Advice on investing?

[CooCoo18]

Hello, I have about $15,000 in my savings account, just sitting there, and Ive decided I want to invest it for about 5-10 years, but i know nothing about stocks, mutual funds, etc. so i kinda wanna stay away from the stock market, mutual fund, and s&p 500 crap altogether... But I need some advice on how i can get my money to grow steadily without having to worry about losing it. thx.

 

[PsychoAndy]

bonds. lots of bonds, t-bills, and cd's.

 

[Hossenfeffer]

What is "savings"?

 

[vi edit]

With 15 grand? Look into a good Money Market account. Almost as safe as you can get without doing a gauranteed thing like a CD. It's very liquidable, and can offer some pretty decent interest rates for what it is.

Personally though, I'd drop 10g's in an S&P index fund, and then keep rolling over the other 5k in a CD. Everything is on sale right now. With that much money you stand to make some major $$ ten years down the road.

 

[CooCoo18]

ah, i see, so where can i read about getting a good money market account?

 

[vi edit]

here's a start

Your local bank can provide you with information as well.

 

[richardycc]

use it as downpayment on a house in a college town, and rent it to mature college student, and hire a real estate management company to manage the house for you
with any luck, you can pocket the difference between the rental income after paying monthly the management fee and mortgage.

dont laugh, my gf works at one of these real estate management companies, so I know this can be done. The average rent for a 3 bedroom apt is around 1500-2000$/month
a mortgage for a house like this is around 1200$/month, the management fee is around $150/month if nothing break, etc. $500-$700 a month for doing nothing isn't too bad.

thanks,
richard

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

Good, glad you are taking an active approach. Look, for right now, you just want to hold tight. Things will continue to be shaky for the next several months, however, when all is said and done, this market will present an amazing buying opportunity. You really also need to analyze how risk averse you are. This will dictate what kind of investments you can make. I personally recommend that if you are looking for a conservative approach on a 10 year horizon, you will want to play it fairly safe. I would suggest some cash (money market/CD) some government securities (bonds/t-bills) and some stock as well. Conservatively, I would go for a 25/25/50 split for what I just said. As far as stock goes, I would tend towards both companies paying reliable dividends and those that have built themselves a strong track record. As far as dividends go, I like Utility companies (AEP being my current favorite) and REITs. And you can NEVER go wrong with solid companies like JNJ, GE, MRK, and the like. Now, an investment strategy like this isn;t gonna buy you a mansion, but it will safeguard your assets and keep you well above inflation, which is the MAIN goal. And judging from what you have said, this is what it sounds like you want to do. Got any questions, feel free to pm me. Good luck with it.

 

[Maximin]

Know your risk tolerance and diversify.

 

[BOK]

I recently read an article in the WSJ about I-Bonds. Right now, they're very attractive (4.92%, or something like that). The rates adjust every 6 months. The next reduction will come in November. You can almost guarantee that the rate will be reduced. Get in before then.

 

[PsychoAndy]

another solution you may want to look into are TAX FREE MUNI BONDS. They are municipal bonds written by local governments to fund public works projects. Interest rates vary, but at some point ( i think it was a couple years back) some were offering 8%. The interest is tax free to boot.