Learning the Stock Market

I was born into a family that valued work and money. Though I watched many family members make detrimental financial mistakes, I also watched many of them rise from almost nothing to almost the top. They were gamblers mostly, willing to take a chance on something new. They were also hard workers, willing to get into anything and get their hands dirty. They had no fear because they believed in their own abilities and their work ethic. I admired them and watched them fall and rise and fall and rise. I paid attention to what brought them success and what didn't. In some areas, I was able to use their experience to do better for myself. In other areas, I had to make my own mistakes. The world of finance is beset with opportunity and pitfalls. No one knows everything, but those of us who trust the value of money, continue to learn and grow regardless of the ups and downs. The stock market is the chart that symbolizes the life of money in a global economy.

Historically, the United States only had one Stock Market crash which occurred in 1929 and was called the "Great Crash" or "The Wall Street Crash of 1929". The prices fell on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) due to the population losing faith in banking systems. After the crash, history notes the beginning of "The Great Depression" era. I believe that economists have done a pretty good job of avoiding another crash mostly because financial advisors have been creating investor's diversified portfolios and that has been a stable trend for at least the past 50 years.

I had two opportunties to become a professional financial advisor. I was offered employment with T.Rowe Price and Edward Jones. Both offers were excellent opportunities that I declined because I knew that I was not ready to "talk the talk" or "walk the walk" at the time when those offers were made. I was still very young (20s and 30s) and I wanted to see what mistakes I was going to make on my own. I didn't want to act like an expert before I had really learned about falling and getting back up. Don't get me wrong though - even though I have learned from my own mistakes at this point, I'm still no expert.

Last year with the help of CashApp, I began (as an amateur) to learn more about the stock market and I began to invest and create my own portfolio. Minor stuff really, but I kept it diversified as I kept watching trends and the chart. I also kept my eye on financial reports from experienced advisors and read research regarding companies that I shop at or use services through. I think it's a bit funny that so many people worry about the future of social media platforms, while they never once think to make a financial investment in the technology that they claim to love. Tik Tok recently got banned. How many of the subscribers and users actually bought any stock? People will continually take water out of the river, never praying for the rain to replenish it, and then scream frantically when the river runs dry. I think human behavior is hilarious sometimes.

Anyway, I'm impressed wth CashApp services. Not only have I earned interest on my savings account through that banking system, but I've also created a simple diversified investment porfolio that is remaining quite stable even if I am an amateur. I won't call myself a professional financial advisor, but I will tell you that I am also impressed with a company called Kikoff, which has been helping me restore and build my credit score again at a very reasonable rate. If you are interested in your financial future, but you don't have much money to work with or you're recovering from some "mistakes" like I am - I very much recommend CashApp and Kikoff. They have helped me more than many other "helpers" that I have tried in the past.

I'm still learning. I'm not going to divulge how I learn or what I know or even tell you what I've done that is proving to be successful. I'm only going to say that T.Rowe Price and Edward Jones were not wrong for wanting to hire me. And I was not wrong for holding off at that time. The stock market is a very fascinating aspect of the U.S. economy. Financial advisors, investors, and banking professionals usually are the experts of this subject. I consider myself an amateur, but I really am enjoying what I've been learning the past few years. I believe that at this point in our "history" the power of the stock market has finally been brought to average, regular people. With apps like CashApp and Kikoff, anyone can learn the basics and grow their porfolio even with limited means.

My amateur advise is simple: Investing is like gambling. You don't go into a casino with everything you own and put it all on one bet. You give yourself a set amount to "play" with and you see what happens. You learn. The good news is that you can play the odds. The odds are always in favor of the casino when you put your dollar into the slot machine; However, the odds are a lot more reciprocle when you invest in the stock market.