stockmotion

Five Things To Know Before You Start Investing

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 22:34:49 GMT

Before entering a committed relationship, there are some things you want to know about yourself and the other person involved. Your relationship with investing is no different.

Okay, you've decided to enter the investing scene. This might be entirely new terrain for you, so what should you know going into it?

We've narrowed down 5 things you will want to consider before actually starting to invest, which we will go into in more detail below. Without jumping into the nitty gritty just yet, though, here are our 5 questions to ask yourself before moving your money into new investments:

What is my risk tolerance?
What is my time horizon?
What are my liquidity needs?
How much can I invest?
What is my main financial goal with this money?

Those sound great but you might be wondering how to even begin answering those questions. So, let's get into it!

What is my risk tolerance?

Lucky for you, we already have an entire blog article dedicated to answering that question! If you don't want to go here for that quick read, though, we can give you an even shorter read-through.

US Wealth Management defines risk tolerance as "the amount of market volatility and loss you're willing to accept as an investor."

So, there are two things to consider here: you're ability to emotionally handle changes in the value of your investments (market volatility), and how much money you are ultimately okay with possibly losing (loss).

Basically, will you lose sleep over this investment?

W hat is my time horizon?

In investing, time is your best friend.

The market will fluctuate up and down on the short-term, but the general trend is upward. That means that the more time you have, the more risk you are able to reasonably take on. Risky investments may drop in value a month from now, but fortune tends to favor the patient.

On top of long-term investments tending to outperform the market, as shown when comparing investors who try to time their holdings vs ones who just hold onto what they have, holding onto investments long-term reduces the fees you need to pay when constantly buying and selling ( Investopedia ).

If you are close to retirement, a lower risk portfolio is probably preferable. If you still have 40 years, though, this is generally your time to lean in and hold on.

What are my liquidity needs?

As Money Lion explains it, "your liquidity needs simply refer to how much readily accessible money you need to cover your regular expenses, upcoming purchases, and/or emergency spending."

The liquidity of an asset is determined by how easily you are able to convert it into ready-to-use cash without affecting its market price ( Investopedia ). Cash is, by definition, the most liquid asset that you can own.

So, how much money do you need to have on hand? Think through the list in Money Lion's definition of liquidity need . W hat are your regular expenses? Upcoming purchases? How much do you need in your emergency savings?

To help answer how much emergency savings you should have, many financial experts suggest 3-6 months worth of expenses ( The Balance ).

Many forms of investments are not especially liquid, so this is something to consider before stowing too much of your cash away in something like a CD account or a 401(k).

How much can I invest?

This question is closely related to liquidity needs.

You'll want to ask yourself how much you can invest while maintaining your desired standard of living.

There are many people who have found great success as devoted disciples of Dave Ramsey's money ideologies, the basic idea being to hunker down and suffer now so that your money will be built up down the road.

There are also many people who have found great success listening to Robert Kiyosaki's money advice, who is basically the opposite of Dave Ramsey.

After meeting your basic liquidity needs, how much money you can invest will come down to your own money ideology and where you want to keep your money.

What is my main financial goal with this money?

There are 4 general goals that your investments can help you meet:

- Preservation

- Protection against inflation

- Wealth growth

- Generation of a source of income

Determining your ultimate goal in investing will help you figure out where to invest.

For example, Treasury bills and certificates of deposit are great ways to preserve capital and prevent too much loss in your portfolio, gold and the S&P 500 are good examples of ways to hedge against inflation, index funds and high-yield savings accounts can act as wealth builders, and rental properties and dividend stocks are examples of investments that can act as a source of income.

Moving forward in your relationship with investing

After answering these questions, we hope you've been able to figure out more clearly the kind of relationship you want with investing. Hopefully, this article helped you root out any red flags in potential investments before wasting too much time, money, or lost sleep with them!

A Non-Fungi-What-Now?: Beginner's Guide to NFT's

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 22:36:47 GMT

Why do I keep seeing pictures of monkeys wearing hats and what do they have to do with investing?

If you feel at all like Andy Dwyer in the above picture, you're in the right place.

Maybe you've seen pictures on your favorite meme page of bored-looking monkeys wearing hats and wondered why people were buying them instead of just taking screenshots. Maybe you ran into a crypto enthusiast who gave you a massively confusing, albeit energetic, explanation of NFT's that left you wanting. Maybe you've even heard the full term thrown around in conversation but felt too embarrassed to stop people and ask what on earth "fungible" meant.

Whatever brought you here, welcome!

In this article, we'll break down the basics of NFT's so that you can have a better idea of how it might fit in your investing tool belt.

A Non-Fungi-What-Now?

A non-fungible token.

If you're like me, looking into NFT's was the first time you encountered the word, "fungible." If you're even more like me, the first time you said it out loud in conversation, you pronounced it as "fun-gibble," leading to a humbling pronunciation search on Google. So that you can avoid my mistake, it's pronounced with a soft "g," as in "gerbil." You're welcome.

So, what does it mean for something to be fungible?

If something is fungible, it can be exchanged or replaced for another unit that is indistinguishable from itself ( Merriam Webster ). A couple of examples include the one-dollar bill and Bitcoin. Value of each of those currencies fluctuates, but no matter what, a dollar will always be worth a dollar and a Bitcoin will be worth a Bitcoin.

NFT's, on the other hand, are not of equal value to one another. An NFT with a picture of a giraffe could vary dramatically in value from an NFT with a clip of LeBron James dunking a basketball.

One of the main draws of an NFT is that uniqueness --NFT's are generally sold as the only one of its kind, or at least from a very limited run. Each NFT has a unique identifying code, which aims to create scarcity (and therefore value) in a digital item ( Forbes ) .

How Do I Get My Hands on One?

Great question!

NFT's exist on blockchain, which is a system that keeps record of transactions between a network of computers. You may have heard blockchain associated with cryptocurrency. That's because crypto also exists on blockchain, the most common blockchain being Ethereum.

To purchase an NFT, you'll need to go to an NFT marketplace. Some examples include OpenSea.io , Rarible , and Foundation .

In order to keep the NFT's that you buy, though, you will need an NFT wallet. NFT wallets are crypto wallets that also support NFT's. They are a digital storing place for all of your purchased NFT's, although you can get an offline wallet to hold them if you get really involved in NFT's ( Motley Fool ).

The Real Question: Should I Get My Hands on One?

I want to be clear that the purpose of this article is not to tell you one way or the other. Everyone's investing portfolio is their own and should be customized to their individual situations.

While NFT's show exciting potential, there are some risks and possible downsides that need to be considered when purchasing, much like other forms of investing.

