Ways to Invest in the Stock Market

Like most transactions, there can be more than one way to purchase stock in a company. Most people hire stockbrokers to do this for them. Web sites such as Scottrade, E*trade and Ameritrade provide online investment services. To keep track of increases and decreases in the price of stocks, you can go to Web sites like Yahoo Finance or simply look in the newspaper, such as the Wall Street Journal.

There are quite a few options to use when trying to pick the best stock to invest in. First, you can select a few stocks on your own and then look over their progress from the last few years.

Have their stock prices gone up? How much do they earn per stock? Are the companies declaring any dividends to the investors? What do the future dividends and returns look like for the stock?

Having some knowledge in accounting might help this process, but it is not necessary. If, though, you do not want to risk your success on your own opinion and research, then you may want to talk with a financial consultant, who can help you.

Do you want to play the market or pick a stock and stick with it? Some risk takers will attempt to predict the market. If the prices continue to rise, they might choose to sell the stocks and invest in other securities with the earnings instead of staying put.

Also, if a price significantly drops, they may pick that time to invest in hopes that the prices will climb back to their past heights, if not higher.

Generally, the more you risk, the more you can gain. Those who make the most on average in the stock market are those who attempt to predict and make money by buying and selling at key points.

Money can also be made through dividends and just by waiting it out and having faith in your investments.

The simplest way to get into the stockmarket might be to hire a stockbroker, and let him or her handle the accounts and make the money for you.

You will be charged a set fee, but he or she will be required to earn you a return on your money. Stockbrokers have more and more money to work with to earn returns as well.

These are a few of the investing basics — where to go, how to buy, who to talk to and what can be gained from this. The stock market is a crucial part of our economy and a somewhat risky way to make money if you don’t understand how it works.

This article was originally published in the Etownian on Thursday, November 15th, 2007.

Stock Market Investing

The stock market can either be the most lucrative investment of your lifetime or drain your worth, depending on how you “play the game.” While numerous multimillionaires or multibillionaires have earned their fortunes investing in small firms that eventually blossomed into hugely successful corporations, placing “all of your eggs in one basket,” or investing your entire worth into one venture, is very risky. Only a very minute percentage of startup firms ever reach the financial success of the Microsofts or the Yahoos. The safest game plan for the investment market is to choose a select group of attractive and feasible investments. However, if it is a windfall of fortune you desire, you will need to remember that greater reward generally corresponds with greater risk.

All corporations offer stock, although some prefer to keep their interests closely held or private, meaning that stock can only be purchased by the managers of the organization. However, many corporations are publicly-held, which means that outside interests can purchase shares and thus purchase a stake in ownership. Public corporations sell two distinct classes of stock shares: common and preferred. Common shares are attached to the privilege to vote for the company’s board of directors; however, companies may experience times of financial difficulty in which they find it impossible to pay their common shareholders dividends, or portions of the company’s earnings disbursed to shareholders. The purchase of preferred stock guarantees that you will be paid your declared dividend before common shareholders.

Individual stocks are traded on stock exchanges, whose price listings can be found in special sections of most major newspapers or online at investment Web sites. Examples of renowned American stock exchanges include NASDAQ (marketing & major tech. firm’s stocks) the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX). Transactions on the stock exchange are conducted through brokers, the most prominent of whom actually conduct business on the floor of the stock exchange houses. Investors interact with the brokers directly via telephone or indirectly via Internet investment sites such as Charles Schwab, Scottrade and E*TRADE.

Regardless of your method of investing, the stock market still offers the greatest potential for financial gain of all investment opportunities. However, it is crucial to bear in mind that great financial rewards rarely come without great financial risks.

This article was originally published in the Etownian on Thursday, November 1st, 2007.

Sife Sense - Going Green (Extended Edition)

Authors Note: This is an extended edition of the Going Green article that appeared in the Etownian, it contains additional ideas and ways to be friendly to the environment and save some money.

In today’s world of complex electronics and disposable products, being environmentally friendly can seem a challenging and expensive task. Yet there are many things that an ordinary college student can do to save the environment, and save some money at the same time.

There are always the simple things you can do to save some green (both the natural and the monetary kind). First, when you go to bed at night, turn off your computer; it doesn’t need to be on while you sleep, and if someone has an important message to leave you, they can always send an email. Another simple computer tip is to set your monitor to go into power-save when you haven’t used your computer in a while, this saves both energy and makes your screen last longer. Lastly, you probably didn’t grow up in a barn, so turn off your lights when you leave a room. Right now you may be thinking to yourself, why does this matter, the college pays my electric bill. You’re right, they do pay the bill, and you also need to remember that you pay their bills every year. Why not save a little bit of power, and maybe keep that tuition increase a bit smaller next year?

