It's not as big of a mistake as scratch-off lottery tickets or beanie babies. It doesn't create clutter like collecting Barbie dolls. But if it's fun to pick a stock or two or three, go for it. Full disclosure, I've worked on Wall Street for decades. The street is all too happy take your money. It's never been the case that it's Wall Street versus Main street or David taking on Goliath (that one is popular lately in wake of the GameStop kerfuffle. Any journalist (or headline writer) who uses that angle and presents retail investors as taking on Wall Street or teaching Hedge Funds a lesson either doesn't understand how the market functions or is simply lying to you on purpose.)
Whether or not you should buy or sell a particular stock (or other investment***) or should buy or sell it at a particular time, depends on your investment objectives and what your expectations are for that specific investment. The fundamentals still apply. You might get lucky, but you can't time the market. And as an individual investor you will get the worst possible price on either a buy or sell order. That ought to tell you something, ie... don't do it. But I get it. It's fun and sometimes we can't help ourselves. What is your risk tolerance? How soon do you need the money? What is your net worth, income, cash flow? Those are rhetorical. Don't put that detail on the internet in a public forum. At least, not in answer to my question, because it won't change my advice. My point is that you should know the answer to those questions and how it relates to what you are trying to achieve. There are scores of fools who bought into a pump & dump scheme because of an internet forum and 99% of them could not afford to lose all the money they were all but certain to lose.
Personally, I've got an interesting and diverse portfolio. Vast majority is boring and covers the bases (low fee index funds). And because I live very well below my means and have the bases covered, I have fun with investing in property, art, jewelry and antiques. And I also own a few individual shares in a couple of companies. And one of those companies I owned shares in did go bankrupt. That burns. It was never a big share of my portfolio, but it was my employer, so it was a double whammy. It drove home the point that loss happens. The art, antiques & jewelry could be lost to theft, fire, flood or other natural disaster. And if it were lost to theft, it would not change my life one bit. Thinking about loss and insuring against loss reminds me of the other kind of loss -- and that's one's own personal health and well being. It turns out, that's the #1 thing that you should invest in. With your money, your time & your attention. The health of yourself and those you love. If you are sick over the rollercoaster of the individual stocks, sell right now and put the proceeds towards something healthy.
***or other investment. Same rules apply to any other investment, ie... home, rental property, higher education, options, derivatives, bonds, etc. Your objectives matter. And they matter far more than the opinion of the herd. Does the move meet your objectives?
