12 Basic Stock Investing Rules Every Successful Investor Should Follow

There are many important things you need to know to trade and invest successfully in the stock market or any other market. 12 of the most important things that I can share with you based on many years of trading experience are enumerated below.

1. Buy low-sell high. As simple as this concept appears to be, the vast majority of investors do the exact opposite. Your ability to consistently buy low and sell high, will determine the success, or failure, of your investments. Your rate of return is determined 100% by when you enter the stock market.

2. The stock market is always right and price is the only reality in trading. If you want to make money in any market, you need to mirror what the market is doing. If the market is going down and you are long, the market is right and you are wrong. If the stock market is going up and you are short, the market is right and you are wrong.

Other things being equal, the longer you stay right with the stock market, the more money you will make. The longer you stay wrong with the stock market, the more money you will lose.

3. Every market or stock that goes up will go down and most markets or stocks that have gone down, will go up. The more extreme the move up or down, the more extreme the movement in the opposite direction once the trend changes. This is also known as “the trend always changes rule.”

4. If you are looking for “reasons” that stocks or markets make large directional moves, you will probably never know for certain. Since we are dealing with perception of markets-not necessarily reality, you are wasting your time looking for the many reasons markets move.
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Starting a Business When Unemployed

One of the discussions I was involved in at our Christmas dinner was about the unemployment picture and how it affected minorities. People who are hiring at this time are looking for the cheapest labor and only hire people who are referred by another employee or someone they like and trust.

This showed up the value of Networking. If you are a member of an organization you will more likely get the inside scoop on jobs that are not advertised. Minorities are the least likely to have those connections for one reason or another.

What I suggested as an alternative for unemployed people seeking work is to start a business. This has been successfully tried by many unemployed and offers a real opportunity to use the skills that they have to make a living that could surpass any earnings from a regular job and put their future in their own hands. Following up on any business ideas you may have or an interest or hobby you enjoy can all provide a possible platform for starting your own business.
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Replacing Retirement Planning With Lifestyle Planning

In the realm of personal finance, there are very few individuals that get excited at the prospect of retirement planning and setting up investments for the distant future. Combining proper foresight with sound financial advice to setup a decent ‘roadmap’ for your golden years takes a significant amount of time. An often overlooked aspect of retirement planning is that of lifestyle planning. Everybody will have some idea of what sort of lifestyle they would wish to maintain or achieve in retirement.

Firstly you will need to work out the minimum amount you would need to live off of for the rest of your life. Will state and current private pension payout cover this as well as any outstanding investments that need to be paid off? The next step after that would be to assess what your goal amount would be to help you live life to the full. What sorts of comforts, hobbies and activities would you like to prioritise for your retirement years. Knowing these numbers will allow your financial planner to make provide advice based on an upper and lower limit numbers. It’s all about knowing what your number is.

Your preference may be to ensure a high return on investments or to maximise tax efficiency for passing on inheritance to the next generation. You may wish to retire early or do a bit of damage control on some poor past decisions. Either way you will need to take the time out to seek out financial advice from a service provider approved by your region’s financial regulator.
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