I was curious on everyone's experience buying stock and how it has worked out for you. Because I am interested in buying some but I just lack the know how and what would be good/bad stocks to buy.
The reason why I'm interested is because I heard it's a good way to make money on the side and have the money work for you. Especially since I'll be gone the next few months and I would like my money to grow a little bit more besides what the army gives me.

If you’re going to be gone for a few months then consider some good index mutual funds to get started. Start reading and picking a few individual stocks to watch and then when you get back you can start dabbling in individual stocks. I made a lot of money and lost a lot of money in individual stocks and have found mutual funds and ETFs to be better in the long run because I don’t want to constantly manage individual stocks.

As a small investor you are much better off with a mutual fund that provides diversification and management of the individual stocks in the fund. Look for a well known fund with minimal fees. Especially in this inflationary economy and with even higher inflation on the horizon, getting out of cash and into something that will keep pace with inflation is an excellent idea. Some funds will be focused on growth and others on protection of the principle. Generally speaking, growth funds are for younger folks who can afford to take more risk because they have time to wait for the markets to rebound following down periods.

As the others have said, focus on mutual funds. Buying individual stocks is a great way to lose money until you have thoroughly educated yourself. ...and even then, there is more potential for losing compared to mutual funds.

You need to find a GOOD financial advisor. Like every other field there are real active good people and a lot of so so's and some dead beats. Ask around, just because they work for a good firm does not make them good. Ask your friends and people older than you who to ask for.......jk

Any suggestions to look for mutual funds? Because I am quite new to all of this. Because my family hasn't really done any of the stuff being discussed here.
If you could point me to some good companies to go through for mutual funds, that would be great.

Some of it depends on how much you want to invest.

If looking to invest a couple hundred to maybe $5000, there are plenty of investing sites that are easy to use.

If looking to invest 10's of thousands of dollars then you'll definitely want to have an advisor.

Never invest more than you're afraid to lose.

Being a member of the military, ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

Sign up for your 401k TSP plan through the military. Put innat least 5 % to get the matching fund and make sure you log in and set it up to all go to one of the life style fund based on the decade you will retire.

Every raise or promotion add a couple % that you contribute.

nvwrangler is right on if your in the military get in the thrift savings 5% earning right off the bat is great. If not Vanguard 500 index fund has made me over 8% since inception in 2000 and in the last 10 years over 16%. Dont get into individual stocks unless you totally understand what your doing. If not you are taking a real big risk, and your better off buying coon skins!~ If you want to figure out how much you can lose in a hurry pick some stocks put them down on paper with there worth today per share and watch them from day to day or check back in a year see how you did.

At your age you can take a lot more risk than someone twice your age.

If you are serious about this, an S&P 500 index fund or EFT is a good place to start. I would look at Vanguard or Fidelity groups or a broker like TD Ameritrade or Etrade.....there are several reputable avenues. Most will cost you nothing to trade. However, with mutual funds and ETF's there are annual management fees that never go away. That is one of my objections to them. Nevertheless, it's a good choice, especially if you don't have the time or the desire to learn about doing it yourself.

You do not need to hire an investment advisor. If you buy into a mutual fund, the annual fees you pay are for professional management. Of course if you buy an index fund there is hardly any management involved...........that's why their fees are so low.

Whatever you do, be consistent and make regular investments.

Be aware that at this moment the markets are extremely high and volatile. You can expect some major drawdowns over the course of your investing life.

I urge you to get involved whenever you are comfortable with the risk. It's the best way to get ahead or at least stay even in this life.

Do some reading. There are a couple easy reads on the career of Warren Buffett where a guy can at least get some ideas & concepts.

Also, try to have some fun. The more you learn, the more successful you will be.

The TSP program offered through the military is the governments version of a 401K, there are several different ( mutual )funds offered and even some life style funds that manage your funds based on estimated year of retirement. These are like mutual funds but with different degrees of risk. Management cost are low and you can spilt you contributions between different funds is you choose. The 5% I mentioned earlier is matching dollars if you contribute 5% of your pay then you will earn interest on the total amount ( 10% ) any where from 3% to 20% or more depending on your choices. Try to pay your self 10% (+ the matching 5%) of your earnings first and foremost every paycheck and you will be well on your way to being secure in retirement when you get there.

Buy your self a Christmas gift and order Dave Ramsey's book " Automatic Millionaire" you don't need to follow everything in it but it will give you some understanding on different financial principals. If you can add a percentage of your raises when you know your going to receive them before they show up in your check you will never miss the added dollars .

Work on maxing that TSP as soon as possible. I could only wish my place would've sat all the new hires down and drilled this into them their very first day on the job. Life happens and not everyone can reach the max but it should be a goal over a the span of a federal career. I've been there a few years and am happy with the results so far. When your annual TSP gains surpass your annual salary for 3 consecutive years, not counting your contributions, something must be right!

I have 45 years of sales and investment history in mutual funds and pensions. If you have a matching 401k option, max it first. Next use a no load fund inside a Roth account.

Use index fund instead of individual stocks. S&P 500 index, small cap index, mid cap index, bond index, and international index. These will have you covered.

When the markets are at/near all time highs all ways see “stock market” questions

Bumping this thread up because this is the time folks should actually be scaling into the market

Not YOLO/all in!!

Start small positions on companies that you know

I'm like you didn't know anything about stocks. I rolled my tsp over into an Etrade account with a good manager.when I retired. Told him to be conservative. I hear from him every month. So far over the last 5 years I've earned 6.5 % not great but not taking a lot of risk. I've been happy with them so far. They charge me 3/4 of a percent