Please Help Guys

[ogarza]

First off let me say I really respect your opinions, when I first joined this site I went with a lot of your games and never complained win or lose, I understand its a gamble and ultimately my choice. But now Im interested in getting into stocks...I frequently read your posts and this sounds like something I would like to invest in. My questions are this, Im considering about taking classes maybe at community college to learn more about it, because I dont know much. Do ya think that is a smart move, is there another way to educate myself about the market and stocks, is there a book ya recommend me reading, and also where do ya make your trades, either through a personal broker or a particular online broker...In other words im pretty ignorant when it comes to this and your feedback would be greatly appreciated. I dont have to much but am planning on starting with about 4k. Thanks for your time and input in advance.

[moondog22]

The first step orgarza is IMO is to start a IRA if you dont already have one.I would suggest a S&P 500 mutual fund to start with.Go to your local library,you'll find tons of books and other information that will be of great help.

[ogarza]

Ira

Thanks for responding moondog, I do currently have an IRA, I rolled over my 401K when I left my last job. It is in low risk mutual funds. I was thinking of signing up with Scottrade online and transfering my IRA there. Just dont want to make any bonehead rookie mistakes, which is why Im asking you guys for advice.

[illjaunt]

og, you need to talk to wallstreet.....

[RJeremy]

I had a little bit of a head start, I was a Stock Broker for Morgan Stanley right out of college. A class would probably be a good idea just to learn the basics of the market.

Depending on your age, you probably don't need to be in such low risk mutual funds. The rule of thumb is to take 100 - your age and that's the % you should be into growth funds.

Ex. 100 - 25 years old, you should be in about 75% growth and more risky stocks and mutual funds, you have quite awhile until you are going to use this money. Mutual Funds are great if you're just starting out. Sites like morningstar.com and nasdaq.com are good starting points to check some mutual funds and stocks to see what their ratings are.

I wouldn't recommend going at it yourself if you don't know what you're doing. I have a Scottrade account and I use a Financial Advisor.

GL to you!

[ogarza]

Thanks RJ

Im gonna look into changing my IRA stocks because one of them has been consistently losing me money, so putting it into a riskier stock would be a great choice. I hope you dont mind if I ask a question from time to time as I learn more about trading and seek advice. Again thanks for you and moondog's responses. Greatly appreciated.

[Stallion692]

Every 10 years you should move 10% of your growth money into bonds or fixed incomes.