monthly charge, but great charts. Learn how to use your online account features. Become a student of how to become facile. Tame your ego, know yourself. Read [url]http://rationalsense.com[/url] (the guy's got several more "foxes" to post at this writing). As you'll learn, being TOO AMBITIOUS works pardoxically. Learn NOT to yearn. Trading is a FUN experience, don't take losing too hard. Plan on it. But, hone your edge to the positive. Check out trading software, and services: Check out: kwikpop (you can observe them in action) Check out: PCA (position-cost-averaging.com) for long term utilizing Lichello algorthms - more aggresive than daily cost averaging. Get yourself an Avant Browser, and take alot of visual detail out of your sight for more important visual real estate. You may wish to start a daily log - or make that a blog, if you want to do something for your legacy (and future book on how to become an outstanding success in the markets!) Read [url]http://investing-news.com[/url] for a break for the day-to-day details. Get a global picture. Read some great stories. Enjoy, trav"

SHIFTY101EASY said: "is sharebuilder a good choice for a investment corperation? im interested because of the no minimum to start out. what do you think? can anyone guide me through how to do all this? thanks"

alhamid said: "sharebuilder is okay unless you have to sell the stocks in the first year. they dont break down what you pay for stock so you must calculate it."

Heather said: "Sharebuilder is a good idea if you are planning on investing long term. They buy stock over time. You set the amount that you want to invest weekly in whatever stocks you want. Real time trades aren't really what they "specialize" in. It is more like a savings account or IRA style investment site."

SHIFTY101EASY said: "ahh i see. okay well what are some other ones that dont need a minimal starting balance? id like to "fiddle" with my stocks more often than that. thanks."

bobjitsu said: "I've been with Sharebuilder for 4 years now and love it."

SHIFTY101EASY said: "is it every time you buy stock, or is it every share of stock you buy they charge you 4 dollars? and how much to sell? like 15 or something? im kind of confused..."

alhamid said: "they do a flat weekly rate. so you can accumulate a lot of stocks each week and pay one fee. when you sell they have a commission though."

SHIFTY101EASY said: "ah i see...ok well what if i was to buy say... 5 shares of AMD stock, one time, does the flat rate still apply every week since it wont be buying on my behalf??"

bobjitsu said: "Weekly rate? :confused: If your not going to do a whole lot of trading go with the basic plan... [b]With no monthly fee, the Basic Program offers you automatic investments through your ShareBuilder Plan for just $4.00 each and access to real-time trades at $15.95.[/b] If your gonna do a few companies a month the Standard is probably better.. [b] With the Standard Program you get six free automatic investments, discounts on additional automatic investments and on your real-time trades, and access to tools to help you track your portfolio, all for a monthly fee of just $12.00.[/b] For example, you have the basic plan and want to buy 2,000 shares of one company, it will only cost you $4. If you want to buy 2,000 of one and 3,000 of another it is $8. Very cheap if long term is your goal."

SHIFTY101EASY said: "ive heard that scottrade is the best brokerage according to JD Power reviews...? is this true? I can come up with the 500 dollars to open an account its just is it actually worth it and will i be able to actively trade and pursue stocks on the market and not just buy some, wait 10 years then check them again... any suggestions...remember, im a begginner to so be nice...and also...cheapest is talkin my language..."

AlfredSokol said: "If you plan on actively trading at all, then Scottrade is an excellent choice."