Some NFT risks and downsides include:

- The possibility of NFT fraud

- Valuation of your NFT being entirely reliant upon who you are able to sell it to

- Paying fees and taxes associated with NFT trading

- Environmental harm caused by some blockchains with big carbon footprints

Whether you choose to invest in NFT's or not, it's always important to understand the big players in the investing world.

And if you're still not sure whether you should invest your money in NFT's, you might consider checking out another one of our blog articles: " What Is My Risk Tolerance? " .

How To Get Started With Investing

Sun, 08 May 2022 00:33:09 GMT

A Brief Preamble...

Investing is defined as the act of spending money with the expectation that over time you will be able to withdraw more money than you spent in the first place.

What is the definition of gambling? What is the difference between the two?

When gambling, you spend money with the same expectation -- that you will earn more than you spent. However, gambling hinges on luck where investing does not .

The success of an investment portfolio should hinge on corporate performance and other financial factors that even though you cannot control, you do understand.

Before you get started, it's important to know the difference between investing and gambling because if you blur the lines, you will run a significantly higher risk of losing money.

If you're just getting started, then you also might want to click here to see a list of five things you should know before you start investing

What are Stocks, Bonds, and other Securities?

Stocks and bonds are the most common securities types and are worth over $70 Trillion in market capitalization!

Because so much of the world economy is built off these two asset types, it's definitly worth taking the time to become familiar.

In short, a "stock" represents partial ownership in a company while a "bond" represents a debt owed to the bond owner (think of a bond as an "I owe you" statement where you lend some money to a party and they agree to pay it back with interest over a long period of time).

What Stocks Should I Buy?

If you are new to investing or are looking to get started, then this is probably a question you've already thought about. However, you're likely to have a hard time finding a straight answer -- at least from reputable sources anyway. There's a couple of reasons for this but mainly because each investor has unique goals and needs.

Sure, all investors want to make money, but what complicates this picture are factors such as:

How much money you can afford to invest right now
How long you can afford to be apart from your money for
How much risk you are willing to expose your money to
How diversified your portfolio already is

The last point on the list above is frequently overlooked but is perhaps one of the most important. This is because of a factor called unsystematic risk. Unsystematic (a.k.a diversifiable) risk is the risk associated with a particular stock or market sector.

If you already have a large portion of your portfolio invested in tech, then investing more into tech will increase your exposure to unsystematic risk.

So if you're asking yourself what stocks to invest in, make sure you first know the answers to the four questions above, then, look for a diversified group of stocks (or even better, funds) that line up with your specific situation to invest in.

�� Pro Tip: For more help understanding concepts like unsystematic risk and starting your own investment portfolio, check out our Investing Basics curriculum available for free in the StockMotion App!

Sources:

1: http s://www.kiplinger.com/investing/602348/are-you-gambling-or-investing-heres-how-to-tell

2: https://finance.zacks.com/bond-market-size-vs-stock-market-size-5863.html

3: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/06/investment-risk-what-it-is-and-what-you-can-do-abo.aspx

4: https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/content/how-to-pick-stocks-using-fundamental-technical-analysis

Investing Basics Curriculum

Sat, 07 May 2022 22:40:53 GMT

Looking to Get Into Investing?

If you haven't heard of StockMotion before, it's an app that you can get for free from the App & Play Store. It has several curriculums that teach important personal finance concepts through lessons, videos, quizzes, games, and other useful tools like a full-featured stock market simulator (real data, fake money).

It's the perfect way to learn and refine knowledge of crucial personal finance topics like investing! Lessons are reveiwed and contributed to by financial advisors and other financial services experts so you know you're getting the best available information in an easy to digest and fun way!

Learn by Doing

The Investing Basics curriculum in the app walks players through important investing concepts. It's built around lessons, videos, mini-games, and quizzes, and with each activity taking only a few moments to complete, it's easy, fun, and the most intuitive way to learn about personal finance!

The StockMotion app also has a free-to-use stock market simulator that that runs off real market prices and other data. You can unlock it by completing the first couple lessons in the Investing Basics curriculum.

The simulator allows you to practice what you're learning without risking your real, hard-earned money and it's part of a gamified leveling system that you can progress through to unlock new features with. There are many features to unlock, but a few of them include:

Market Summary
Portfolio diversification indicator
Volatility Indicator
Additional stock data
Many more!

So go check out the free app, and if you have a good experience with it, consider leaving us a review!

Creating a Retirement Plan

Fri, 06 May 2022 00:28:58 GMT

The Problem

For most people, the phrases: retirement plan and 401(k) are interchangeable. But this is a problem.

Why?

Because despite popular terminology, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs aren't actually "plans", they are simply vehicles to help you achieve your plan.

In any other context, when you talk about a "plan" there's at least some some level of specifics -- specific action items, or a timeline perhaps... Why should planning the largest financial transition of your life be any different?

Imagine boarding a plane after hearing the pilot say: "Looks like our instrumentation is on the fritz, but I know our destination is a couple hundred miles northeast. As long as we get over the mountains we should be okay."

Part of the reason that conversation feels so bizarre is because this would never happen. Commercial flights are planned months in advance, closely monitored from takeoff to landing, and are continuously analyzing live data on weather, altitude, and more.

In short, flights are well-planned and capable of making snap changes based on factors beyond the airline's control.

How to Create a Retirement Plan

A true retirement plan is knowing when you will retire, how much you will have saved up, and what your budget is going to be. There are a number of factors that play into the plan such as inflation, economic conditions, salary changes, unexpected financial events, and more.

If you don't already have a solid retirement plan, then now is the time to get one! It can be difficult to think about retirement (especially if it's far away), but it is absolutely crucial.

If you want to get started with a retirement plan but don't know where to start, we've got you covered with a simple four step process outlined below.

1. Set a Date

By creating a retirement plan far enough away from retirement, you can have the luxury of setting a target date. One helpful tip: it may be easier to choose a retirement age first, then determine the year.

It's important to note that there is no "one-size-fits-all" answer to when you should retire because each person is different and has unique needs and timetables.

That said, as of 2021, on average, Americans began their retirement at age 62¹.

2. Set a Retirement Budget

This can be a daunting task, but consider starting with the basic monthly expense categories of:

Home
Food
Transportation
Medical
Entertainment (inc. travel).

While there are other costs that may not have fallen in those categories, it's still a good starting point. Which brings us to the next step.. .

�� Pro Tip 1: Don't forget to account for cost of living! If you plan to retire in an area with similar cost of living to where you are right now, this may not be as much of a factor.

�� Pro Tip 2: Calculate monthly expenses in today's dollars rather than accounting for inflation at this point.

