23 with 46k planning for future.

[blin10]

I disagree with your disagreeing with 1k they will rape him $29 for each trade, just based on that it's not worth it... I would say even 5k is not enough, 10k+ needed

I disagree as the OP says he wants to 'trade/play stocks' and $1K for a beginner is a good start in case things don't go well.

A beginner should not dollar cost average to correct mistakes as that could make things even worse; I remember someone here invested a lot of money on YLO through DCA for example.

There are no short-cuts in investing, so I would recommend you first read a few books about investing & also do virtual trades before doing it live, and avoid penny stocks.

I find it amusing that so many young people [fresh out of school] are already thinking about 'a comfortable retirement age' as that was the last thing on my mind after I graduated. You should be thinking about retiring at 67, not 50 as haven't you heard that 67 is now the new 50?

Welcome to the forum GT-Prince.

[Toronto.gal]

I disagree with your disagreeing with 1k they will rape him $29 for each trade, just based on that it's not worth it... I would say even 5k is not enough, 10k+ needed

That's ok., we can agree to disagree.

OP mentioned opening a Questrade account, so that would be $4.95 a trade for up to 500 shares I believe.

I see your and KaeJS' point, but I would not encourage newbies to trade with more money until they know what they are doing and JMHO.

Cheers!

[gtprince]

The reason I wanted to just use 1000 dollars and not a greater amount, is due to the fact that I only have experience with the free virtual traders. On that note, someone else noted the point, that it varies greatly when its real money, and I wanted to get a feel of how it works, and learn the ins and outs, which I dont think any amount of reading will do. I believe its one of those things where you can read about it all you want, but you do need some 'hands-on' experience to put the words to value.

[donald]

Ya but you don't have enough ''powder" to do anything.At this stage you should be thinking about investing and not trading.Think ownership in a company(long-term)Imo you need more capital to build a few positions(your core holdings/bedrock of a portfolio)What are you going to gain by trading right off the bat?What are you going to trade?Pharm stocks?You may as well go to the race track and bet on a pony(mr market will likely pound you).How did you make out with your free virtual trades?How much ''fake" money were you playing/managing with?What kinda trades were you putting on in that virtual acct?It should of been a lot harder than you thought(you should be shit scared if you were trading).Were you just gambling or were you building positions in different sectors,weighing your % on each holding,watching your holding and buying on dips ect ect.What stocks(companies)did you fake trade?What is on your watchlist right now?(for real capital trades)which trades are you studying?-just curious.-The market is'nt a video game-not saying you think it is.

[SheaButters]

I am exactly like you, just a year older, and no girlfriend :P
I graduated last year, got a full time gig for 26 an hour
i was making 13 an hour before at my old job, but managed to save up ~40k like you

I just purchased a huge house, all alone, in 20 years, i hope that house will increase to half a million
I offered very low on the house, not expecting to get it, as I did this a few times, finally luck came my way
House is valued at about 300k, I got it for 250k, mainly because the garage floor is completely destroyed and cracked from a large tree root near it and no one wanted to pay top dollar for an unfinished 300k house
but come on, who cares about the garage :P cut down tree, wait 2 years, gravel the floor or whatever, the basement is a crawl space, everything is built on wood... my real estate agent was super annoyed i filled this out, but we surprised everyone, the current lowest valued house in this area with similar stats was 280k, and that house was not updated like this one, new roof, water tank, etc... the couple got transferred to vancouver and dumped it quickly to me :P offers anytime, rules! no bid war haha

When you go to buy your expensive house, the more you put down the better!
I put 20% down, to avoid CMHC and I have some spare cash floating around, If its all good in a year from now, I can add it to the anniversity lump sum
pay it off quick

I like how they said, get a prenup (unless your girlfriend is 110% bound to make more than you)
You have to protect what is yours
I will forsure do this, unless I marry a doctor, who has a more expensive house than I do

Stocks are risky, I always just went with the lame savings account, a few years ago it was at 4%, but now, you're lucky to get 2%
but its safe, money in the bank!

I would suggest you just live very very cheap for the next few years, stay at home with mom, or split the rent with your girlfriend if you need
stay cheap cheap cheap

My friends all made fun of me for living with mom, while they are enjoying their apartment life
now, I will have the fanciest house of them all, and will be paid off in less than 25 years, and I can look at retiring from my govt job by then

every dollar you earn today, will actually be worth 2 dollars, because you'll be saving that money on interest when you do buy your house

a quick example pay 200k for a house, after an additional 200k interest turns into 400k
put 100k down, the 100k loan can be paid off faster, and say only 100k-200k interest

I can't imagine the interest you would pay on a 1 million dollar house
I say the best way to get one of those, would be to play the lotteries :P

Some lotteries have those 1 million dollar houses, the winners come in, have to pay over a grand each month in taxes
realize that taxes will never end (like a mortgage will) and sell it after a year (avoiding cap gain)

home is where your heart is, you don't need that fancy pool, go to the public one down the street, etc...

