|SnOmAn| Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 ...Its definitely a good idea, but if hes not sure he wants to invest his money and jumps into an IRA...he's fucked with penalties if he decides to pull his money 5 years down the road.Yeah, only true downside to these type of investments.Everyone has a different investment strategy...its trying to find the right one for your goals thats tough.Very true.... I would love to be a little more aggresive, but I do not have the knowledge to do so at this time. Putting money towards bills to pay them off quicker is top priority before investing. At least that is my thought right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheech Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 The way things are starting to look I'm not gonna doubt that consensus.you enjoy throwing your money away, you should start stocking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SnOmAn| Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Real estate is good if you buy a property to rent out. Houses do not appreciate. You need the property to pay you. If you live in it, you pay it - a lot. Good Luck!Renting a house is good, but not always. It can cause more headache then it can be worth. So many things go into renting a house, and remember, the renter has more rights then you if you try to evict them.My wife and I have been throwing the idea of renting our current home out. We bought this as a fixer-upper and put a little bit into it. We have doubled our money in the resale value, but we are wanting to wait and just sell. My current boss owns 17 houses that he rents out. Yeah, he's nuts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykill Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I guess it would depend on how fat your stack really is. At Fidelity for example, a lot of the mutual funds require a $2500 minimum to buy in.But here -- read these, should keep you occupied for awhile. Educate yourself on how this stuff works, it's important, trust me.10 investing basics from Buffetthttp://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/learn-how-to-invest/10-investing-basics-from-Buffett.aspxThe Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy - 2009 Updatehttp://www.fundadvice.com/articles/buy-hold/the-ultimate-buy-and-hold-strategy.html <--- this is by far my favorite pieceMutual Fund Analyzer from FINRAhttp://apps.finra.org/fundanalyzer/1/fa.aspxThe Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), is the largestindependent regulator for all securities firms doing business in theUnited States. All told, FINRA oversees nearly 4,800 brokerage firms,about 170,400 branch offices and approximately 643,000 registeredsecurities representatives.StockScreen123.comhttp://www.stockscreen123.com/Arguably one of the best, most comprehensive FREE stock screening tools available.FINVIZ.com - Financial Visualizationshttp://finviz.com/screener.ashxNot as comprehensive as the one above, but easier to useAdvice on how to use the above tools:How to invest $10,000 right nowhttp://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/learn-how-to-invest/how-to-invest-10000-dollars-right-now.aspxSmart Strategies to Pick Mutual Fundshttp://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/smart-strategies-to-pick-mutual-funds.htmlDumbest things you do with your money (not just investing, but in general)http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/109491/dumbest-things-you-do-with-your-money?mod=bb-budgeting10 Money Moves That Will Always Pay Offhttp://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/110423/10-money-moves-that-will-always-pay-off?mod=retire-planning*Caveats-Note the dates the articles were written, some advice may no longer be applicable, but a lot of the advice is timeless.-I'm not a financial planner or adviser, but I do well on my personal investmentsMy personal summary: Invest in mutual funds with modest performance and low expense ratios, diversify in all directions (Small vs. Mid vs. Large, Growth vs. Blend vs. Value, Domestic vs. International, Bonds, Sectors, and Indexes) without watering down your portfolio. Rebalance when necessary. EDUCATE YOURSELF <--- probably the most important advice.I will check those sites out tonight at work. I appreciate it. I am trying to educate myself before throwing my money into something. Like someone else said, there is a ton of stuff out there and trying to cut through it all. open a sharebuilder.com account and pick an ETF or twochances are you are not going to be the next buffet so skip the get rich stuff and start a regular monthly investment plan. My old lady and I are 29 and 30 respectively and we put over 60k into our retirement its never too early and never too much. Just treat your retirement or investments like the other bills you pay every monthI'll look in to sharebuiler. I am looking to get a good start as well since I am 27. I did some of the calculators and adding to it and letting it grow on its own I could reach some good numbers by the time I retire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbot Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 sharebuilder has a promo going on where you get $50 for opening an account.it's right on their home page, but it is code 50WS10good luck with investing. I haphazardly bought a bunch of different stocks when it was free to trade (zecco) and I haven't touched it for about a year (kinda forgot about it). some stocks did well, like ford and a couple others. Personally, I'd just buy in to some mutual funds and let her sit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykill Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thanks for the advice guys. I am not sure whether to invest all of my money at once or keep some out. I was looking to put anywhere from $1k-8k into it. Maybe start low and learn the ropes before throwing a lot of money at it??? I want to get a good base and be able to add like $100 a month to it and hopefully it grows. I am open to some aggressive/risky trading since I am still young and will be able to recover. I have no problem studying up and researching. My basic goal is to let my money build and grow instead of sitting in a savings account. I would rather try to make money with it than it just sit there.I am not really looking real estate because I may need