DOW 16,000 CAPS OFF A GREAT YEAR IN THE STOCK MARKET

The Dow has had a record breaking year and is higher than ever before at 16,000. Anyone, who has a 401K or any money in stocks is surely VERY happy right now.

Too Many People Have Nothing To Invest

The problem is that so many people in America are in debt and have zero savings to invest. All those folks haven't made a dime in the market and whether the market goes up or down has no interest to them. Its a real shame and a real problem.

The stock market has, in recent years, gotten the bad rap that it is only for the rich. Nothing could be further from the truth as it is for everyone who has money to invest. But unemployment is high, debt is higher, and people across the country are struggling just to put food on the table. Many people obviously have nothing to put in the stock market and to them, anyone who has any savings at all may seem to be "rich".

Politics aside, the United States is in big trouble. Some 40+ percent don't even make enough to pay any income taxes. That is NOT a good thing. Earning your own money and making enough to save and invest empowers people to pull away from government dependency. Who wants to be dependent on the government for things if you can provide for yourself and make your own decisions?

Start Saving And Get Started Buying Stocks

Saving and investing should start when you are young, preferably when you are in your 20's. Start saving BEFORE you get married and have kids. Get into the habit of saving at least 10% of every paycheck and cut back on things you don't need if that is the only way to do it. Then put some of that money in the stock market. You don't have to put all your savings into stocks but the important thing is to get started. Put something in and get your feet wet. Just getting started is the hardest part.

Once you open your first online discount broker account and buy a stock or two, you will become more familiar and comfortable with the process. All the fear will evaporate and you will learn as the years go by. Most importantly, the next time the market reaches a new milestone high, you will have had money in stocks and have profited along the way.

THE HERD MENTALITY OF APPLE INVESTORS

Apple stock is one of the craziest stocks I have ever seen. First of all, no other stock gets near as much daily coverage as Apple does: you can read dozens of opinions each and every day about almost any aspect of the company and their business. The amount of news that is pumped out daily about this company is astounding and unmatched. (So, I might as well add to it.)

Because of this wide coverage from every conceivable news source, there is never a shortage of opinions about Apple's products or the stock. It seems you can often find a generous supply of recommendations on both sides fervently detailing why investors should buy or sell the stock. Because of the high quantity of articles published, it is sometimes hard to tell the qualified professional opinions from those that come from less qualified sources.

For much of 2012, Apple stock went up and up fast. Probable too fast. But once the stock hit it's high of $700 a share in late 2012, something happened. It was like a dam that suddenly spouted a small hole where water could come through. Over the following weeks and months, that hole became bigger and bigger as the stock continued to sell off. Finally, the hole broke open and water gushed out. Apple stock plummeted to under $400 a share which was really quite a shocking pullback from the $700 level.

Most of this year while Apple was selling off, the negativity from analysts, pundits, writers, and who ever else wanted to throw their hat into the ring was relentless. Relentless in their bashing, the media ran over the stock and pushed it down. It really was a group effort and quite like that of a herd of wild buffalo running over the stock.

Any investor who wanted to find a reason to buy Apple stock during those months had to look far and wide to find anyone who was saying positive things about Apple. The collective mindset was that Apple had no more tricks up their sleeve and they would die a slow death - stay away from the stock. Everyone was saying the same thing. I really mean almost everyone because I own Apple stock and it was hard to take all the negativity and hold on.

In July 2013 something changed again. A positive write up here, an encouraging news story over there, and a another upgrade or recommendation from someone else. Little by little, the herd began changing direction. Where it once was hard to find something positive to read about Apple, your chance of finding optimism was getting better every day. Oh, there were still the bashers but slowly they were (and still are) being overwhelmed.

Apple stock now is going back up and it is doing this with a steady influx of buyers. Even on days you think the stock might go down big (like the October event were no new product was introduced), the stock only shows smallish losses. The herd has turned, there is no doubt about it.