*OFFICIAL*ATOT Financial Information Thread*OFFICIAL*

[S Freud]

There has been a lot of talk about creating a separate financial forum to discuss stocks, real estate, and other financial topics. Since that doesn't seem to be happening I thought I would start this thread with the hopes of getting enough attention to create a separate forum.

This thread is for anything financially related, ask for advice or give it. Just remember that none of us are financial experts so you can do what you want with any advice or tips given in this thread.


I'll get the ball rolling...

I'm a 20 year old college student making a little more then minimum wage. I would like to start saving more and in enough time start investing. I find myself looking in all directions to come up with money to save every month, but I usually have enough for the bills and maybe a little extra. How did some of you get started, is the answer as simple as "get a better paying job."?

 

[Ns1]

http://www.fatwallet.com/c/52/

and to answer your question: work more, find more streams of income

 

[S Freud]

Originally posted by: Ns1
http://www.fatwallet.com/c/52/

and to answer your question: work more, find more streams of income

Thanks for the answer and the input, I am aware of the fatwallet finance section. But it seemed with many AT'ers calling for a finance section that it made sense to have our own thread. Rather then visiting AT and using fatwallets finance forum now you can have it all on AT!

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: S Freud

Originally posted by: Ns1
http://www.fatwallet.com/c/52/

and to answer your question: work more, find more streams of income

Thanks for the answer and the input, I am aware of the fatwallet finance section. But it seemed with many AT'ers calling for a finance section that it made sense to have our own thread. Rather then visiting AT and using fatwallets finance forum now you can have it all on AT!

I would daresay that the financial knowledge base of FWF far outweighs that of AT. Going to AT for financial advice is like going to fatwallet for computer advice

 

[Jeff7181]

Minimum wage is for lazy people with no ambition. It doesn't take much to land a job making significantly more than minimum wage.

 

[S Freud]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Minimum wage is for lazy people with no ambition. It doesn't take much to land a job making significantly more than minimum wage.

Well I'm not lazy, I live in a college town with plenty of desperate students looking for a job. Money of whom will take a minimum wage job just to pay the bills. Where would I start to look for a higher paying job. Mind you that I am IN college so I have nothing but a HS diploma for education.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: S Freud
There has been a lot of talk about creating a separate financial forum to discuss stocks, real estate, and other financial topics. Since that doesn't seem to be happening I thought I would start this thread with the hopes of getting enough attention to create a separate forum.

This thread is for anything financially related, ask for advice or give it. Just remember that none of us are financial experts so you can do what you want with any advice or tips given in this thread.


I'll get the ball rolling...

I'm a 20 year old college student making a little more then minimum wage. I would like to start saving more and in enough time start investing. I find myself looking in all directions to come up with money to save every month, but I usually have enough for the bills and maybe a little extra. How did some of you get started, is the answer as simple as "get a better paying job."?

yeah, better paying. or a 2nd job. or cheaper apt. or roommate. or mooch off parents rent free.

and if you have 401k, put in $ till the employer match. start retire saving at 20 is great.

or you can buy lotto tix. i hear the unique #'s on the back of fortune cookies always work, sometimes.

 

[dartworth]

didn't you start a financial forum?

 

[S Freud]

Well getting money from parents is a no go for me, and I have a roommate that I split housing bills with. Getting a second job would be hard since I go to school full time and work 40hrs a week already.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: S Freud

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Minimum wage is for lazy people with no ambition. It doesn't take much to land a job making significantly more than minimum wage.

Well I'm not lazy, I live in a college town with plenty of desperate students looking for a job. Money of whom will take a minimum wage job just to pay the bills. Where would I start to look for a higher paying job. Mind you that I am IN college so I have nothing but a HS diploma for education.

I'm going to ITT-Tech, I don't live in a college town, but I work in one... Ann Arbor... just a few miles away from the U of M campus. I'm in an entry level position making around 150% of the current minimum wage. I had almost zero employment history when I applied.

 

[S Freud]

Originally posted by: dartworth
didn't you start a financial forum?

Started and then ran out of time for it, then tried to start again and realized I had little knowledge of what I was doing. I would like to work on it and develop it more, but I am struggling to find time and information to this.

JEFF7181, how did you come across this job? Its great that worked for you but it doesn't seem that easy for me to come across a job like that. I regularly search monster and local job sites but don't usually find much.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: S Freud

Originally posted by: dartworth
didn't you start a financial forum?

Started and then ran out of time for it, then tried to start again and realized I had little knowledge of what I was doing. I would like to work on it and develop it more, but I am struggling to find time and information to this.

