Some investors choose to quit their jobs and operate as professional day traders. If this is your first time day trading, though, plan for it to supplement your already-existing income.

Or, if you’re working with a broker and invest less than the minimum amount, your broker may be blocked from making your trades by the stock companies. If your investment amount dips below $25,000 USD, you’ll need to reinvest more money to reach the minimum investment amount.

You’ll need to give Computershare access to a credit card or bank account in order to complete transactions. Make your account and begin trading online at: https://www-us. computershare. com/Investor/#DirectStock/Index.

For example, trade Home Depot stock online at: http://ir. homedepot. com/shareholder-services/direct-stock-purchase-plan. Other companies that allow direct stock purchasing and selling include Coca Cola, Exxon Mobile, and Johnson & Johnson. [6] X Research source

Most companies will not let you invest less than a set minimum amount of money in their stocks and may also require a minimum investment-fee payment. Depending on the company you’re purchasing stock from, the minimum stock purchase amount can range anywhere from $25–2,500 USD. Investment fees vary based on whether you choose to make a one-time investment or recurring investments in a company’s stock. Once you sell a stock, your profits will be added back to your bank account or credit-card balance. Should you lose money, the amount you lost will be subtracted from your overall balance. Trading-cost information should be available to you either on the Computershare webpage for each individual company or on a company’s direct-trade webpage.

Research various companies before making a choice. For a good website for comparing brokers, check out: http://www. stockbrokers. com. A good brokerage in the U. S. is Interactive Brokers at https://www. interactivebrokers. com/en/home. php. A good brokerage if you’re trading abroad is Suretrader at ttps://www. suretrader. com/. Both of the above brokerages attract good reviews. Barron’s Magazine rated Interactive Brokers as the best online U. S. brokerage in 2018. [9] X Research source

The fee per trade should be considerably less than $10 USD, considering how many trades you’ll be making. If the fee is too high, find another broker. Look online to determine the minimum required account-deposit. For most reputable brokers, it’s between $500 and $5,000 USD. If you live outside of the U. S. or the U. K. , confirm that a brokerage will serve people from your country before you sign up.

To confirm that they have a low commission rate. Some brokers will charge you an arm and a leg. To ensure that they can make trades quickly. In the world of day trading, a delay of half an hour—or even 15 minutes—can lose you a lot of money. To make sure that the firm will offer you helpful trading resources, charting tools, and other helpful research tools.

For example, if you decide to use Charles Schwab & Co. as your brokerage firm, create an account at https://www. schwab. com/public/schwab/active_trader.

So, for example, if you have a total of $30,000 USD that you’ve set aside for training, only invest $300–$600 on any individual trade.

Most markets are volatile in the first 2–3 hours during which they’re open, settle down during the middle of the day, and become more unpredictable as closing time nears.

While stock-trading strategies can get very complex—and risky—it’s best for beginners to stick with relatively simple, tried-and-true methods to turn a profit. Experimenting with a number of different day-trading strategies will allow you to capitalize on trends you see among different stocks and markets.

When 1 or more of the stocks in which you invested rise by 20–30% (not uncommon for stocks with a significant daily increase), sell the stocks at the high point.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum Commodities like oil, food, natural gas, and minerals The future prices of these commodities (known as “futures”) Forex: the foreign exchange currency market

Before you start day trading, watch the markets you’re planning to invest in, and note how the markets respond to news events, political changes, and international news. For example, the stocks market may tend to do poorly when an international market suffers, while the forex market may improve.

Also try reading stock analyses in business papers or websites to read analyses of why stocks perform in a certain way. This strategy applies in all markets, not just the stock market. Pick 1–2 specific cryptocurrencies or commodities and track them over a week to give yourself an idea of how they perform over a longer period of time.

Good mentors are often millionaire traders themselves, which means that they’re exactly who you want teaching you. Learn from the mistakes that your mentor has made throughout their trading career, and you’ll be less likely to make those same mistakes yourself.

Remember your mistakes and use what you learn to make better trades in the future. You can even write down any mistakes in order to avoid making them again.