Should you only jump into the stock game if you know what you're doing?

[Carson]

Stocks are still honestly confusing to me, but I would like to learn more and possibly invest in them. But I was wondering if I should study up on it pretty much? I want to learn, but I want to make sure I know exactly what it is I'm getting into before I do it. Should I start small first and learn from that? What do you think?

[James]

A ton of people jump into the stock game with very little knowledge. Just like jumping into a new business and figuring it out as you go. Sometimes I think things are made to seem overly complicated just so marketers can sell more products. 

What exactly are you looking to learn? The "stock market" is very wide and there are a ton of different strategies people use to try to profit from it. 

It is like buying anything else though. Wait until very little people want to buy something then jump in. Then when a ton of people want to buy it then jump out. 

This is not how a lot of people do it. People like to ride trends and try to find what is "hot". Things that are "hot" are going to be very crowded trades and you will likely be overpaying for something. Although if something is extremely unpopular there may be other problems that you are not aware of. You will need to dive into the companies financials and determine the fair value you are willing to pay for the equity. 

If you just want some exposure look at a total market index fund (both Fidelity and Vanguard offer fee free varieties). 

No one regardless of how much they say it may be true can predict the future. You guess is as good as anyone else's. 

With investing just remember it takes time. Time can heal most mistakes and wounds that you may suffer along the way.  

I have typically adapted a style of learning of just do first and figure it out later. I learn the best lessons while it does cost me money in the short term those lessons learned stick way better than any theory that may have been taught to me academically. 

Never invest more than you can afford to lose and remember only you can make choices about your financial future and no one else will understand your goals better than you. 

[Stacey]

I think many of the experts will tell you they started working with stock knowing little to nothing and used it as a learning experience. My brother recently got into stocks and trades. Within 3 months of actually investing his money, he has learned more than my uncle who has been doing stocks for over 10 years.