Just an update on how my stocks are doing: Everything is up, for now.
From what I have calculated, everything is in the + form when I began, which is really nice. The real question is whether or not I am doing better than if I would have put those stocks into an index fund.
The trouble is that the broker I am using charges me to keep track of my losses/gains. I would otherwise have to manually calculate my total gains then, which I really don't know how/cannot do. So, is it worth the money for them to do this? Is there a program out there somewhere for free that will do this for me? I don't know.

Wow... Caterpillar sent out a news report today at around 10am saying that their profits will be lower due to a lower housing market.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 dropped significantly... for about 15 minutes. Then all was well... Can anyone say 'over reacting'? These people scare me, seriously.

Alright, some more time with Cramer today, he has a lot to say and I have so little time to read it.

Alright, let's see... I need to decide which of these stocks is a 'trade' and which is an 'investment.'

Ok.

Now, I need to decide what my catalyst is for my trades and sell as soon as the catalyst leaves. Hrm... Nvidia's catalyst: Windows Vista
When will the catalyst leave? Probably about a week after Vista comes out. I expect a big rush to buy video cards and motherboards when people learn they can't run Vista because of their slow computer (Of course they'll learn only AFTER they purchase)
Why am I not investing in Microsoft then? Well, In my humble opinion, Microsoft is a trap for failures. They are constantly in trouble with the law over their monopolies and they are just a money monger. Not worth the trouble (or the risk of them getting caught with something bad up their sleeves before Vista comes out, like say, breaking privacy laws with their 'genuine advantage update.') Ok, Microsoft is planning on split releases, one in November to business and one in January to consumers. That means the Christmas rush is out for Nvidia to consumers, and businesses don't get presents.

Most everything else is an investment, I'm in for the long term on these guys.

Ok, next up let's check out some other people let's try the motley fool they have a list of 13 rules to get you started... I've read through the first 3 so far. They've got a book in there somewhere, that's a lot of reading. Ok, so...
Step 1: Know what it is to be foolish... Check
Step 2: Pay off credit card debt... I don't own credit cards--Check
Step 3: Set reasonable expectations... Well I know I won't become a millionaire, and I'm only in this to see if I can actually do it (hence why I'm not putting hundreds of dollars in the fund) so... Check.
Step 4: invest in an index fund... Ok... No check there. I'll have to look into that some more.

Today I spent some time reading from Jim Cramer's website. That man is loud. If any of you have ever seen mad money you'll know what I'm talking about. Even in print he has a voice. Anyway, let's see what I learned from him... Hmm...

Am I diversified? Nope! I sure am not. But then again, I don't have that many stocks...
Let's see... He also says don't own more than 25 names... Ok, I can do that(Even better, I can own less! Actually I doubt that's better...) But I also have to diversify at the same time... Let's see... I have tech I need... Something else.

Let's see... I can get into industrials, automotive and... Health care. Ok, I'll find some good companies there.
Ok, GE looks good, they came down from a big high in the 90's but they've been showing some consistent growth then, and it looks like they're profitable...
Hrm, Cramer recommends Toyota for your automotive needs (read shares) they have shown some profits, and they're really getting deep into the hybrid car thing. And the last time I looked at the price of gas, that's a good thing.
I need to increase my hold on Nvidia too, since I am seeing them going up in the future. Really, trust me, I'm no amateur! Ok, maybe I am but no pain no gain! You live and learn and all that. I think I see them going up in the future. Will they? I dunno.
And finally health care... I had to do some of my own research here, but analysts say to buy pfizer so I'll check them out. They have some good profits. They've been going up recently. They look good overall. I'll buy them too.
Let's see before I buy I need to do a lot of research... Ok... *reads up on companies* Looks good. Am I going to explain everything on this blog? Hell no. Do your own research, or go read from one of those people who's paid to do it, don't listen to some amateur that knows nothing about anything to do with stocks.

Ok, so... I need to invest money. Well, let's see... First step is... Put money in my account. Check. Now, who do I invest in? Hmmm....

Time to do some research. Let's start with the experts. Hmm... I like MSN, and they have a moneycentral, so let's check that out... Let's see... Jim Jubak has an article out to tell you what to invest in this quarter. Well, he wants me to use Beta to invest in this quarter. Well, that sounds reasonable. He also lists 5 nice stocks to look into.
After a little research, American Eagle Outfitters looks good. I think I'll add them to the list. I wear American Eagle... It's almost Christmas... They're good in the news and they have a good beta. Why the hell not?
Ok, what else... Hmm... Nvidia is there too. Do I like Nvidia? Well personally I've never bought one of their video cards but their motherboards are to die for. Vista's coming out, and it's almost Christmas, people buy computers at Christmas. It has a good Beta too. Ok, I'll bite.

Alright, some tech stocks and I'm done... Let's see... Am I diversified? I don't even know what it means and I still know I'm not. If tech goes down, so do I. I can't afford to really buy that many other stocks right now, though. I'll work on some more next week and diversify everything. But hey, I have clothing stocks, right?

So, a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to invest money in some stocks. Why did I decide this? Perhaps boredom, maybe I thought I'd get rich doing it, I don't know. I have the money, I need to start saving . Although I am hardly at anything near an age where retirement is about to bite me, but I've listened to all of those money gurus and they say 'invest while you're young and you'll be a millionaire! I'm all for that.

So, I want to start investing... How? Well I needed to find someone to buy and sell them for me, since I am sure as hell not going to stand on wallstreet waving those little pieces of paper with a cell phone to my ear. Let's see... I need someone online... What do they call them? Are they brokers or just online stock traders? I don't know, does it matter?
Ok, online broker... Hmm... God these people are expensive. $5000 minimum balance? $19.95 per trade? I'm not made of money.

Hmm... Well, for a beginner like me, it looks like the best bet is ShareBuilder, they don't have a minimum balance, their basic plan has no monthly fee and it's $4.00 per trade... if you do it on Tuesdays (and make the stock pick by 5:00pm on Monday). Ok, that's not too bad, it's good for investing. The con? If you want to sell the stocks you buy, you have to make at least $19.95 to break even. Yep, it's $4.00 to buy if it's on a Tuesday, but $19.95 to sell any day.
Ah well, such is life. I have to start somewhere, and I sure as hell don't have $5000 to hide away.
Don't like the idea of $19.95 to sell a stock? If you have $500.00 you can join Scottrade. I only have $300.00 right now so I'm going to stick with Sharebuilder, they only charge $50.00 to transfer out, so if I ever get above $500.00 I can move to another firm. I know what you're thinking "Only $50? That's a hell of a lot of money!" Yeah, I know it is, but I don't plan on moving until I have at least a few thousand in this firm, but once I do it will be more profitable for me to move on, so rather than pay $19.95 to make two (and a half) trades, $50.00 will get me to another firm with cheaper commissions.

On 10/17/06 I will make my first investment in the stock market. This blog is going to be an ongoing record of the progress of a new investor. You will be able to watch all of my losses, and hopefully all of my victories as well.
I'm sure some of you out there are veteran investors, and you'll look at some of the things I do and cringe. Perhaps you'll ask yourself "how can he be so stupid?" I just want to remind you all right now, I may be ignorant, but I will do my best to make a profit out of this. After all, I like money.