Financial Freedom Classroom

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Stock Market

What type are you?

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Image courtesy of nongpimmy from freedigitalphotos.net
Image courtesy of nongpimmy from freedigitalphotos.net

Stock traders typically fall into two broad types. Most traders start out as a discretionary trader, mostly relying on a combination of intuition and knowledge to discover high-probability trades. A discretionary trader will follow a trading plan but really goes with their gut on whether or not to place the trade.

The other type of trader is a systems trader. A systems trader will set up absolute rules to follow and will follow them. This type of trading can lend itself to some trade automation by following “if, then” rules. With this type of trading there is no “gut” feeling it is all driven by rules.

Which type of trader are you? Please comment.

There are a lot of animals in the market!

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Image courtesy of Michael Elliott from freedigitalphotos.net
Image courtesy of Michael Elliott from freedigitalphotos.net

Stock traders many times will use common animals to describe the market.  Here are some:

Bull or Bullish – describes an upward or increasing trend.  Signals the economy is strengthening and typically stock prices rise.

Bear or Bearish – describes a declining or decreasing trend.  Signals the economy is weakening and typically stock prices fall.

Chicken – used to describe someone who is afraid to lose.

Pig – used to describe impatience or greed.

Keep these definitions in mind when you hear them.  It will help guide you in your investments!

Did we forget any other animals?  Please comment.

Know your levels

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An important part of stock trading is conducting technical analysis.  This analysis must include support and resistance levels.  These are important beSupport levelscause they tell you what range a stock’s value has historically traded at.

The support level is the price at which the stock generally does not go below.  It is where the demand for the stock keeps the price from going any lower.  Of course support breaks can happen, (bummer L) which will then create another support at a lower price point.

The resistance level is the top price for a stock.  It is expected that the price will not rise any higher.  Again a resistance break can happen,  (Yay! J) which will create a higher top price.

Know these levels and use them in your technical analysis so you can win!

Click like if you use levels in your technical analysis!

 

One Simple Trade at a 73% WIN PERCENTAGE. Interested?

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Image courtesy of ddpavumba from www.freedigitalphotos.net
Image courtesy of ddpavumba from www.freedigitalphotos.net

It is called “The Bull” and it is NOT full of it.  This Thursday at 7:30pm join our FREE webinar where we will go over this simple stock option trade that really seems too good to be true.  But it isn’t, here are the highlights:

-No Technical Analysis!

-No Searching for Stocks!

-No Adjustments!

This trade only needs to be checked once a day, just like making your bed in the morning.   This would be an excellent investment vehicle for your IRA retirement accounts or really any account that you want to grow with minimal interaction.

What is the WIN PERCENTAGE of your trades?  Please share.

 

Test the water before you jump in.

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Image courtesy of by tratong from freedigitalphotos.net
Image courtesy of by tratong from freedigitalphotos.net

Paper trading allows you to swim in the sea of the stock market without risking any of your money.  It allows you to try out trading strategies for FREE!  These accounts will use the current stock market conditions to reveal your results.  This is a fantastic tool to help you develop a written trading plan and get prepared to fund your stock market trading.

A word of caution, paper trading can seem very easy since there isn’t any real money on the line.  If you don’t take it seriously and simulate trades that you intend on executing, it will be a waste of time.  Wade slowly and tread carefully.

Have you used paper trading and has it helped improve your trading?  Please comment.

 

Taxes; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

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Just in case you missed it…A fantastic webinar, Taxes; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with Kim Landry, CPA from Landry and Associates.  Kim gave us some great tax strategies and planning techniques to be able to keep more of what you make.

What is a tax strategy that has saved you from paying more taxes than necessary?  Please share.

Worth their weight in gold!

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Image courtesy of digitalart from freedigitalphotos.ne
Image courtesy of digitalart from freedigitalphotos.ne

A CPA can be a very important member of your investing team who can guide you through the labyrinth of taxes.  They are worth their weight in gold to you and your business.  A true CPA professional can ease your stress and save you lots of money you may have given Uncle Sam because you didn’t know any better.  Here are some tips when working with a CPA to make the most of your time and money.

Form a good relationship.  Once you find a good CPA, stick with them.  They become familiar with your business and they will ask important questions to lead you to a lower tax bill.  Of course, telling the truth is very important because it may make your CPA terminate your relationship and will hurt you if you are dishonest.

Lower your annual bill by being organized.  If you hand over a shoe box fill of receipts instead of a categorized report of expenses, your bill will most certainly be much higher.

Use your CPA in making decisions.  Be sure to consult your trusted CPA regarding purchases and don’t make assumptions.  Those assumptions could be very costly.

We are proud tonight to have our trusted accountant and friend Kim Landry, CPA with us tonight for our FREE webinar to go over the topic of taxes.  Don’t miss it!

 

Please comment on what you learned from the webinar.

 

 

Capital gains, hopefully not losses…

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Image courtesy of Stuart Miles from freedigitalphotos.net
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles from freedigitalphotos.net

Capital gains (or losses) are recognized when you sell a capital asset.  A capital asset is almost everything you own and use for personal, pleasure or investment purposes.

 Capital gains are categorized either as short term, held less than one year or long term, held for one year or more.  Long term gains have beneficial treatment in the US tax structure since they are taxed currently at 15% where short term gains are taxed at the individual’s tax rate which can be much higher.  One exception to the rule is the treatment of stock options under section 1256 where gains or losses open at the end of the year or terminated during the year are treated as 60% long term and 40% short term regardless of how long the contracts were held.

We all know taxes are very tricky so there are exceptions to most rules and we encourage always seeking the guidance of a professional.  Check out our webinar on Thursday, January 22, 2015 with Kim Landry, CPA to discuss “Taxes; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” and she will help clarify some of the tax laws for us.

 What tax strategies are you planning on using in 2015?