�� Pro Tip 3: If you get stuck on a category and don't know how much to budget, try looking up what "average ___ spending in retirement ___" where the first blank is the category and the second is the state/area you want to live.

3. Total Required Savings

With your rough idea of monthly costs in retirement, it's time to calculate how much you need saved up to fund that lifestyle.

People often calculate this as the product of their expected monthly costs and number of months spent in retirement as shown below.

( Monthly costs x Number of months in retirement )

However, doing it this way will likely result in you having more money saved than necessary. Because the lump sum you are chipping away at to fund your retirement is probably not sitting in a savings account. Chances are, it's in a retirement account earning interest.

In order to properly account for factors like inflation and investment ROI , you will need to think of this as p eriodic withdrawals from a lump sum. There are a number of online resources for those equations, if you want to do them yourself.

�� Pro Tip: If you want access to a tool that can walk you through this process and crunch the numbers for you, check out StockMotion on the App & Play Stores. Premium members have access to an entire curriculum about retirement planning!

4. Save, Save, Save!

Now that you know how much money you will need to retire, you will want to determine how much to contribute each month to your retirement account in order to accumulate that sum by retirement.

Because you know the future value of your retirement account (don't forget to adjust for inflation), you can calculate the needed monthly payments using the simple time value of money formula² shown below.

�� Pro Tip: StockMotion can help you develop your own retirement plan and has built-in tools to do this kind of math for you!

In Conclusion...

The old-fashioned retirement "plan" is the act of directionless saving and often results in delayed or stressful retirements. That's because it's not truly a plan.

A retirement plan can be highly complicated to put together, but just like a flight plan, is not something you want to skip out on, especially considering the tremendous effects it will have on what should be one of the best times of your life.

Unfortunately, where only 52% of working adults think they will have enough money to retire in comfort³, it has never been more important to get your financial house in order, including creating and sticking to a detailed retirement plan.

StockMotion makes the entire process of creating a retirement plan quick and easy. If you haven't already, check it out!

Sources:

1: Mean age of retirement: https://news.gallup.com/poll/350048/retirees-experience-differs-nonretirees-outlook.aspx

2: PMT formula from annuity due: https://www.double-entry-bookkeeping.com/future-value/annuity-due/

3: 52% think they will be able to afford to retire: https://news.gallup.com/poll/350048/retirees-experience-differs-nonretirees-outlook.aspx

4: https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/about/info-2018/2018-aarp-home-and-community-preferences-survey.html

5: http://www.pensionrights.org/publications/statistic/how-many-american-workers-participate-workplace-retirement-plans

What is Inflation?

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 05:48:33 GMT

When I was your age, I bought a house for...

"When I was your age, I could buy a house for a nickel and three heads of cabbage."

Okay, maybe that's a little bit exaggerated. But have you ever longed for a time when you could buy a house for the same price as your grandparents?

Nowadays, even the smallest houses cost AT LEAST a dime and four heads of cabbage.

There is a financial term for a rise in price over time: inflation.

That's great, but where does inflation come from? How is it measured? Is it always a bad thing?

Causes of Inflation

There is no singular answer to where inflation comes from. It can be caused by any number of circumstances. Just to name a few, some possible causes include:

- Growing economy

- Government regulations

- Exchange rate changes

- Hoarding of goods

- Managing the national debt

- Expansion of the money supply

- Shortages of goods

- Increase in public spending

*List items taken from smartasset.com and toppr.com

How Inflation is Measured

Inflation is measured through comparing the aggregate price of goods from one year to another.

So, if the price of goods is 7% higher than it was last year, we are experiencing a 7% inflation rate.

We know that prices are rising over time, and by how much, by following the CPI, or Consumer Price Index. The Consumer Price Index measures price changes in specific market baskets.

Those baskets of goods include everyday items like food and furniture. The baskets are measured regularly, oftentimes monthly or yearly.

If you really want to get into the thick of measuring inflation, here is the formula:

Inflation Rate = ((CPI2 - CPI1) / CPI1) x 100

CPI2 = CPI in the second period

CPI1 = CPI in the first period

Is Inflation a Bad Thing?

This is a great question!

Inflation tends to get a bad rap because it pretty much only makes it into the news when it's too high.

However, inflation is normal and can actually be good for an economy!

For example, you may have noticed in the list above that a possible reason for inflation is a growing economy.

Inflation becomes a bad thing when the increase in price of goods outpaces the salary of the population. If buying common goods starts to feel like a burden to the people within the economy, inflation is too high.

Inflation is also bad when it outpaces the Federal Reserve's expectations. When that happens, the faster prices climb, the harder it is for the government to address the change and the more aggressive they have to be in raising interest rates. That makes money more expensive for banks to acquire, which in turn makes it harder for the average citizen to gain access to money through things like loans, mortgages, etc.

As an example of the above scenario, suppose that the Federal Reserve expected interest of 4% but prices actually rose by 8%. Even if salary had magically risen by 9% (outpacing the current inflation rate), that unexpectedly high rise in prices would cause harmful inflation.

But how could that be?! Salary did rise faster than prices, after all. Even though that is the case in the above example, the FED likely wouldn't have been aggressive enough with interest rates, which could mean that that 8% inflation rate would quickly turn into 15%.

On the flip side, an overly aggressive stance by the FED would mean that no one would be able to afford interest rates on mortgage loans and the real estate market would plummet.

Basically, it's a delicate balance.

Inflation

So, next time you hear how much less expensive everything was back in the day, a deeper understanding of inflation's nuances may keep the envy at bay.

Explaining P/E ratio

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 23:35:04 GMT

Breaking down an important principle, P/E ratio

We know that talking about investing and the stock market can sometime sound like an alien language.

The term, P/E ratio, is not any different sounding like jargon but it's actually a simple concept once we break it down.

First off, let's talk about the P/E, it stands for Price-to-Earnings. More specifically, price refers to the stock price of the share and earning refers to, well, the total earnings of the company divided by the outstanding shares. Note: outstanding shares means the total number of shares issued by the company which include shares kept within the companies and owed by the shareholders, us.

So for example, the company Good Food store has a stock price of $1. Over the past month, Good Food store earned $100 and it has 200 outstanding shares. So P or Price which is just stock price = $1. So for E or Earning, we take the $100 earned and divide it by the 200 shares, equalling .5. To finish calculating the ratio we have to divide P/E or $1/.5 which turns out to be 2.

So we are left with a P/E ratio of 2. Now what?

Well, it depends.

