How to Make Money on Stocks Without Selling Them (2024)

How to Make Money on Stocks Without Selling Them (2)

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Many people make their money on the stock market by following the old adage of buying low and selling high. However, that's not the only way to make money -- and it certainly creates a conundrum for you if you think the stock price is going to continue rising but you have no other way to get income from the company besides selling. Another way to make money is by picking stocks that pay dividends, which are payouts of the company's profits to the shareholders based on the number of shares they own.

Step 1

Research the history of dividends that a company has paid out. A history of increasing dividends bodes well for future dividend payouts. According to the Kiplinger website, when a company consistently pays out dividends, shareholders come to expect the dividend checks to continue flowing, which in turn forces the company to plan ahead for making continued payments.

Step 2

Invest your money in a portfolio of stocks that have a history of paying high dividends. That way, you can expect to receive a steady stream of income without selling your stocks. In addition, if you find yourself needing money, there's nothing stopping you from selling your shares and cashing out.

Step 3

Hold the stock for at least 60 days of the 121-day period starting 60 days before the ex-dividend date, so that the dividends qualify as long-term capital gains. If you hold it for less than 60 days, you still get the dividend but it's taxed at the ordinary income rates. Because your long-term capital gains rate is always lower than your ordinary tax rate, this maximizes the amount you get to keep.

References

Warnings

  • Dividends aren't a get rich quick scheme where you can just buy the stock right before the dividend and then sell it after. When a company pays a dividend, it's stock price typically drops by the same amount of the dividend because the company is worth that much less. For example, say a company has $100 million in assets and it pays a $1 million dividend. The company is now worth only $99 million, and the stock price will generally change to reflect that.
  • Dividends aren't guaranteed, so no matter how well the company has performed in the past or how many consecutive years it's raised its dividends, you're not promised to receive dividends in the future.

Writer Bio

Mark Kennan is a writer based in the Kansas City area, specializing in personal finance and business topics. He has been writing since 2009 and has been published by "Quicken," "TurboTax," and "The Motley Fool."

How to Make Money on Stocks Without Selling Them (2024)

FAQs

How to Make Money on Stocks Without Selling Them? ›

Buy and Hold

In short, one common way to make money in stocks is by adopting a buy-and-hold strategy, where you hold stocks or other securities for a long time instead of engaging in frequent buying and selling (a.k.a. trading).

Can you make money without selling a stock? ›

Buy and Hold

In short, one common way to make money in stocks is by adopting a buy-and-hold strategy, where you hold stocks or other securities for a long time instead of engaging in frequent buying and selling (a.k.a. trading).

Can you buy a stock and never sell it? ›

Buy and hold is a strategy used by a large number of investors to purchase stocks or other assets and hold on to them over a long period of time. The ups and downs of the market are of little consequence under this strategy, and such investors are unflinching in the face of changes in technical indicators.

How to invest $100 dollars to make $1,000? ›

If you are looking for ways to invest $100 and make $1,000 a day over time, there are many options available to you. For example, you can start a dropshipping business, an e-commerce store, or even create a self-hosted blog. You can also invest in cryptocurrency, the stock market, or real estate.

How much money do I need to invest to make $1000 a month? ›

You will need approximately $300,000 to make $1,000 monthly from your investments. Plus, a healthy dose of patience and discipline to achieve your goal. Of course, the exact amount will depend on the specific assets you choose. Also, the investment return you earn.

Do you lose money if you don't sell a stock? ›

If you don't sell, the price per share could either continue to decline or rise in value over time. But nonetheless, even if the price did in fact rise, it would need to rise significantly to offset the initial decline.

Can you make a living off stocks? ›

While some can make a living trading stocks, the majority of day traders lose money over the long term. Education is critical to being a successful trader. You should also develop a trading strategy and stick to it.

What stock never loses value? ›

Despite what you might read on social media, stocks that never go down don't exist. If you want a completely safe investment with no chance you'll lose money, Treasury securities or certificates of deposit (CDs) may be your best bet.

