COVERING THE BASICS

We all need the basics in life: food, clothing, housing, which translates into money. We can't do much without money. Limiting yourself to only one way of making money is limiting your talents and possibilities. Think out of the box for a moment and evaluate all of your abilities and strengths. Stand in your closet and look at the things you NEVER wear and take them to a resale shop. Even if you sell them for 10% of what you paid for them, that is money in your pocket that is just sitting in your closet collecting dust! Have a garage sale-clean out your closets-make some money.

What are your talents? Can you teach someone to read? What if you put up a flyer in your neighborhood or free web advertising for your services? These are basics that everyone needs. Start thinking out of the box and you might be surprised at ways you can generate extra income.

We have to think about our future and it is really easy to start a small stock trading account online. If you could make $500 a week on a $2000 investment, that would equate to $24,000 extra in your pocket every year. This is SO achievable. Trading options is a cheap way to get into the market a little at a time, and start building that account up to financial freedom. If you understand basic math, you can understand the stock market. It's not that scary. Just the basics.

LIVING UP TO YOUR POTENTIAL

Have you ever felt like there were so many things you wanted to do or try, but you just don't know how to start??JUST DO IT!! Nike coined the phrase that is so simple but true. The only thing that keeps you from doing those things is YOU. You can be your own worst enemy. It may be from lack of self confidence, lack of time, lack of money. Whatever your excuses may be, they are just excuses. Where there is a will, there is a way. Every time I have started on a new venture, it has always seemed impossible in some way, but I love the challenge. There is someone great inside all of us. We were created for greatness. Rarely do we tap in to even a fraction of what we could accomplish if we believed in ourselves. Take a good, long look at that person in the mirror and challenge yourself. Pick the scariest thing that you would like to do, and set a timeline for accomplishing it. Make yourself accountable to someone that will help you reach your goal. You may surprise yourself. You were born to do great things. JUST DO IT!

DO YOU HAVE A DREAM??

Have you ever thought you had a great idea or recognized a need that sparked an idea? Well, that is what happened to me about four years ago. I was noticing that there was not much great shopping in the area where I live, and everyone always went to Dallas or Los Angeles or Las Vegas to shop for the designer brands that we love. It made me start thinking about how cool it would be to open a boutique that carried all of the lines that were so popular and hard to find in Oklahoma. So after much research, I began to walk out the reality of the dream. I am not going to say it was easy, but it has been challenging and rewarding at the same time. In a short time, Isabella has become the #2 boutique in the greater Oklahoma City/Edmond area as voted on by the general public, according to the Gazette. Isabella is about to launch our online shopping website, and expect the next level of the dream to become reality. Don't be afraid to try new things. If you have a dream, it can come true.

DO PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE CRAZY??

Have you every had a crazy idea of how to make money? Have you ever been afraid to try something new? Do people discourage you from chasing your dreams?

I have always been a risk taker and a dream chaser. That is what makes life exciting and adventurous. I have owned a deli, recorded a cd in Nashville, sang in front of 15,000 people, currently own a high end boutique, and trade stock. How's that for crazy!! I have loved every minute of every new idea I have had, and always dive in head first with no fear. I am an entrepreneur at heart, and I don't apologize for it. I follow my dreams and never let people tell me I can't do something. If you desire something, don't be afraid to go for it. The main thing to remember is nothing comes easy. It takes commitment, drive and a lot of hard work, but you can do anything if you want it bad enough. People give up too easily and never fulfill their purpose or dreams for fear of failure. I am not afraid to fail. I just get back up and try again. When starting my boutique, I knew what I wanted and I didn't care who my competition was. I was focused and made the store a hit by being on the cutting edge and knowing what people wanted--make women feel beautiful, develop relationship, and genuinely care about helping someone look their best. Don't ever give up. Who cares if people think you're crazy??

FAST MONEY

This trade is not for the faint of heart!! In today's market, there is much volatility and when you look at charts, sometimes you feel like you are on a roller coaster. But, why not enjoy that roller coaster and take advantage of the thrill--
If you are able to watch charts, it is very easy to slip into a trade at the right moment, grab a few bucks and then get out, sometimes within a few minutes. The key is to time your entries and exits. Watch for a breakout of a pattern, up or down, and catch the momentum of the breakout. Then, when the stock slows down, or starts to retrace, get out of the trade. You could be finished for the day. Why not?? Happy Trading!!

A SUCCESSFUL ROUTINE

Establishing a successful routine for trading is crucial. Here are some ideas for a weekly and daily routine for successful trading.

1. CHECK MARKET UPDATES
*Check economic calendar events
*Check schedule of earnings reports
*Don't trade a stock into earnings

2. EVALUATE THE MAJOR INDICES
*S&P, Nasdaq, Dow

3. EVALUATE TOP 10 STOCKS
*Look at charts on your top 10 pick list
*Compare these charts with the S&P chart
*Trade stocks that are following the trend of the market

MANAGING A TRENDING TRADE

When you are in a trend trade, it is important to protect the money you have made on that trade. One of your daily routines should be to reevaluate where your stock is based on technical analysis, and adjust your stops accordingly. What this means is, if the stock is trending up, you want to move your stops up as the stock moves up. You may want to put it 50c to $1.00 below where the stock is, depending on how volatile the stock is. If the stock is trending down, you would do just the opposite. You may be using a 10 day or 20 day moving average. Be aware of where those moving averages are.

STOCK TRADING STRATEGIES

I am going to discuss 3 strategies for individual stock trading that have proven to be profitable for me. First, let me say that I am NOT a professional broker and I am not telling anyone to buy or sell any specific stocks. I have been studying the market for about two years and I like to read charts.

1. Be aware of trending stocks-that is a stock that is trending consistently for at least 10-14 days in the same direction, either up or down. If the stock has proven fundamentals, and is in an upward trend, you can safely consider buying call options 2-3 months out and making money. Same goes for the downside, if it is trending consistently down, you can buy put options 2-3 months out and make money.

2. A guideline for understanding the trending stock is to understand moving averages. The 10-day moving average is a really good indicator when you are looking at a chart. If the stock is staying right above that indicator, it is in a good, steady upward trend. However, if it is staying consistently under the indicator, it is confirmation that it is in a strong downward trend.

3. Another criteria for confirming a trend is volume and cashflow. If the volume of an uptrend is high on the days the stock moves up, it is a strong indicator along with large amounts of cash flowing into that stock, that there is a strong trend. Same goes for the downtrend, if the volume is high on days the stock moves down and cash flowing out of the stock, it is a strong downtrend. The pullbacks on either side, up or down, should be light volume.

These are just a few tips on beginning to understand trends of a stock. On a sidenote, stocks will typically trend in the direction of the market as a whole.