Far too many people, when they have a hushed discussion about the stock market, discuss it like it's dangerous, or it's something that you should stay away from. To a certain extent, this is understandable. A lot of people and their families did lose a lot (or everything) in the great stock market crash of the last century. Those were heady days (the days before the crash), a lot of people were avidly trading (buying and selling) and they had their favorite hot stocks to watch. If you knew the right people, you could even get free stock market quotes. A lot of ordinary people jumped into the stock market game with little or no stock investment research. So, when the market had a downturn, they panicked and millions sold as fast as they could; this triggered an unstoppable landslide of panic selling which destroyed the integrity of the stock market, and gelled the great crash. So, those memories are understandable, but hardly defendable today, where there are courses readily available, and where there are even better free stock market quotes available. In addition, there's also excellent computer software that can help watch stocks for you--your favorite hot stocks to watch--and then it will alert you when to buy or sell (you program your preferences). So, stock investment research isn't nearly as dangerous, or unpredictable, as it once was.
