How To Buy Stock: Quick-Start Guide for Beginners

Written by True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®

Reviewed by Subject Matter Experts

Updated on August 10, 2023

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What Are Stocks and How Do They Work?

Buying stocks is one of the most effective ways to make a lot of money.

Stocks are a form of investment where you buy a share in a company and become an owner.

The value of your share goes up or down depending on how well the company is doing. If the company makes more money, then your share price goes up and you can sell your stock for a lot of money.

If the company doesn't do well, your share price goes down and you will lose money. Typically, stocks are more reliable than other forms of investment because companies tend to grow over time, whereas other investments like houses and art don't usually keep growing in value.

Buying stock is a great way to make a lot of money if you know what you're doing.

Have questions about buying stocks? Click here.

Why Should You Invest In Stocks?

Buying stocks is one of the most effective ways to make a lot of money.

In general, it's better to hold your investments for longer rather than not holding them long enough because it allows your investments to grow larger. By investing in stocks, you can make a lot of money by holding your stock for as little as one year and as long as many decades.

Buying and holding stocks is one of the most effective ways to make a lot of money and it's the best way to prepare for retirement.

The Benefits of Investing in Stocks

  • You can make a lot of money by buying and holding stocks for as little as one year and as long as many decades. If you know what you're doing, buying stock is a great way to make a lot of money.
  • Buying shares gives you the opportunity to own part of a company's value as the company grows.
  • Buying stocks is a great way to grow your wealth and prepare for retirement.
  • Investing in stocks allows you to diversify your portfolio.
  • Buying stocks is a good way to diversify your investments and not put all of your eggs in one basket. This reduces risk by spreading around your investment over many different companies.

How Much Money Will I Need to Invest in Stocks?

To buy stock, you'll need money that you won't mind losing since there is always the chance that your stocks will lose value before they mature. Buying stock can be very risky because it's always possible for your shares to decrease in value before they mature.

Buying stock is a great way to diversify your investments, but it can also take up a lot of your time and make you worry about your money.

How to Buy Stocks

1) Open an account with a trading platform. Buying and selling stocks means that you will need an account that you can use to buy and sell shares.

Buying a stock means that you have to work with trading platforms if you want to purchase any shares.

2) Open a checking or savings account for the money you'll spend on commissions.

Buying stock costs money in the form of commission fees which are taken from your account whenever you place an order.

This means you have to plan ahead by saving up some money in a bank account in order to pay for any commissions you may have to pay. It can be really expensive if you don't save up some money beforehand.

3) Research different companies and keep track of their stocks' performance.

It is important to research different companies and keep track of their stocks' performance.

To ensure that you're making wise investments, you may have to do a lot of work tracking the performance of your stocks and researching different companies.

4) Find a company that you think is going to do well.

You can use financial websites, trading platforms, and analyst reports to look for good companies with good growth potential.

Buying stock in popular companies is one way to ensure that your interests are protected because these big businesses have a lot of resources at their disposal which makes it more difficult for people or companies to take advantage of them.

5) Decide how many shares you want to buy.

Make sure that the number of shares you're buying will not cause you too much risk by making your investment too large or by tying up all of your money.

Buying your stock in increments is a way to make sure that you don't put too much of your money at risk all at once. Buying in small amounts helps to reduce the amount of risk involved with investing.

6) Decide how much money you want to spend on each share.

Buying from multiple companies is a great way to diversify your portfolio and reduce risk, but it's important to make sure that you don't spend too much money all at once because this will increase the amount of money at risk and decrease the return on investment (ROI).

You should be careful not to spend too much money on any one investment.

7) Keep track of when your shares will mature and when the company's fiscal quarter ends.

This will take up a lot of your time but is a must to make sure you have all these things considered.

This information will be helpful in making better investment decisions.

Tips For Investing Wisely

Tips for Investing Wisely

1) Don't invest more than you can afford to lose.

When buying stock, it's important to remember that you might lose money on your investment. It is also important not to put all of your eggs in one basket and be willing to diversify your portfolio.

2) Invest only the amount of money you can afford to keep in stocks.

It is important to make sure that you can afford to keep buying stock if your shares decrease in value before they mature. To avoid tying up all of your money, it's important to set aside some money specifically for investing and buy stocks in increments.

3) Don't buy just because everyone else is buying.

You have to be careful when following the crowd. Just because everyone is buying stocks from a company doesn't mean that it's a smart idea. Do your research and don't invest in anything just because other people are doing so first.

4) When investing, diversify your portfolio as much as possible.

Diversifying your stock portfolio is a great way to protect yourself against risk. When you invest in stocks, it's important to have many different companies with different types of stock in your portfolio so you don't put all your money at risk when one company fails.

5) Stick with what you know.

When trying to decide which companies you want to buy stock in, investing in a company that you're familiar with is safer because you have a better idea of the company's products and services. This makes it easier for you to anticipate changes in the market.

The Bottom Line

Investing in stock is a great way to make money but only if you have the time and resources to find good companies with good growth potential.

Make sure that you know what you're doing before investing your hard-earned money, otherwise you may end up losing it all.

Always ask yourself one question: "Is this investment worth the risk?".

When investing in the stock market, it's important to remember that you may lose money so never invest more than you can afford. Do your research and decide which companies have a good growth potential before buying stock.

Make sure you diversify your portfolio by putting money into many different stocks from different companies.

If done right, investing in the stock market can be a great way to make money. All of this information is valid for people who are just starting in the stock market or have little knowledge in it.

The advice above will greatly help you in making important decisions in how you buy your stocks, when you buy them, and where to put your money if you are to invest.

Buying Stocks FAQs

About the Author

True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®

True Tamplin is a published author, public speaker, CEO of UpDigital, and founder of Finance Strategists.

True is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®), author of The Handy Financial Ratios Guide, a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, contributes to his financial education site, Finance Strategists, and has spoken to various financial communities such as the CFA Institute, as well as university students like his Alma mater, Biola University, where he received a bachelor of science in business and data analytics.

To learn more about True, visit his personal website or view his author profiles on Amazon, Nasdaq and Forbes.

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