The following will either scare you to death or thrill your soul, depending on how LONG you have to save up for your retirement. This is another in a series of posts encouraging you to START SAVING NOW.

You want to save a million dollars. How long will it take? How much should you save a month. What interest rate should you look for in your investments? Check out this simple chart:

This chart will teach you two VERY simple and VERY important things:

Start saving early! AND
Start saving early!

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Well, if you read this post last week, you saw that I made a stock purchase that I immediately regretted. I was so embarrassed by it, that I wouldn’t even give out the details. Well, the stock made a pretty big rally today, I was able to sell at a profit, and now I feel okay about the deal.

Here’s what went down

TRADE 3:
Bought 800 shares of CBMX (CombiMatrix Group) @ 2.2101 = 1768.08
Sold 800 shares of CBMX (CombiMatrix Group) @ 2.24 = 1792.00
Paid Commissions of 4.95 X 2 = 9.90
SEC Fee of .06

1792 - 1768.08 - 9.90 - .06 = 13.91 PROFIT

So, Over all through 3 trades, here is where I stand:

Trade 1: Made 2.04
Trade 2: Made 6.04
Trade 3: Made 13.91
Interest Income: Made .75
Sign-Up Bonus: 100

Total for my 1800 dollar “investment” at TradeKing: 122.74 in 8 Trading Days.

I will not be buying or selling any more stock for a few days. Yes, yes, I know that I will have to pay tax on this money. Yes, yes, I know that I should buy and hold. I’m doing this so that I can figure out how things work. (If anyone can tell me what 122.74 made from 1800 in 8 days works out to as an annual percentage rate, I sure would appreciate it. Also, if you could tell me how to figure something like that out, I’d be grateful.)

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Ouch. I made another stock purchase through TradeKing.Com. It immediately went down. The market closed. I think I have done a foolish thing. I have been whooped. More details when I am not too embarrassed to share them.

Mutual Funds! Long-Term! No Day-Trading! Patience! Learn More!

(The above terms are flooding through my brain, so no comments about how foolish short-term investing is are necessary…)

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As I mentioned a few posts ago, I have opened a trading account at TradeKing.Com.
My first trade went well (I made $2.04!) I rock.

Here’s the deal:

Bought 400 shares of RAD (Rite-Aid) @ 4.40 = 1760.00
Sold 400 shares of RAD (Rite-Aid) @ 4.43 = 1772.00
Paid Commissions of 4.95 X 2 = 9.90
SEC Fee of .06

1772.00 - .06 - 9.90 - 1760.00 = 2.04 PROFIT

I know, I know. $2.04. Big deal. But, to me it is. This was my first foray into the world of buying and selling stocks on my “own”. I enjoyed it and I made a bit of money. (Think of it this way… at 5 percent interest, it takes about 8 DAYS for 1800 dollars to make 2.00 in interest. I made 2.00 in less than 1 HOUR!) Pretty cool.

Xanax, I needs me some Xanax.

(I’ll post more later, if I decide to buy/sell some more today. This is fun.)

By the way: To all who feel the need to warn me about the dangers of day trading and buying and selling… Please just don’t bother. I am responsible with my money, and I am making a CHOICE to risk every dollar of my 1800. I am trying to learn something here. Hands on baby, hands on!

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I think that I need to clarify just what I intend to do with my new investing strategy. I am STILL working towards my 20000 dollar savings goal. If you check out the NCN Network page, you can see that I am several months ahead of schedule. What I have decided to do is to take a small portion of my savings and use it to buy and sell stocks. I will, at the most, have 20 percent of my emergency funds available for this buying and selling. I know that I am placing this money at risk, but I also know that there is a potential for greater than 4 percent reward. Am I willing to lose this money? Yes. Am I planning on losing this money? No. I have been reading about investing, and I have been trading stocks “on paper” for a few months now, in anticipation of this move. I am only doing this because I have PROVEN to myself that I can save up my 20000 dollars sooner than I originally planned. (As of now, the maximum amount of money that I will place in my trading account will be 2000 dollars.) As you know, with my aversion to debt and credit, I am, by nature, a conservative person. I feel that I am finally ready to take a few calculated risks with my money. I am prepared to learn from my mistakes, but I am also prepared to succeed. I had PLENTY of folks in my peer group tell me that there was no way I was going to be able to get out of debt in one year. I managed to prove them wrong. Now I want to focus my energies on buying and selling stocks. I am excited, I am preparing myself, and I am ready to gain new knowledge.

I’ll probably lose all of my money on my first trade and end up eBaying my left kidney…

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