How Do I Trade Stocks? Stocks Are Like Mean Girlfriends! Protect Yourself!

Now that you’ve picked your stock, you need to know how to trade stock. Have you ever gotten together with a mean girlfriend? She’s the type of girl you’re not sure why you’re still friends with her. There’s always the possibility of a put down or snide remark so you constantly
feel defensive like you have to have your guard up all the time. Think of trading stock the same way. Your stocks are mean girlfriends; you never know when they’re going to take a huge dip resulting in a loss of money and stock picking confidence. Both scenarios make you feel like crud. Not sure what you should do with your snippy friend but I can help you protect yourself when you buy a stock.

There are different types of trades you can place when you buy/sell a stock and there are different types of protectionary orders as well.  Let’s start out with the two most common ways to buy and sell stock.

• Market Order: Stock prices go up and down all day. When you buy your stock at the market, your order will fill at the very next available price no matter what it is. This type of order is only good for that day and will probably fill immediately.

• Limit Order: If you want to buy your stock at a price lower than its current price, that’s called a limit order. Let’s say Sugarplum Shoe Company is trading at $20/share but you don’t
  want to buy it until it drops to $18. You can place an order to buy at a limit price of $18. This order can either be good for just that day or good-til-cancelled (GTC) which stays open
  for anywhere from 30 - 180 days, depending on where you trade. Of course, if the stock price falls to your price or better, the order will fill in less time. (This also applies if you want to
  sell your stock above the current market price.)

So now you own your mean girlfriend stock. What will she do to you?Will she be in a good mood for once and go up or will she be her typical
mean self and tumble down?
 

Read more in my book, "A Woman's Place is in The Market"!  It's available for sale at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Womans-Place-Market-Caren-Laverty/dp/1945091754/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528668089&sr=8-1&keywords=caren+laverty or at Barnes & Nobles: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-womans-place-is-in-the-market-caren-laverty/1128709743?ean=9781945091759

If I own the stock but I want to protect myself from this stock tumbling, I’ll place a Stop Loss, Stop Limit, Trailing Stop Loss, or Trailing Stop Limit at $40 for example. (Stop Loss is the most common type of protectionary order because it’s the easiest to fill, although your price
is not guaranteed).