(01-28-2021, 08:07 PM)Jags Wrote:

(01-28-2021, 07:44 PM)jagibelieve Wrote: This is exactly why this stuff is so dangerous.  Far too many people see other people's claims of "I made 350% in 3 days" and see it as a quick way to make money.  It doesn't work that way.  Somebody may throw in $100 on a penny stock and see a huge run-up like this and suddenly the stock is worth $350 and they think "wow, what if I put in $1000 or $5000" and so on.  They do so because somebody on the internet claims that they did it and "made 350% profit".  It's pretty much the same as a gambling addiction.  The problem is that when the stock drops... and in the case of Gamestop, American Airlines and the others being bought like crazy is it's going to happen.  Those people are going to lose a lot of money.

It gets worse when people are "successful" at first then start getting greedy.  They might take out a loan or "invest" (bet) borrowed money or money that they actually need to survive.

If you want my advice, and I am by no means a professional, I would tell you to open an account at a regular reputable broker.  Depending on your age I would make it either a traditional IRA or a ROTH IRA account and actually do some research and invest for the future.  I would stay away from investing in single stocks and look towards baskets of stocks, either an ETF (which I invest in a lot) or a mutual fund.  Individual stocks are extremely risky.

To compound the problem even more, there are perhaps millions of people just like you that are "opening an account and doing what others are doing", even if it is small amounts.

People that gain significant wealth in the stock market don't do so in days, weeks or even months.  Anyone with that goal is not investing, they are gambling.

Thank you. And I am reminded now from your post I have a Roth IRA from when I was 18.  Ugh.  I guess I’ll just set up a meeting  with the financial advisor.  I don’t want to come off as an [BLEEP].  The Mrs and I’ve been fortunate.  The percentages im seeing in stocks just seem so small.  I literally could make more going back and playing poker again. ( I was a [BLEEP])  So, I guess with the excess and seeing returns on what I did, seems like investing for retirement is a slow process.  Perhaps I’m inpatient or too stoopid.   But I’ll just contact this guy and see what he suggests in our situation as it stands now.  I mean, if I put in 50k and saw 10% that’s only 5k back.  Yes 5k more than I had, but not the payoff I’d be wanting if I put 50k in.  Again, I could be way off base. Just trying to understand this all.

10% ROI is good and higher than you would most likely average in the market over time. Using your returns from the past 2 years as a barometer on what to expect in the future is not realistic IMO. If you are serious about investing, look into diversifying with real estate. With the looming housing market correction, there will be some good buys out there. Real estate provides cash flow,  appreciation, mortgage pay down, and tax write offs, all while owning a physical asset you can touch. Hard to beat. Check out Bigger Pockets books on real estate investing, and in particular rental property investing. Just a suggestion.

---