RobinHood is an app that has grown in extreme popularity over the past few months due to the mainstream attention the stock market has been getting across the internet.
If you are currently deciding if you want to get into the market, you are going to have to find an app that can accommodate your needs.
This is where RobinHood comes into play. In this article, we will look at how to use RobinHood so you can start investing and potentially making money yourself.
Before we jump right into it however, there are a few things that we are going to look at.
What Is RobinHood?
You’ve probably heard of RobinHood because of the exposure it has been getting over the Internet along with Reddit but are unsure exactly what it is.
It is an app and website that allows you to trade, buy, and sell stocks on the Internet. The app is very easy to learn, use, and understand, making it a great choice for those who are new to investing.
Who Uses RobinHood?
RobinHood is used by millions of people around the United States with recent analytics showing 13 million accounts.
You can expect to find a wide variety of people using the app, from day traders to casual long term holders.
No matter what you are planning on doing with the stock market, you can expect to find similar like-minded people using the app for the same reason.
As mentioned above, the ease of use makes it great for quickly purchasing and selling stocks that you are interested in.
Once you learn how to use RobinHood, you are able to participate in the market like the other 13 million users and potentially make some extra money.
Why Do People Use RobinHood?
One major question you might be asking is why should you choose RobinHood as your platform to invest in?
We cannot stress enough that the ease of use is one of the largest selling points of the platform. The fact that it has a mobile app also makes it easy for you to make trades from wherever you are.
Finally, one of the best reasons for using RobinHood is that they give you one random free stock upon signing up with a referral code.
If you get lucky, you could end up with a stock such as Tesla which at the time of this article is currently trading for $650.
Even if you don’t get an expensive stock like Tesla, the fact that you are getting something for free is already a great incentive towards using the app.
Now that we’ve briefly discussed how the platform can benefit you, let’s look at a brief description about trading, buying, and selling stocks.
With any stock market platform, it is important to create a plan and understand how to execute it before registering and using the app.
The Types Of Traders And Where You Fit In
Before you even download the app, you should start formulating a plan on what you are going to do and how you are going to achieve it.
There are plenty of different types of traders out there and each have their own pros and cons. You don’t want to be jumping into this without a plan as you can stand to lose a lot of money.
Don’t let FOMO or the latest Reddit trends throw off your goals and lead you to making rash decisions. Here are some of the common types of traders that use RobinHood.
The Long Term Player
The long term holder is the most common type of investor who uses RobinHood. Simply put, they enter into the market at a certain date, not really too concerned about the entry price, and then plan on holding the stock for a several months or years.
They use the market to supplement their income and don’t spend too much time looking into things. If you make smart choices, you can expect your money to grow slowly over time with long term plays.
The Day Trader
The day trader looks to capitalize on buying low and selling high. Characteristically, they are completing several trades if not hundreds per day.
With day trading, not only do you have to beat the market, but you also have to beat the fees that are imposed by the app.
There is a potential for quick short-term profit with day trading, but you also can stand to lose a lot of money if you buy in at the wrong time.
The Options Trader
The final trader that you are going to see on RobinHood has the highest potential to make money, but also the highest risk of losing it all.
Optioning stocks allows you to work with equity that you do not have. If you have been following current news with GME, shorting a stock is one of the options available to you.
In just a few minutes you can make hundreds of dollars, but you can also lose it all.
Now that we’ve covered the three main types of traders, it’s now time to look specifically at a RobinHood tutorial and how you can use the app.
We will look at downloading the app, registering on it, connecting your account, and many more things.
By the end of this article, you should know how to use RobinHood and you should be able to make your first purchases into your portfolio.
How To Get Started With Robinhood
Downloading The App
This step is fairly straightforward; open up the app store on your Android or Apple device and search up RobinHood.
Once you have found it in the store, download it, install it, and then finally open the app.
Creating An Account
If you have a referral link for using the app, it is at this time where you are going to want to click it.
Once you have done that, it will take you to the registration page where you will also be eligible to receive your free stock. Here is what you are going to be asked for when registering and creating your account.
Once that is all done, you will be asked to verify the information that you put in and will then be taken to a terms and conditions page.
We strongly recommend that you read these terms so you know what you are agreeing to.
