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tcepsaI don't think stocks are what I originally planned on posting about here, but I've been meaning to write something about them for a few days now so this is as good a time as any.
I recently completed the second (and arguably more important) step in getting my IRA up and running--I bought stocks. I now own small fractions of four different companies. So far, they are doing well. I can see why day-trading holds the appeal that it does; the temptation to sell now, while I am ahead, is very strong. If I can set aside enough money to do so, I may consider opening an account with someplace like E-Trade (which has smaller transaction fees) and doing something like that just to see whether I can make it work. That's something more for the future, though, once I have a better understanding of what's going on.
It's really kind of a weird feeling. I may get deeper into some of the psychological aspects of it for me later, but right now... it's just... different and unusual, in an exciting kind of way. I own small bits of companies. And the amount that I can get paid for those bits of companies can (and usually does) go up or down, sometimes drastically, over the course of any given day. And then I can offer them up for sale at whatever price I want (as far as I can tell) and if someone else in the market wants to buy them, then I get that money back. It's almost kind of like I'm running my own business, in a way, that buys and sells bits of other businesses. It's wild. Especially the part where I haven't been plunged into abject poverty.
Peripheral epiphany: Even though I don't keep as strict or tight a budget as some folks, maybe the way I handle my money can still work for me. Maybe it's another one of those "no one right way" sorts of things...
(also, current uptime is now 33 minutes. Things ain't looking so good for Windows...)
I recently completed the second (and arguably more important) step in getting my IRA up and running--I bought stocks. I now own small fractions of four different companies. So far, they are doing well. I can see why day-trading holds the appeal that it does; the temptation to sell now, while I am ahead, is very strong. If I can set aside enough money to do so, I may consider opening an account with someplace like E-Trade (which has smaller transaction fees) and doing something like that just to see whether I can make it work. That's something more for the future, though, once I have a better understanding of what's going on.
It's really kind of a weird feeling. I may get deeper into some of the psychological aspects of it for me later, but right now... it's just... different and unusual, in an exciting kind of way. I own small bits of companies. And the amount that I can get paid for those bits of companies can (and usually does) go up or down, sometimes drastically, over the course of any given day. And then I can offer them up for sale at whatever price I want (as far as I can tell) and if someone else in the market wants to buy them, then I get that money back. It's almost kind of like I'm running my own business, in a way, that buys and sells bits of other businesses. It's wild. Especially the part where I haven't been plunged into abject poverty.
Peripheral epiphany: Even though I don't keep as strict or tight a budget as some folks, maybe the way I handle my money can still work for me. Maybe it's another one of those "no one right way" sorts of things...
(also, current uptime is now 33 minutes. Things ain't looking so good for Windows...)
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Date: 2006-03-24 07:44 am (UTC)