This blog is a little more special for me.
Because this tells the very first purchase I had in the stock market.
Yes, that was the time when I was just a little kid wandering in a wide vast field.
Just like starting anew in anything, my clueless personality made all the moves for me.
All I had to hold on was my mustard dream of financial freedom and the belief that stock investing can be a path for that dream. I managed to cut the chase, and applied for an account.
Philstocks was my first online broker, precisely because they required only 5000 initial deposit to actually start trading. (But now I discovered that you can start opening your trading account just by opening a bank account, like in the case of brokers BPI Trade and FirstMetroSec).
Minimum investment required was 5000, but I put down 10k just to put a front that I have more than that. The lady in charge gracefully accepted it after examining my forms, then handed me a receipt, which was also the highest-valued receipt I received ever since.
With my humble 10k initial investment, I was too excited to buy a company share and brand myself a part-owner of a giant company. Hard-core traders would laugh on me for that, but I was already more than happy just giving it a try.
The moment I received my account details, I made my first order.
And my first stock purchase: 2000 shares of Megaworld Corporation (stock symbol MEG) at 1.87 per share. Wheee!
I actually got the hint of buying MEG from a professor who’s teaching in our board exam review. He was also one of those angels sent down from heaven who introduced stock investing to me. Recollecting, when the class becomes bored with chemical principles and unit operations stuff, he would start cracking some jokes, and then afterwards would invite us to try investing. He advised us to experiment with MEG. His jokes served its purpose, (he’s actually the first to laugh out even before delivering the punchline!), but I got more curious and gravitated to his stocks stories.
I knew very little back then, I was not even aware that MEG is a real estate developer company. Haha. Whenever I heard of that, Sharon Cuneta entered my mind, you know, the local MEGastar. Booboo!
But who cares? When I posted it online, my computer screen didn’t ask me anyway!
And when it got matched, my heart jumped with joy. I went back to work, but I smilingly secretly applauded myself. Deep inside I was telling myself “romer, you hardy spend 500 pesos for a purchase, and here you are spending 3.7k for something you can’t even touch!” Whaha!
That was August 31 2010, a different Tuesday.
Two days after, I checked my account online, and BANG! I saw little profits sneaking out!
Just a few hundred bucks actually, but what really amazed me was the idea of earning without working. I imagined and contemplated - “so this is it!” I was starting to count the chickens.
Too excited for my first ever profit, I posted a sell off-hour (after trading hours) order at 2.05 per share that afternoon, and was hit the next morning.
I did the math, ‘twas more than 200 pesos gain just for three days. Hmm, not bad. I don’t think I can spot the same by whole-day roaming along the busy streets of Metro Manila.
Fast-forward, after less than a year, now I’m still learning, and… earning.
Of course I am also seeing losses in my portfolio. And it breaks my pocket heart seeing red marks in it. But as with any strong-spirited baby would reason out, those are only paper losses to be realized only if I actually sell. My money there need not be taken out soon so I’ll just keep it that way while I’m still figuring out the next right thing to do. By doing so, I’m also aware that I waste other opportunities present out there which could make my money work more productively.
To add, I haven’t tried yet selling at a loss. I still have to muster that courage to admit that I also make mistakes in my decisions, quite difficult for new investors like me.
Such a long way to go!
But surely with each new experience every trading day, time will come when my ego would not be that costly anymore. In the meantime, I’ll just let my money be carried away by the constant market waves, and catch the fishes it brings back from time to time.
PS: For beginners, download your free copy of Bo Sanchez' My Maid Invests in the Stock Market... And Why You Should Too [PDF]. Click here to download!
Have fun investing (starting small!)
Omeng \_(",)/
If you're just starting to invest, download this FREE practical ebook to guide you in every step of the way - Investing in Philippines Stock Market for Beginners!
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