Solar Panel Savings

So, I've mentioned in the past that I intend to start saving for a solar array. Well, I've officially started the savings. But even more than that, I've taken some of my own advice and hunted for new opportunities to earn a bit of money. I'm putting my savings into the stock market.

I've always wanted to try stock trading, and I figured this would be a good time for it. The stock market is way down, but there have been hints that the economy may be starting to recover, and the market should as well. So I signed up for one of those stock trading websites.

Don't get me wrong; I haven't put anything in that I can't afford to lose, but it turns out that I may have some pretty good instincts as far as stocks go. I started out putting in a small amount and investing them in three stocks. All are companies that I know at least a moderate amount about because their products carry a big interest with either me or some of my friends. One is a company that I consider to be grossly undervalued, one is a company where I believe the value will increase this summer, and one is a little of each. I intend to pick out one or two more stocks when I put a bit more in later this month. Not to toot my own horn, but all three stocks I picked have increased by significant amounts since I bought them, and I believe they'll continue to increase.

In fact, I had even more fun with it this morning. After carefully observing the ups and downs of the market for the better part of a month, yesterday one of my stocks jumped over 15%. I was of the belief that while the stock will continue to increase in general, that particular jump wouldn't last. So I sold the stock yesterday just before the market closed with the intent to buy it back this morning. This was a gamble, especially because I have little enough invested that trading fees are a significant concern for me when messing with stocks like this. But this morning, it paid off. The stock dropped 5%, and I bought it back along with one extra share. I even had few bucks left over after the trading fees were paid.

We'll see if my luck continues.

Disclaimer: none of this is intended as advice. If you trade stocks, you're on your own. Don't come whining to me if you aren't as awesome at it as I am.

Update: I haven't updated my trip to space savings bar in a while, and since it has actually increased due to the recent stock market behaviors, I'm updating it now! Also, I'll probably be updating these numbers more often, because I feel like it.

Trip to Space

Progress: 4.28%  Flight Time: 0:06:26

Solar Array

Progress: 2.6%  Power: 39W