Whether trading stocks is a good idea will depend on your financial goals and situation. If you have time, energy and money to spare, then trading stocks could make sense for you. Just keep in mind that it’s hard to build a diversified portfolio by buying stocks of individual companies. On the other hand, if you buy shares in just one ETF or mutual fund, you could be instantly diversified (assuming the ETF or mutual fund invests in hundreds or thousands of companies), and thus spread your risk over many companies and possibly industries, too.