to move in 4-5 years and I really don't want a high mortgage. I am fine with my cheap apartment and I like having the extra cash right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWing'R Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 sharebuilder has a promo going on where you get $50 for opening an account.it's right on their home page, but it is code 50WS10Maybe if you use my friend referral link and then the code you mentioned you'll get $75 , yeah, that'll never happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Not saying buy a house, just investment property. Its cheap right now and it will go up. On the off chance it doesnt, you still have something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 If you can't afford to lose it don't invest it. That being said it takes money to make money so that a $1K-$8k investment is unlikely to make you any real money. You would be better off paying down any debts, making repairs to vehicles to avoid expensive repairs later on or just keeping it in the bank. Having it liquid means that when you find an investment that fits you can jump on it. When I was in your shoes I was investing in CDs, but at that time a 1 month cd payed 4% interest. Now it's close to .15%. Maybe a good credit union offering a decent interest rate would be best untill rates return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hue jass Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Renting a house is good, but not always. It can cause more headache then it can be worth. So many things go into renting a house, and remember, the renter has more rights then you if you try to evict them.My wife and I have been throwing the idea of renting our current home out. We bought this as a fixer-upper and put a little bit into it. We have doubled our money in the resale value, but we are wanting to wait and just sell. My current boss owns 17 houses that he rents out. Yeah, he's nuts...Yea, you have to be very smart and cautious. Your boss sounds like my landlord. Great guy who does everything he can for his renters and sometimes gets the short end of the stick. But, he owns the properties, and they pay him regardless of their value.I almost bought a house that was super cheap but had mold. I passed and watched the guys who bought it bring it up. It took them two years and about $75,000 and it's beautiful now but they're behind on the money instead of ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykill Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 If you can't afford to lose it don't invest it. That being said it takes money to make money so that a $1K-$8k investment is unlikely to make you any real money. You would be better off paying down any debts, making repairs to vehicles to avoid expensive repairs later on or just keeping it in the bank. Having it liquid means that when you find an investment that fits you can jump on it. When I was in your shoes I was investing in CDs, but at that time a 1 month cd payed 4% interest. Now it's close to .15%. Maybe a good credit union offering a decent interest rate would be best untill rates return.CDs are low like you said. I looked into them and not much better than a savings account. I know its not much money but if I can start and add to it over the years it should pay off. I know I won't be making any big initial gains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jst2fst Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 You should invest in the Homeless guy. I mean instant celeb overnight his stock have to be worth something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disclaimer Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 If you want to remain liquid, there's always Rewards Checking Account.High Yield Reward Checking Accounts - Compare reward checking account rates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojocho Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 A lot of good suggestions on where to go above answering your question directly.I’ll be the party pooper and give you my opinion. Keep in mind that playing the stock market is the same thing as gambling at Vegas. There is no secret trick or knowledge. MANY PhDs have written hundreds of papers proving that it is NOT possible to consistently beat the market. No Wall street author has a fool proof way. If they did, then they sure as hell wouldn’t be wasting their time on writing or lecturing about it and they sure as hell wouldn’t tell anyone else about it.There are things you should do financially before playing the market. In order1. Tithe 10% to charity of your gross income.2. Pay off all high interest unsecured debt. (small loans, credit cards, store cards)3. Pay off all other debt except Mortgages on primary residence (college loans, car loans)4. Save up to 6 months of your monthly take home pay as emergency funds and save in a liquid account such as bank savings. This avoids you taking on more debt in the case of an “oh-shit-the XX needs fixed”5. Max out your company sponsored 401K6. Max out a Roth IRAThe most financial sense is to follow this exact order in order to be financial free. Number 1 is a religious or philosophical debate so that is “optional” to some. The above may not be sexy or fun or even cool. But GUARANTEED, you will spend hell of a lot more money on paying interest on debt than you’ll ever make on day-trading.If you have no debt, congratulations. Then you move to step 4. Then 5. No day trading account will ever consistently beat the advantages of a 401k or Roth IRA. Especially if your company has a matching 401k contribution. I really am shocked that most people at the minimum do not contribute to at LEAST the company matching. That is an IMMEDIATE 100% return. Nothing comes close to that. Only reason you should move onto a ROTH IRA before you max out is if your company’s investment house is not a large one that offers you enough diversification to meet your asset allocation goals.I used to have $15k in Credit card debt. $30k in college loans. And no savings. Save yourself a lot of pain ad worry by not getting into that trap. I used to think it was OK charging a dinner on the credit card until someone told me that you are figuratively flushing your money down the toilet with interest. It took me a decade of discipline to overcome all that. I’m still on step 5. But