The application is completely safe to use, however it is good practice to understand and read the terms and conditions to your application.
Funding Your Account
Once that is all done, you are going to be asked to connect your bank to the app. You will be given a list of banks to choose from.
Simply choose your bank and then enter in your username and password.
This can be a little nerve-wracking as you are giving an application access to your bank account, but we can assure you that the app will never move money unless you have given permission to it.
RobinHood has a great reputation when it comes to financial security and is one of the reasons why it is so popular.
Once you’ve logged into your bank account through the app, it is going to ask you if you would like to fund your RobinHood account through either your savings or checking account.
Pick the account that you would like to use and then simply enter in the amount of money that you want to deposit.
The funds will be available immediately for trading. It’s amazing how easy it is to transfer money from the bank to your account and vice versa.
Now that we’ve registered and funded our account, let’s continue our RobinHood tutorial and look at how to buy a stock.
Searching For And Analyzing A Stock
Knowing how to analyze and read a stock is an important thing that you need to understand when learning how to use RobinHood.
Once you’re in the main screen, you will be shown the Top Movers which are the most traded stocks on the day, popular stock collections, and then a search feature. This search feature will allow you to look up any stock that is publicly traded.
Searching For A Stock
When searching for a stock you can either use the name of the company or the stock ticker code that is assigned to it. For example, if you want to search for Apple, you can either type in Apple or enter the ticker code AAPL.
Once you have found the stock you are interested in, simply click on it or touch it to advance to the next screen.
Price History And More
You will now be presented with a ton of information that you can use at your discretion to influence your decisions.
The first thing you are going to see is the price history of the stock. You can set the timeline to be whatever you want and then look at how the stock has been trading. This information can be crucial if you are trying to find the right time to buy in.
Below that, you are going to be presented with stats about the stock. A lot of these stats are self explanatory but the two that might be confusing are Div/Yield and the P/E Ratio.
The Div/Yield is the percentage you are going to be paid out based on the amount you invested in the company.
The P/E ratio looks at a company’s price per share in relation to its earnings per share. This can help you determine if a stock is currently undervalued or overvalued and can further influence your decisions.
If you keep scrolling, you are going to see news related to the company, opinions on the stock given by analysts, and stocks that people also bought.
The app contains tons of information about the company to ensure that you are making a smart decision.
Buying And Selling
It’s finally time to jump into the exciting part of this RobinHood tutorial. Here we are going to look at how to buy and sell stocks along with the types of orders you can make.
For the most part, you can expect to see the same orders when buying and selling so they will be analyzed together.
Market Order
This is an order where you will buy or sell the stock at whatever its current value is. Simply enter in the amount of stocks you wish to buy, hit continue, and then swipe up to confirm the order.
It is the easiest order to place but there are risks with it as you are susceptible to any fluctuations that might occur.
Limit Order
A limit order is the best type of order to make when buying and selling stocks. Once again, enter in the amount of stocks you want to buy or sell and then the price you would like to buy or sell at.
Once that stock hits the price, the app will attempt to fill your order. This guarantees that you are getting the stock for your price.
With selling, you have a little more control over your limits. You have access to something called a stop-loss, which will sell your stocks if they drop below a certain price to help “stop your losses”.
You can also set it at above the current price as a ceiling and the app will sell your stocks once this price is reached.
If you want to capitalize off the market, it is recommended that you always use limit orders as it will ensure that you are selling and buying the stocks at the price you want.
When it comes to buying and selling stocks, that is essentially it, it’s actually quite simple. O
Once you have purchased your stocks, you will be able to access them in your portfolio where you will see how they are performing and what their current value is.
Watch Lists
Along with buying and selling stocks, you also have access to add stocks and even cryptocurrencies to your watch list.
By adding something to your watch list, you can easily find it again and track its progress.
This is a great tool to use if you are planning on investing in a company but are just trying to determine when to jump in.
That pretty much covers the basics when it comes to investing on the app. Hopefully you have found this RobinHood tutorial useful and you know how to use the app.
Spend some time navigating around the menus and learn how to access all the information that you need.
After a few minutes, you’ll be a pro. Now that you understand how to use RobinHood, how do you plan on investing?