One number alone isn't enough to see the bigger picture. We have to look into different things such as the P/E ratio of other things in the market sector and the companies history. For example we have to look at Good Food store's other competitors, Excellent Cuisine and All-day Snacks, both are in the same market sector as Good Food, all being grocery stores. We will compare all of their P/E ratios to see if 2 is higher or lower than the rest.

We also have to look into the trends of the sector and stores to see what is the trend for P/E ratios. Once we know that, are we done? No and unfortunately there is no clear answer. Having a low or high P/E can mean a number of things. If it's low it could mean that the company's stock is discounted which is good or the company is failing which is bad. If it's high, it could mean that the stock is overvalued which is bad or having success which is good.

The P/E ratio is important to understand because it can provide crucial insights into a company's performance. Just remember, no single number can effectively tell the whole story. In the end, it's up to you to make the smart decisions.

Roth 401(k) vs Traditional 401(k): Which should I get?

Mon, 09 Aug 2021 15:37:04 GMT

Which 401(k) will prepare me better for retirement?

401(k). It’s one of the most common ways to save for retirement, but how do you know which kind to invest in?

This is a frequently asked question, especially among young people just starting out their careers in companies that offer retirement benefits.

To start off, let’s talk about what a 401(k) actually is. Luckily, 401(k) is not referring to a long-distance race (I think far fewer people would be interested in it if it were). It’s just a retirement savings/investment tool that was named after a section of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Typically, if you invest in a 401(k) through your employer, your money will be managed by an advisor, often from some sort of investment management company like Fidelity. That’s not to say that you don’t have any say in how your money is invested--you certainly have input over your own money.

Many companies allow employees to contribute part of their paycheck to a 401(k). Some companies even offer to match their employees’ contributions, up to a certain percentage. As of 2021, the max amount that can be contributed to a 401(k) in a given year is $19,500 for employees under 50-years-old and $26,000 for employees who are 50 years of age or older. That extra $6,500 for employees over 50 is called a catch-up contribution. It allows said employees to more easily meet their retirement goals as they draw closer to it.

So, when that percentage of your paycheck gets taken out, where exactly is it going?

The money that is invested in a 401(k) will generally include an array of stock and bond mutual funds, as well as target-date funds. The specific makeup will depend on a few factors, one of the most important ones being how close you are to retirement (the closer you are, the lower the risk because you won’t be playing the long game in the stock market anymore).

With all of this information about 401(k)’s, how do I know which kind to invest in?

That decision is going to depend on personal preferences, but what you need to know about the differences between a Roth and a Traditional 401(k) comes down to how they are taxed.

Contributions to a Roth 401(k) are taken from after-tax dollars. That means you are investing money from your paycheck that has already been taxed and don’t have to worry about paying taxes on it (or its growth) when you withdraw money from it in retirement. One thing to note is that your employer match portion in a Roth 401(k) will be subject to taxes when withdrawn.

Contributions to a Traditional 401(k) are taken from your paycheck’s pre-tax dollars. That means that your taxes will be lower now, but you will pay taxes on everything you withdraw in retirement. When they are withdrawn, they will be taxed at an ordinary income tax rate, with most state income taxes applying as well.

So, which type of 401(k) to invest in comes down to you. Do you think income taxes will be higher today or during retirement? Do you think you will be making more money now or later? Now that you have an understanding of the differences between the two, these are just some questions to consider when deciding on a Roth vs Traditional 401(k).

Citations:

Dave Ramsey, “401(k) vs. Roth 401(k): Which One Is Better?,” Ramsey Solutions (blog), June 17, 2021, accessed 8/3/2021, https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/traditional-401k-vs-roth-401k .

Jason Fernando, “401(k) Plans: The Complete Guide,” Investopedia, March 11, 2021, accessed 8/3/2021, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/1/401kplan.asp .

Kristin McKenna, “Should I Pay Someone to Manage My 401(k)?,” Forbes, February 22, 2021, accessed 8/3/2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinmckenna/2021/02/22/should-i-pay-someone-to-manage-my- 401k/?sh=b6dd3eed0673 .

What Is My Risk Tolerance?

Wed, 19 May 2021 18:51:16 GMT

I hear all about risk tolerance while investing, but how do I know what my risk tolerance is?

There are many factors that go into determining risk tolerance. Here are some basic questions that you can ask yourself to help pin down how risk averse you are.

How much experience do you have investing?

How much money do you have available that, if lost, would not affect your lifestyle?

How much money would keep you up at night if it were in the stock market?

Finally, the most important question is actually a very simple one!

How old are you?

Yes, the most important factor in determining your risk tolerance is not some nebulous “X” factor. Rather, it is something very straightforward--your age!

Why is that?

In investing, time is your best friend. Therefore, your risk tolerance is higher the younger you are.

As a young person, you have a much further horizon to worry about. You won’t be pulling out retirement money for some time, so you can allow time to make you money on investments that may be a little more risky.

On the other hand, the horizon of retirement gets closer the older you get. As the time to retirement decreases, it’s a bad idea to invest in risky ventures that could lose you money right before needing to take it out.

So, while nobody’s risk tolerance is the same, it’s important to know that lower age should allow for higher risk tolerance.

How to Locate a Company's Financial Data

Tue, 18 May 2021 23:17:15 GMT

Let's Back Up For A Second...

First of all, if you haven't heard of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yet, you'll probably want to become familiar... It is an independant part of the United States Government and is responsible for regulating investing activities to ensure a free and fair market. It was established in 1934 in response to the events leading up to the great stock market crash of 1929 which resulted in the Great Depression, which you have likely heard of before.

Among many others, some of its responsibilities include; prevention of fraud and market manipulation, governance and enforcement of laws regarding securities (investments) and the exchanging of securities, as well as advocating for general investor education (just like we at StockMotion do!) If you're interested in learning more about the SEC, visit their site here

What SEC Edgar?

No, Edgar isn't some guy that works over at the SEC (apologies to anyone actually named Edgar and works over at the SEC). Edgar actually stands for Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval . Okay, that probably isn't the most exciting abbreviation you've ever heard of, but it's actually a really cool system!

Edgar is basically a massive database chalk full of companies' yearly and quarterly earnings reports and all sort of other awesome data. What does that actually mean for you though? It means that if you want to know how much revenue Tesla Inc. brought in during 2020, you can do just that . Pretty cool right?

Figure 1.1: Search for a company or ticker symbol in SEC Edgar

How To Find Companies' Financial Data

When you open up the Edgar Company Search Page , you will find a search bar that looks something like the above Figure 1.1. Once you've located the search bar, you can enter in either a ticker symbol or company name (e.g. GameStop Corp. or GME would work when searching for data on Gamestop)

Once you've selected the company you are looking for from the dropdown menu, you'll be taken to a page that looks something like Figure 1.2 below. From here, we have many options, but we'll just focus on one today; finding information in an annual or quarterly report.

