Beginners guide to trading?
Discussion
Can anyone point me in the direction of some reading material around the basics of trading?
Im in the midst of saving for my first house and dont really want to buy anything at the moment (wanting to save more and wanting to see how it goes for a bit longer.)
Having the cash sat there got me thinking I may be able to do something with it in the mean time.
I am looking at this with pretty much no previous experience so were starting at a very high level!
Thanks in advance.
Im in the midst of saving for my first house and dont really want to buy anything at the moment (wanting to save more and wanting to see how it goes for a bit longer.)
Having the cash sat there got me thinking I may be able to do something with it in the mean time.
I am looking at this with pretty much no previous experience so were starting at a very high level!
Thanks in advance.
Nope! None at all... thats how higher level I need to be starting at!!
ETA: I guess what I am saying here is "I don't know what I don't know"? If I can get pointed at a donkey basic guide then hopefully I can pose some more informed questions after that.
ETA: I guess what I am saying here is "I don't know what I don't know"? If I can get pointed at a donkey basic guide then hopefully I can pose some more informed questions after that.
Edited by _daveR on Thursday 11th October 14:18
I'm assuming when you say trading, you mean trading stocks and shares? If so, a good and cheap place to start is with a spread betting account (in fact it's good all round so long as you learn what you're doing first). Companies like City Index and IG Index (and loads of others) do starter accounts which will let you trade as little as 10p a point and there's no minimum deposit. They'll take you through the system with a trading guide and you can go to free seminars. The advantage is, once you're into it properly, you can trade on margin, meaning the majority of your house deposit can sit in a bank earning interest (that's an oversimplification, but broadly accurate).
There's a load of providers out there, which are basically the same, so it's a case of pick your favourite and try it out - stuff £100 into an account and try all aspects (orders, stops, different markets etc). Don't go too big too soon though or you'll be learning the hard way
Then work out what you're interested in or know about and how you'd like to trade. Do you want a long or short term view (day trading?), do you want to go technical (chartism) or not etc etc.
One thing before you start. Be careful. There's a lot of ways to lose money very quickly out there, don't gear up with money you can't afford to lose and don't take stock tips from the internet (patronising over - sorry
Oh, and stay away from FX, Metals and commodities - lethal if you don't know what you're doing. (Fun though)
Good Luck
There's a load of providers out there, which are basically the same, so it's a case of pick your favourite and try it out - stuff £100 into an account and try all aspects (orders, stops, different markets etc). Don't go too big too soon though or you'll be learning the hard way
Then work out what you're interested in or know about and how you'd like to trade. Do you want a long or short term view (day trading?), do you want to go technical (chartism) or not etc etc.
One thing before you start. Be careful. There's a lot of ways to lose money very quickly out there, don't gear up with money you can't afford to lose and don't take stock tips from the internet
(patronising over - sorry Oh, and stay away from FX, Metals and commodities - lethal if you don't know what you're doing. (Fun though)
Good Luck
ingelow, you are a gent. Thanks for that.
You assumed correctly all round. Trading stocks/shares is something I have no real knowledge on and would like to have a little dabble just to see if its something for me or not (Im too lazy by nature!)
I will look into the suggestions you have made and stick a hundred quid or so in just to have a play around and see whats what.
You assumed correctly all round. Trading stocks/shares is something I have no real knowledge on and would like to have a little dabble just to see if its something for me or not (Im too lazy by nature!)
I will look into the suggestions you have made and stick a hundred quid or so in just to have a play around and see whats what.
You can do it for free with a Tradindex account: www.tradindex.com. £20k play money. If you can turn it into £40k in a series of trades then you're well on your way.
Sign up to www.igindex.co.uk and use their system for real time graphs.
And read as much as you can about discipline. The market won't make you lose money; you will.
http://www.financial-spread-betting.com/ for lots of basic info.
PS read as much as you can about discipline.
Sign up to www.igindex.co.uk and use their system for real time graphs.
And read as much as you can about discipline. The market won't make you lose money; you will.
http://www.financial-spread-betting.com/ for lots of basic info.
PS read as much as you can about discipline.
Ingelow made a lot of good points, particularly about only risking what you can afford to lose. Also agree with not taking stock tips from anyone. Sure, they may be giving genuine money-making advice but they might be trying to improve a failing stock.
PS Buy Toad.
PPS I trust you read my first paragraph.
ingelow said:
Oh, and stay away from FX, Metals and commodities - lethal if you don't know what you're doing. (Fun though)
What's wrong with FX? I trade that pretty much alone now, and I'm a newbie. EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/JPY.PS Buy Toad.
PPS I trust you read my first paragraph.
Edited by shadowninja on Thursday 11th October 14:51
Sounds dangerous if you're saving for a house and know nothing about trading. Why don't you bet on Pelota? You'll probably stand as much chance, the payouts are greater and i'm guessing you know as little about it as you do trading. Alternatively, don't risk money you can't afford to lose and put it in a savings account.
Here's a guide: Buy low, sell high. Or sell high and buy low.
I think it was 90% of PI's lose money on the stock market
Here's a guide: Buy low, sell high. Or sell high and buy low.
I think it was 90% of PI's lose money on the stock market
Edited by g4ry13 on Thursday 11th October 18:46
This is an interesting, if long, article.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/15/0710...
Highlight for me was turning $50k into $20m in 18 months.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/15/0710...
Highlight for me was turning $50k into $20m in 18 months.
_daveR said:
Can anyone point me in the direction of some reading material around the basics of trading?
Im in the midst of saving for my first house and dont really want to buy anything at the moment (wanting to save more and wanting to see how it goes for a bit longer.)
Having the cash sat there got me thinking I may be able to do something with it in the mean time.
I am looking at this with pretty much no previous experience so were starting at a very high level!
Thanks in advance.
If you're looking to use this cash to buy a house with, presumably within the next 5 years. Then put in the a high interest deposit account, Nationwide do one yielding 7% at the moment, and forget all about trading. Im in the midst of saving for my first house and dont really want to buy anything at the moment (wanting to save more and wanting to see how it goes for a bit longer.)
Having the cash sat there got me thinking I may be able to do something with it in the mean time.
I am looking at this with pretty much no previous experience so were starting at a very high level!
Thanks in advance.
_daveR said:
Speeder said:
If you're looking to use this cash to buy a house with, presumably within the next 5 years. Then put in the a high interest deposit account, Nationwide do one yielding 7% at the moment, and forget all about trading.
See my above comment Seriously with cash yielding the highest for years why take the risk.
_daveR said:
johnfm said:
Great way to erode savings for a house purchase - amateur trading. Good luck.
After a couple of hours on that tradindex site I came to the same conclusion rather rapidly I think Ill stick to £1 a week on the EuroMillions...
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