I know, I know, the last thing on your mind as a college student is putting your extra dollars into the stock market, but it could set you up for financial success before you graduate. Think about it this way, if you stopped buying a $6 coffee every day for two weeks, that would be about $84 you could put towards a stock, and that $84 could be $840 in a short amount of time. Not everyone can stop buying coffee or other things they find essential, but put things into perspective. Don’t deprive yourself, but instead ask, “Do I really need to buy that sweatshirt?” or, “Do I really need to order out for dinner, again?” If the answer is ‘no,’ then you could take that money and buy a few stocks, and you would benefit from it in the end.
The stock market can be very confusing, but there are many resources that help the process become clearer. Robinhood is an app I use to buy and trade stocks, and it is perfect for beginner investors. The app makes it easy to see how much each stock has gone up or down, how much you make on each stock every day, the history of each stock and news that comes out about a certain stock. When you sign up, you are given a free stock that you can keep and watch rise, or you can sell it and buy a different stock.
Stocktwits is an excellent app, used to follow and keep track of what is happening in the market. Stocktwits is like Twitter for stocks, you can watch the stocks you are interested in and keep up to date on new information as it is announced.
Stocks to watch:
1. GNUS
Genius Brands International Inc. is an entertainment network for children, and they have produced shows such as, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten in which the main character is voiced by Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as Llama Llama which is based on the award-winning book series by Anna Dewdney and can be found on Netflix or the Kartoon Channel. Shaquille O’Neal is a big investor in GNUS and will have a new cartoon coming out with the company in 2022, called Shaq’s Garage.
2. GEVO
Gevo is a company that uses a patented process commercializing gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel to achieve zero carbon emissions. Personally, all the money I have invested into the stock market has gone to Gevo. I invested in September when Gevo was $0.88 a share, and as of right now it is $2.43 a share.
3. FCEL
FuelCell Energy, Inc. services power plants that are running on natural gas and biogas. This stock is a little pricier, the current buy-in being $9.38 a share, but the future is bright for FCEL.
You could also benefit from buying stocks in airline and cruise line companies. Since no one can travel due to COVID-19, the stock prices are very low. Once the vaccine releases and people are able to travel again, the companies’ stocks will likely skyrocket.
In December, Airbnb, Doordash and Robinhood are expected to make their debut in the stock market. These new IPOs are definitely going to be ones to keep an eye on in the upcoming months.
Buying stocks as a college student may seem intimidating or may seem like something that is for adults and people who already have a lot of money, but in actuality, it is smarter to start investing now. It is important to note that when you begin investing, patience is key. It may take months or possibly years for your stock to rise, but being patient and keeping up to date on information about the market will aid in your stock market success. Multi-billionaire Warren Buffett said, “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient,” as well as, “I wish I learned this when I was younger.”