Want to be a bit healthier and save some cash, do something that you do every day, walk. At well over $2 a gallon, gasoline is expensive and pollutes. Walking, or riding a bike, is a good way to save some money and the environment. Have to head to the quads? Walk there, or ride your bike, there is no reason to drive. Even a walking trip from campus to the grocery store is entirely plausible on a nice day. Those short trips are also the most damaging to your vehicle, reducing performance and driving up repair bills. Also, watch your speed while driving home for the weekend or on a break. For every 5 mph over 60 mph you drive, it can waste up to 10 cents per gallon.

At the end of the semester or the year, don’t throw out all those things in your room that you don’t want to take home. As the adage goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Have an old shelf you don’t need any more, or perhaps a slightly used futon? Put it in the campus classifieds, or if its small, put it on eBay. Selling things on eBay is easier than you think, and if you sell it for a few dollars, it’s better than making nothing. At the same time, you are reducing the amount of trash that is hauled off to landfills. If you can’t sell it, try to recycle it, or give it away for free to someone who can use it. When looking for new furniture, or almost anything, check out sites like Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) or Craigslist (www.craigslist.org), for bargains in the local area. Items can cost significantly less, and you prevent them from going to a landfill.

If you buy bottled water, consider purchasing a water filter pitcher, or one that mounts on a sink. Most bottled water is just filtered tap water, and is expensive and wasteful. The energy used to pump, transport, disinfect, and bottle water is more than you may think. Unless the bottle is recycled, it also adds to landfill space. Using a water filter can pay for itself quicker than you may think, at over a dollar per bottle, the cost of the most plentiful resource on earth adds up fast.

Here are some other items to consider. Buy and sell used textbooks; they are cheaper and avoid wasting paper. Avoid printing unnecessary pages, only print what you need. Don’t take more food than you are going to eat in the Marketplace or at a buffet, you can always go back for more. Reuse what you can, recycle what you cannot.

Going green can be done without any really hard work, just a few simple changes in your everyday tasks. Remember that every little bit helps, and that being friendly to the environment can save you some green in the bank as well.

Portions of this article appeared in the September 20th edition of the Etownian.

Sife Sense - Going Green

In today’s world of complex electronics and disposable products, being environmentally friendly can seem a challenging and expensive task. Yet there are many things that an ordinary college student can do to save the environment, and save some money at the same time.

There are always simple things you can do to save some green (natural and monetary). When you go to bed at night, turn off your computer. Another simple tip, set your monitor to go into power-save when you haven’t used your computer in a while, this saves energy and your screen. Lastly, you probably didn’t grow up in a barn, so turn off the lights when you leave a room. You may be thinking, who cares, the college pays my electric bill. You’re right, but you pay their bills every semester. Save some electricity, and keep that tuition increase a bit smaller next year.

At well over $2 a gallon, gasoline is expensive and pollutes. Walking or riding a bike is a good way to save some money and the environment. Have to head to the quads, downtown, or the grocery store? There’s no need to drive. Those short trips are also the most damaging to your vehicle, reducing performance and driving up repair bills. Also, watch your speed while driving home for the weekend or a break. For every 5 mph over 60 mph you drive, it can waste up to 10 cents per gallon.

At the end of the year, don’t throw out those things you don’t want to take home. Have some old stuff you don’t need anymore? Put it in the campus classifieds, or sell it on eBay. Selling things on online is easier than you think, and an easy way to make some cash and reduce trash. If you can’t sell it, recycle it or give it away for free. When looking for new furniture, check out sites like Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) or Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) for bargains in the area.

If you drink bottled water, consider purchasing a water filter. Most bottled water is just expensive filtered tap water. The energy used to pump, transport, disinfect, and bottle water is more than you may think, and most water bottles are never recycled. According to the Sierra Club, the cost for filtered water is approximately $.13/gallon and for bottled water at minimum $1.27 per gallon (or much more in smaller bottles). A filter clearly is an easy and inexpensive way to get water.

Going green can be done easily, just a few simple changes in your everyday tasks. Remember, going green can save the environment, and your wallet at the same time.

Published in the Etownian, September 20th, 2007.