Figure 1.2: Find data in a company's annual or quarterly earnings reports

Selecting and Interpreting a Report

Notice the section on the page called "Selected Filings". (If on a mobile device, you may need to scroll down a little to find it). From the list, you'll see a tab called "10-K (annual reports) and 10-Q (quarterly reports)". If you click on this tab, it will expand into a bulleted list of 10-Ks and 10-Qs with the most recent reports appearing at the top of the list. If the report you are looking for is older than those listed, you can simply click the "View all 10-Ks and 10-Qs" button.

Once you've opened your report, you'll soon scroll to a table of contents. From here, you'll want to look for an option that will say something along the lines of "Financial Statements" (usually Item 8 in the table of contents). Tap that link and you will likely be taken to another, smaller table of contents. This time, you should look for an option called "Consolidated Balance Sheets". Once you click that link, you will find a table of financial data for that reporting period! And now, you're able to do in depth research on any publicly listed company!

Paying Yourself First

Tue, 18 May 2021 02:26:49 GMT

Treat Yourself!

Here's one life's most important financial tips: always pay yourself first.

Whether that means investing a set amount of salary into a 401k each paycheck or placing a set percentage of income into a savings account each month, this simple tip can make a huge difference in planning for a solid financial future. It changes the perspective from that of saving whatever is left to a consistent and sustainable method of building capital.

Though it is important to take care of debts and expenses, you are also important. Our goal is help you see that money is not only a tool for survival but a way to enjoy life to the fullest.

Accidents happen, it is just a fact of life. Though you cannot plan for these things to happen, you can prepare for them. This is where having a "rainy day" fund comes in. Built from the strategy of always paying yourself first, you have a safety cushion to help take these setbacks with stride.

So when you are budgeting for this month or if you are going to budget for the first time, remember, pay yourself first!

What Are All These Different Stocks?

Sat, 08 May 2021 16:04:54 GMT

There are so many different names for stocks, so what do they mean?

Common stock, preferred stock, growth stock, income stock, value stock, blue-chip stock, beef stock. Where does it end?!

When you’re just entering the world of investing, the vocabulary alone can be overwhelming. While we certainly can’t cover every finance term in one blog post, here are some popular phrases in the stock market that can give you some footing to stand on:

Common Stock

Common stock is the most, well, common stock to own. Owning a common stock means that you are eligible for dividends and you are allowed to vote in shareholder meetings. The downside to a common stock is that its owners are the last ones to receive payment in the event of a company’s liquidation (going out of business).

Preferred Stock

Typically, preferred stockholders don’t have voting rights. On the bright side, they receive dividend payments before common stockholders if a company goes bankrupt and has to liquidate their assets (sell all their stuff).

Common stocks and preferred stocks can fall into any one of the following stock categories, sometimes more than one!

Growth Stock

A growth stock is any stock growing at a faster rate than the market average. Most of the time, they don’t offer dividends. Investors tend to like growth stocks for their rocketing prices because it means that they can easily buy low and sell high. Tech startups are oftentimes growth stocks.

Income Stock

Income stocks consistently pay dividends, providing a steady source of income. Utility companies that have been around for a long time are likely to be income stocks.

Value Stock

Value stocks have a low price-to-earnings (PE) ratio. Their low PE, which makes them cheaper, means that the general feeling in the market towards the stock is not currently very desirable. Investors who think the market is overreacting and selling the stocks for less than they are worth may purchase value stocks in the hopes that the price will rebound.

Blue-Chip Stock

Shares in large, well-known companies are known as blue-chip stocks. Historically, they boast dependable growth and generally offer dividends.

Last, but not least…

Beef Stock

Though this may sound like something you would buy while experiencing a bull market, it’s actually just a base for soups! But you probably already knew that, you smarty pants. We just thought we’d give you a freebie on the last one ;)

Congrats on learning some new stock terms today and cheers to becoming more stock market savvy!

What is Market Volatility and What Does it Mean?

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 23:53:21 GMT

Volatility as a Statistical Term

Simply put, volatility is the degree to which a stock varies from its average price. This means that a stock that is highly volatile will often move up or down in price very quickly whereas a non-volatile stock will rarely deviate from it's moving average.

Having a low volatility does not necessarily mean that the stock is not profitable. In fact, many low-volatility stocks are very profitable over time and many high-volatility stocks either lose or simply retain value over longer periods of time. Volatility is not a measure of profitability, but rather, a measure of variance around the trendline.

Below, in Figure 1.1, a profitable, but low-volatility stock is pictured. Notice how the stock's price (green line) stays relatively near to its trendline, or moving average price (pink line). This is the definition of a stock that is not very volatile.

Figure 1.1 - A low-volatility stock is easily recognizable as it rarely deviates far from its trendline

What Does Volatility Look Like?

Now that we've defined volatility, let's talk about how to recognize it. Linear trendlines (the pink line shown in figures 1.1 and 1.2) are a simple visualization of the average value of the dataset over time. They are always straight, which makes them easier to visualize. In a pinch, you can draw a straight line, anchored to the first data point and then move the right end of the line up or down until it sits as evenly as possible amongst the rest of the dataset.

Now that you have your trendline, you can compare it with the dataset. Are there large spikes up or down, away from the trendline? If so, you've just identified an area of higher volatility! Now that you've visualized that process, take a look at Figure 1.2 and see if you can identify the points of higher volatility/.

Figure 1.2 - A high-volatility stock is also easily recognizable as data frequently and erratically diverges from the trendline. Stocks can be highly volatile and still have a relatively flat trendline as pictured above.

Market-Wide Volatility

Just as we can evaluate volatility for an individual stock, we can evaluate volatility for an entire industry or sector, entire index, and even the entire stock market! There are numerous methodologies for doing just that, but the one we'll focus on today, is The Chicago Board Options Exchange's (CBOE) VIX Inde x . The VIX Index is a measurement tool that reflects expected volatility in the S&P 500. The ticker symbol for the index is: VIX, but it may be worth noting that the index is non-tradeable as its price is meant to be used as a measurement tool.

So Why Does Volatility Matter?

Experienced investors often consult market conditions (including volatility) as they make investing decisions. As investments are, by nature, forward-looking, indicators such as volatility can help investors predict general market movements and growth. Though there are no perfect instruments in diving the future, the VIX has helped many investors get on the right side of upcoming market volatility.

