I started trading in the share market roughly 4 years ago. I...

I started trading in the share market roughly 4 years ago. I started with $10,000 and split it among 10 stocks. I was going to invest the money in a movie venture and I was prepared to loose it so I thought, if I was prepared to loose it, invest it in the stock market and reduce my risk by diversifying. I read a couple of books and picked stocks by their low P/E values in the top 300. Didn't have a clue what I was doing and my heart pounded as I made my first trade. As I picked stocks in a bull market, I thought it was so easy, and sold these safe stocks for more speculative ones.

As I got comfortable with the amount of money I was trading, I poored every cent that I had, tax return, bonuses from work and built up my trading from $1000 per trade till now $25,000 per trade.

I was trading like blind freddy, thought I it was so easy. I didn't have a strategy in place, or swung from strategy to strategy. I'd loose a little, I'd gain a little, I'd loose alot. In the meantime I went from fundamental analysis to technical analysis, I didn't know which way to trade. Each method I tried did not suit my personality or risk. I was going nowhere, new I had to find my own niche. And until I protected my capital I was not going to earn a re razoo.

Trading and investing is all about psychology it things arn't going well in your life your trading doesn't work and you can't be objective. Once you harness your mind, become disciplined and have a trading strategy, your profits will come.

Trading is a lonely journey that only you can master with time and gathering as much information as you can by reading many books on different strategies till you can develop your own strategy and educate yourself.

I started with buying a subscription to the Rivkin Report and the oilers magazine which have helped educate me and have given me a greater understanding of the world of investment.

Get a margin loan and invest it in some managed funds to start you off and to help increase your profits while your learning.

Go to the library and borrow books on share trading, I have found the following books most useful:

Come into my trading room - Dr Alexander Elder
Trading for a living - Dr Alexander Elder
Trading for a living - Dr Alexander Elder (CD - for the car)
Analysing Company Accounts - Martin Roth
Trading Secrets - Louise Bedford
Value Investing Made Easy - Janet Lowe
Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
Active Investing - Alan Hull
The Little Book of Value Investing - Christopher Browne
the Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffet & George Soros - Mark Tier

By reading about many different trading styles you will identify and develop your own trading plan.

I went from working full time to working part time to being a stay at home mum trading during the day, this has allowed me to be actively involved in my kids lives and volunteer at the local school. I have no stress in my life anymore and like you one day I hope to live fully off the proceeds of investing.

The best book I ever read was The Little Book of Value Investing - Christopher Browne, it has helped me focus, not to overtrade and only buy stocks that are undervalued and to wait and be patient. Don't panic and don't follow the herd mentality. Sites like hotcopper are dangerous and manipulative only use it to gain insight on a company and don't take any buy or sell recommendations. I have been very successful this year by being patient and waiting for the right stocks at the right price.

I hope that helps, as you get a lot of smart arses on the site, and you have to start somewhere and no one will help you.