In math class, the companies stocks' I purchased were Apple (AAPL), Home Depot (HD), and Wal-mart (WMT) each for several reasons. When we were viewing stocks to choose which one we wanted to buy, the first one that appealed to me was Apple. I not only had heard of Apple, but I own some of their products. In addition, it was just about the holiday season and I knew that they were creating a new product which probably would sell during this time of year. Also, many people have or would like to have their merchandise, which is expensive but extremely popular. Home Depot caught my attention because in their history, they had risen up at a good pace. They have great products and they're very popular. So I thought they'd make a lot of money this year. The last stock I purchased was Wal-mart. I knew that Wal-mart was visited a lot by customers, and greatly appreciated as a store. Also, their stores are all around the USA, so I thought they would make a lot of money this year because they are so liked by people. I think that I made pretty good choices in stocks by purchasing Apple, Home Depot, and Wal-mart.

There is a lot that I would change about the stocks I purchased because they either rose or fell drastically. For Apple, I would probably add more stocks. This is because they increased by a surprising $68.00 over the course of 24 weeks of following them. Even though Apple is expensive stock to buy, I would purchase more because in the long run I'd end up making more money then I'd spend on it, which is the point of stocks. Home Depot also did well this year so I would buy more of their stocks. My reasons for buying more are that they have done well. However, they have not increased as much as I'd like them to have, they still increased. Since they didn't increase that much, I would buy thousands and thousands of their stocks, so I would really be making more money. Wal-mart, on the other hand, didn't do too well and I wish I had bought less. Even though I only lost $35.00 total on this stock, it just isn't worth losing any money, so I would definitely purchase less.

I have some advice that I hope will help others looking to buy stocks for the first time. I would tell them to buy many stocks that have done well over the course of about five years or so. I would recommend to look at the history of their stock to see if it has done well over tough times in the stock market. Also you should research stocks. This is to see how long the stock has been around. You don't want a stock that just came out into the market because it could be unreliable and even have to close because it wouldn't make much money. Finally, I think that you should check your stocks as much as possible. This would be so you could know if your stocks were losing you money, or gaining you money. If you gain a lot over about one month, don't just sell it because it usually gets higher. I would suggest keeping your stocks for at least one year. Although, if you are losing a ton of money, sell it right away. This is because chances are, it will probably drop even more after the next few months, or even weeks! I hope this advice would help others thinking about buying stocks for the first time.