I Paid My Rent During The Pandemic By Trading Stocks On Robinhood

Since Covid-19 began shutting down the world, millions of "regular" people like you and me have joined the billionaires by placing bets in the stock market.

If you're like me, then you don't anticipate becoming a billionaire (or even a millionaire) by investing a few dollars here and there. But, to be honest, if I had millions to gamble and risk? I probably would.

There's a perfectly logical reason for that...

So far, I've done just fine for myself! In the middle of a global pandemic, waiting months for unemployment to come through, I was able to cover the cost of at least two months of my rent through short-term trading. Sometimes even making money day trading. With that money cashed out, I still own enough shares in a variety of companies that I could pay my rent for a few more months, if I needed to. It's not a lot, but it is something.

My stock goals are simple.

I want to double my money. Or at least get as close to that as possible. Sometimes I have been significantly more successful at it than with other stocks. But the truth remains: I have not lost money in the market during lockdown. In fact, all of the stocks I currently own were purchased through the profits of shares I have sold. Any initial investments I may have made, I have already reimbursed myself for.

That money is back in my bank account where it belongs.

There are lots of ways for beginners to get into the market. Acorns, Stash, E*Trade, Ameritrade, Charles Schwab - to name a few. Even CashApp has a feature. Personally, I prefer to trade on the app Robinhood. (But, I occassionally use CashApp as well. It's easy to directly invest payments sent to me - using their fractional shares feature).

I'm a fan of taking that $10 a friend borrowed and turning it into $20!

Since I mostly use Robinhood, I'm going to focus on that platform here. It is straightforward, user friendly, and provides easy access to information about companies - which you can use as research stepping stones. It works great on your phone or from a desktop computer.

Before we jump into what 5 stocks are being suggested for stock market beginners, lets go over a quick, real-life example. (Feel free to skip to the next section if it's only the stock picks you are after. No judgement).

**NOTE: If you don't have a Robinhood account and are ready to start investing, use my link HERE! By using this link, with as little as a $1 deposit, Robinhood will give both you and me a FREE stock. In my experience so far, the stocks awarded have been trading between $3-15. So that $1 immediately becomes $6-30 between our two free stocks. If you get a stock that you are not interested in, it's simple to sell that stock a few days later and reinvest in another company. Or, if you cash out at that point, you still increased the value of your single dollar two or three fold. A free or discounted stock is a great way to start learning. Plus, you win right off the bat.**

Back in March, at the beginning of the societal shutdown due to coronavirus, I encouraged friends and family members to throw any money they could spare into Blue Apron (APRN). It was trading at barely over $2 per share.

My gut told me that big investors were going to hedge their bets on certain companies they expected to do well as a result of people being stuck at home.

Namely: Netflix (NFLX), GrubHub (GRUB), Clorox (CLX), Snapchat (SNAP), Zoom (ZM) and Blue Apron (APRN).

Since Blue Apron was trading at the lowest cost, it was the easiest to buy. My instincts told me that a large number of shares would be purchased over the next week, driving up their value, and providing an opportunity to easily double whatever money was invested.

For two days, I relentlessly texted and called those close to me, encouraging them to take the risk. A few did. My parents, two super close friends, and even a few simple acquaintances who saw my posts on Facebook. They either believed me or just wanted me to leave them alone.

Either way, it ended up a win for them.

On March 13, 2020 Blue Apron was trading at $2.28 per share.

One of my friends and their partner invested $1,950 of their savings, snapping up 875 shares. Less than a week later on March 18, 2020, Blue Apron closed at $16.25 per share, after hitting a midday high of over $22. They sold all of their shares at a few cents over $20 and cashed out with a cool $17,500.

They made more than a $15,000 profit in 5 days. Halleloo! I'm still screaming YAAAS for them. Everyone loves hitting a jackpot!

My personal story is not quite as extreme.

I did not have much money saved up for a rainy day. (To be honest, I had none. Whoops). But, I am seriously stoked for anyone who took the advice and made some cash!

