Awesome Site! New trader here...

[Leaira]

Hello, everyone!  I don't know if this is the right place to post this or not, but I wanted to say hello and share my story with you.  I'm relatively new to stock trading, but I've really been enjoying reading this site the past couple months as a guest.  I just registered today.  I got into stock trading last spring while I was still a senior in high school, inspired by an assignment that we had to do in economics class.  Apparently a lot of teachers are assigning this for their students.  I think it's the most valuable assignment I've ever done in my life! 

We had to pick stocks and buy them with some imaginary money the teacher gave each of us, then watch them for about 2 months.  Like most of the kids, we'd pick companies that we are all familiar with, like McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Abercrombie, American Eagle, etc.  Hardly any of us came out with a profit at the end of the assignment, myself included, but we got credit for just doing it.  I felt so bad after that and it was totally bothering me.  I knew there were people who became rich from the market, and others that make their living with it.  I asked my econ teacher how others do well at this stuff, and he said they know how to read charts and use technical analysis.  He said it was beyond the scope of the class, so he wasn't going to talk about it.

Over Christmas break, I was reading some websites and books on technical analysis, and really studying hard.  I repeated the assignment on my own using what I studied.  I saw that I ended up with profits of about 5 to 8% each month by buying and selling some stocks with imaginary money.  It worked because it gave me an idea of when to buy and when to sell.

I felt ready to try it with real money by springtime, but didn't have any to invest.  I was like most other girls, spending it on clothes, CD's, makeup, shoes, and other stuff girls buy.  Next thing I knew, it was prom season, and my parents gave me $1000 for prom because they heard something on the news that that's what it costs these days.  I got totally excited, but then a few days later, on a whim, I decided not to go to prom, and open a brokerage account with it instead.  My boyfriend wasn't too happy, and he took another girl to the prom.  They're still dating, by the way.

I started investing by taking $500 positions in two different stocks that showed strength.  I sold them and bought a couple others a week or so later.  When prom night came around, I was sitting at home – with a 40% gain on my account ($1,400)!  It almost made up for missing prom!

I've been trading all summer.  My parents wanted me to get a summer job since I turned 18, but I made this my summer job.  My parents agreed to it.  I admit I made a few risky trades that I shouldn't have (like CTTY last summer that I bought on a whim), but I got lucky and they paid off for me.  My best stocks were CTTY, BCON, SMTX, and CTIB last month.  Funny story of how I got CTIB, too.  I finished a test in my word processing class early and decided to check the market.  I noticed the stock was up and looked at the news to find out why.  I bought a little bit of it, and then was shocked to see how well it was doing!

Anyway, I made more than enough cash to buy a new car (Chevy Cobalt), and pay for my first two years of college.  I'm majoring in business, and I want to be a stockbroker. 

I would have also liked to have helped out my cheerleading squad financially, but I was all done as a cheerleader by the time I got started.  I have other friends who are still cheerleaders, but they say it's too risky and want to stick with traditional fundraiser activities.
The stocks I have right now are BRLC, GTE, and NVAX.  I bought them all this morning after having been out of the market since Oct. 1.  I have a profit on each, and hope they hold up for more than a few days.

I wish all of you the best of luck trading, and thank you so much for running such an awesome site!

Leaira (age 18, Michigan)

[Ramsburg]

Welcome aboard, and thanks for sharing your story Leaira !

By the way, very impressive start on the markets !
With that age, and with that «go for it» spirit, I have no doubts you'll have a bright future on the markets !

Feel free to share your market thoughts or your own picks on our boards !
Happy trading !
Best regards,

[wrangler]

Goodluck with you're future in the stock market. Sounds like you've got a good start and a eye for the market. Will be watching for you're threads.

[dyc100]

Yea, it is a really good site for traders to share ideas and knowledge, thanks 3sof!