Remember the integral relationship between risk and reward, being; More Risk = More Reward . Any period of increased volatility in a stock or market is a time of increased risk (therefore, an opportunity for increased gains/losses). Interestingly, a recent stud y put out by Crestmont Research found that increased volatility corresponds to an increased probability of a declining market, while decreased volatility corresponds to a higher probability of a rising market. In simpler terms, volatility generally points to a declining market.

Are Credit Cards Evil?

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 00:08:13 GMT

Are Credit Cards Evil?

It depends! (Sorry to all of you Dave Ramsey followers).

Credit cards are like a fire. If you don't know how to use fire, you can get burned. If you do, though, you can use it to warm your house, cook food, etc.

Likewise, if you don't know how to use credit cards, you can get stuck paying interest (often times as high as 20%). However, if you pay your credit card off in full each month, you can take advantage of some helpful benefits. Some of those benefits can include:

- Credit card reward points/cash-back (usually 1-2% back on all purchases)

- Airline miles

- Credit card sign-up bonuses

- Extra emergency fund (when used responsibly)

- Building up of credit score (needed for getting a mortgage)

- Fraud protection

- Extended warranties

Credit cards are an important tool in the financial toolbox, but only if you are disciplined enough to use them effectively.

Credit history is a record of your ability to repay debts on time and that information is recorded in your credit report. This report gives important details such as how many accounts you have, how long you've had them, and the frequency and timeliness of your payments on those accounts.

Overall, your credit history is important because having good credit history gives you more option. Banks and companies want to loan their money to people who are dependable and can be trusted with their money. When they see a glowing credit history, they trust you and want your business, so they give more options for loans and interest rates. If they see a questionable credit history, they will be suspicious and give you less options and stricter policies because they cannot guarantee you will return their money so they might as well get a guarantee on their terms.

So the moral of the story is that credit cards are, like many things, good when used responsibly, and bad when used irresponsibly.

What is StockMotion?

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 21:38:55 GMT

A New Way to Learn Investing

In case you didn't already know, StockMotion is a free investing game geared towards new investors. As players progress through the game, they learn core investing principles, relevant terminology, and even investing strategy! Real market data and stock prices tether the game to reality, while a full investor literacy curriculum full of lessons, activities, rewards, and quizzes keep the atmosphere engaging and fresh. It's a perfect, non-intimidating introduction to investing.

StockMotion is currently available for free on both the App and Play stores!

How the Game Works

When you first open an account, you start out with some PracticeCash and StockMotion Coins. The PracticeCash is used to buy stocks and its value mirrors the USD. You are also given some StockMotion Coins. Coins are used in the in-game marketplace to purchase in game items.

Your first step in the game is to head over to the investor roadmap, which is a map of lessons, activities, quizzes, and more that start with the very basics and help you progress into a knowledgeable and effective trader. As you move through the curriculum, you will learn concepts and strategies to help you manage your practice portfolio better.

The curriculum and simulator work hand-in-hand to help you learn about investing basics and actually practice them in a risk-free sandbox environment!

Experience Points (xp)

Experience points (referred to as 'xp' in the game) track your progress towards the next level and are earned as you play the game, meaning that when you earn enough xp, you will level up -- unlocking new stocks to trade, more PracticeCash, and other rewards! Currently, there are a few ways to earn xp:

Trading Stocks

Every time you buy or sell a stock, the app runs a quick analysis on the trade, evaluating how well the trade adheres to traditional investment principles such as buy-and-hold, buy-low-sell-high, among several others. The awarded xp is meant to be a general indicator of the trade's adherence to traditional investing principals.

Over time, StockMotion players habitually evaluate themselves according to those investing principles as they place trades. It is important to note that placing a large amount of trades in rapid succession will halt the accumulation of xp and even though the game will still allow the trades to be made, the player will not earn xp for those trades.

Daily Rewards

When you open the app for the first time in a 24-hour period, a pop-up will appear, awarding xp based off several factors, including your portfolio's performance and the average age of your positions. This is one of the easiest ways to accumulate xp and other rewards, so don't forget to come back frequently!

Checking into the game frequently allows you as the player to watch your investments grow and become accustomed to the ebb and flow of stock price movements. Frequent and prolonged exposure to market volatility can help players to develop a higher tolerance to making emotional decisions (such as dumping stocks at the bottom of a short-term correction). As such, we reward players for regularly checking into the game and reviewing their portfolios.

Why We Built StockMotion

Real talk; everyone likes money, but most people don't like learning about money and because of that, most people end up not knowing much about money. According to FINRA , only 34% of American adults can answer 3 out of 5 basic financial literacy questions correctly. While the realm of financial literacy extends far beyond investing alone, developing an understanding of investing is of paramount importance to building a future.

Here at StockMotion, we wanted to set out to help people start learning how to invest at younger ages than ever before because on of the most important factors in investing is time. Because of that, we set out to build something that will give investors more time by helping them be prepared to start their investing journey sooner than they otherwise would have.

By simplifying the interface, reducing the information presented, and gamifying the experience, we've created an ecosystem where people of all backgrounds and experience-levels can come and develop the skills needed to invest in their futures, and that's what we're all about.

What Is Liquidity and Why Is It Important?

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 06:02:10 GMT

Understanding Liquidity

Well, it's not talking about how easy something is to pour into a glass...but that might actually help in visualizing what's being measured!

Liquidity refers to how easily an asset or security can be converted into ready-to-use cash without affecting its market price. Or, in other words, it measures how easily something can be poured from the asset bottle into the cash glass without losing value.

Liquidity is an important measure within the stock market, which has a generally high market liquidity compared to others like the real estate market. That means that the price a buyer offers tends to be pretty close to what the seller is willing to give it to them for. When the gap between what a seller wants for something and what the buyer wants to pay for it grows, the market becomes more illiquid.

The more liquid the market is, the easier and quicker it will be to sell your stocks without having to drop the price to make it more attractive. Some stocks are more liquid than others, with stocks that are traded frequently holding up better under market liquidity shocks. It's good to look into before investing.

And how do you know if a stock is liquid? Other than the method mentioned before of looking at difference between what the buyer offers and what the seller is willing to take; one can see the demand for the stock. If there is enough people asking for it on a consistent basis then you can be sure that it is liquid enough for when you want to sell.

How to Navigate a Bear Market

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 23:28:49 GMT

How You should Tackle the Bear Market?

First let's define the bear market. It is a market in which prices are falling, which is usually when people are encouraged to sell.

There may not be actually bears but these types of markets can be intimidating! So, what should you be doing during an overall economic downturn?

Each person's approach will depend on their risk tolerance, investment time horizon, and overall objectives.

