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Stocks For Dummies: Guide To Buying Your First Stock

The latest data shows that a mere 50 percent of Americans currently own stocks and bonds.
It is understandable that a lot of people are wary of buying stocks, especially after the financial crash over a decade ago and the current market crash with an impending recession.
However, there are still a lot of benefits that come with investing in the stock market. And investing in stocks is more important than ever with inflation so high and savings account returns so low.
Are you considering buying stocks? Are you unsure of how to invest in stock or where to begin buying? Do you feel like a dummy when you read and hear about the stock market?
If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, here is a basic "stocks for dummies" guide to help you get started.
All the information you need to start investing in the stock market for dummies is explained down below so you don't end up feeling like an investment dummy!
What Are Stocks And What Is The Stock Market?
Before we go any further into this topic, we need to make sure you have a solid understanding of what stocks are. In simplest terms, when you purchase stock, you are purchasing legal partial ownership in a particular company.
Purchasing stock allows you to earn money based, often based on that company's performance. When you earn money from stock, it comes to you in two different ways.
The first way to profit from stocks is from appreciation. If a stock's price appreciates (increases), you can sell the stock and earn a profit. You can also hold onto it and wait for it to continue increasing in value.
The second way to earn money from stocks is through dividends. If a stock pays dividends (not all of them do), you will receive payments from the company's revenue on a regular basis (usually once per quarter).
Mutual Funds In The Market
When you first dive into the investing world, you'll hear a lot of terminologies thrown around, including words like "mutual funds" and "ETFs". There are so many different types of mutual funds out there that it could make even a journeyman investor's head spin and feel like a dummy.
It's easy to feel like a dummy or intimidated when you hear words like this and don't know what they mean. They are not as complicated as some people would have you believe, though.
Mutual funds allow you to purchase small pieces of several different stocks with one transaction.
Examples of mutual funds are index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs for short).
When you invest in mutual funds, you own small pieces of several different companies. You can also combine several different funds to create a more well-rounded (or diversified) portfolio with a lower risk profile.
Investing In Individual Stocks
Another option is to purchase individual stocks. With individual stocks, you are investing in a specific company.
Individual stocks tend to be riskier than mutual funds. However, the payout from them can often be quite a bit larger.
Most investors build their portfolio primarily around mutual funds, with a few individual stocks mixed in.
What to Do Before You Invest In The Market
Before you decide to start investing it's important to take stock (no pun intended) of your current financial situation.
You can improve your finances in a dramatic way with wise investments. Before you start down that path, though, make sure you've checked the following boxes:
- Pay off your high-interest debt: This should be your first priority before you start spending money on stocks
- Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have some money saved for an emergency — don't expect to become rich off of your investments overnight
- Set a budget: It also helps to set an investment budget for yourself so you know how much you are willing to spend (and willing to potentially lose)
Getting Started In The Stock Market
Now that we've covered some basics, it's time to dive a little deeper and help you understand how to actually start investing. If you're ready to take the plunge, here are the steps you need to follow:
Choose How You Want to Invest In The Market
One of the first decisions you need to make has to do with the way you're going to invest your money. That is the "stock market for dummies 101" information.
Some people like to be hands-on and make all their investment decisions for themselves. They know which businesses they want to invest in and have a good idea of what they want their investment journey to look like.
For these people, it's best to find a brokerage and a stockbroker who can help them get started.
Many people don't have the time or knowledge needed to handle their own investment accounts. If you are in this boat, you may want to consider working with a robo-advisor.
A robo-advisor is an online service that manages your investments for you for a small fee. Most major brokerages also offer a robo-advisor option to help you invest your money in a mostly hands-off way that still aligns with your goals.
Open A Stock Investment Account
Once you've made a decision about the type of investor you want to be, your next step is to open an investment account. You can do this with a stockbroker directly, or you can do it online using a robo-advisor.
Before you open an account, take note of the fees associated with it (most charge a very small percentage of the assets that are being managed). Pay attention to the account minimums and trade fees, too.
Start Small In The Stock Market
When you're first getting started, it's best to keep your investments small. Focus mainly on mutual funds to build a diverse, low-risk portfolio.
If you do want to invest in individual stocks, you may want to start with stocks under $1. With penny stocks you won't have invested too much and won't experience any significant losses if the business underperforms.
Monitor Your Stock And Fund Investments
Be sure to keep an eye on your stock investments, too. You don't need to become obsessive and check them every day (this can end up being maddening for most people), but you should still watch and see how they're performing. This will help you know when it's a good time to hold or sell them.
Put Your "Stocks for Dummies" Knowledge to the Test
It is easy to feel like a dummy or be intimidated by the stock market, especially if you have never invested before. Now that you have your "stocks for dummies" guide at your fingertips, though, you can start buying stocks or stock certificates with confidence.
Keep this stocks for dummies information in mind and it will be much easier for you to start investing (and making smart investment decisions). You might even learn how to day trade for a living when you become more advanced with stocks and other securities!
