You don't have to go broke or in debt to learn to trade. With just a little effort you can get a great handle on investing in the markets and what it entails. Don't get suckered. There will be a lot of people out there trying to take your money with stock picking services and Guru promises. Their not all bad, but you should be very careful and research thoroughly. Make sure it comes with a money back guaranty in case you find out it's not all it promised to be.

Things to watch out for are big promises like "easy" money, lot's of money, promises of big consistent percentage wins, "can't lose" and, well, you get the picture.

Another trick to watch for is money back guaranty. Sometimes you'll get your money back only if you follow their system exactly. Exactly sometimes means buying lots and lots of stocks costing thousands of dollars where of course your going to have some winners. But we can't always afford to buy that much at one time. If you lose and ask for your money back, the response often is "did you follow my system exactly? Did you buy 100 shares each of the 8 stocks in the last report.

Truth is if your just getting started there may not be a whole lot of money in the account. Sometimes it's just not practical, or simply not affordable to follow the systems peddled out there to a "T".

It's better to spend that time and energy learning to do it yourself. You'll succeed and have the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself.

Alexander Elder, one of the premier traders of our time and author of "Trading For a Living", said it best when he compared following Gurus to the classic book on Market Manias, "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" by Charles Mackay.

Keep in mind also that there are a lot, really quite a few, of good people, teachers, and masters out there that really care and can give you good training and insights into the markets. The trick is sorting it all out and finding them. Eventually you'll want to find a professional charting and/or research service. Most of these offer some sort of education. I have been through lots of them and landed on Market Club, a division of INO.inc. There are literally hundreds to choose from. All offer different services. You'll just have to sort through them until you find the best fit.

My advice is to get started browsing, find out the basics, look for as much free or inexpensive content that you can find. Once you get a feel for the industry, then, and only then, should you start figuring out what direction you want to go and can start searching for a "mentor". Not a come and go guru, but a real mentor that has your best interest at heart. Someone that can show you the ins and outs of trading and make you profitable.