Interested

[detour]

So how does one get into the stock market 300? I have no background knowledge if you are wondering LOL:D

[300]

Sorry for the late reply, I have been out of town on other business. The best way is to go to www.asx.com.au (http://www.asx.com.au) and on the right hand side you should see a 'Log in to....' area. Sign up and start a portfolio of your own with some dummy figures and watch what happens. There are a few stock forums around that house a wealth of information submitted from the members. My favourite is at www.aussiestockforums.com (http://www.aussiestockforums.com) . I am no financial advisor which is why I put my 2 cents at the end of each morning run down. Some other rules about the ASX, you don't have to get a broker if you don't want to. Most of the major banks have on-line trading accounts such as CommSec from the Commonwealth Bank with a $30 brokerage fee for transactions. I think the minimum amount of a trade is $500.

[orsum]

hey I might just give this stuff a go. Probably be a good idea to start as early as i can anyway ! thanks for the heads up 300

[blackberry]

yeah I have been toying around with the idea of doing this for a bit.

How much money do you reckon is a good starting point for someone on an apprentice wage :p lol

[300]

:-) I have found it convenient to start a bogus portfolio in www.asx.com.au (http://www.asx.com.au) and so that I can keep some sort of perspective on each 'virtual share' I put all 'watching' shares in as a 10,000 parcel buy. So it doesn't matter if it is a $0.01 share or a $15.00 share, I have some baseline to refer them all to. Just an idea.

Obviously the buyin amount regardless of occupation is up to the individual. I would suggest an initial portfolio of around $2,000 - this is how much I started with. This way if you lose, you can claw your way back and it isn't the end of the world. Beware of buying and selling too often because you attract a $30 fee each time you trade. Try to calculate and set a sell price to counter-act large losses (something I am still trying to discipline myself with) say at 15% from purchase price. That way if you stock takes a hit, you have only lost 15% (plus whatever the $30 for the sell order adds it up to). For a n00b, focus on the percentages and not the dollar value of gains. The magic of compounding gains on top of each other is one way of setting up your profit strategy - and don't expect to make a million in the first year; it isn't easy or else everyone would be doing it. The bogus portfolio will show you a heap in terms of how a seemingly sure thing can go sour quickly.

Now, how do you get to work out what stocks to pick?? for someone entering the market, they probably can't afford Rio Tinto stocks at over $100 ea. but the cheaper stocks (under $0.10) are quite volitile and can go up just as quickly as they can go down. The ASX shows Australian listed stocks only and not international stocks - you will need a broker for that. If you want to start a bogus portfolio, check out CVN and SEN just as some sort of starting point.

[Aukiman]

:-) I have found it convenient to start a bogus portfolio in www.asx.com.au (http://www.asx.com.au) and so that I can keep some sort of perspective on each 'virtual share'

is that the ASX game thingy ?

[300]

nope, it was with a view that I didn't know too much and that I wanted someway to see how I would go IF I had put some money on - but without really taking the risk.