The question I am asked the most is “How can I get started?” and really the short answer is “open a trading account deposit some money and start trading”.

But before you do….

I suggest you create a Google Finance account before you make any decisions. I like Google Finance as you can create an account, add stocks to your portfolio’s without actually buying the stock. The advantage is you can test market strategies, develop rules and make mistakes without any of your money being in the market while you learn.

I recommend using your Google account for at least a few months so you can familiarize yourself with how the stock market works.

Google has some great tools. One is the historical prices link. When looking at a stock you can see the historical prices throughout that stocks life span which provides insights into the stock and the dividends it pays. One of the big lessons I learned during this process was to not panic about the ups and downs in the market. Because I had no investment in the market I was able to analyse how the stock values fluctuate so I never felt pressured to sell an under preforming stock. This was key as I was able to hold my convictions on what I thought a company was worth and there for making me an investor who has more patience.

Take the time to develop your rules before you invest in the market. You wouldn’t walk onto a car lot without making some basic decisions on what you require for a car. Just like buying a car, decide what your budget is, what engine you want, do you want a car or a truck and so on. When buying stocks you need to decide what your risk level is. What markets you want to target. I recommend going around your house and look at things you buy all the time. Find out who makes those products and do a little research. I did this exercise and discovered several rather massive companies. While looking into their viability I ended up purchasing their stocks.

Here are two of the companies I found doing this exercise

The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) At the time of writing this article here are the stats I found appealing. Market Cap of 211.70 Billion Dollars. Price to Earnings Ratio of 20.01. Earning Per Share of 3.86

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) At the time of writing this article here are the stats that are so impressive about this company. Market Cap of 243.96 Billion Dollars. Price to Earnings Ratio of 19.24. Earning Per Share of 4.5

I am not telling you this to recommend buying their stocks, I show you these companies to give you a start at what to look for. Have a look at these two companies and see why I have them in my portfolio.

I suggest you talk with your bank regarding the options they provide for stock buying. What you want is a self directed account which allows you to buy online without any assistance. Do a little research as some banks charge a very high fee for trades while other do not. A little research now will save you a lot of money when you are finally ready to buy stocks.

Once you have defined your rules for buying stocks and after you have used the Google Finance tool until you are comfortable I suggest you create your account and start small. I started with $1000 and quickly moving into $35,000. It didn’t take long before I putting every available dollar I could towards my stock market accounts.

It become addictive.