In part three of this four part series we will be discussing the next four principles of stock market investment. Previously, we discussed about the first three principles of investment. Number one principle is that the stock market is just another vehicle of investment. Secondly, you must realize that investing in the stock market is a like roller coaster ride. The third principle involved answering the question on what type of investor you are. If you wish to view the entire article in its entirety, visit my blog.

4.) You must realize that investing in the stock market does not take a lot of money but if you really want to make an impact on your portfolio you have to place in a substantial amount. - You don't need millions or hundreds of thousands of pesos to invest in the Philippine Stock market. You only need at least P 20,000.00 to somehow play it out. I started out with only this amount. In fact you can invest if you only have P 10,000.00 but for me that is too small an amount. For example Jollibee (JFC) shares cost only 51.50 per share as of today. The board lot (which is the minimum amount of stocks that you could invest in) is 100. 51.50 x 100 = P 5,150.00. This is the only amount you need to be a stock holder of Jollibee. Let's say in 1 year time Jollibee stocks climbed to P 100.00 per share, you have gained P 5,000.00 more. But if you had invested 200 shares you could have gained more than just investing in 100 shares.

5.) Be consistent in your investment - Start small but do not stay small. You must have the discipline to consistently invest a certain amount of your income to the stock market. This way you can have more capital thereby growing your portfolio. Over the years, I have slowly added to my investment. I did not stay at P 20,000.00. The act of investing should become your habit, and I say it is a good habit to develop.

6.) Minimize your losses, Maximize your profits - The loss is only on paper if your stock goes down. The actual loss occurs when you sell your stock at the "losing" price. The best thing to do therefore is to never ever sell at a loss. This is the reason why it is very important that the money that you invest in the stock market is considered as surplus money, not your emergency fund. If you invest your savings or emergency fund, you will be forced to withdraw sell your stock at a loss if you deperately need the money. To maximize your profit you must utilize profits you gained from the sales of stocks and the dividends you recieve to buy more shares of stocks.

7.) Want to get rich quick ? Don't even think about investing in the stock market. - The stock market is not a get rich quick scheme. You should never ever expect to get rich overnight here. Investments always takes time to grow. If you hear about investments that give you shocking rates of return in a very short length of time, beware of those ! In the stock market, especially the Philippine stock market, it may take you several months or even years before you could say that you have made it big time. On certain rare occasions, there will be a time that it will only take weeks or days perhaps wherein you can make a killing, but again these are only rare occasions. This might occur when there is a consistent bull run or when there is an unusual going up or going down of prices within a certain period.