Instead of using the savings that did not exist, I used the money from the paycheck I had receieved around that time. I was beyond confident that this stock was going to be gold in the short-term, so I was comfortable taking the risk. (Well, as comfortable as you can be when you feel like you could be throwing your money into a blackhole because the economy might collapse).

I sacrificed every dime I could spare at the time - around $450 - and vowed to eat Top Ramen for the next week. Simple.

Fun? Well, no, but it was a small price to pay for 200 shares.

On March 18, I also sold my shares for more than a $17 profit, cashing out with $4,000. An easy profit of $3,500.

It was more money than I had ever made in a single week in my life. Especially in a week where I worked my ass off for someone else. A week when the economy was crumbling. A week when the entire world and its human inhabitants were shifting under the weight of a global pandemic.

But in that $3,500 in a week moment? I was thrilled. Ecstatic.

The money came in real handy a few months later. As coronavirus continued to ravage the world, I was able to use those funds to pay my rent and live off of - while I desperately waited for unemployment.

Without day trading though, I never would have made it those critical thirteen weeks. (Yes, unemployment took that long).

My personal situation during the first months of Covid was certainly very different than anything I could have planned for or expected. And to be honest, even had I sold the shares a few days earlier at only $6 each, I still would have been beyond happy.

I still would have more than doubled my money.

Had I only initially invested $50 for 22 shares and sold them at $6? I still would have profited $80. The same 22 shares at $20? Nearly $400 in profit.

I would trade $50 for any of those amounts. In a heartbeat. Period.

Another recent exampe...

Plug Power (PLUG).

In December 2019, I purchased shares for $3 each as a birthday present to myself. (You know, investing in my future).

Ten months later, in October 2020, I sold them for over $17 per share - raking in more than a $14 profit on each. Who wouldn't want to 5x or 6x their investment in less than a single year?

Its important to note that not all investments will yield such an increible return. These are just some recent, real-life examples to provide perspective on the stock trading industry. It is not as scary and difficult as the 1%ers of society tell us. They just have millions to risk instead of single dollars bills.

But, the great thing about the stock market? You, can win. I've seen it.

Here are 5 suggested stock choices for beginning investors...

Each was picked for their own reasons. From affordability to high ROI (return on investment). From short term growth potential to steady, long haul, less risky bets. (Volatility, as you will hear the industry call it).

1) Village Farms International - VFF - $4.90

• Routinely bounces between $4.30-4.90

• I believe in the mission of this company, believe in their product and consider this stock to be a low risk, medium term payoff. It will take a little longer to grow, but has been performing consistently. I have a target goal of this stock for $7-$7.50 within the next year. You just need to stay calm and carry on when it bobbles in the low $4s.

• Village Farms International, Inc is a management and operation company of agricultural greenhouse facilities in the United States and Canada. They have three components. Produce Business focuses on the production, marketing, and selling of product - tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers. Energy Business sells power in a long-term contract to its one customer. Joint Venture Cannabis covers the production and supply of cannabis products to be sold to licensed providers and governments across Canada. It's been around since November 1990 and is headquartered in Delta, Canada.

2) FuelCell Energy - FCEL - $2.35

• 365 days ago you could have snapped up shares of this stock for less than 30 cents and sold them today for more than a $2 profit each. But change from your pocket is pointless right? Sigh.

• I'm crossing my fingers for this one to be another Plug Power within the next few years. It has already grown an insane amount this year. I have purchased and sold this stock multiple times during quarantine, making a few dollars here and there. Lunch or dinner money. Dog food. However, this company will only grow in the long run. There's still a great opportunity to potentially see a pretty large ROI for such little investment. You can probably afford $2. My target goal is $5, but it'd be stellar to see it go 3x that. After all, the future is alternative energy.

• FuelCell Enerygy, Inc. developes enviornmentally responsible distributed baseload power solutions through proprietary molten-carbonate fuel cell technology. Their fuel cells are an alternative to traditional combustion-based power generation and is complementary to an energy mix consisting of intermittent sources of energy, such as solar and wind turbines. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquarted in Danbury, CT.