For example, a person with very low risk tolerance could take out their investments and put them in something stable like a short-term government bond.

Someone looking to profit from a falling market could try to short the system (yes, that is what hedge fund managers were trying to do with Game Stop).

For someone looking to keep investments in the stock market, they could buy defensively. That basically entails purchasing stock from stable, large-cap companies that provide consumer staples. These stocks tend to be less affected by economic downturns.

A more aggressive investor might even take this downturn as an opportunity to purchase more valuable stocks at a low cost. If this is your strategy, it might be a good idea to invest in stocks that offer dividends in order to make the downturn hurt less.

Bear markets can be difficult but these strategies may help lessen the impact of the downturned market.

Source: Chad Langager

How Much to Ask for a Desired Salary

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 23:18:42 GMT

How much should you ask for when a job application asks for your desired salary?

You don't want to low-ball yourself but you also don't want to sound unreasonable in your request, so how much do you ask for?

Take this with a grain of salt as the advice of one specific employer, but a recent conversation with an experienced COO made me reconsider how much salary to request.

First thing first, he suggested doing prior research to get a general idea of what similar roles are paying.

Next, he said to figure out how much money you need to continue living your lifestyle and make sure you are asking for at least that much.

This is the bit of advice that shifted my paradigm: "If I had two resumes on my desk and one was asking for $60,000 while the other was asking for $40,000, I would pay more attention to the one asking for $60,000." His reasoning was that the $60,000 application would probably believe they offered more value and would work harder to make that belief a reality. He also said that he completely expects a negotiation with every hire, so you will likely end up lower than your stated price anyway.

So, don't be afraid of seeming disagreeable with that high salary request!

Mutual Funds

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 23:20:53 GMT

Power of Mutual Funds

History tells us that one of the safest ways to successfully buy low and sell high on an investment is through a buy-and-hold strategy using stock mutual funds. A mutual fund is an investment program in which investors, such as yourself, invest your money into the program. In turn, the fund manager of the fund invests your money into other stocks, bonds, and other assets. But what if you want to receive periodic earning, or in other words, dividends? Is that possible with a mutual fund?

You may have to do some research beforehand, but there are many mutual funds that offer dividends. As mutual funds offer a diverse array of stocks, they often hold at least some stocks that offer dividends, which are required to be passed on to you at least yearly.

As an aside, there are many mutual funds that try to avoid dividend-producing stocks. This is done to help their investors avoid tax liability for said dividends. So instead of receiving dividends, you have a higher quality fund that you are able to sell. There are also many investors who opt to reinvest all dividends back into buying more shares of their stocks.

However, if you value a consistent income from your investments over fast growth of stock prices, financial writer Mark P. Cussen suggests buying into mutual funds with high-dividend yields and high-coupon bonds. Ultimately, it comes down to your preferences and investing priorities.

Emotions and Investing

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 17:17:11 GMT

Are your emotions controlling your investments?

If you allow yourself to get caught up in every rise and fall within your portfolio, investing in stocks can be a rollercoaster of emotions.

To improve the outcomes of your investments (and to avoid emotional exhaustion), it is wise to take up some degree of stoicism. In the words of James Pierce, "to be stoic is not to be emotionless, but to remain unaffected by your emotions." So, how would that help with investments?

Spikes and plummets can occur rapidly in the world of stocks, but it's important not to get caught up with each individual turn of events. Time is your friend with investments, and, over the long run, it is ultimately up to a company's earnings to determine your stock's value. That means that companies with strong foundations can withstand quite a bit of flack and still have a general upward trend.

So our recommendation is, before you open up your stocks is to take a deep breathe. We know it sounds cliche but it works for helping you to slow down and take into account your feelings. Making investments based on emotions may cause to take actions you may regret such as selling or buying at the worst times. So clear your head and keep your emotions away from your decision making. Though it is good to feel great about your investments, it is better to have an open mind and patience so you can make smart decisions.

So, whether your investments are making you feel �� or ��, make sure to check your emotions at the door before making any major decisions.

Benefits of Investing into Stocks

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 03:45:10 GMT

What does it actually mean to invest in stocks? What are the benefits?

We strive to forward financial education at all levels! This is a question I've been asked before and I believe there are many people too afraid to ask it.

When you buy a stock, you are buying a share of that company. You are investing in them and therefore have residual claim on that company's earnings. You claim that through capital gains and dividends.

Capital gain refers to the money you make from selling something for more than you bought it. You can profit from selling stocks whose prices have risen.

Dividends do not apply to every stock, but many companies offer them to incentivize increased investment. If a company does well, they can send some of their profit back to their investors. Dividends are most commonly sent out quarterly.

Investing in the stock market does carry some amount of risk, but a disciplined approach provides one of the most efficient ways to build net worth. And don't forget, you can always cater your investments to match your own comfort level in regards to risk.

Determining Stock Prices

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 20:41:22 GMT

Why do stock prices change so much?

The price of your favorite meal may rise a bit every now and then, but it generally stays about the same. So, why do stock prices change so much? While the answer is a bit complicated, here are a few critical factors.

First, there are internal factors, which are caused by actions of the company. In that category, we have profits, dividend distributions, and overall company valuations.

Next, we have external factors, which are forces beyond the company's control. Inflation, economic strength, and even events like the Coronavirus pandemic can influence a company's stock price.

Lastly, overall sentiment helps determine stock prices. This is in reference to how favorably a company looks in the eyes of investors, which is driven largely by the internal and external factors mentioned above. If a company outperforms expectations for a given year, it drives up the investor sentiment.

Ultimately, stock prices are determined by what people are willing to pay for the stock. The main driver behind an investor's willingness to pay _$ for a stock is generally the company's financial performance and likelihood to perform well in the future.

Though the movements in stock prices can seem erratic, they are ultimately just the result of a complex ecosystem ultimately ending up at what people are willing to pay for the stock! To learn more about this concept (in great detail) consider downloading our free app, StockMotion available for free from both the App and Play stores.

Volatility Index

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 03:35:44 GMT

Have you heard of the Volatility Index before?

Though it is impossible to perfectly predict the stock market, there is a tool that many have successfully used for just that purpose..

The Volatility Index (VIX), created by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), can help you read and interpret market movements and patterns. It measures expected price movement (also called implied volatility) by tracking general investor sentiment. By taking into account the general outlook of investors, the VIX can be a useful tool in predicting major sell-offs. A sell-off is when a substantial number of investors sell a specific stock, which can drive stock prices down. Because it measures feelings among investors, the VIX is also frequently referred to as the ‘Fear Index.'

