Sports betting is actually a pretty good way to start, especially just to get your feet wet with making bets or "investments" in certain teams. I dabble in sports betting as well and found it has many of the same principles of investing. You need to do your homework on the teams your betting on and look to make the best decisions in the long-run and keep your head on straight if things go south.
This has been my philosophy since I started a few weeks ago. Always doing the homework into where and what I invest in and never exceed my bankroll management into one company. Very good look at what the mindset of a beginner should be.
Trust no one's advice but your own after a LOT of research... and diversify. Seems that everyone wants to think of him or herself as an expert, and following advice without researching is never wise. (ooops, two sentences there... we'll just count the first.)
If someone tells you they know it all, they're lying and you need to run away. Stay diversified to limit your risk.
Agreed. I have often come across people online and occasionally IRL who think they know it all about investing. They are always males in my experience, and usually (not always) younger or young-ish. In many cases, it's because they don't actually have any money to invest and are just pretending to try to impress me. Females in my experience don't act this way about investing - they'll readily admit they have limited knowledge and that they need help with their $. Older males (50+) also typically have more humility - probably because they actually do have money to invest in most cases. If someone finds out what I do and actually has money, I've found that they will want to pick my brain. If they don't have money and are just bullshitting, they will be trying to tell me what to do and how to do it (usually some "hot stock tip" that I should sink all my $ into), and won't have any interest in what I have to say usually. It's very easy for someone (usually a younger male full of testosterone and ego) to feign knowledge and throw out advice when they actually have no skin in the game. And sometimes younger men who do actually have a few bucks or even lots of money are convinced that they will be the greatest investor ever. I felt this way many years ago when I came into a few bucks and actually knew very little. Luckily, I soon realized that I needed to humble myself - there were many, many people and machines who had me beat on knowledge, experience, and other tools. Sadly, some are so full of themselves that they don't ever come to that realization - they either run out of money because they refuse to change, or they get disillusioned that the market is "rigged", or they end up buying into some scam or whatever. I always tell people that the sooner they come to the realization that they won't be the best investor ever - and that they will be wrong from time to time and will lose money on occasion, and that they will be limited to realistic gains - the better off they will be.
Diversification makes sense to me. That I do understand, but in those rules is it better to just find a mutual fund versus research a lot of different stock, or is there a method of research and decision that makes it profitable? What kind of gains do you expect in order to know you've made the right decision?
When in doubt, bunt. Instead of dropping a lot of money and waiting to get rich, drop a little money and pay attention to how it all works.
Absolutely, you should even apply that to every facet of your spending. Don't risk large amounts until you completely understand what you're doing.
Oh thank God you said that, I would have bought HIGH and SOLD low! All jokes aside though, this is good standard advice.
