Stock Market Investing

Originally Posted by kss

*Disclaimer: dont take investing advise from random strangers on the internet, especially on a forum that has nothing to do with investing*



Index investing is the easiest, safest, and most tried and true way to steady wealth. Everything else (individual stocks, options that are not a hedge against your index investments, etc) is just gambling. Even index investing carries a risk of going to nothing, but if that happens money wont matter in the world that that happens in anyways. Picking individual stocks sometime works out, sometimes it doesn't, much like a lottery ticket. Some people say they do "research" or "technical analysis" for their stock picks, but the people at the horse racing tracks say the same thing about their bets....its still gambling. I do have some individual stocks in my play money accounts, but only invest money I am willing to lose 100% of into individual stocks. All other investing is in index funds, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX) being my main one.

I think you can learn how to use the stock market to make money. Overall, I have made more money playing stocks on my own than I have lost, and I have lost more than I have made listening to 401K advisors and their buy and hold, dollar cost averaging and investing in mutual funds advice..... And I lost A LOT like that.