Can you really make money from stocks?

[gunslinger256]

if you have any doubts about investing, leave it up to the pros by investing in a fund which is basically the same as what you're doing in your retirement accounts.

I've rolled the 401k money from all of my prior jobs into an etrade account that I use to buy stocks and funds. In the beginning when I was taking alot of risk I quickly earned a vast sum of money and very shortly after that lost just about all of it. As I got older I learned to take a much more conservative approach.

Currently 1/3 of my retirement portfolio is invested in income stocks/funds and I'm working to increase the annual income as the years go by from stock sales in the other parts of the portfolio. I'm expecting the compound interest from reinvested dividends to keep the growth going and I'm currently earning more income in the retirement account than I was depositing to it when I worked at those companies.

Eventually, the dividend income + pensions + social security between my wife and I will have us pretty well set, all we have to worry about is getting to retirement age.

Currently, we're working to save some money outside of retirement accounts and to pay off the house.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Surfertx

So where do you start? Someone told me to read as much as I can. I'm not looking for a get rich scheme just something to add to my income long term.

The best strategies are usually fairly simple and semi-boring ones that involve regular buying and holding for a long time.

A fund like Vanguard Total Stock Market Index is a good choice.

Another, somewhat less volatile alternative would be Vanguard Dividend Appreciation. It has similar returns but less volatility.

But you have to be prepared that no matter what you do, there will be bad years where your account balance goes down. You have to decide in advance that you are going to keep adding money no matter what happens.

Of course, you should always have money set aside for emergencies, your next car, etc. That generally means 3-6 months of living expenses, maybe more. That way, you won't be tempted to sell your stock fund when times are bad--which they will be at some point.