Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of July 16, 2013?

Article Excerpt

When you are learning about investing, and preparing to invest more money in stocks, it’s a good idea keep a notebook about stocks you are thinking about buying. Even if you can’t buy, you can still commit yourself on paper. Of course, you’ll have to be scrupulously honest with yourself. (Best to write your journal in ink—not pencil!) If you keep this journal for two or three years, you should begin developing a sense of when to make buy and sell decisions—“when to pull the trigger”, as professional investors say. This can go a long way toward turning you into a successful investor. You’ll find that you have to learn to make these decisions while there is still some doubt in your mind. If you only buy stocks after all your doubt is gone and you’re sure you’re going to make lots of money, you will often wind up with small profits if not losses. This seems paradoxical to many non-investors,…