The VIX number is calculated, without diving too much into the complicated calculations, by looking into the averages of certain options of the Standard & Poor's Index (S&P 500). The S&P 500 is the index of the largest 500 companies in the United States, such as Apple, Microsoft, etc.

When the share price of the VIX spikes, it is often indicative of a major sell-off already in motion, or soon to come. It is important to realize that the VIX is imperfect, as spikes in the share price are not always correlated with events that drive stock prices down. That being said, it is a powerful tool for those who know how to use it.

Now that we know the importance of VIX, let's talk about how to read the VIX number. In the image above you see the number 21.08. This represents the percentage of change we are expected to see in the market. This does not mean that the market will increase by 21.08% for certain or lower by the same amount rather it means that it could do either. So from this we can expect that the market will change by +/- 21.08% over the period of one year.

if we wanted to look at change over a specific period of time, here are three ways we can do that.

Over a period of a month, take the VIX number divided by the square root of 12 because there is 12 months in a year.

Example: 21.08 / square root(12) = +/- 6.09%

Over a period of a week, take the VIX number divided by the square root of 52 because there is 52 weeks in a year.

Example: 21.08 / square root(52) = +/- 2.92%

Over a period of a day, take the VIX number divided by the square root of 252 because there are 252 trading days in a year, which is why we do not use 356 days.

Example: 21.08 / square root(252) = +/- 1.33%

By relying on the VIX, you essentially have access to the attitude and sentiment of other investors. Investors who are experienced and make a living at understanding the trends and flow of the market. So, if you want to get an understanding of the current state of the stock market then learn to understand the VIX.

Power of Goal Setting

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 01:04:43 GMT

Why should you set goals?

People who vividly describe or picture their goals are 120% - 140% as likely to successfully accomplish their aims as someone who does not.

One way to get that vivid description in your head is to write down your goals and plans to achieve them. According to Forbes' Mark Murphy, this works for two reasons: external storage and encoding.

External storage refers to the fact that you will continue to see the goal if it is written in a commonly seen place. The more you see it, the more you remember it, and the more you consequently work towards it.

Encoding refers to how the brain works. When it receives information, that information gets sent to the hippocampus to be analyzed. Whether it gets kept as a long-term memory or tossed out depends on that analysis. When information being sent to the hippocampus has been written down,

it is far more likely to be kept in long-term memory. That means you'll be more likely to remember your goals and plans and more likely to follow through with them if they have been written down. So, if you really want to achieve a goal, writing it down is a great first step! And don't forget to put those written goals in a place where you will see them!

#finance #financial #finances #money #success #goals #goal #financialplanning

How StockMotion puts a Spin on Investing

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 19:05:21 GMT

Investing is a long-term game

Many current apps and articles encourage the “get-rich-quick” mentality when it comes to investing. Any time that kind of message is being advertised, beware! More often than not, investors who adopt this line of thinking end up losing money. Investing is a long-term game. Strategic planning and patience are paramount to a successful portfolio.

You are familiar with the parable of the turtle and the hare. The hare was overconfident and thought that being fast was the only way to win. The turtle however kept on steadily moving forward; there was probably times he was discouraged seeing the rabbit race past him with taunts as you may be from time to time on your own investing journey. However, thanks to his diligence and patience he was able to win race and you too can succeed in the stock market if you are patient and diligent.

StockMotion’s investment simulator will help you practice strategies and create habits that will yield successful results over time. Here at StockMotion, we are firm believers in a patient and studious approach to investing and are working hard to provide you all the tools and resources you need to manage your investments responsibly.

So if you haven't yet, download the StockMotion app. We guarantee the lessons you will learn will help you succeed in your own investment journey.

Research. Create. Grow.

stockmotion

Five Things To Know Before You Start Investing

Before entering a committed relationship, there are some things you want to know about yourself and the other person involved. Your relationship with investing is no different.

What is my risk tolerance?

W hat is my time horizon?

What are my liquidity needs?

How much can I invest?

What is my main financial goal with this money?

Moving forward in your relationship with investing

A Non-Fungi-What-Now?: Beginner's Guide to NFT's

Why do I keep seeing pictures of monkeys wearing hats and what do they have to do with investing?

A Non-Fungi-What-Now?

How Do I Get My Hands on One?

The Real Question: Should I Get My Hands on One?

How To Get Started With Investing

A Brief Preamble...

What are Stocks, Bonds, and other Securities?

What Stocks Should I Buy?

Investing Basics Curriculum

Looking to Get Into Investing?

Learn by Doing

Creating a Retirement Plan

The Problem

How to Create a Retirement Plan

1. Set a Date

2. Set a Retirement Budget

3. Total Required Savings

4. Save, Save, Save!

In Conclusion...

What is Inflation?

When I was your age, I bought a house for...

Causes of Inflation

How Inflation is Measured

Is Inflation a Bad Thing?

Inflation

Explaining P/E ratio

Breaking down an important principle, P/E ratio

Roth 401(k) vs Traditional 401(k): Which should I get?

Which 401(k) will prepare me better for retirement?

What Is My Risk Tolerance?

I hear all about risk tolerance while investing, but how do I know what my risk tolerance is?

How to Locate a Company's Financial Data

Let's Back Up For A Second...

What SEC Edgar?

How To Find Companies' Financial Data

Selecting and Interpreting a Report

Paying Yourself First

Treat Yourself!

What Are All These Different Stocks?

There are so many different names for stocks, so what do they mean? Common stock, preferred stock, growth stock, income stock, value stock, blue-chip stock, beef stock. Where does it end?!

What is Market Volatility and What Does it Mean?

Volatility as a Statistical Term

What Does Volatility Look Like?

Market-Wide Volatility

So Why Does Volatility Matter?

Are Credit Cards Evil?

Are Credit Cards Evil?

What is StockMotion?

A New Way to Learn Investing

How the Game Works

Experience Points (xp)

Why We Built StockMotion

What Is Liquidity and Why Is It Important?

Understanding Liquidity

How to Navigate a Bear Market

How You should Tackle the Bear Market?

How Much to Ask for a Desired Salary

Mutual Funds

Power of Mutual Funds

Emotions and Investing

Are your emotions controlling your investments?

Benefits of Investing into Stocks

What does it actually mean to invest in stocks? What are the benefits?

Determining Stock Prices

Why do stock prices change so much?

Volatility Index

Have you heard of the Volatility Index before?

Power of Goal Setting

Why should you set goals?

How StockMotion puts a Spin on Investing

There are so many different names for stocks, so what do they mean?

Common stock, preferred stock, growth stock, income stock, value stock, blue-chip stock, beef stock. Where does it end?!