8 Things Every Stock Market Noob Needs to Know (Robinhood Tips Included)

If you know me, you know that I move from one obsession to the next. But if you know me very well, you know that playing around with the Stock Market is not a new obsession of mine. It has just recently intensified, thanks to the Robinhood App.

When I noticed that the market was crashing on Monday, I immediately withdrew all of my money from my two Betterment accounts. I have been using Betterment since September 2011 and I had never seen such low numbers in the market. And in January, my Betterment accounts had become my new Financial Freedom Accounts. So to start losing the money was not even an option. I do plan to put the money in my Cash Reserve Account (which has a current APY of 1.37%) but that’s another story.

Long story long, I signed up for Robinhood on Tuesday. I decided to turn my Education Account into my Stock Market Fund account. I waited for my bank account to be verified, did a little research and immediately started investing. That was my first mistake.

Do a substantial amount of research first before dumping your money into the market.

It’s not like I was expecting to start earning money immediately—because the market is crashing. Duh.— but if I had waited maybe 2 or 3 days, I would have purchased all of those stock shares at an even lower price. I was so eager to get in. I should have waited. And that’s another thing…

Do not buy as soon as the market opens.

I made the mistake of buying 4 shares of Inovio at $11 a pop at around 9:40 AM yesterday. You know what happened 10 minutes later? That joint drop down to $9.00. Then it went down a little bit more at around 11 AM. Today, it was as low as $7.04. What lesson did I learn? Ten paciencia. Have patience. Or…

Set limit prices to ensure that your Robinhood purchase will be made at the price you currently see on your screen.

Robinhood has a bad habit of taking a little too long to make a purchase. Yes, even 5 seconds is too long. Inovio was $10.81 when I made the purchase, but it went up to $11 when they bought it. If you don’t know how to set the limit price, watch this YouTube video. This little feature was a game changer for me. Yes, even just 3 days into the game haha. I’m dramatic. Don’t judge me.

Listen to the Robinhood suggestions.

If you go to Inovio, you see a little tag that says 100% Buy. That means that 100% of experts think you should buy the stock. So what should you do? Buy that joint! If you’re thinking about selling your shares because the market is going down and the majority says to Hold, then hold that joint. Be patient. Don’t sell just yet.

Join this Facebook Group, but use your discretion.

The group is full of meanies, but they do share some gems 25% of the time. If you’re not fluent in sarcasm, this group is NOT for you. 3 of the stocks I purchased were only on my radar because of their recommendations. I currently have 37 shares in those stocks and I fully expect to get a return on my investment over the course of 6 months - 5+ years.

Have a dedicated amount of funds that you will use for investments.

This honestly should have been the first tip. Anyway, our Stock Market Funds account consists of 5% of our bi-weekly income, and not a DIME more. This week, I only invested $350 from the account. I left some in there to save up for the Facebook & Starbucks shares I want to purchase next week. It’s easy to get drawn in. Trust me, it’s just like gambling. As a matter of fact, it is exactly like gambling—you don’t really know for sure if you’re going to lose most of the money or if you’re going to become a millionaire in 5 years. And it’s 100% out of your control. So please buy responsibly. If you say you’re going to invest $100, sit down and calculate how many shares of what stocks that $100 can buy you and stick to it.

If you’re reading this during the Coronavirus pandemic, invest in as many travel & pharmaceutical/biotechnological stocks as you can afford.

Airlines, Disney, Advaxis, Inovio and Aytu Bioscience are just a few examples. The travel companies are suffering right now, so their share prices are mad low. And when the bio companies come out with a Rona Vax and people stop being afraid of travel, stocks will go all the way back up.

Remember that you are investing for the longhaul.

This is not a slot machine. You’re not trying to make a quick $100 today. Invest in stocks that your children can reap the benefit from in 5-10 years. The Coronavirus-related investments will start picking up in at least 6 months. So yeah, your whole portfolio is going to be in red for a whiiiiile, but chill. Everything will be alright.

If this sounds like something you want to do, I am like an open book. I share all of my opinions with anyone who asks haha. So sign up for Robinhood today so that we can both get free stock. Then e-mail me with any questions you have. I’m not a pro AT ALL, but I’m always here to chat!