Starting out with a little over $300 and not necessarily trying to make the millions that many dream about but get a feel for the market (and maybe payoff my student loan!).  I have to admit so far I'm 2 for 2.  Evrytime I buy a stock it immediately falls in value.  My first trade was ZIXI.  I saw what I thought was a good buying opportunity and bought in @ $3.45, a week later it was @ $2.99, DOH!  Today I bought CHINA @ $4.05 and checked the price not even 5 minutes after I made the trade...$3.97, DOH!  

I take these lessons in stride and dont beat myself up over them.  The one thing I did get out of my ASU education is that emotions are a traders worst enemy.  If your scared to lose a penny you could end up parting with dollars.  The day I knew I'd be able to handle was while my girlfriend at the time and I were fighting.  I had just left a finance class and still had tickers in my head.  At the end of a lengthy argument, I'll spare you the details, she told me I was a cold heartless asshole.  I shut up, thought about it and decided to put my talent to use... so here I am today.  Whether or not it will make me a successful trader is still to be seen. 

So if anybody out there is bored or has a little time drop me a line, a ticker, or any advice you feel would be useful.  I'm always looking for a good escape into my own little financial world.  Until next time. 

GS

Hi, Felt like I should respond to your post, since your trading patterns remind me of my own follies when I started investing/trading 2 years back. I am not expert but have come to learn somethings from my own mistakes.

A few things I found useful: Don't go for cheap stocks (instead find undervalued stocks). Also small cap stocks rise on momentum and news, but fall as fast - it has happened to me so many times.

Look at fundamentals - EPS Growth, Revenue Growth, ROI.

Ratios: PE, Sales to Price ratios.

Sometimes if I am lazy to do my research, I ask this question of myself (if I had 100,000 to invest, would I go long on this stock).

Also look into options (They are a great way to hedge your investments.

Best of Luck !.

If you're only going to start with that size of bankroll and you're going to trade no matter what, then I'd think about options instead of stocks.  Look for stocks that naturally move back and forth in a trading range of $5-$10.  Look at a two-week and one-month chart and establish a channel.  When a stock is at the bottom of the channel, wait for it to make a bounce upward and possibly buy a call.  Or if that stock is at the top of the channel, wait for it to make a move downward and buy a put.

My general rule of thumb is to look for at- or in-the-money options priced about 3% of the underlying stock's value.  If the underlying stock moves 1%, then I can take a profit of about 25% or more.  It's not a lot to ask of a stock to make a 1% move...it happens all the time during intraday trading.

Good luck...it's going to be tough with such a small bankroll, but maybe it can be a useful learning experience.

Hey,

First, I wanna say congratz on starting on the right path. Almost a year ago, I traded in all my changes to fund my account (and pay off some bills). I learned a lot from my first day of trading because that was the day the market dropped like a bomb. I put my orders in during the night, only to wake up finding out that the ETF and options I order devauled like no other. So this is one thing to learn; never put in order during the night. Wake up early to look at the opening amount to see if you still wanna do the trade. Also stay alway from this cheap stocks, they are cheap for a reason! Really look into options they are great way to make money for those of us who don't have much. I only deal with options because I'm a student. Also think about what type of trader you wanna be. Whether it's daily or long term that's how you should trade. If you wanna go long term then, I suggest buying Exchange Trade Funds (ETF). Find a good performing ETF that you like; there are some cheap ones out there. But I would stay above $15 per share. Also some ETF are geared towards profit when the market goes down, just to let you know. If you wanna do daily trading, I would suggest options because the value moves a lot quicker. But make sure you understand what you're buying. TradeKing has some great information about Options and ETC. Learn the language and understand how the market moves and why it does. Also don't buy into something just because you heared it on the news. You'll be buying into the bottom and getting a huge lost when people at the top sell their shares. 

You don't need a lot to start out but you should understand how to pick the winning horse. I've only been trading for a year, started out with $600 and grew that to $1500. But at the same time I gambled alway with BA and lost most of it. Here's my advice for you on where the market is going. And what to look for. This is just my predictions and what I see is going to come (so take or leave it). First, we're headed for a recession (maybe May or July). Second, the housing market issues aren't over yet. Third, the tech secotor is going down. Fourth, GOLD and natural resources are going UP UP UP! So what do I have my eyes on? INTC (waiting for it to drop more in price before I buy), VPL, and PGJ, these are a few of them. 

 The best thing you can do for yourself is learn about the market, then trade when you have a winner. Hope this helps and good luck!

 -Than          

I was where you were a little more than a year ago. The best thing I did was pick up a bunch of investment books before I made any trades. I read about 3 books in the 6 months before I opened up a TK account, a couple of which were "The Intelligent Investor" by Bejnjamin Graham (like the holy grail of investing books), and "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings" by Fisher.