What do you spend the most money on? Would you like to profit from the products you use every day? All you have to do is become an investor and you’re on your way to obtaining an extra source of income from the companies you already know and understand.
Are you ready to get started? Here’s how to start investing in the products you buy every day:
1. Find Out if the Company is Publicly-Traded
Publicly-traded companies sell shares of stock or “ownership” to investors via a stock exchange. NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are the largest stock exchanges in the United States.
Research the companies you’re interested in and find out their status. Search for “Dow Jones” and “S&P 500” to get a list of the largest and most powerful publicly-traded companies.
2. Research the Price to Invest in the Stock
You can find stocks that are $10 or $100. There is no standard price for a share of stock. You can open a brokerage account and add companies to your watchlist to track the price of shares of stock. Once you find out the price of a share of stock, you can determine how many shares you want to purchase.
3. Determine if the Stock is a Quality Investment
Analyze annual and quarterly reports, listen to earnings calls, subscribe to investment newsletters, and pay attention to what’s going on in the market to determine what stocks you should invest in. If you don’t have time to do hours of research, hire someone who will.
There are many options you can pursue on the path to becoming an investor. And if you’re trying to reduce your risk, look into exchange-traded funds and find out how you can invest in a bucket of stocks instead of relying on the performance of an individual company.
Charlene Rhinehart is an award-winning speaker, consultant, and coach who uses digital technologies to share inspiring stories with the world. She helps others live their best life as a Financial Coach at Wealthy Women Daily, Founder of the Career Goddess Academy, and Travel & Lifestyle Writer at BlackCoupleTravels.com. Charlene recently published her first book, “Dividends Are a Queen’s Best Friend” on Amazon.