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addictedtoroses

Stock market for Dummies?

addictedtoroses
15 years ago

I need your help here, O Financial Gurus!

I have a strong desire to play the stock market (yes I say "play", as I'm trying to approach this as one would a trip to Vegas- I'm only taking what I can afford to lose, and will see it as a great bonus if I come out ahead)

That said, I don't have much income. I work part-time so that I can be home when my children are home, and my husband is the breadwinner. I can probably afford to invest $100 a month, but that's it. I'm starting with $125, and have opened an account with Etrade. But there's a few things I'm not clear on:

How much is it going to cost me to buy stocks, given how little I have to invest?

What does "Buy to Cover" mean?

When you go to "buy" it gives you options- market, market on close, stop, limit, limit stop, trailing stop $, and trailing stop %. What do these mean?

Is there a limit minimum on how many shares I can buy? I've always steered clear of investing because I thought that the market would not want to deal with the piddly amounts that I could afford to spend, and have therefore invested nothing, and now at 33, and with the market down, I thought I'd try my luck. Please help me, all of this is a little confusing!

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