$BTC #PEPE‏ First, let me say that I’m trading money that I don’t need to live. My wife has a high-paying job. The word “stock” means shares of stock, American Depository Receipts, and exchange traded funds (ETFs). I never felt the need to learn option trading.

Most of our money is invested in relatively safe things like large index ETFs. Only about 1/3 is even in a trading account.

I further limit risk by only trading ETFs and the shares of medium to large companies with a market capitalization over $8.5 billion.

I get ideas from news media and I run my own screens on my brokerage site.

I look at the opinions of analysts and only screen for “strong buys” or for “buys” with high dividends.

I would rather buy on a day when the stock is down several percent, unless there is a compelling reason to jump in. My personal preference is much more value than growth (buying a soaring stock that you hope will keep rising). I rarely attempt short sells.

I look at the chart to see if the stock is closer to a low support price or to a high resistance price. I love it when I can buy a great company at a discount. I often notice when a stock I might want goes down for several days in a row.

If the stock checks all these boxes, I buy a standard dollar amount which is about 0.3 % of my portfolio.

I buy a few beaten down names in the hope that it is more likely to go up than go bankrupt. These are even smaller positions.

I sell when I realize I was wrong about a stock, when a stock makes a dramatic jump in a day, or when my position is too large a share of my portfolio. Sometimes I use an “OK” stock as a source of funds to buy something better.

Help yourself further by aiming to take tax losses (deductible from gains) at the end of the year and profits at the beginning of the year.