This article is a guest post by Heather Johnson.
The stock market can be thoroughly intimidating, especially to those who have little experience buying and selling stocks. Investing is an even more daunting enterprise to those who have had a small taste of beginner’s experience, which more often than not ends badly. But never fear, there are plenty of people out there who have faced similar obstacles and have overcome them. Better yet, some of these every day fiscal heroes are looking to share their stories and have the minimum technical aptitude required to put their tales on the web. Although many of these bloggers haven’t yet achieved their ultimate goals, they are all successful in that they’ve taken that vital first step: they have changed the way that they think about money. Learn from these brave souls, take heart in their success, follow their lead by conquering the market in a unique way, and write your own story—maybe you’ll make a future edition of this list.
As everyone knows, those who play the stock market have their highs and their lows. Many of these who are presented below used to reside very near the bottom. No one can tell you how to get out of a hole like someone who has spent some time in one. So without further ado, here are ten stories of unlikely turnarounds and hard-earned prosperity.
1. The Dough Roller: The Dough Roller graduated college over $55,000 in debt because he had no control over his spending habits. Since that time, he has devoted himself to learning about investing in residential real estate and the stock market. He has done the research, made some sound fiscal choices, and is well on his way to being financially solvent.
2. Trader’s Narrative: Babak can help you learn about the financial markets because he was once as ignorant as anyone about such matters. He knows his stuff at this point and is generous with the expertise that he has painstakingly gained.
3. Index Fund Fan: Index Fund Fan learned a great deal (and learned it the hard way) when he got badly burned when the tech bubble burst around the turn of the millennium. He’s learned his lesson and is happy to teach you how to avoid similar suffering.
4. Mac’s Money Blog: Robert McIntosh is an investor in individual stocks, commodities and mutual funds. He has lived at both ends of the financial spectrum and wants to share how he arrived at each extreme.
5. Trader-X: Trader-X has developed an unbelievable 80% win rate with his market strategy, but this success is hard earned. He is more than willing to admit that he was nearly wiped out a couple of times on bad option and penny stock trades in his early days and he wants you to learn from these experiences.
6. Changing My Direction: Formerly an engineer by training and trade, the writer behind Changing My Direction is turning his life around by making smart investments. His success has allowed him to write full time, travel the world, eat fine food, and generally enjoy his life.
7. The Deprived Investor: The Deprived Investor and his wife started out their marriage on the wrong foot, putting their honeymoon on the credit card and quickly piling up some serious debt. They were able to pay it off in equity and have forever changed the way that they think about money and investing.
8. The Microcap Speculator: Early on in his investing career, a crooked broker played The Microcap Speculator for a fool and pushed some stock on him. He took the bait, invested a bundle, and lost almost all of it. He has learned how to control his risk, has made a comeback, and is happy to tell you how he did it.
9. Money Smart Life: The dot com bubble burst for Ben from Money Smart Life, just as it did for many others, and he lost his shirt on tech stocks. He has learned the value of diversification and proudly preaches its merits.
10. Growth in Value: The voice behind Growth in Value has been in the stock trading game for some time, getting his start at the age of 14. He was a bit of a savant and had early success, but suffered through some lean times caused by poor investments in tech stocks and Asian markets. Now he’s a solid value investor who has learned from this wealth of early experience.
By-line:
Heather Johnson is a freelance business, finance and credit writer, as well as a regular contributor for BusinessCreditCards.com site for comparing small business credit cards. She welcomes questions, comments, and freelancing job inquiries at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com
