Within the last few years, I have started to invest in the stock market, and have tried to learn about stocks in a variety of ways. I had always heard that stocks, of all financial products, were the most risky commodity to invest in, and I wanted to make sure I had a good idea about what I was doing before I dove in.
I started out by getting a book on stock investing. It helped, but I really did not learn about stocks as much as I would have liked. I really learned more about how the stock market works and what different things meant, which was very helpful, but not quite what I was looking for when I started researching.
I then went and visited with a friend who had made a significant amount of money in the stock market, and there was no question that she was very knowledgeable. The problem was, she was too knowledgeable, and I could not understand why she was investing in certain stocks and avoiding other stocks, or why she was selling that this price or buying at that price.
I found a virtual stock market online that allowed you to learn about stocks by giving every person a million dollars to invest, and then letting you have at it. You had to study the stocks and trends and then invest based on your research.
This was where I finally started to learn about stocks, learning how they performed and why. I did this for about six months until nearly all of the stocks I invested in were turning descent profits. I then decided to move on to the real thing, and opened up an E-Trade account.
It was here that I really started to learn about stocks in a major way, because I had access to all kinds of information on various stocks and how to invest. I became familiar with such publications as the Wall Street Journal and Investor's Business Daily and knew how to read and understand them, and pretty soon I felt very comfortable buying and selling stocks.
It really was a mixed approach that worked for me when it came to learning about the stock market, and I am really glad that I took the time I needed to understand every facet when it came to that kind of investing.
I did learn about stocks at every level of my studies, but when I really started to understand what they were and what to invest in was when I actually got in there and started working with them on my own. It did not take long, and I think that if a person is determined enough to learn, that is the best way to go.