Robinhood Stock Trading

My oldest got me into it. I've always wanted to get into the stock market. It's scary and with all the fees, I was afraid. He pointed me to Robinhood. Your talking to me on day 2.

First off... What is it. It is a trading platform that has two types. The high end level is for Serious traders who have less of transactions. It also has a completely free version for people like me. To get us hooked I think. Here is the link to more info.

https://about.robinhood.com/

The first stock is free. I think that is how they get you hooked. So far it's working. Yesterday I opened my account w with the intent that I would only put $50 in. My goal 50% Fitbit and 50% Zynga (the makers of Candy Crush). I'm very familiar with both and did a few minutes research to see they were both under $6 each when I bought them. Therefore my investment can go further.

That little bit was enough to give me the bug.

Needless to say I'm $175 total investment today. I did stick to get low priced stocks, so I think it is a good start for me. I'll keep you posted on how things do.

My initial investment is:

- SNAP (Snapchat) My kids and I use it all the time. My son suggested I buy what I know. Analysts ratings show Hold. I bought 4 shares at $16.20.

- ZNGA (Zynga) I found out this is who makes Candy Crush. Given I know how addictive the games are, figure go with what you know. I bought 4 shares at $5.96. Analysts say Buy on this one.

- GRPN (Groupon) This is another one where the analysts are all saying Hold. As it dropped like a rock after I bought it, maybe shouldn't have bought, but I know I've bought through Groupon and... go with what I know?? (I'm starting to wonder about this philosophy). I bought 4 shares at $2.82.

- MRCC (Monroe Capital) This was a gamble on my part. I like the concept of their company. They invest in other companies and properties, kind of like a REIT (Real Estate Investment). Analysts say buy or hold. I bought 3 shares at $11. It immediately sank as soon as I bought it. I'm seeing a trend.

- FIT (Fitbit) I live on my Fitbit. Even with the advent of so many smart watches, the Fitbit is a lower cost solutions that does offer some really great features at a reasonable price. I was one of the early adopters of a Fitbit and I'll probably get another in the future - unless Galaxy comes out with one with an EKG (which I've heard they might). I went all in. Bought 7 shares at $3.21. This is one of the few that is actually not losing money. Analysts say to hold.

- ET (Energy Transfer) I got this share free from Robinhood when I joined. I know nothing about them, but they are also doing much better than the value when I got it. It looks like they provide natural gas pipeline transportation and transmission services. Robinhood must have known something I didn't. They have a segment that is in Lake Charles, LA, which is where I have lots of family, so I might invest more in them in the future. The initial value was $13.29.

Using the app is the easiest way to use it and it is just so super easy. I did have a bit of trouble adding the bank the first time, as did my mom (Thanks for another free stock). Take your time on this and be patient. You have to refresh the screen, but it does show up. Then you are rocking and rolling. The app gives you a little bit of advice, but you should probably just search your favorite search engine to find the best choice for you. I'm up to $180. $5 in one day is pretty good. With no fear of trading fees, it is really encouraging me to get into more, though until I will still keep my investment really low until I feel like I really know what I'm doing.

When you can invest just a little bit to get started, who not try. If you bought $10 of stock every 2 weeks... You'd have $260 built up by the end of a year. On top of that, if you buy dividend stocks, money comes back to you and if the value increases win. If it decreases... It's probably not going to do too nothing if you pick big name reliable stocks. You might be out a couple of bucks.

For 100% free stock. open an account in the next 24 hours with this code: https://share.robinhood.com/brandyj130

Please add your suggestions or questions in the comments.

Update on 8/19. I had gone up to over $187, then it went down to below $173. Right now, I'm at just over $176.

Update as of 9/5. Well.... Things are not doing well in the market. I haven't lost anything, but I now have a whopping $176.93. Not much to encourage me to go with more.

Over 40 learning how to trade. I'm not being paid by Robinhood, getting no incentive from this or any of the companies that I have invested in beyond the small shares of stocks listed.