Stock market investing is a great way to make money. Buy shares at a low price, and sell at a higher price. What could be easier? Sadly, its not always that easy. However, understanding the markets and the terms used by traders can help to give you an advantage. While I wont cover them all here, below you will find a couple of examples to help you get started trading.

Stock options include what is known as a covered call. Where you purchase a stock and then go back in with a covered call to ensure if the stock goes down you will not lose your money. Short sells involve buying a devalued stock because it is showing that it will increase in the next while to help increase your portfolio. A sell stop is a term for placing a stop on a stock you would like to acquire. This means you will not purchase the stock if it exceeds your set price before you can attain it.

Day trading - although it gets a lot of press, and appears to be an easy way of making money, sadly, its anything but that. Day trading involves a trader who scans the market, looking for opportunities to either go long, or short, with the expectation of remaining in the trade for no longer than the close of the trading day. This trading style is perfect for someone who has time during the day to spend the majority of the trading day scanning the markets, looking for that one trade they will make. A stock could be bought and sold within a matter of minutes. The risk of course is in taking a position, only to find that you get called away, and missing the sell signal. Its not surprising that the majority of day traders end up losing a lot of money. Those that do make money, usually do quite well for themselves.

Research is a key ingredient to any trader. While books are important to learning further about the market, trading is the best way to learn. There are companies out there that will teach you to trade if you shy away from having a stock broker take care of that for you. One business is Invest tools. This company has a website that allows you to trade with a portfolio to learn the basics of the stock market; they have online tutorials as well as phone tutorials that will help you learn about the market. These companies do exact a fee for the service, but it can be very helpful in learning more about the above terms as well as the many other terms associated with the stock market. These companies also give you a taste for trading without having to invest and lose many before you are really ready to take on the market. The website actually allows you to trade stocks with a fake portfolio so you can see what knowledge you are gaining.

Stock market investing is a great way of escaping the usual 9-5 grind. Whether you are looking to invest for retirement, or invest so you don't have to work anymore, if you can trade successfully, you will be able to attain your goals. Of course, it is not without risk. With a bit of knowledge and experience, you can improve your chances of making money in the stock market.