for this year, I would like to be more consistent in reading up on investment profiles and trading options. my goal is to be diligent in reading up on the daily news of at least 1 stock once a day. hopefully by end January 2022 I would.have read up on at least 4 stocks.
#Set Your Goal, Let It Roll!

short term trading, while fraught with dangers, is useful in helping to raise capital and allow for trading of other shares. not everyone has the capital to trade in large amount of shares from the start, and may require some fund raising through short term trading to allow for that to happen.
I started short term trading also to achieve some short term goals

I spend it doing things I like. we trade for better lives, but we also need to live our lives. invest in things outside of stocks. invest in family, relationships, friendships, hobbies, health, exercise. sure, read up on investing too, but don't forget to read up on things you enjoy too

I'm terrible at this lol

my first encounter was when I kept seeing the ads on the mrt. the multiple images of the cows and the word moomoo made me curious about what this product is about, what does it sell and is it legitimate? and of all things, why a cow?! haha! so I googled and found that it's an investment platform.

when people look to invest, the main goal is to earn profit. no one wants to invest in a company which is experiencing losses. the simplest way to understand what the company's profit/loss is would be to look at its financial report, ie. the earnings. when earnings is bullish, the stocks generally rise in price. when earnings are bearish, the stocks typically dip in price. however, not all stocks follow this rule. there are some stocks which historically did not rise when the earnings of the company rose. in these cases, it is likely because of the consumer's and market's attitude towards the stock. perhaps they feel that the stock is not worth its market value (overvalued). it goes to show that one should know your stock before purchasing. know which is speculative which is fundamental.

‘Beginners luck’ is often a phrase that is used with many chancy events. It does exist, because it is founded on a simple principle of information. Actually, lack of information.
A beginner has very less information when he comes to the market. All he knows is that stocks have to be bought and sold and there is some profits to be made. He buys (hardly any newbie ever short sells) the stock that someone tells him. He buys it when he is told to buy it and he holds it for a while and sees some profits and sells it.
But this is very dangerous. Confirmation bias can set in a cause a large amount of loss as compared to rational thinking and good decisions made based on information that we know.
I had little beginner's luck when I started trading but I feel the biggest lesson learnt is to know your stock.

I decide to buy when I believe in the stock. it's important to understand the workings of the company and what they dabble in. if I believe in their technology, I will buy their stock as an investment and support for their dealings.
as for selling, it depends on what I want to achieve. there are some stocks which I buy for profit taking, hence I typically sell when I feel I have made some profit. it is never wrong to take profit at any point in time. the most important thing is not to fear missing out, and not to sell when there is a dip. long term studies have shown that in general, long term investors do profit. hence invest what you can afford to lose.

I choose stocks based on my understanding and belief of the company and its products. to me, it's important to understand what is the selling point of the company, what they do and what is their goal. by understanding their product, only then can we know what we are buying into and investing in. ultimately, investing in a company means supporting their product and research that goes into developing their product. I find it unwise to blindly follow the general market without understanding what the company does.
reading news related to the company is also very important, as this will determine demand and supply in the market. read widely, read about the leaders of the company and their beliefs. read about their product and what it does. read about countries' reactions to the company's product and any long-term plans.

must invest what you can afford to lose. taking on debt to invest may pay off but often is more risky than we realise. you may incur more debt and fall into a pit hole