Fear Of Trading Stocks Got You Down?

The stock market has got me baffled, too. Lately, I've been doing some reading and some watching about the stock market. Let me tell you the knowledge it takes to understand stocks, futures, options, funds and, well, the general market space is tremendous. It isn't one of those things you can just pick up and DO. I mean, could you tell me more about this stock chart other than the obvious "uptrend"...

I'm not discouraged. In fact, I'm more interested in learning about the stock market than ever before. But one thing has got my goose: losing money!

I'm not a millionaire and I really don't plan on being one (unless a miracle happens), but I do plan on investing and trading a little to get my gee$e to lay some golden egg$. Currently, I have stockbroker at Merrill Lynch. I am fortunate that my family invested for me at a young age. Mostly my equity centers on mutual funds; we're the low-risk type. However, after 10-plus years of investing, we've done really well. However, trading is a different story altogether.

You have to know the markets and what they're up to. Understanding charts and speculative reviews by seasoned stock sizers is also important. As far as I'm concerned, it is a mix between fortune teller and analyst. Here's what I've been reading/watching to get up to speed:

1. Trading for Dummies...
2. Wallstrip
3. Howard Lindzon's blog
4. Stockcharts.com
5. The Intelligent Investor

And that's just this week!