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just came into $1000 this week. What's fastest *legitimate* way to get a return?

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Assuming you have at least $1000 earned income for the year, I'd open up a Roth IRA and put the $1000 in there (with an additional $40 for mutual fund purchase fees); buy into VFINX and leave it. Add more over the years as money becomes available.
 
Originally posted by: Orsorum
Assuming you have at least $1000 earned income for the year, I'd open up a Roth IRA and put the $1000 in there (with an additional $40 for mutual fund purchase fees); buy into VFINX and leave it. Add more over the years as money becomes available.

i wouldn't put the money into an IRA or other retirement account just yet. There is no need to lock up this money for that long amount of time. By your age, I am assuming that you are still in school and not working full time yet. In that case, you can wait till you start your "real" job in a year or two to start putting money into retirement accounts.
 
I-Bonds... trust me 🙂 It'll take a while to get 1500 to 2000 though... the only way you are going to increase that fast is thru risk 🙂
 
Originally posted by: RIGorous1
Originally posted by: z0mb13
dump it in red in a roulette table

why not black? I actually thought about doing this last time I went to vegas, but don't you think that they might kick me out if I win? not to mention all the weird looks I'd get for being a "high roller" and making a wussy bet 😕

Put $500 on red, and $500 on black.
 
Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
Originally posted by: RIGorous1
Originally posted by: z0mb13
dump it in red in a roulette table

why not black? I actually thought about doing this last time I went to vegas, but don't you think that they might kick me out if I win? not to mention all the weird looks I'd get for being a "high roller" and making a wussy bet 😕

Put $500 on red, and $500 on black.

Ummm...then you just get your money back. Betting on a single color in roulette will only double that bet if I remember correctly.
 
Originally posted by: pulse8
Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
Originally posted by: RIGorous1
Originally posted by: z0mb13
dump it in red in a roulette table

why not black? I actually thought about doing this last time I went to vegas, but don't you think that they might kick me out if I win? not to mention all the weird looks I'd get for being a "high roller" and making a wussy bet 😕

Put $500 on red, and $500 on black.

Ummm...then you just get your money back. Betting on a single color in roulette will only double that bet if I remember correctly.

Exactly.
 
Definitely blackjack, go to one of the high-stakes tables. Bet $1000 on your first hand, you have over a 45% chance of winning if you play against only the dealer. So in less than 1 minute, you can win $1000 or $1500 if you hit blackjack or lose $1000. But it's worth the risk!

$1000 is like a penny to the casino. They won't kick you out unless you win millions.
 
Originally posted by: mjquilly
1) PAY OFF ANY (CREDIT CARD) DEBT
2) lotsa choices....get edge-a-ma-cated

don't expect to get gain 50-100% quick

Bingo.

If you have any debts (especially credit card debt even if it's MORE than $1,000) do yourself a huge favor and use that $1000 towards reducing your debt.
 
Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
Originally posted by: pulse8
Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
Originally posted by: RIGorous1
Originally posted by: z0mb13
dump it in red in a roulette table

why not black? I actually thought about doing this last time I went to vegas, but don't you think that they might kick me out if I win? not to mention all the weird looks I'd get for being a "high roller" and making a wussy bet 😕

Put $500 on red, and $500 on black.

Ummm...then you just get your money back. Betting on a single color in roulette will only double that bet if I remember correctly.

Exactly.

actualy, no. You will lose money in the long run as there are two non-red or black spots (the zero and double zero are "green").
 
Originally posted by: Hector13

i wouldn't put the money into an IRA or other retirement account just yet. There is no need to lock up this money for that long amount of time. By your age, I am assuming that you are still in school and not working full time yet. In that case, you can wait till you start your "real" job in a year or two to start putting money into retirement accounts.

Everyone has different circumstances and needs, but I think that's the absolutely wrong approach to retirement investing. I started an IRA the first year I started working, which was when I was 16.

There's an hypothetical example (which I can't find online) which compares an investor who puts in $500 per year starting at age 21 and stopping at age 31, to an investor who puts in the same $500 a year from age 35 until retirement. Assuming that both investors have the same annual percentage gains on their portfolio, the investor who started at 21 still has a bigger account value at retirement.
 
Originally posted by: FeathersMcGraw
Originally posted by: Hector13

i wouldn't put the money into an IRA or other retirement account just yet. There is no need to lock up this money for that long amount of time. By your age, I am assuming that you are still in school and not working full time yet. In that case, you can wait till you start your "real" job in a year or two to start putting money into retirement accounts.

Everyone has different circumstances and needs, but I think that's the absolutely wrong approach to retirement investing. I started an IRA the first year I started working, which was when I was 16.

There's an hypothetical example (which I can't find online) which compares an investor who puts in $500 per year starting at age 21 and stopping at age 31, to an investor who puts in the same $500 a year from age 35 until retirement. Assuming that both investors have the same annual percentage gains on their portfolio, the investor who started at 21 still has a bigger account value at retirement.

my point wasn't that IRAs are a bad choice for retirement investing (apart from 401k, they are a great choice), but rather, at 21, liquid assets can be much more important than retirement planning.

there is no need to put all your money into retirement funds (in fact, that would be a terrible idea). And while I agree with your example mathematically, you can't treat assume that the same amount of money has the same "value" to you at different points in time. What I mean is, the marginal utility of a $1000 to a 21 year old (a "typical" 21 year old) is a lot more than the marginal utility of 1k to a 40 year old.
 
Give it to my cousin Vinny to invest...

I invested 10k in him one time, 2 months later I have 20k....only problem is all of a sudden I have 2 vans parked across the street from my house and work...
 
Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
Originally posted by: pulse8
Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
Originally posted by: RIGorous1
Originally posted by: z0mb13
dump it in red in a roulette table

why not black? I actually thought about doing this last time I went to vegas, but don't you think that they might kick me out if I win? not to mention all the weird looks I'd get for being a "high roller" and making a wussy bet 😕

Put $500 on red, and $500 on black.

Ummm...then you just get your money back. Betting on a single color in roulette will only double that bet if I remember correctly.

Exactly.

Nope you don't, that's the dumbest idea ever! What if it lands on a 0 or 00? You lose!

 
Originally posted by: Hector13

my point wasn't that IRAs are a bad choice for retirement investing (apart from 401k, they are a great choice), but rather, at 21, liquid assets can be much more important than retirement planning.

there is no need to put all your money into retirement funds (in fact, that would be a terrible idea). And while I agree with your example mathematically, you can't treat assume that the same amount of money has the same "value" to you at different points in time. What I mean is, the marginal utility of a $1000 to a 21 year old (a "typical" 21 year old) is a lot more than the marginal utility of 1k to a 40 year old.

Except it's inheritance/windfall money. I certainly agree that having emergency liquidity is essential (no matter what your age), but to me, I see any money which doesn't come directly from my salary as fodder for investment. In fact, it's precisely because the marginal utility of that money seems greater that I think it should be channelled that way. What financial benefit does a new laptop or a car payment have down the road after the time it takes when you've finally re-saved that investment seed money from bits and pieces of paychecks?
 
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