1. Invest, don’t “Trade”. Trading is gambling. Investing is buying for the future.
2. Be patient. Look at the long term. You’ve chosen a good company, give them some rope.
3. Don’t watch the Ticker Tape! Your portfolio should be a “Set it and Forget it”
4. Expect a normal ROI. Stocks ROI has been ~10%. A 3% Return on Investment (ROI) has been the historic return on all other investments.
5. You a buying a part of a company. Buy what you know. Good companies that make good products.
6. Have a plan. Mine is The Housewife’s Method of Investing*. Yours can be different
7. Keep a Wish List. Opportunity/Luck favors the prepared.
8. Never believe a “Customer’s Man” AKA Broker. They depend on your Buying & Selling. They will profit, you will lose. I have many stories! Don’t pay your gains to someone else.
9. This is not a Lottery. The Stock Market is not a place to “Play”. You’ll only hear stories about Player’s wins, not their losses. Players are amateurs. Professionals do deep research, visit companies, have PHDs in the companies they invest in. We are not them. I know some Professionals!
10. Don’t “Time” the market. Don’t anticipate it. It’ll make you Crazy! That’s Playing.
11. The Market is not Liquid. Only put into it the money you won’t need for a while (5 years?)
12. Buy into a good company when you see they’re having a temporary hard time. I bought Apple when the PR was against them. I bought Toyota when they had those brake/acceleration problems. I won’t buy GE because my experiences with their products has been abysmal!
13. Luck favors those who prepared before the opportunity arises.
14. Research!!!
15. Buy Low; Sell High. Never sell Low... Duh.
16. It’s a Market! Buyers have to have sellers. I’ve seen days between trade executions because no one is selling.
17. The Market is a very emotional entity. It reflects the mood of the people. You need to be unemotional.
7. Keep a Wish List. Opportunity/Luck favors the prepared.
8. Never believe a “Customer’s Man” AKA Broker. They depend on your Buying & Selling. They will profit, you will lose. I have many stories! Don’t pay your gains to someone else.
9. This is not a Lottery. The Stock Market is not a place to “Play”. You’ll only hear stories about Player’s wins, not their losses. Players are amateurs. Professionals do deep research, visit companies, have PHDs in the companies they invest in. We are not them. I know some Professionals!
10. Don’t “Time” the market. Don’t anticipate it. It’ll make you Crazy! That’s Playing.
11. The Market is not Liquid. Only put into it the money you won’t need for a while (5 years?)
12. Buy into a good company when you see they’re having a temporary hard time. I bought Apple when the PR was against them. I bought Toyota when they had those brake/acceleration problems. I won’t buy GE because my experiences with their products has been abysmal!
13. Luck favors those who prepared before the opportunity arises.
14. Research!!!
15. Buy Low; Sell High. Never sell Low... Duh.
16. It’s a Market! Buyers have to have sellers. I’ve seen days between trade executions because no one is selling.
17. The Market is a very emotional entity. It reflects the mood of the people. You need to be unemotional.
*Buy small lots of good companies. Buy to hold for your lifetime. My stocks are competitors in the same arena, i.e. Coke/Pepsi, Toyota/Honda, Target/Walmart. Idea is that if one goes down, the other goes up. Only leaders in their areas, though. Buy companies that make products you know to be good. Buy for a lifetime and only sell when you must. It is NOT Luck. Never sell into a down market. My Gma was a Stockbroker from the 40s to the 60s. Never believe a ‘Customer’s Man”; Buy Low, Sell High. You know it’s the bottom when it bounces up and down. Be patient.
