FHRO -- Blogmeister

I invested for the first time in the stock market. I had my grandfather's help in the choices, but they each turned into their own paths. It was a math project that lasted for 24 weeks. Over this course of time, I tracked these stocks, wrote about them, and even did a spreadsheet to track my gains/losses! Interestingly enough, the stock market roller coaster went up and down for me, and I got the pleasure and experience of tracking and watching them. The stocks I am about to tell you about each have their own stories, as you will see. Beware.
I invested in HKN, Foster Wheeler, and Corning for multiple specific reasons. First of all, since this was my first stock experience, I didn't know where to start. So I asked my grandfather, who is a retired math teacher, for advice on what to invest in. I didn't know these companies very well, if at all. But my grandfather gave me good reason to believe they would thrive: they were not very big. Humongous companies have a hard time growing big margins for the stocks because the stock number is already so big that only the big deals and money booms count, and are really noticeable. It only takes a little to budge small stocks. Plus, if you spend the same amount of money on a smaller stock, and i is why I invested in these stocks.
I would make many changes to my investments if I could. My number one change would undoubtedly be to change my stock of HKN to something less. . . devastating of a stock. I lost over $800 on it, as you can see from my spreadsheet. I almost lost a lot money because of it! Since it was very cheap, I bought 997 shares of it. But it went into a bear market as SOON as I bought. Ever since then, it's been hovering around $3 per share. I'd change it to some other stock. Also, I would have changed the number of stocks that I put into Foster Wheeler. I would have raised it so much because it was such a big money maker! I only put 89 shares into it, and it still made over $700! Lastly, I'd change the stock Corning. I know it did make me some money, but not too much. I would have chosen a much more successful stock. Maybe even Apple, it went up a bunch! These are the changes that I would have made to my stocks if I could.
There are a lot of pieces of advice that I would give to people who are interested in investing in the stock market. This may sound cliché, but you have to be CAUTIOUS. Spend hours pouring over information about each stock you are considering investing in. Past profits and losses, future projections from critics, etc. Is your stock going to go bankrupt? Are they about to be bought by another company? Find these things out before you make your move. The next thing I tell those potential investors: Know your stocks. Make sure that you understand what the company sells, or which industries it's involved in. For example, if your going to invest in Apple, but you have no clue what it sells, how do you know that it's not a jewelry company about to crash? Know these things. Lastly, keep up with the news. For example, if the market's about to crash, withdraw your stocks immediately. Pieces of advice like this can really help someone who's new to the stock market out a lot.
The stock market, overall, was a fun, successful experience. And yes, in case you're wondering, I almost did shed a few tears over this :)! Even though I made only a little over $250, it was still good to learn how the stock market worked. Also, I can give people advice, as well as tell them that I am not a total novice to it. Now if only I really DID earn money from this!