Today, many people are skeptical about putting their money on the stock market, and there are good reasons for that. Unlike the relative security of a powerful savings account or deposit certificates, bringing your money to the stock market always involves a level of risk that you may never see again. Of course there are many ways to minimize this risk, through market evaluation, business research and smart budgeting of the money that you generally want to put on the market. However, new investors must remember that fluctuations in value are part of the natural flow of the stock market and that stock trading patterns are the best tool for generating a profit.