3) Apple - AAPL - $118.72

• The 4:1 (forward) split in September dropped individual share prices back into the low $100s from the mid $400s. Apple has done this a few times in its history in order to make the stock more afforadable. So far, it has still only grown afterwards...until they split it again.

• Apple is a very stable stock. Low risk. It's Apple. Right now there is a better chance of being able to own more stock for less, before its price per share inevitably increases. Apple is a great long term investment, but could still easily grow another 25% in the next 6 months. Plus, you don't have to buy full shares on many trading apps! You can buy fractional shares by investing specific dollar amounts instead. You don't have to be rich to own some of America's most popular companies.

• Apple, Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other variety of related services. It operates in the Americas, Europe, Greater China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Japan and the Rest of Asia Pacific (including Australia). Europe's segment also includes India, the Middle East and Africa. Its products and services include iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, Apple Care, iCloud, digital content stores, streaming, and licensing services. It was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, CA.

4) Alibaba - BABA - $308.00

• With 711 million users, Alibaba is no joke. Up $135.36 in the past year, this is a company lots of people are swarming to invest in. It's only expected to grow. Even 96% of Robinhood analysts mark it as a "buy."

• More than $300 per share sounds like a lot. And it is. But, with fractional share purchase options, you aren't required to buy full shares. You can invest specific amounts of money instead - like $10, $25 or $50. On Robinhood and CashApp, the minimum investment is only $1. Because stocks like these have been growing so quickly, it makes it easier to watch your investment grow. (To feel the joy of it). I'm in this investment for the long haul and hoping to double my money. With Alibaba's insane customer base and continuous growth, there's no reason their stock price shouldn't eventually soar above $500 per share.

• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd engages in providing online and mobile marketplaces in retail and wholesale trade. It operates through: Core Commerce, Cloud Computing, Digital Media and Entertainment, Innovation Initiatives, and Others. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China.

5) Snapchat - SNAP - $39.14

• Snapchat is a stock with a slightly higher risk becuase of its very recent growth. It's up more than 180% this year, but grew by more than 37% this past week alone. With it's increased usage and strong hold on a younger audience, it has great advertising revenue potential.

• A relatively inexpensive stock, Snapchat can also be purchased in fractional shares making it that much more affordable. Invest $10 per week and you'll have a few stocks in no time! My expectation is it will continue to grow in popularity throughout the pandemic, making it a fairly safe bet to gamble some money on for the short-medium term. Within a few financial quarters, Snap very well might be able to surpass the $50 share price. The sooner, the better for this investment. (You should have already purchased some shares last week)!

• Snap, Inc. is a social media, camera based platform. Its products include Snapchat, Friends Page, Discover for searching Stories and Snap Maps, Memories for personal collections and Spectacles - wearable sunglasses capable of taking Snaps and interacting with the Snapchat application. Their main source of revenue is advertising. They are headquartered in Santa Monica, CA and were established in 2010.

A quick honorable mention...

It would be good to throw Plug Power (PLUG) out there into your consideration. Although it has gone though enormous growth this past year - it still maintains a buy rating of 89% from 9 analysts on Robinhood.

I have considered investing in it again myself, but after you pay $3 per share for a company...it's hard to convince yourself to spend more than $15 on the same shares now.

However, with the belief I have in their company, the length of time I have followed them, and the added bonus of the analysts' positive buy rating - it's fair to at least give Plug Power an honorable mention here as it is up over 425% this year. Personally, if I was brand new to investing, I would grab a handful of shares - just in case. Plus, their largest client is Amazon - which we all know has grown exponentially during Covid.

• Plug Power, Inc provides alternative energy technology, which focuses on the design, developemnt, commercialization, and manufacture of hydrogen and fuel cell systems used primarily for the material handling and stationary power markets. It is designed to replace lead-acid batteries in electric material handling vehicles and industrial trucks for some distribution and manufacturing business. Founded June 1997 and headquartered in Latham, NY.

To be honest, I would probably still have a few stocks of good ol' PLUG...but I thought it was time to let my trading pay my rent again, so I sold them off! Maybe it will pay yours next month.

Happy trading! May the odds be ever in our favor!

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