the nice thing is that if I have enough saved up and get a nice tax return and a small bonus, it’s mine to burn on something fun and frivolous, like a 50th R1.For most people this will go in one ear and out the other. If you really have to play Gordon Grecco, then my advice would look at mutual funds (it’s already diversified), think about your risk aversion, and accept the fact that you will lose everything so you can sleep at night. If by chance your money grows to $20k, $50k, $100k, then just remember that it’s only temporary until the next big bubble bursts.Good luck and take my advice or not. Just my 2.5 cents adjusted for inflation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SnOmAn| Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Good info mojocho.... I know people may not listen to Dave Ramsey because he is a Christian, but his 7 baby steps is awesome. Put it this way, we were on step 2 and an emergancy came up with medical insurance and us owing back pay. My wife ended up paying out extra every paycheck to get caught up. Kinda put us in a bind, but the savings account kept the lights on, food in the fridge, bills all paid and baby good to go.Dave Ramsey - 7 Baby Steps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnut1 Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Friends,I have much experience investing. Old adage: Invest in the market only what you can afford / absorb to loose. Most likely, you will not loose all but the ups and downs can be stressful and the novice freaks out and sells at the wrong time. Most newbies buy high and sell low - Buffett preaches to buy when others are fearful and sell when others are greedy. His contrarian approach rules the day.Unless you have sound advice from an experienced veteran trader or counselor - hang on to your cash. Especially right now - write this down, the market is due for a flash crash - very soon.Dump your bucks in an ING savnigs or money market account. Max your 401K and designate as safe as possible for the invest vehicle - even use a money market whichhas no risk.If you want to use the market, check out Fidelity.com and read through their "getting started" pages. Best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojocho Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Good info mojocho.... I know people may not listen to Dave Ramsey because he is a Christian, but his 7 baby steps is awesome. Put it this way, we were on step 2 and an emergancy came up with medical insurance and us owing back pay. My wife ended up paying out extra every paycheck to get caught up. Kinda put us in a bind, but the savings account kept the lights on, food in the fridge, bills all paid and baby good to go.Dave Ramsey - 7 Baby Steps+$1,000Ramsey offers sound advice with biblical references. It's practical whether you are a practicing christian or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I think there needs to be clarification on this Roth IRA (individual retirement account) vs. a 401k. I'm not a good explainer or anything close to an expert but: A Roth IRA you are contributing after tax dollars. A 401k (IRA) you are contirbuting Pretax dollars but will pay it later. Both you can pick thousands of different things to invest in. If your employer has not allowed you to pick what your 401k is investing in, I don't know what to say but ask them about employee directed 401k. Most employers got away form picking the stocks for employees years ago due to liability. (they don't want to be responsible if they pick the wrong funds)I have both a Roth and a 401k and use Scottrade for normal "stock" purchases which has nothing to do with a Roth or a 401k. I think Scottrade is cheaper per trade than E-trade and once you invest so much say $2000 or whatever you can buy stocks for $100 bucks or less. It's also harder to get the money out which is good if you lack self control and are impulsive(like me) because you have to call and request a check by mail. You can chuck so much money a month in there automatically and it gains interest like a savings account until you get a chance to buy a stock or you can leave it there forever uninvested and it will gain interest. My Roth is "Selected American Shares" which I switched over to a Roth when the gubment said we could. I also use an American Express high yield savings account. Just gains interest. No fee's, free, just collects money from auto transfers or however you want to deposit. It's easy to setup. You can transfer funds back and forth in seconds between this savings and your bank account. Which is bad if you are compulsive and let money burn a whole in your pocket.Roth vs. 401k\/http://ownthedollar.com/2009/07/roth-ira-401k-retirement-plan/I like property though. I'm waiting for MaxP and Casper to find some kickass, redneck, cheap acreage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykill Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I really just wanted advice, options and ideas. I really have no set plan on what to do with the money. I thought I would ask and everyone has offered great advice. I'm not looking to get rich just for some sound advice since I do not shit. I really need to look into my 401k since that keeps coming up. Only been at my employer for a year and a half so haven't really looked into but I'll get some info before I leave in the morning. My only debt is car loan and student loans but I have year and a half to finish my bachelors then I'm starting my masters. I'm gonna have student loans awhile but I'm still paying on them now while I'm in school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disclaimer Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I see people keep mentioning Roth's and 401ks.... there is such a financial vehicle as a Roth 401k.Here's the deal - Roth is contributed after tax, and when you take the money out when your 59.5 (or under a few select other circumstances), it's not taxed. Tax first, no tax later. This is preferential if you're in a lower tax bracket now and expect to be in a higher one later or if you're more of a saver than a spender.Traditional IRAs/401ks - pre-tax dollars are put in, and taxed as income when you take them out. No tax now, tax later. This is better if you're a spender or think you'll be in a lower tax bracket later in life than you are now.It was also mentioned to max your 