Well, today I took at step that I’ve wanted to for a very long time.  I signed up for an online stock trading account a week or so ago, funded the account, and today put in an order for a purchase tomorrow morning.  We both decided we would invest $500 each in something we wanted to follow, hoping to make a little money but not anything huge.  I mean, it would be great if mine would triple in 3 weeks, but we don’t want another Enron, now do we?

I was inspired by a professor who had us do a “fake” investment for class.  We were asked to invest $1,000 in three different REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) for the semester.  One I chose, based on my basic yet somewhat intelligent knowledge of the real estate industry, has gained $157 over 14 weeks on a $1,000 investment.  I may be wrong, but I took the plunge today, buying 20 shares.  We shall see how this turns out.

Some folks might think I’m nuts for doing it.  I don’t.  People all the time go to Vegas or casinos in our neighboring states and plop down thousands of dollars at the blackjack table or slot machines.  I see this as better than that.  I have more odds of winning something in the long run than they do, I think.

We keep our 403b accounts (a la the non-profit version of a 401k) pretty strong and have gained a lot of ground in the past 7 years.  Starting out with a little less than $2,000, I’ve grown mine substantially, as has Sweetie.  We want to play around with “real” stocks on our own a bit, just to see what we can make.  No margins for us, though.  I don’t want to lose anymore than I have it in!

So, with this, wish us luck.  We’ll keep you posted.