thinking about trading shares as a hobby?

[insanojackson]

Thinking about trading shares?
by insanojackson on Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:03 am

I am thinking about starting to dablle in the stock market more as a hobby but hopefully to make a little cash. I was thinking about maybe setting aside a small amount , perhaps £500 to play with and see how i get on.

Anyone here got any experience in amateur share trading? the cheapest way to do it?

[marsred]

Have you tried running a virtual portfolio online first? If you have... carry on. If not, give it a try, it can be an eye opener!

[Justayellowbadge]

Morning, chum. Lovely day. Go on, then, I'll take a copy. Like to do me bit.

[xiphias]

Virtual account first - about 6 months to a year of that before you even consider it. If you start to think this is easy and you start thinking of the money you could make - step away now.

[bridgdav]

www.iii.com
Interactive Investor

Create portfolio, trade shares, £10 transaction fee.. Invest in 'Penny Shares' on AIM companies as well as the big boys..

Don't forget - Do you own research into shares and company trades, there are many MM's (Market Manipulators) who use the forums on-line, to ramp the prices up / down for their own financial gain.

Also, as silly and repetitive as it may sound.

Share prices can go UP as well as DOWN. (I'm experienced in the latter recently)

Good Luck

[turbobloke]

The advice from marsred & xiphias is good. Spreadbetting is tax free, if you actually buy and sell real shares and make a profit I believe there's CGT to pay if your allowance is exceeded. Forex day trading with a spreadbetting account is also a possibility and binaries etc.

[Plotloss]

insanojackson said:

Thinking about trading shares?
by insanojackson on Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:03 am

I am thinking about starting to dablle in the stock market more as a hobby but hopefully to make a little cash. I was thinking about maybe setting aside a small amount , perhaps £500 to play with and see how i get on.

Anyone here got any experience in amateur share trading? the cheapest way to do it?

It took you 1 hour 18 minutes to post that?

I'd suggest the markets may not be for you, all things considered.

[xiphias]

bridgdav said:

Invest Gamble in 'Penny Shares' on AIM companies as well as the big boys..

Small Edit.

[carter711]

I heard a quote on here a while back that went something like 'share prices can fall aswell as plummet'.
Trading is a minefield with so many traps it's unreal.
Good luck, and i mean that sincerely.

[walm]

Just give me the £500 or spend it on hookers and coke. At least you will enjoy that.

Are you prepared to pay $1000 a month in order to have real time quotes?
Are you prepared to call the management team of every stock you invest in at least twice a quarter for an update?
Are you prepared to read every available annual and quarterly report, results call transcripts and presentations on a potential investment, their competitors, customers and suppliers?
Are you prepared to pay for access to every investment bank's research?
Are you prepared to pay consulting fees to industry experts in order to understand current and future trends?
Are you prepared to build a proprietary financial model, including P&L, balance sheet and cash flow on every investment?

Because your competition will.
And most of them still lose money.

[insanojackson]

marsred said:

Have you tried running a virtual portfolio online first? If you have... carry on. If not, give it a try, it can be an eye opener!

thats an idea, where is it best to do that?

[Wheelrepairit]

I did this a yr ago with £500, just testing the water

Now worth £108.65

Happy days, not

I should stress i do have other shares that have done me well, however this £500 was just me myself doing it, rather than taking advice and letting other people sort for me.

All part of the learning curve i guess

[tricky69]

Plotloss said:

insanojackson said:

Thinking about trading shares?
by insanojackson on Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:03 am

I am thinking about starting to dablle in the stock market more as a hobby but hopefully to make a little cash. I was thinking about maybe setting aside a small amount , perhaps £500 to play with and see how i get on.

Anyone here got any experience in amateur share trading? the cheapest way to do it?

It took you 1 hour 18 minutes to post that?

I'd suggest the markets may not be for you, all things considered.

hahaahaha

if i was you mate, buy a few different amercican company shares... Buy when the rest of the world is panicing. Called contrarian trading... everyone wants to be one but very few actually are !!

But if we are talking about £500 quid, then who cares ? No real downside in the grand scheme of things....

[Maxf]

turbobloke said:

I believe there's CGT to pay if your allowance is exceeded.

Obviously everyone on PH is ace and never posts a loss. But say someone bought some shares on a whim and lost some cash and decided never to dabble in shares again - can they offset this against other tax paid?

[mr_spock]

I had thought about this. I have an online account with TD Waterhouse, £12 a trade flat fee at my level. We bought some Euro Disney shares as they offer a 10% discount at Disneyland Paris, so we saved the cost of the shares many times over.

However, investing say £100 in a trade, it would have to rise by 24% for me to break even. QED not worth it for me. At £1000 it makes a little more sense, but I suspect the risk/return would be better on a roulette table!

[johnfm]

Maxf said:

turbobloke said:

I believe there's CGT to pay if your allowance is exceeded.

Obviously everyone on PH is ace and never posts a loss. But say someone bought some shares on a whim and lost some cash and decided never to dabble in shares again - can they offset this against other tax paid?

You may be able to offset it against any capital gains tax - but not income tax.

[marsred]

insanojackson said:

marsred said:

Have you tried running a virtual portfolio online first? If you have... carry on. If not, give it a try, it can be an eye opener!

thats an idea, where is it best to do that?

I once used bullbearings but i think FT and Bloomberg do them as well. Remeber as well there's usually a minimum fee for trades, about £10 / £15 generally, so your looking a a £20 / £30 loss (i.e. 4% to 6%) before you even see any price movements.

That said though, if you can afford to lose the lot it is exciting stuff, if you're as dull as me anyway!

[Timmy35]

walm said:

Just give me the £500 or spend it on hookers and coke. At least you will enjoy that.

There are more fun ways to waste £500 than opening up a spread betting account, trading manically for a few days, and having £2.50 left at the end of it.

I suggest you treat the missus, take her to Paris for a weekend instead, she might even let you up the 'rue de la merde'

[Mr POD]

bridgdav said:

Share prices can go UP as well as DOWN. (I'm experienced in the latter recently)

Good Luck

My father in Law retired from a career as a teacher at 55 with stress (don't laugh, he went postal and it took about 4 years for him to become a normalish bloke again). On a full pension. He started dealing in stocks and shares and in 12 years made more profit, than his salary in his whole 30+ years as a teacher.

About 3 years ago, he moved it all into cash investments spreading it across various UK banks, saying "There's gonna be a crash soon, mark my words"

[shadowninja]

Timmy35 said:

walm said:

Just give me the £500 or spend it on hookers and coke. At least you will enjoy that.

There are more fun ways to waste £500 than opening up a spread betting account, trading manically for a few days, and having £2.50 left at the end of it.

I suggest you treat the missus, take her to Paris for a weekend instead, she might even let you up the 'rue de la merde'

People talk about trading as being exciting. They probably don't get out much.