Share dealing from home

RaiderHammer

Hi,  I am thinking of dipping my toe into share dealing and started to explore online but thought it would be wise to ask for some real life stories.  Is anyone doing this from home please?

What is the minimum ideally to invest to try please?

I read there are some free of charge practise platforms, as anyone used any please and recommend?

Any tips or any other information would be very welcome.

Thank you for your help.

wmb194

RaiderHammer said:

Hi,  I am thinking of dipping my toe into share dealing and started to explore online but thought it would be wise to ask for some real life stories.  Is anyone doing this from home please?

What is the minimum ideally to invest to try please?

I read there are some free of charge practise platforms, as anyone used any please and recommend?

Any tips or any other information would be very welcome.

Thank you for your help.

Well, you just open a brokerage account and get going. Look at Freetrade and Trading212 for very cheap options.

Beyond that you need to think about what you're going to buy and when... I'm not sure what you're really asking: are you talking about quitting your job and becoming a day trader or just beginning to look into investing in general?

MEM62

Unless you have a good level of expertise, you should not be looking at individual stocks.  Stick to funds and educate yourself.  There is no minimum in terms of investment amount but there is in terms of time.  You need to be looking at a minimum of 5 years and be prepared to stick with it when your investment hits a negative period.  

Albermarle

 and becoming a day trader or just beginning to look into investing in general?

Day trading maybe exciting but it is just gambling by another name. More lose than win. Serious long term investing for the future can be boring. but normally has a positive result.

ColdIron

RaiderHammer said:

Any tips or any other information would be very welcome.

Top Tip: If you are thinking or day trading with company shares - Don't do it. Chances are high you will lose money

If you look at any of the 'What would you tell your younger self' threads, don't buy and sell, or day trade, company shares would come high on the list

Most people on here are investors, long term buy an hold

jimjames

RaiderHammer said:

Hi,  I am thinking of dipping my toe into share dealing and started to explore online but thought it would be wise to ask for some real life stories.  Is anyone doing this from home please?

I'm curious. If you weren't share trading from home where would you do it from?

callum9999

jimjames said:

RaiderHammer said:

Hi,  I am thinking of dipping my toe into share dealing and started to explore online but thought it would be wise to ask for some real life stories.  Is anyone doing this from home please?

I'm curious. If you weren't share trading from home where would you do it from?

Work? 

I assume like a lot of people, they've previously viewed this activity as being something the "city bankers" do, not everyday people from home.

RaiderHammer

wmb194 said:

RaiderHammer said:

Hi,  I am thinking of dipping my toe into share dealing and started to explore online but thought it would be wise to ask for some real life stories.  Is anyone doing this from home please?

What is the minimum ideally to invest to try please?

I read there are some free of charge practise platforms, as anyone used any please and recommend?

Any tips or any other information would be very welcome.

Thank you for your help.

Well, you just open a brokerage account and get going. Look at Freetrade and Trading212 for very cheap options.

Beyond that you need to think about what you're going to buy and when... I'm not sure what you're really asking: are you talking about quitting your job and becoming a day trader or just beginning to look into investing in general?

Thank you.  Investing in general really.  Long term is no problem but would pull the value out if I see an increase.  Thanks will look into the two platforms suggested.

Albermarle

Long term is no problem but would pull the value out if I see an increase.

At what level of increase would you pull out?

For example if you invested in a tracker following the S&P 500 at the start of 2018, then two years later it would have gone up 18%. If you then withdrew, you would have missed another 44% rise over the next two years (including the downturn during the first Covid wave)
Of course if you withdrew then you would have missed the 24% drop this year.
Getting these timings right is very difficult. 

MEM62

RaiderHammer said:

wmb194 said:

RaiderHammer said:

Hi,  I am thinking of dipping my toe into share dealing and started to explore online but thought it would be wise to ask for some real life stories.  Is anyone doing this from home please?

What is the minimum ideally to invest to try please?

I read there are some free of charge practise platforms, as anyone used any please and recommend?

Any tips or any other information would be very welcome.

Thank you for your help.

Well, you just open a brokerage account and get going. Look at Freetrade and Trading212 for very cheap options.

Beyond that you need to think about what you're going to buy and when... I'm not sure what you're really asking: are you talking about quitting your job and becoming a day trader or just beginning to look into investing in general?

Long term is no problem but would pull the value out if I see an increase.  

For what reason?  Do you have a strategy for the money you pull out?  Pull out and you are not making any further gains.   

steampowered

RaiderHammer said:
Long term is no problem but would pull the value out if I see an increase. 

This is a classic mistake made by novice investors.

This sort of thinking results in you selling your "winning" stocks quickly, and holding onto your "losing" stocks for a very long time. That means your winners don't have much time to make you profit - but your losers have plenty of time to make you a nice big loss. 

This is a psychological trick your brain plays on you known as "loss aversion bias" - meaning that you realise a gain much more quickly than you realise a loss.

If you want to do well at the investing game, you need to recognise these biases and address them.

The fact that a stock has gone up is not a good reason to sell it! You'd only want to sell the stock if you thought the gain was unjustified and thought that the stock will go down again in future.