I invest in the market, have been for nearly a decade with a consistent 30-50% return rate per year. Maintained that even during the tech "bubble" bursting. I follow what I call the "Warren Buffett" method.
Basically, Warren Buffett made a shitload of money buying really good companies when they were flying under the radar with a really low share price. So, I try to do the same thing. I use the stock searching tool here:
http://prosearch.businessweek.com/bu...?mode=advanced
I look for stocks with a really low P/E ratio, good cash flow, good EPS, and a good return on sales. The last three show that the company is doing well, has a decent amount of capital, and is making a return on its investments. The P/E ratio, if low, means the stock is underpriced relatively speaking. Out of the list that search brings up, I select stocks that I've actually heard of, so that I know they have a good brand name and "recognizability." This assures me that, if this really is a good company, other people are going to realize its value and buy it.
Now, after I've narrowed my list down with the steps above, I look at the charts for the stocks with which I'm left. This is called technical analysis, and it lets me know whether I should buy, or wait for the price to retrace a bit to buy. If you do anything, read up on technical analysis. I do this on a quarterly basis.
Keep in mind that there is a huge difference between trading and investing. It's much easier to predict what will happen in the next year, than it is to predict the next two hours.
P.S. Using this method I bought ET, FIA, TRU, and GT at the beginning of this year. I sold GT after losing 10% on it. I'm up 30% on the first three. Last September I bought HAL, SID, HSVLY, INTC, and GGB. Made 100% on HSVLY and about 45% overall for the entire quarter.
