Does anyone else here like to do stock trading?

I've made and lost money on the stock market a few times.
Oddly, every stock I've ever recommended to other people has always gone down.

I've loaded up on PTI, which is researching cystic fibrosis and has data coming out late 2020. stock is like $1.40 each and could be totally worthless if the treatment they're working on isn't successful, however it could also go up a bunch if the treatment is successful.

I have been playing with ACB and PLUG.

Haven't played with stocks for a few years but back in 08, just before the crash hit, I found a recommendation for a company that owned vehicle dealerships. It was at 36p per share and predicted to rise. I put £500 in. A month or so later the crash happened and it dropped to 10p. I bought another £500 worth thinking there'd be asset value even if it did go bust (was a bit naieve). It dropped to 2p. A work colleague piled in £10k and when it went back up to 4p the next day he bailed out having doubled his money. I decided to gamble and piled in another £500. So total investment, £1500. It started going back up. I bailed out at 17p, by which point my total investment was worth four and a half grand. £3k profit in a few weeks. Now that felt good. I spent it the next year on WAM shoots, including taking 4 models to the Scottish Highlands for 5 days of wetlook.

I do have investments, but I'm not playing.

I'm investing in broad-range, diversified, aggressive EFTs that are specifically for future income.

I'm also starting to tip toe into the bond market, ETFs, of course, which have a lower risk profile, to offset the volatility of the stocks.

While you >can< beat the market, it's unlikely you will, so personal picking is most likely an elaborate way to lose money. I'm sticking to diverse EFTs to track the market, not beat it.

The S& 500 has an average return of 8%* per year**, which is much better than any savings account you'll find.***

*8% is the lifetime mean, not median, and is unlikely to return 8% in any given year.

**The mean return for the S& 500 since 1980 is closer to 10%.

***This statement does not constitute financial advice.

I lost 4 figures during the dotcom bust. That was enough day-trading for me Now I just have shares in a handful of companies that Berkshire Hathaway has in their portfolio. Regular dividends and stable performance.

We have a system at Vidown/TheMothership to accept Bitcoin for video sales, then I pay the vendors in USD, letting the BTC sit in my offline wallet. I acquired most of them years ago when the price was 3 figures. (I missed the 5 cent era, dammit!) I sold a few at 5-figure high tide points for insane ROIs, but I'm holding the rest for now.

I actually worked for The Vanguard Group during the 08 crash. It was certainly an interesting time with lots of things to note including:

- Watching Google dominate
- Seeing the complete opposite numbers of USD vs Gold fluctuate in real time.
- Gold breaking $1000.
- Taking bets on how much the REIT index would collapse each day.
- Getting laid off

As for me personally, I've never had the money to buy into anything. Anytime I started to build a nest egg, I ended up hospitalized again and back in the red.

Literally all I know about stocks comes from movies, television, and the stonks meme you referenced in the title lol

There was this video of two people talking about how they would most likely go to prison if they did, and one person answered "Accidental insider trading because I wouldn't realize what I'm doing is illegal" and yep, that'd be me.

I have been in the market for many years. I watch the business news all day, every day. I pride myself in learning everything I can. I bought this house with nothing more than Amazon stock. I have every available penny in the market even to this day. And after all this, what I can tell you is that I know absolutely nothing and that there are no more rules. Nothing makes sense, past models are meaningless, and in the middle of three international crises, it's not going to get better.

The market is not the economy, it's betting on the economy the same as betting on a horse in a race before the bell goes off. What I can tell you is that because of the above, and because the market is being seriously manipulated by algorithms and massive hedging, this no more rules thing is made even more complicated.

Here is my advice to everyone, and I get asked all the time... if you are going to get in the market, get in it for the long haul. Anyone who plays a day trading game is taking massive risks. Look at companies with staying power and strong balance sheets, in other words, companies that are not going anywhere, companies that weather these massive, unpredictable, pointless daily swings and distractions, companies that will be here in 10 years no matter what happens. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Coca Cola, and Google.

My advice is to save your money, set it aside, wait for the coming crash which should be about a 30% fall, wait for it to rise 10% and get into these companies. I have most of my money in the 5G and AI revolution which will certainly continue to grow in any market or global conditions, companies like Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Qorvo, Qualcomm and the chip makers Nividia and AMD.Others are American Tower and Skyworks.

But if you plan on day trading, especially in these conditions where NO old rules apply, in the midst of THREE global crises, and you have limited funds, I would go with Microsoft. If someone put a gun to my head today and forced me to sell everything I have and put it in one stock, it would be Microsoft. But again, I never recommend day trading. I ONLY recommend a 10 year plan.

I am only in about 8 stocks at the moment and two of them are gold and silver ETF's (hedging for the coming global crash) One day soon, I will pull out completely and sit it out. The closer we get to the election, the closer we get to the meltdown. Right now the market is being fueled by FOMO, the fear of missing out, and people are pouring money into the market because they see it skyrocketing up. This meltup ALWAYS happens before the meltdown. Save your money and wait. Have patience. The market is betting, literally gambling, on what companies are going to do. Everything else is noise.

When you do get in, 5G and AI will rule the world from now to the end of time.

For what it's worth!

All my best,

Madeline