Once youve built up a substantial financial buffer, you may be considering to invest some of that money. One of the most popular and possibly most profitable way to make money off of your investments is to buy and sell stocks. As a company becomes more successful, its stocks increase in value, which you can sell for a major profit. However, if the company does poorly, the stocks lose value and make your investment a failure. The value of the stocks can change rapidly, so its absolutely necessary to use the best tools to keep track of the stocks you own.

Google Finance

Stock Quote

Stock Watcher

Stock Market Simulator

These three apps are great for giving you the information that you need to determine how well a stock is performing, but all of that information doesnt help much if you dont know what it actually means or if you dont feel comfortable enough to actually buy or sell some stock based on the information you have. The best way to practice and learn, in my opinion, is through a simulator, and thats what Stock Market Simulator is all about. In this simulator, you start out with $10,000 and are able to buy US stock. The app still uses real-world numbers to determine whether you make or lose money, so the simulator itself is completely accurate. However, since its a stock simulator, it is meant to be educational and not a tool that makes decisions for you. As far as games go, this one certainly isnt the most interesting one you can play as your stocks change as slowly or quickly as the real stocks do, but its a great way to dive into the stock market without actually losing money. If youd like a simulator for your computer, you can also try the UpDown Online Stock Market Trading Simulator .

Conclusion

These four Android stock apps should help you to learn about stocks and the entire market, or to simply follow stocks that youre interested in with plenty of information. Again, please only view these apps as informative because stock markets are extremely volatile even the best analysts can be wrong occasionally. The stock market is an opportunity to make lots of money, but its also an opportunity to lose a lot of it as well.

What are your favorite apps to follow the stock market? Do you invest in the stock market regularly? Let us know in the comments!

For more great Android apps, check out our list of the Best Android Apps. and to get the most out of your Android device, check out our Android guide .