[sailchef]

+1 on what Bill Verburg said.

Making money in the market requires discipline, and Passion. If you are doing it on your own it’s a full time job. In the 90’s, on my days off I was a part time day trader. Back then you could throw a dart at the stock page of the NY Times and whatever it landed on you could pretty much be confident it would make you money. You could get in and out within a few days. Those days are gone. You need to be more selective, but more importantly you really need to know all you can about the stocks you are purchasing. At the same time you should pick a Sector, or two, or three. Know the area you are investing in. I don’t do financial stocks or medical stocks, even though they are “the hot topic” for 2013. I don’t know enough about the individual companies in those sectors to do well and there are hundreds of them. I do like Visa (V). You would think it’s a financial stock but it is more closely related to the retail industry.
I have several strategies that work for me depending on the amount of free time I have to devote to the stock, whether it be doing research or just babysitting once I’ve made a buy. I generally have a “hold” window of anywhere from 3 - 4 weeks to 3-4 months, some stocks I’ve held for more than a year and have done well. One of my strategies these days is more of an opportunistic approach. Remember the BP disaster in the gulf. The stock went from @40 to 20. I bought in at 25. Recently the Donald (Trump) came on TV and said he had bought “a position”in Facebook (FB) @19. I bought it at 20 the next day. Another strategy is looking at little known stocks that no one talks about. 3-D Systems (DDD) for example. I liked the whole idea and bought in @20 it’s at 60 now. I had read about DDD’s technology years ago in some type of a DIY publication and I knew that it was going to catch on. Remember Crocks shoes (CROX), I hated them but everyone was wearing them. I bought in @ 24 and sold a few months after the split. SBUX and CAT have been stocks that I have been “IN and OUT of” several times over the last few years. They go up, and down, and then they go up again. Know the stocks you are getting involved with.
If you want to let someone else do the work while you sit back and watch then be prepared to pay for the privilege and make your 5-10 percent? If you want to make the big percentages you really need to sit in front of a computer with an online trading platform and be willing to spend 8 hours a day babysitting your cash while CNBC is constantly playing in the background. It’s a full time job. I have done pretty well over the last 12 months, but after being unemployed for 15 months I will be going back to a real job in the next few weeks. My portfolio will be shortened to only a few stocks and they will not need as much looking after, at least not more than an hour or two a day.
If you want to learn about stocks, turn on CNBC and start watching for 6-8 hours a day. I’m not a professional, I do this as a hobby and I get up at 7:30 AM EST to begin my trading day. I’m unemployed and have nothing better to do. I’m not married, don’t have any kids, and don’t owe anything to the banks or Mortgage Company. I don’t trade every day and can go for weeks on end without actually trading but I am still sitting in front of my computer watching my portfolio. But when I do hit the BUY button I have seen 25%- 100% gains. Your “life” doesn’t start until after the market closes. For the guys on the west coast that still leaves a whole lot of daylight.
As a sidebar: it doesn’t hurt to have a supply of antianxiety meds, and something to cure an upset stomach for when it all goes wrong.
You really need to do your homework and be involved every day.
Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
This is my opinion and in no way a recommendation, or meant as a how to article.

Ding, Ding, Ding,…………It’s Four O’ Clock, do you know where your money’s at?