Well, I did it
I did a little more research on my short list of stocks, and reviewed their dividend history. It turns out that the ones I’d been leaning toward anyway coincidentally also had a nice history of paying decent dividends. So I took the plunge and set up an order for 3 different stocks. (Which will go through after a bit more money gets to my Sharebuilder account.) So that’s one of this year’s goals down :)
Eventually I’d like to have shares of about 15-20 different stocks, but that will take me a while due to the small amount that I’m allocating to this experiment. (Probably more than a year, even if I only buy one share of each stock.) But we all have to start somewhere.
I wonder though about the wisdom of starting at this time in particular, with the stock market doing so badly at the moment. In theory though I suppose it’s better than starting at a time when it’s really booming. And I keep telling myself, “don’t try to time the market, just invest when you have the money”. We’ll see how this goes.
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January 7th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Well done! One of the hardest things you’ll find is to accept the whole “don’t try to time the market” concept. I set up a quarterly schedule to deposit money into my investment account and so I’m limited to four months of the year, but throughout that month I’m pushing and pushing and trying to see when the best time is to actually buy in.
I think pretty soon I’ll just set a date, like the 15th of every month, to stop worrying about it.
Good luck!
January 7th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Way to go! If the stock market is down then you’re likely going to get a good deal on the stocks that you do purchase. Remember that you’re in this for the long haul and stock investment (especially based on dividend payouts) is a long term thing.
Have you considered signing up for any DRIPS that these stocks provide?
January 12th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
The word is Buy low and sell high so this is the time to buy. However 15-20 stocks is a lot for one person to watch. Also, think about reinvesting your dividends. Your stocks will grow little by little this way, instead of the money just being frittered away with nothing to show for it.