What is the minimum time to hold a stock? ›

There's no minimum amount of time when an investor needs to hold on to stock. But, investments that are sold at a gain are taxed at a capital gains tax rate. This rate changes, depending on whether the investor held onto the stock for more or less than one year.

What happens if I never sell my stocks? ›

By refusing to sell their stocks, investors have the advantage that they always remain invested and hence they never miss a bull market. As the market spends much more time in an uptrend than in a downtrend, with bull markets lasting 5 times longer than bear markets, the benefit of this strategy is obvious.

How to turn $1,000 into $10,000 in 6 months? ›

  1. Invest In Yourself. It's possible that you could learn something that will allow you to increase your earning potential by $10,000 per year. ...
  2. Buy Products and Resell Them. ...
  3. Start a Side Hustle. ...
  4. Start a Home Business. ...
  5. Invest In Small Businesses. ...
  6. Invest In Real Estate.
Jun 7, 2023

How to make $1,000 in 24 hours? ›

10 Legit Ways to Make $1,000 in 24 Hours
  1. Sell Your Stuff.
  2. Freelance.
  3. Get a Side Hustle or Part-Time Job.
  4. Start a Blog.
  5. Start an E-Commerce Store.
  6. Invest in Real Estate.
  7. Set up Passive Income Streams.
  8. Make Money Online.
7 days ago

How to smartly invest $100 dollars? ›

11 Ways to Invest $100
  1. Build a portfolio.
  2. Trade fractional shares.
  3. Earn interest with a high-yield savings account.
  4. Start an emergency fund.
  5. Start a brokerage account.
  6. Open a robo-advisor account.
  7. Consolidate and pay off debt.
  8. Start a retirement account.
Jun 29, 2023

Which stock has the highest dividend? ›

Stocks with the highest dividend yields in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
  1. Verizon Communications (VZ) Verizon is a leader in communication and technology services. ...
  2. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) ...
  3. 3M Company (MMM) ...
  4. Dow Inc. ...
  5. International Business Machines (IBM) ...
  6. Chevron (CVX) ...
  7. Amgen (AMGN) ...
  8. Cisco Systems (CSCO)
May 23, 2023

What if I invest $20 dollars a week? ›

Small amounts will add up over time and compounding interest will help your money grow. $20 per week may not seem like much, but it's more than $1,000 per year. Saving this much year after year can make a substantial difference as it can help keep your financial goal on your mind and keep you motivated.

What happens if you invest $1,000 a month for 20 years? ›

If you invest the amount i.e Rs 1000 per month for 20 years, you have deposited a total of Rs 2.4 lakh during the period. On the basis of the annual 15 per cent return in 20 years, you will get about 15 lakh 16 thousand rupees. If this return is 20 per cent annually, the total fund will be around 31.61 lakhs.

Do I have to pay taxes if I never sell a stock? ›

Do you pay taxes on stocks you don't sell? You incur capital gains tax when you sell an investment for a profit — so no sale means no capital gains tax. But you incur dividend tax whenever you receive a dividend payment from an investment, regardless of when you sell it.

Is it necessary to sell stocks? ›

Sell the stock if the losses are beyond the risk-to-reward ratio you planned for that particular stock. Sell the stock if it falls below your stop loss or strong support zones. Don't hold a stock for tax-loss harvesting because, in the quest of saving a few bucks in taxes, you'll end up losing too much on the stock.

Do you have to pay tax on stocks if you don't sell? ›

The tax doesn't apply to unsold investments or "unrealized capital gains." Stock shares will not incur taxes until they are sold, no matter how long the shares are held or how much they increase in value. Most taxpayers pay a higher rate on their income than on any long-term capital gains they may have realized.

How do I profit from buying shares? ›

There are two ways to make money from owning shares of stock: dividends and capital appreciation. Dividends are cash distributions of company profits.

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