"Gambling" with stocks is expensive and should only be done with money marked for entertainment.
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First, you need to go to a brokerage house, such as Scottrade or TD Ameritrade. They will have you fill out some papers and then you write them a check to deposit into your new account.
After that you can deposit more money by mail or transfer funds directly online from your bank.
Then you can ask the broker to buy shares of stock in your chosen company. You can do this at the time you set up your account or wait until you get home. When you are ready to buy, you can phone the broker or, most commonly, buy or sell shares directly on their web site.
The shares that you buy are kept on file at the brokerage. Many companies no longer issue certificates for shares but keep track electronically.
When or if your company issues a dividend, it goes directly to your account.
You can get more information at their websites.
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First, avoid gambling! If you buy stock hoping that you can sell it for a quick profit because of the weekly or monthly swings in price, then you are not investing. You are trying to guess better than the public (including the professionals) how the price will change.
Choose a company that has steady earnings each year instead of losses. If your company has very little long term debt, it will likely not get into financial trouble.
Buy these sturdy stocks and hold on to them. When you hold these stocks over a period of time, the prices will go up for a real reason; the companies are earning money every year and becoming more valuable. This is not gambling; you are owner of a business and it takes time for that business to earn money.
If you save a portion of your income each payday and as it accumulates invest in stocks, over the course of several years you can grow very wealthy indeed. It is like hiring someone to get a job and earn money for you, and then using that money to hire more workers. Your money grows exponentially.
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You can open your account online and fund it electronically with a $$ transfer. It will only take 10-15 minutes. You will also need the mailing address of your employer.
As an amateur photographer and avid GoPro user, I have been following the company's every move because I believe they are going to fair really well after their IPO. I have never bought stock before, but I'm prepared to gamble $2500 or so because I believe they will dominate the market.
My questions are: 1) How can I, as a first time first time investor quickly and easily invest in a stock?
And 2) Is it stupid to buy shares immediately after an IPO?
