This holiday season, I decided to mess around with the stock market a bit, see if I could make a little extra cash. Now, I’ve heard people talk about this “Santa Claus Rally” and some “January Effect,” so I figured, why not give it a shot? It’s like, everyone’s buying gifts and stuff, so some companies gotta be making bank, right?
First, I did a little digging around, reading some stuff online about how the stock market acts during the holidays. There’s a bunch of articles about that kind of things. They are saying that generally, stocks go up at the end of the year and into January. Cool, cool. I also saw that retail and delivery companies do pretty well, which makes sense, considering all the online shopping and packages flying around.
So, I started by picking out a few companies in those areas. I’m no stock expert, but I went with some big names that everyone knows. You know, the ones you see all over the place. I figured they’d be a relatively safe bet. I also made a note to myself: buy early, sell when it’s high. Sounds easy enough, although figuring out the “high” part is kinda tricky.
I threw some money into those stocks, not a ton, just what I was comfortable losing. It’s like gambling, you gotta be prepared to lose, right? Then came the waiting game. I kept an eye on the stock prices, checking them way more often than I probably should have. It’s kinda addictive, watching those numbers go up and down.
After a few weeks, I noticed some of my stocks were actually doing pretty well. Not like, “retire tomorrow” well, but enough to make me feel like I was doing something right. One day, I saw one of them had a nice little jump, so I thought, “Alright, time to cash out.” I sold those shares, and bam, made a little profit. It felt pretty good, I gotta say.
I did the same with a couple of other stocks, selling them when I thought they were high. Some I didn’t make as much on, and one I might’ve even lost a little, but overall, I ended up with more money than I started with. Not bad for a holiday experiment, right?
Learnings
- Timing is tough: Figuring out the best time to buy and sell is the hardest part. You never really know when the peak is until it’s already passed.
- It’s a bit of a gamble: Even when you think you know what you’re doing, the market can be unpredictable.
- Small wins are still wins: I didn’t get rich, but I made some money, and that’s a win in my book.
- It’s a bit addictive: It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of watching your stocks, I know that for sure.
- Do your research: The small amount I did really helped me understand some of the things I needed to consider.
All in all, it was a fun little project. I wouldn’t say I’m ready to be a full-time stock trader or anything, but it was cool to see how some of those holiday market trends actually play out in real life. Maybe I’ll try it again next year, who knows?