Do you want to learn more about investing or money market management? If so, check out the Investing section of our site today for additional advice so you avoid being a dummy with stocks!
Passive vs Active Income Earning

According to a recent global wealth report, there are 46.8 million millionaires worldwide (USD). The highest paying jobs rarely top $300,000 a year. How then do millions of people become so wealthy?
The answer lies in passive vs active income and the difference between the two. If you desire to have true financial freedom, the kind that frees up all your time to spend as you wish, you need to know the "secret" behind passive income. Read on to understand this basic wealth building principle and you will be halfway there yourself.
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Passive vs Active Income
There is nothing wrong with a hard day's work for a hard day's pay unless you want more than selling your time can bring. Active income is the money you earn from traditional work contracts that requires you to actively produce the income, i.e. jobs like 9-5 grinds.
You agree to sell your time, 40 hours a week - give or take, in exchange for a limited salary. With an active income, the limits of your time will always limit your earning potential. Jobs come with a sense of security and for many. It is a way to serve their community and earn a living for their families without the stress and uncertainty of business life.
Passive income is the golden ticket to wealth building because this income comes with little to no effort or time needed to maintain the cash flow. Passive income comes from investments in other active income efforts. Your investment buys a piece of the pie without you having to spend your time producing that income.
Common Misconception About Wealth
Being rich doesn't mean you have lots of money on hand or being spent. The rich don't hang on to their money. They invest their money in income streams. The rich are rich because they are always increasing their incomes. The wealthy have their money make money passively. Their money works for them instead of vice versa.
How much would you pay now for an income stream of one hundred dollars a month guaranteed for the rest of your life? Would you buy this income for $500? How about $5,000? Once you realize the real value of money is in its ability to produce future income for you, the rest is easy to understand.
A Simple Example Of Powerful Passive Income
Passive Income comes in many forms. Generally speaking, when it comes to investments, they say the bigger the risk the bigger the reward. Not all investments are high-risk or complicated at all.
For example, putting your money in a savings account is a simple low-risk investment that will produce 100% passive income. We are not saying that saving your way to riches is the way to go, but it demonstrates the concept very well.
The money you put into your account is your investment. There is no need to put any additional effort into the investment. The bank promises you an interest rate on the balance of your savings account. These interest payments are your passive income.
The average interest rate for savings accounts in America is 0.06% APY unless you use a new high-interest savings account (HYSA). For the sake of example, imagine you have a million dollars and decided to invest it by depositing it in a saving account at that interest rate. Your million-dollar investment would bring you a passive income stream worth $600 a year (0.0006 x $1,000,000).
Best Passive Income Ideas
The truth is you don't need to be some kind of business genius to leverage the power of passive income. Some of the most known passive income streams are not new ideas but still boost earnings for those that take the investment risks. Here are a few passive income strategies that have stood the test of time.
- Real estate flipping and renting
- affiliate advertising
- MLM (multi-level-marketing)
- stock dividends
- information product creation
- educational courses
Find a Winning Formula
Your business plan and passive income strategy is nothing short of finding a winning formula. The formula is the machine that generates the income stream. A well-oiled machine will keep producing passive income for years and years to come.
The first step in creating your formula is to choose a product or service to enter the market. The product or service doesn't even have to be your creation. The majority of the profits are in the "middle man" stages of business. Your machine could simply connect the seller of the product or service to the buyer or client. The middle man, you and your "machine," take a percentage as a finder's fee.
Choose a niche that interests you like health-focused passive income or any other industry that you want to invest in. Create or affiliate yourself with a product or service to offer consumers and start marketing it. Join a network marketing or direct sales business if it is a good fit.
The key here is to make small investments until you find a formula that makes a consistent profit. Since passive income is produced from little to none of your own time your formula should be scalable. Simply scale-up your formulas to increase the size of the passive income streams.
Here is an example of earning passively and powerfully. You decide to promote a real estate marketing course. The creators of the course offer you $15 for every course you sell. You decide to try a Google pay-per-click campaign and advertise a landing page that promotes the real estate marketing course.
You run a test for a few months buying $500 worth of traffic from Google. This strategy in itself could be a winning formula for a big passive income business. If the Google PPC campaign generates a consistent profit than scaling up the campaign should produce the same results with higher profits.
Take Action for Passive Income Profit Change
Most people will never see the true freedom that building wealth with passive income opportunities will bring. Take the path of "most people" and you will get what most people get. A pension and Social security check when and if you make it to retirement age will be the only "passive income" you will ever enjoy.
Passive vs active income is no contest. Passive income streams are the king of the incomes now and forever. The question is are you willing to sacrifice and risk money now to build income for your future?
For more personal finance tips and investing tricks read more articles on the site. We publish a wide variety of helpful articles on network marketing, affiliate marketing, MLM, and online business.
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