401k out... ok, good advice, but if you think you're ever going to want to retire early, you're going to need to think about a "bridge fund" to bridge the gap between when you actually retire and when you can get access to your 401k money (without a huge tax penalty), typically because of the age restrictions. Therefore if you want to retire at 50 -- you'll need to have 10yrs worth of your own money socked away somewhere (Mutual/Bond/Index Fund, Savings account, trust) before you can get access to that "maxed out 401k" you threw all your money at.Food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojocho Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Roth vs. 401k\/http://ownthedollar.com/2009/07/roth-ira-401k-retirement-plan/From the above link: For example, say you had only $1,000 to invest and are in the 25% tax bracket right now. Your one time investment of $1,000 will go straight into your 401k and then grow to a little over $4,600 in twenty years (8% growth per year). Then, you withdraw it to spend it during retirement and owe taxes on that $3,600 of profit and the original $1,000 investment as well. But, now you are in the 38% tax bracket twenty years into the future. So, you get to keep only $2,880 of your hard earned money after taxes. If you had invested that $1,000 twenty years ago in a Roth IRA, you would have had only $750 to invest after 25% was taken out right away for taxes. That one time investment of $750 would grow into $3,500 in those twenty years and can then be withdrawn completely tax free. A couple of things he is not explaining correctly. If you are contributing to a 401k, it is pre-tax; which he states. But the $1,000 you contribute also reduces your overall tax basis. So for example, let's say you make $50k a year. Your taxes at the 25% is $12,500. But if you contribute $1,000 to a 401k, your new tax base is now only $49,000; which reduces your taxes by $250.Also most people are not going to be in a 38% tax bracket at retirement. Your income would have to be over $400k to be in a 38% tax bracket.http://www.moneychimp.com/features/tax_brackets.htmSo instead of $2880 he says you have, you'd actually have almost $3400 at the 28% for a $150k income, plus the original tax savings from your reduced tax basis of $250, which then you'd have $3650, or $150 more than a Roth IRA.A Roth IRA is perfect for someone who is not making as much now but plans on being a high roller on retirement. In the grand scheme of things, the final take away should be that just invest now in your retirement. regardless of if it's a roth or 401k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojocho Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I really just wanted advice, options and ideas. I really have no set plan on what to do with the money. I thought I would ask and everyone has offered great advice. I'm not looking to get rich just for some sound advice since I do not shit. I really need to look into my 401k since that keeps coming up. Only been at my employer for a year and a half so haven't really looked into but I'll get some info before I leave in the morning. My only debt is car loan and student loans but I have year and a half to finish my bachelors then I'm starting my masters. I'm gonna have student loans awhile but I'm still paying on them now while I'm in school.TO keep it simple from my perspective, a) contribute to your 401k up to the amount you get free money from your company. b) pay off your car loan. c) build your 6 month savings.You can wait to pay against your college loan since the interest should be deferred while you are still in college. Unless you have an unsubsidized loan, then just pay the interest only each month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mello dude Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I wouldnt say first. Its definitely a good idea, but if hes not sure he wants to invest his money and jumps into an IRA...he's fucked with penalties if he decides to pull his money 5 years down the road. True with a standard IRA, but not with a Roth. You can take out your base without penalty as long as the funds have been in the account for 5 years. The gotcha is that putting the money back counts toward the 5k total allowed for an investment year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen10nalz Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I have a little bit of investment experience.. Roth IRA, good idea.. after 5 years you are allowed to take out your invested amount. Max out your 401kE-trade is the way to go 10 bucks per trade is CHEAP. People claim the biggest rules are 1.Diversify, diversify, diversify.. However, not in a normal account, because all those 'diverse trades' will nickel and dime your investments.2.Buy low, sell high- Thats the idea.. but what happened when the market almost crashed? People that bought high... sold low... Womp Womp Womp..if your looking to invest 10k or under. i'd look for cheaper stocks. Mainly under 10 dollars. because the more shares you have, the more money you make when it goes up. but also the more you lose when it goes down. My portfolio includesC @1.69 averageSiri @ .07Bee @ .89BAC @ 5.97S @ 4.10I tried some leveraged etf's... the rate of decay in those kinds of shares kicked my ass.Im only a few years in, but my % of gain is pretty impressive. Unfortunately, i made money, while others lost. My investments were only in the thousands, but, hopefully at the next crash, i can push 6 figures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohdaho Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 E-trade is the way to go 10 bucks per trade is CHEAP. ...if your looking to invest 10k or under. i'd look for cheaper stocks. Mainly under 10 dollars. because the more shares you have, the more money you make when it goes up. but also the more you lose when it goes down. Wow thats horrible advice man. Theres more to stocks then just the stock price. P/E ratios, PEG, dividend yields, debt, etc. You have to ask yourself why is that stock at that price.A 20% increase in your portfolio is 20% regardless of individual equity price.On another note, if you do options thinkorswim is great. If youre doing only equity trades, i like scottrade with $7 online trades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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