Online Trading for Beginners

Ahh.. the good life

Hello and welcome to my first blog entry! If you are like me and you are driven, not content on the status quo, hardworking, and exploring new ways to beat inflation and at the same time steadily increasing your capital (and possibly retire early?)... then read on. Free knowledge is the best deal you can get any given day of the week.

Let me get a couple of things out of the way first:

1) I've always been a data driven / logic centered guy who favors intellect over emotions (but I do get emotional too.. case in point when I cried after watching Forrest Gump)
 
2) I am not employed by any of the companies, websites and tools that are included in this blog. They are here only because I've used them and they have worked for me.

3) I work full time night shift (BPO career guy for the last 12 years) and don't have a lot of extra time in my for dealing with banks and financial institutions who unfortunately close after 5pm.

So, what free knowledge am I talking about?

 

I was inspired when I recently took a jeepney ride along Commonwealth avenue after leaving my car to be serviced, and found out that the minimum fare is now Php 8.50. It's been a while since I rode a jeepney, I admit, and I still remember when I only paid Php 4.00 pesos to ride a jeep (Php1.00 back when I was in grade school!). Granted that was a long time ago, but it got me thinking about inflation rates and how it was eating through my savings tucked away in my little passbook. That Php 100.00 you used to buy a mcdo burger meal today will probably only get you fries and a coke 5 years from now.

I started googling around how other people beat inflation and at the same time secured a hefty retirement fund. Lots of stuff came out: mutual funds, time deposits, entrepreneurship. One thing caught my eye though...STOCK TRADING.

After watching that 1987 Charlie Sheen / Michael Douglas movie "Wall Street" and getting a USB copy of another movie "Limitless", I always thought trading stocks were for people who spoke a different language (i.e. ask size, average and indices, etc..) and needed to quit their regular jobs (or at least dedicate a good amount of time) to get anything out of the stock market.

That was until I did a lot of online research and found out it wasn't that hard. All you need is a computer/smartphone/internet connection, online stock account, about Php 500 monthly to subscribe to stock market intel (guide you in which stocks to buy/sell), and an online bank account (to fund your stock portfolio and to serve as your recipient account... when you earn your dividends/profit)

The key word here is "invest". If you are a finance pro then by all means.. put majority of your life savings in stocks and "play the market" and who knows.. you just might get that BMW 5 series. However, if you are a beginner just like me... "invest" and follow a steady strategy. My aim is to grow the money steadily at a much greater rate than the inflation rate and compound it with all my other financial instruments to secure my future

Read here for the difference: Passive Investing vs Active Investing

In any case, I hope the knowledge below helps you. I only started with about Php 10,000 as initial investment and have already earned a couple of thousand in the past couple of months. Imagine this all compounded after I buy more stocks... and after a few more years as the stock prices appreciate!

***IMPORTANT*** -- for beginner stock traders it is highly recommended to follow a guide so you don't end up buying the wrong stocks and losing money!

 

The best guide I have seen so far is the SAM table available only to members of BoSanchez Truly Rich Club
It is simple, idiot proof, and uses the same strategy as famous finance magnate Warren Buffett and available for only a minimal fee (I pay like Php 500 a month for this information that gets updated daily) 

 

Click this link to subscribe to the SAM table and be guided on buying stocks

 More on how SAM works

 Step 1 - Open an online stock trading account.:

 There is COL (https://www.colfinancial.com) but I prefer BPITrade (http://www.bpitrade.com) because I have all my funds in BPI accounts and it makes it easier for me to move funds around, plus there is no minimum amount to start a trading account
Click Here: How to open an account with BPI Trade

Step 2 - Fund your account/Withdraw from your account:

After you have created your BPI Trade account you need to fund it so you can buy stocks. Your welcome email from BPITrade should contain details how to fund your account as well as nominating a beneficiary bank account when it comes to that time wherein you want to cash in on your stocks

Step 3 - Start investing:

Tips:
a) Always check the SAM table (click here to subscribe to the SAM table) before doing anything. Remember, your strategy is passive-aggressive investing.... you don't want to trade daily and play cowboy with all the other big boys.... not for now
b) Start slow, allow for some mistakes
c)  In principle trading is like buying something in your friendly neighborhood market. In filipino "tatawaran kita para makamura"
Here's more info: "Buy at the ASK price, Sell at the BID"
How to buy and sell using bpitrade:  BPI Trade guide

  That's it for now and hope this helps! Let me know how it goes!