Investing in Stocks and The Game of Monopoly

To begin, you might look at playing the stock market as though you were playing a game of Monopoly. That's right; for playing the stock market 'game' is not unlike playing a game of Monopoly. There are definite comparisons and parallels.

In Monopoly there are a Boardwalk, a Marvin Gardens, Utilities, Railroads, etc. In the stock market you have the same type of properties (stocks), as in the game of Monopoly. For example, a Boardwalk may be a GE; a railroad, a CSX Corp.; Duke Energy, a utility. The rent a player collects in Monopoly could be compared to the dividends collected by a shareholder in the stock market. How much rent collected in Monopoly would depend on the property owned and how many houses are owned on the property. In the stock market game this would translate into which company is owned and how many shares of each company is owned.

To win the game of Monopoly a player will need to own properties (three of the same color) before building houses and, eventually, a hotel to attain that comfortable, worry-free income that the player knows will come. (The game is not won by selling the properties you own to your opponent, even at twice the price paid.) The game is won by building houses on the properties owned and collecting that worry-free rent.

Taking this approach in the stock market game, you would not win in the stock market by selling your shares owned, but by adding to those shares owned, so every "rent" (dividend collected) would be higher than the previous "rent" collected. This would be accomplished by holding on to those shares owned, and by having the dividends of each company owned rolled back into more shares each quarter. (This would be compared to building houses on the properties you own in the game of Monopoly.)

In Monopoly three properties of the same color could translate in the stock market game as having three properties (owning three different companies) that pay their dividends, one in January, the 2nd in February, and the 3rd in March. This would give the player in the stock market game a dividend every month of the year. To aid in the worry-free "rent" collected, the companies owned would have a history of raising their "rent" (dividend) every year. Owning one house on a property in the game of Monopoly could be compared to owning one hundred shares of stock in the stock market 'game'. A hotel would translate into 500 shares of a company's stock.

There are opponents in the stock market game, just as there are in the game of Monopoly. An opponent in the game of Monopoly is anything that takes money away from you (remember those fees you sometimes had to pay from those pesky Community Chest cards?). In the stock market game the opponents are also anything that takes money away from you - taxes, credit card payments, commission-fees, fast cars, booze, etc.

To eliminate any of these opponents in the stock market game will aid the investor in accumulating more shares for even higher dividend collecting "rents". All dividends on qualifying dividend-paying stocks are now 85% tax free, eliminating one tax opponent in the stock market game. And, did you know you could eliminate another opponent - those pesky stock commission fees to stockbrokers? All stocks purchased can be purchased commission-free, without the need of a stockbroker.

How much money do you need to begin a stock market investment game, played like the game of Monopoly?

As little as 100 dollars can be invested commission-free into a company to start collecting those ever-increasing cash dividends.

You have permission to this article either electronically or in print as long as the author bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (typos excluded). Please provide a courtesy e-mail to charles@thestockopolyplan.com telling where the article was published. (Word Count 679)

For more excerpts from the book 'The Stockopoly Plan- Investing for Retirement' visit: http://www.thestockopolyplan.com

Charles M. O'Melia is an individual investor with almost 40 years of experience and passion for the stock market. The author of the book 'The Stockopoly Plan'; published by American-Book Publishing. The book can be purchased at http://www.pdbookstore.com/comfiles/pages/CharlesMOMelia.shtml

Semler Research Center Conferred with 'Emerging Company of the Year' Award Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine He said the key to wellness lies in Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this ... and more »

Ritzbox brings the “beauty box” to India Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine He said the key to wellness lies in Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this ... and more »

KBR and Its Joint Venture Partners (JKC JV) Sign Contract for EPC Activities ... Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine He said the key to wellness lies in Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this ... and more »

Gemalto Offers US Banks Seamless EMV Migration with Instant Issuance Operated ... Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine He said the key to wellness lies in Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this ... and more »

Corporate Social Responsibility Weekly Recap (February 1, 2012 – February 8, 2012) Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine He said the key to wellness lies in Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this ... and more »

Cornerstone Revolutions and MacroRisk Analytics Partner to Help Advisors ... MarketWatch (press release) MacroRisk Analytics' patented system is able to account for over 90 percent of price variation in most stocks, mutual funds, and indices. Its models of asset prices demonstrate excellent fit to the data and consistency over time. and more »

Online Investing Platform Kapitall Now Lets You Trade Stocks TechCrunch Kapitall, a web app that investors can use to research and analyze stocks, mutual funds and exchange traded funds, is debuting the ability to trade stocks via its platform today. Kapitall's interface is inspired by video game design and combines a ... and more »

Anil's Graphic Novels Thru Cyberwit . Net publishers: Shobha Mirza PA Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. You are bound by Terms and Conditions for using this website any further this point.

Zions Direct Announces FDIC-Insured CD Auction Results Through February 7, 2012 Sacramento Bee In addition, clients can invest in stocks, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds online or through a Zions Direct financial representative. Investment products and services offered through Zions Direct, member of FINRA/SIPC, a non-bank subsidiary of ... and more »

Greenlime Ensures a Healthy Exam Season Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine Co-payments brings partial responsibility of payment and hence scrutiny of Current events, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Spending, Insurance, Borrowing, Books, Charity & many more! Moneylife.in website and/or publisher of Moneylife Magazine. and more »