if you buy a house, plan to live in it for at least 4 years to off set any realtor fees, and then likely your term is up, dont take any penalties and decide what to do with it then renting is always a possibility but risky, just like holding real estate could be risky, markets could go up, or could go down
with a house, you have added fees, that you have to pay, and dont really get money back from them, ie taxes, heat, water, cable, etc... even things like lawn mower breaking, all add up
living home at mom, or maybe an apartment, reduces those costs pretty huge,, very huge
my brother lived at home until 29, he is now 40, and he is getting close to being a millionaire
im moving out at 24
5 years, huge difference, i won't be a millionaire by my brothers age

everything has risk expect basic savings, gic's, bonds, etc...

when you start going into the stock market, sure you could make 5k in one day, but you can also loose 6k the following day
My RRSPs are in mutual funds, last month, 1000 dollar gain, this month, 1500 loss but im glad, i added money, and the 13 dollar an hour company matched me 50%

I can take those RRSPs (up to 25k) to buy my first home, assuming I pay it back in the next 15 years [x ~1500 rrsps/year](AKA a free 7,500 dollar advance from income tax[my income wont change]) or pay the ~500 dollar extra fee (added income for that single year, if not paid back)
but since I got a free 50% return, well well well worth it

Play the stock market for fun, stock market COULD be a better gambling choice than VLTs, Casino, or Horse racing
but you gotta think, all these gambling things are designed to make money.. why do stock markets exist in the first place? companys want loans, they have more money, they turn it around and make more money
build your own money first!!!!!!
My dad has won over 500k playing the horses, he also invest over a million dollars
but... thats what my dad does for his entertainment, thats what he likes, thats what gives him excitement
instead of watching a movie, he'll be watching the ponys

Do whatever excites you, just think about your future

The most important thing is your health :P then money, lol

Congratz on your current successes, you will have a bright future!

[Sherlock]

I also don't have a girlfriend.

[gtprince]

Thanks sheabutter, if you dont mind me asking you, what held you back from buying an expensive car? or some expensive depreciation item? and to Donald, I think your 100X ahead of me, but from the advice I've been getting the stock market doesn't seem like a wise choice at 1k, the risk overcome the gain IMO.

[Causalien]

A few things.

The most minimum you should go with is 3k if it is for training with real money. Understand that at 3k, the best case scenario is breakeven, unless you go in with margin like KaeJs does. For my own training with real money, I've spent at least 10k in commissions alone over the life span of my investment life. At 5k, you are starting to escape the commission problem associated with high frequency of trading.

Another thing, how are you earning 6% right now? It tells me that whatever it is you put your money in is also at risk of losing value, hence not perfectly safe. So you are already playing some sort of market game. (Excuse me if it's already explained, I did not read all the replies)

[SheaButters]

Thanks sheabutter, if you dont mind me asking you, what held you back from buying an expensive car? or some expensive depreciation item? and to Donald, I think your 100X ahead of me, but from the advice I've been getting the stock market doesn't seem like a wise choice at 1k, the risk overcome the gain IMO.

I was gifted a 1996 buick regal from my grandfather, it started breaking down, and one time i had a date with a girl and it broke down it was keyed, and "written off" (a year before breakdown) so MPI valued it at 2,000 dollars (said i had 2 years to claim this money or i lose my claim) the next day i went to the dealership and bought the first car i saw 13k +2k taxes, gave up my car to MPI got my 2k cheque
2008 g6

basically I drove that car into the ground, and did an impulsive buy, I bought slightly used to save money, if i were to do it again, I would have bought from kijiji and avoided the taxes!
for some strange reason, i wanted to show this girl me in a working car haha, and i swear if they didnt make that song "like a g6" ....

I also wasted over 5,000 dollars in triathlon gear (my used bike + tires would still sell for 3k)

but, when I go to restaurants, i order water
i wait until boxing day and buy 4 pairs of running shoes (for the year)
again if i need anything fancy, boxing day it is :P
i havent bought any new clothes in quite some time, if ever

if i have something crappy, but working, ill drive it into the ground! i dont care what people think about me or my habbits
a penny saved is a penny earned
I wear sweat pants in public http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Hbu4Z4pGI (if this link doesn't work type > "Jerry Seinfeld: Sweatpants" < in youtube) that explains everything
I am doing better than anyone I went to school with, sweat pants or not

then again, this could be why I dont have a girlfriend

[gtprince]

I am the same way shea, I rather have that money in the bank, then in something that depreciates, there's just times where it is tempting. I believe in buying a car or any other depreciate as a way to make profit. So I would buy something at a good deal that needs repairs, do the repairs in my free time and then turn it over.

I just found out that 'banwell' charges 5% front and 5.5% back, is this standard? High or low? Kind of dettering me from investing more money.