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Investing 101 - edumacate me

F

fs5

Lifer
So I got some money to the tune of $10,000... (in debt for student loans, really low APR so I just pay it off slowly.) I'm young... what should I do with it? Mutal funds? Stocks? I like risky.

If I wanted to start reading some magazines on the subject which ones are good? Money, forbes? Bring on the knowledge!

 
pay off the loans.

You have better chances of getting at least 4 right on a lotto ticket than having the market stay at it's current bogus level through the end of 2004.

After the crash, THEN it's time to figure out where to invest.
 
Originally posted by: glugglug
pay off the loans.

You have better chances of getting at least 4 right on a lotto ticket than having the market stay at it's current bogus level through the end of 2004.

After the crash, THEN it's time to figure out where to invest.
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I thought we were in recovery mode, the crash is over isn't it?

Okay maybe I should rephrase risky. I'm looking for something more risky than a savings account but not as risky as daytrading. Mutal funds that return 15%-20% (hell I don't even know what the average returns for mutal funds are) a year and are risky is fine by me.
 
investment, stock market. this is how you buy stocks. randomly pick some stocks and put it in the safe. most importantly, DO NOT remember what you have bought. 10-20 years when you see your stocks again, you will be rich 😀
 
The market is a bit precarious right now. I'm with the others - if you had gotten it 9 months ago I would have told you to dump it into stocks and try to make a quick 30%. (Which you could have done easily.. and before anyone refutes me I'm sure there are posts from me with that same advice)... but as the market stands now, it has made a modest recovery but IMO hasn't shown any real signs of strength.

$10k is a lot of money. In all honesty, paying off the student loans isn't a bad idea. I have ~$20k in student loans and even though I make a very decent living, I'm not going to pay them off anytime soon - and I'd much rather have an extra $200/month for a car payment than that 10 year $200/month loan working against me.

I'd tell you to think about investing in a house, but you appear to live in CA so nevermind. 🙂
 
Buying S&P 500 index mutual funds in January was a safe bet, buying them now is a good long-term investment.

If you're going for the quick score your best bet might be the slots at Vegas. Paying off your loans is the only sure thing with a guaranteed return (and a much better return than any CD or savings account right now).
 
I hope you mean you have a steady job and 10k extra--not including the 6 months or so worth of emergency funds just in case you lose your job or something. If that's not the case, I recommend you sock that 10k away in a money market account or something relatively liquid rather than risk it in the stock market right now. The advice I'm giving you right now is one I'm following myself.

Right now I also have around 10k in the bank, which according to my calculations is enough for me to live off for 6 months if I can't get a job right away after graduating with my Masters this coming May. I could put a sizeable dent in my student loans, but that would leave me too narrow of a margin to be able to pay rent, food, and any emergencies that comes up in the six months margin I'm giving myself. Dont' get me wrong, I'm not saying don't invest, I'm just saying don't risk what you can't afford to. I have some money in an ING savings account which is getting around 2% right now, about 2k in stocks--which I bought when I had more money in savings (and I'm having the dividends automatically reinvested in my Sharebuilder's account), and another 1.5k or so in my Roth IRA which I rolled over from my 401K while working as a co-op--gotta take advantage of the employer contribution match afterall; this is all in addition to 10k living/emergency fund.
 
Get into the habit of thinking long-term. Start off with a Roth IRA or two, depending on your annual income. Familiarize yourself with MorningStar.com. Once you've got a few Roths under your belt, then start looking into stocks, bonds, metals, property, etc.

But like others have said, pay off your debts first.
 
Originally posted by: fivespeed5
Originally posted by: Elitebull
really low APR
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How low?
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something like 3-4%... 12k in loans.
My original plan of turning to sports betting as a source of "investment" fell over this weekend when the pats/jags scored too damn much :|
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Ok,

rule #1: Do not bet anything more than lunch money on NFL games. The level of competition is so even now that it is bordeline suicide to do so. Just check out Nick Bonacatti (sp) of ESPN.

rule #2: Never bet on pro or college basketball games. Total suicide..with maybe the exception of the Lakers in some games.

I'd pay off the loans first. Yeah, you have a low interest rate but it is better to be debt free and send the money that you would have been paying into debt into an investment vehicle of some sort....say like Queasy Inc. 😉
 
Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Get into the habit of thinking long-term. Start off with a Roth IRA or two, depending on your annual income. Familiarize yourself with MorningStar.com. Once you've got a few Roths under your belt, then start looking into stocks, bonds, metals, property, etc.

But like others have said, pay off your debts first.
Click to expand...

What do you mean have a Roth IRA or two? There's a cap on how much you can contribute to a Roth per year, therefore wouldn't it be better to have one Roth account? The only way that I can think of that having more than one Roth account would be beneficial would be if there's a cap on each individual account, otherwise, I think it's best to consolidate the amount of money you have into one Roth account.

I still say that if you have the self discipline, paying off your student loan first is not necessarily the best thing--you still need to take into account that you need some emergency funds. That said, after I have an emergency stash, after I get a job, I plan on paying off my student loans within five years or less. Nothing beats the feeling of being debt free. Well, actually before anyone points them out, I can think of several things that beats feeling debt free, but lets keep this G rated.
 
Originally posted by: Queasy

Ok,

rule #1: Do not bet anything more than lunch money on NFL games. The level of competition is so even now that it is bordeline suicide to do so. Just check out Nick Bonacatti (sp) of ESPN.

rule #2: Never bet on pro or college basketball games. Total suicide..with maybe the exception of the Lakers in some games.

I'd pay off the loans first. Yeah, you have a low interest rate but it is better to be debt free and send the money that you would have been paying into debt into an investment vehicle of some sort....say like Queasy Inc. 😉
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actually I've won more on pro basketball games than nfl.... the pats game blew up in my face in the last 5 minutes. gr....
I guess I'll just pay off my loans considering what everybody is saying around here.
 
Originally posted by: Riprorin
Buy SYBD. It's going to put my kids through college once they get FDA approval.
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Gambling on unapproved drugs is high risk -- sometimes the bodies turn up (literally) and the company goes bankrupt.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: Riprorin
Buy SYBD. It's going to put my kids through college once they get FDA approval.
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Gambling on unapproved drugs is high risk -- sometimes the bodies turn up (literally) and the company goes bankrupt.
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Agreed. I'm doing okay on ISEC. In at $4.

SYBD is a flier but I'm not investing more than I can afford to lose. I'm in at $0.46 on that one. It's hit a high of $0.90 intraday. I was tempted to sell, but I'm waiting for the big payday.
 
alright, lets say I want to take $2,000's and start playing in the stock market. Who is the best internet broker for that? The one that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for trades?
 
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