You Need To Check Your Emotions At The Door Before You Invest In The Stock Market

By Marc Abrams

We have all been victims of other people's stock advice. "This stock is a sure-fire winner!" Sometimes the advice comes from a neighbor, or a close friend. Many times it comes from our trusted investment advisor.

Human nature gets us thinking. Do I want to risk losing out on these supposed gains? Without batting a rational eye, we invest. The end result isn't usually pretty. However, we continue on and repeat this cycle over and over again.

What is wrong with our thinking? The answer, for most of us, is that our emotions take control of our decisions. They are so powerful that we often ignore our rational, logical thoughts. The opportunity for a quick dollar or hope to "get rich quick" heightens our emotional thinking. You must realize that it is not the rational side of our brain that is tripping us up, but the emotional side!

We tend to ignore many sound investment plans due to emotions. You can, however, quiet that emotional side that forces you to ignore your well thought out investment strategy if you work at it. You can learn to stick to your investment plan through both good and bad times.

Some investors, however, cannot shake the investing demons that compel them into making the same mistakes over and over. It is this type of trader that cannot overcome emotions while investing. They often lack the experience that allows them to treat investing like a business, and not like a game of poker.

The main emotion driving many investors is the fear of losing money. Making a quick buck is the next one. Don't forget about the king of all emotions, greed. These emotions cloud your judgment and don't allow you to clearly see how a particular decision affects your portfolio. When this type of thinking is in play, disaster can strike rather quickly.

My emotions were extremely difficult to get under control when investing. I was finally able to control my emotions and let my logical side control my investment decisions. In order to do this, I developed a system that I use to invest with consistent success. I have certain parameters that I follow to guide me towards the right kinds of investments. It is a logical system in black and white. Now I remain focused and stick to my strategy even when that emotional beast tries to rear its head.

There is no shame in making poor investment decisions over and over. There is good news, you can change things starting now! I made that change and as a result I have been more successful than I ever have been investing in the stock market. I also managed to do this when the stock market was in a sharp decline! I promise you, to be a successful investor all you need is a solid investment strategy and the ability to keep your emotions checked at the door. Take the advise of someone that did that very thing! - 23212

About the Author:

Marc Abrams is a CPA with over 15 years experience in financing and investing. Visit Marc's website to learn more about successful stock market and option trading strategies that can teach you to invest for the future.

A Blue Chip Does Your Portfolio Good

By Michael Swanson

Have you been worried about investing in the stock market because you think you're going to lose all your money? It might surprise you to know that if you make the right choices, this could actually be a great time to go for it. These choices include things like blue chip stocks, available at great rates.

If you've never heard of these, you're probably going to wonder what make them so special. Basically, they come from companies that can be trusted to make the money they need in almost any situation. Even in times like these, you can trust that you're almost definitely going to get your dividends from them.

In fact, given the way things are today, there's never been a better time to make this choice. Things are going to get better eventually, and when they do, you'll benefit more than anybody else. But first you have to get into things, and that means looking into big name companies.

The name of these stocks interests a lot of people. Often, they don't even realize that it comes from the same blue chips used in gambling. Because those chips are worth so much in that world, it only makes sense they'd be applied here as well, where they have the potential to earn a lot.

You might not have that much money for something like this, but the great thing is, you don't need a lot either. You can get a lot of stocks without spending much. Then, you just wait for their prices to rise. When you see how much you end up earning, spending initially will seem like nothing.

Of course, you are going to want to become familiar with the language of what you're doing so you can be prepared and take in the advice of others. Better yet, the more you learn, the more you'll be able to do. In no time, you'll be an expert making the kind of money others envy. - 23212

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Forex Practice Accounts (Part I)

By Ahmad Hassam

The best way for new traders to get a handle on what currency trading is all about is to open a practice account. Almost every forex broker offers a free practice account to new clients. All you need to do is to sign up with any good forex broker.

Practice accounts give you the great chance to experience the forex market. You can see how the price changes at different times of the day. Practice accounts are funded with virtual money. So you are able to make trades with no real money at stake and gain experience in how margin trading works.

Without any fear of losing money, you can trade your practice account with real market conditions. Practice trading will teach you how various currency pairs may differ from each other? It will also teach you how the forex market reacts to new information when major news and economic data is released.

You will also learn using different market orders on your practice account. Imagine using your real money trying to figure out how different market orders work. You will learn on your practice account how to manage an open position? This will improve your understanding of how margin trading and leverage works. You can also start analyzing charts and following technical indicators on your practice account. Without any fear of losing your money, you can experiment with different trading strategies and see how they work out in the real market conditions.

Practice accounts are a great way to experience real forex markets. You can also test drive all the features and functionality of a brokers platform. However, one thing you will never be able to simulate on your practice account is the emotions involved in trading. Emotions will only come into play once you put your real money on the line.

You can use market orders like the limit orders or the one cancels the other orders. However, you can also trade the current price of the market using the click and deal feature of your brokers platform. There are many ways to pull the trigger in the forex market. Pulling the trigger means how to enter or exit a position.

