Re:
My experiences...
I haven't grown it enough to STOP working, and I probably wouldn't stop anyways. I'd always to grow my wealth. I have made enough to pay haphazard bills, like a recent car accident (about $600) that won't dent me financially...
You buy about 10 stocks. I personally only buy about 5. Back months ago, I'd bought TIE when it was on a dramatic run-up through a program I use, and it tripled my money in a few months. Other purchases I made did well, too, but not as well as TIE. Recently TIE fell off, and I'd sold before that anyway. I used the profits to buy other companies like TIE, although the market's general direction, inspite of the value of companies is consolidating at the moment.
Important FACTOR One: Go With the TIDE
In general, don't go against the market. You don't buy looking for profit now on stock that might, fundamentally be great, yet see it waiver around. Go with the TIDE. The Tide of the market is consolidating, meaning confusing. Stocks will go up, then go down. Those who see a company rise 10% better watch out, because they're like to go down, UNLESS the whole market is going that way. APPLE (IPOD) went up on strong earnings, but has stopped. A company like APPLE is ok, but it won't move much until the market moves again, too. Even Livermore stressed noticing the flow. The hugely successful TURTLES of trend trading fame (not the book) would buy on long positions sometimes using a 200 day moving average. THAT is a long trend. Some buy 20 day moving averages. Know the direction of the market and invest accordingly.
Important FACTOR Two: Set Stop Limits
Set them up ahead of time. The turtles also set up stops, and would move them as they gained, and kept them tight initially. IBD advises 8%. Other's might say 13%, since most people set them at 10%. Each stock will be different. The TRUE RANGE is a test of variability of stock over a period of time that sets out how much a stock oscillates along a trend. If you choose a certain stock, find out how widely it has oscillated and pick a % for that. Initially you might set a 8-10% in case it pulls back immediately, but then you can set your own stop.
Important FACTOR Three: Know Your Type
Some guys can do day trading. Some like long-term investing. Other's like methodologies like IBD (CAN SLIM) or the Turtles & John Henry. All that matters it that you find your niche. I began with $500, using an expensive brokerage firm, made $1500, then transferred to Scottrade. I know all brokers are different, but unless you're day trading, I personally don't think slippage or daily fluctuations matter. You're looking for big profits (%), at least if you're going longer than a few months. Other's might squeeze profit from thousands of dollars, but by day trading, and just making a few thousand bucks. I don't know those guys, nor do I know any hugely successful investors.
This is perhaps the most important, and to drill it in, go read the MARKET WIZARD BOOKS. There, all sorts of investors thrived, but it took them time to find out what works to make them money. Likewise for me. I've used programs with indicators people couldn't interpret, yet saw something different and succeeded. I also went to school for FINANCE, so I have a background in what I do. The numbers come to me. What any guy posts here is ONLY WHAT WORKS FOR HIM. Fundamentally, you want to find a cheap broker, use a min. of $500, and buy a few stocks. $500 isn't likely to be enough, since you can't REALLY buy many shares, but as I said you can "get lucky". I'd bought TIE, just before it SPLIT, then SPLIT again, essentially going up like 1,000% in a short-time. That doesn't happen often. But I've bought other stocks which plod their way up, don't oscillate much and stay up. That's a nice position.
A-Unit