Many traders dont want to leave an order that may or may not get executed. Most like the idea of opening a position by trading at the market. Most prefer the certainty of knowing that they are in the market.

Just specify the amount that you want to trade. Click on the buy or sell button to execute the trade. The forex trading platform responds back within a second or two with a pop-up message either confirming or not confirming that the position was opened. Most forex brokers provide live streaming prices that you can deal on with a simple click of your computer mouse.

Attempts to trade at the market can sometimes fail in very fast moving markets. This happens when prices are adjusting quickly like after a data release or break of a key technical level or price point. - 23212

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. First Trade Your Forex Demo Account. Learn Forex Trading!

Jumpstart to Learn Forex Trading

By Zita Von Snyder

Learn Forex Trading and stay ahead of the game, because in the world of cut-throat business, it pays to be prepared. When trading forex it pays to know who the players are, know the market conditions and the risks involved. Be aware of what you are looking at: the currency you are trading, the factors that affect the value of the currency you are trading, your trading strategy and current market trends. You can be ahead of the curve if you take the time to learn forex trading.

To learn forex trading, you should consider a forex trading course. There are a couple of benefits to learning forex trading with a forex course:

A forex trading course can teach you the basics of reading charts that will have indicators that show important factors like trends and volume as well as price action of a particular currency. You can learn forex, the terminology used and the basic steps for trading forex.

A good forex trading course not only provides the technical tools to learn forex but it will also teach you to control your emotions and stress when trading forex. Forex trading demands discipline, which you can get if you will invest in a good forex trading course to learn forex.

A good forex trading course should include the following features so you can best learn forex trading:

*Forex Trading Basics- This should include the basic language used when trading forex. It should give good definitions as well as offer some discussion on terms like how to leverage a trade, charts and how to use indicators to analyze them, margins, and order types to use when you learn forex trading.

*How to analyze Forex Charts- learn forex charting and you will increase your profits while minimizing the risks involved in forex trading. It is important the forex trading course include both fundamental and technical analysis.

*Values of Forex Trading- Discipline and commitment are invaluable to a good forex trader. These theories should be discussed in length in a good forex trading course. If you learn to control the emotion, you can learn forex trading successfully.

Learn forex trading with the help of a trading course that offers simulated trading boards or rooms or even real time trading gives you invaluable experience. As a student being able to discuss what you have learned, your trading strategy, or views on the latest indicators will keep you ahead of the pack in the forex market.

Give yourself the edge for this fast paced, volatile market, invest in a good forex trading course. Study the basics, learn how to interpret the market conditions,and manage your risks when trading forex.Becoming successful at forex trading involves a good forex trading course, discipline and a commitment to learn forex trading. - 23212

About the Author:

A forex trader and financial advisor Zita Von Snyder has written a beneficial article about how to Learn Forex Trading. Zita also provides some beneficial tips on how to find a good Forex Trading Course.

Some Tips For Day Trading the Stock Market

By Jerry Barr

Day trading the stock exchange involves the rapid purchasing and selling of stocks on a day-to-day basis. This method is used to secure fast profits from the constant changes in stock values, minute to minute, second to second. It is rare a day trader will remain in a trade over the course of a night into the following day.

PC watching the markets twenty four seven in order to be a successful day trader?'

The answer is no. It is not critical to sit at a PC twenty four seven.

As with all fiscal investments, day trading is dodgy in truth, it is one of the riskiest forms of trading out there.

If you are constrained by a bit of capital, you may not be in a position to buy large amounts of a stock, but buying only a small amount can add to the chance of a loss. And, manifestly, it is not possible to forecast with certainty which stocks will end up in profits and which in losses.

It's also vital to know that in day trading, it's the number of shares instead of the price of shares that should be the focus. If you day trade, you may face losses, but even for the costlier stocks, the loss should be debatable, because costs don't usually change to an intense degree over the course of just one day.

The day trading industry deals in a big variety of stocks and shares. Here are only a few : Growth-Buying Shares shares made from profit, which continue to grow in value. Eventually, these shares will start to decline in price, and a professional seasoned trader can usually envision the future of this type of share.

Small Caps shares of corporations which are on the rise and show no indications of stopping. Though these shares are typically cheap, they're a extraordinarily dangerous investment for day traders. You'd be more safe to go with enormous caps and / or mid-caps, which are much more secure and stable thanks to a premium.

Unloved Stocks company stock which has not performed well in the past. Traders buy these stocks in the hopes of generating profits if and when the stock rises in value. As with tiny caps, unloved stocks could be a risky choice for day traders.

These examples are not your sole options when it comes to day trading stocks. The best way to figure out which type of stock is right for you is to invest some time for careful research, a knowledge understanding of market patterns, a solid strategy, and a controlled trading plan.

The secret to successful day trading is to be prepared. Know as much as practicable about the industry before you start actually trading. You need to learn how to trade ONLY when the market gives the right signals. - 23212

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Find more on 10 best performing stocks and hot stocks to buy.