JEFF7181, how did you come across this job? Its great that worked for you but it doesn't seem that easy for me to come across a job like that. I regularly search monster and local job sites but don't usually find much.

create your own opportunities

ebay = zero barriers to entry (just the obvious one)

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: S Freud

Originally posted by: dartworth
didn't you start a financial forum?

Started and then ran out of time for it, then tried to start again and realized I had little knowledge of what I was doing. I would like to work on it and develop it more, but I am struggling to find time and information to this.

JEFF7181, how did you come across this job? Its great that worked for you but it doesn't seem that easy for me to come across a job like that. I regularly search monster and local job sites but don't usually find much.

I threw my resume up on Monster and they contacted me. My resume is nothing special... I'll send it to you if you want. I nailed the interview and put up with them screwing around trying to get my interview scheduled... that showed them I'm flexible, which is what my job requires... working flexible hours.

We get a lot of temps there... so if you go to a temp agency and tell them you're looking for so much money, they'll probably be able to place you at least temporarily. Which is fine... get your foot in the door somewhere, get some experience, learn what you like and don't like.

 

[S Freud]

Ok, well enough about my problems guys. I want to hear from the AT crowd!

 

[RaDragon]

Try not to carry debt. It's ok to have a credit card but since you're in college, it's very easy to fall into that trap. If you currently have debt, stop putting money into your savings account until you have paid that debt off; the interest rate the CC company is charging you is waaaay higher than that of banks (even ING's orange savings).

Once you have paid off yer debt, start saving; put it in a fee-free interest-bearing savings account.

Save. If you eat at home and make your own food, it'll be cheaper than eating out everyday.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: RaDragon
Try not to carry debt. It's ok to have a credit card but since you're in college, it's very easy to fall into that trap. If you currently have debt, stop putting money into your savings account until you have paid that debt off; the interest rate the CC company is charging you is waaaay higher than that of banks (even ING's orange savings).

Once you have paid off yer debt, start saving; put it in a fee-free interest-bearing savings account.

Save. If you eat at home and make your own food, it'll be cheaper than eating out everyday.

Credit card debt isn't bad as long as you make payments on time. I have $8000 (0% APR) of credit card debt and $30,000 in student loans and I keep getting offers for more credit cards with higher limits and I was approved immediately for $20,000 car loans by GM and Nissan and my own bank.

Just have to be smart about your debt and have a plan to repay it.

*EDIT* Not that I recommend building up credit card debt for no good reason... but it's not as bad as a lot of people make it seem. I could pay it all off right now, but that would be ridiculous since I have 0% APR and that $8000 is earning interest sitting in my bank right now.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: dartworth
didn't you start a financial forum?

IIRC he tried twice and I posted my humble opinion on both threads :Q

[RossMAN]

Told ya so

[/RossMAN]

My financial advice is BUY LOW - SELL HIGH :thumbsup:

 

[her209]

Is there a limit to the amount of capital loss someone can claim on their taxes? Also, is it 100% deductible?

Never mind. Answered my own question

 

[Slew Foot]

Buy low, sell high. Invest in places that provide passive income (dividends, rent, etc...)

 

[S Freud]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: dartworth
didn't you start a financial forum?

IIRC he tried twice and I posted my humble opinion on both threads :Q

[RossMAN]

Told ya so

[/RossMAN]

My financial advice is BUY LOW - SELL HIGH :thumbsup:

EDITED: Thanks Ross, you have done a lot for me.:thumbsup:

 

[PhoenixOrion]

For starters, maximize difference between how much is coming in and how much is going out in terms of household finances.

So....
1. get a good paying job <-----can be tough in a recession-like climate; get more education if need be
2. minimize spending <----tougher for a lot of people without the willpower to save, or for those who get personal gratification of being a 'consumer'
3. with the saved up income, divest into other money-making opportunities: stocks, real estate, home-business/startups

Bottomline: It takes discipline.....a little bit of sacrifice here and there.....and a lot of research and reading.

 

[S Freud]

Thanks Phoenix:thumbsup:

Does anyone have any books to recommend on the topics of personal finance and beginning investing?

 

[Jadow]

Originally posted by: S Freud
I'm a 20 year old college student making a little more then minimum wage. I would like to start saving more and in enough time start investing. I find myself looking in all directions to come up with money to save every month, but I usually have enough for the bills and maybe a little extra. How did some of you get started, is the answer as simple as "get a better paying job."?

Well, yeah it really is. Even in college, you can find a 10-11 hour job or better. Before you try to start saving for retirement, I'd make sure you have all your bad debt (if you have any) paid off, and have a good $1000 or more cushon in a high yield savings account.

Once that is done, you can invest with some low price mutual fund companies like T.Rowe Price for as little as $50 a month, find a good growth mutual fund with low fees <1% and no load. And just start socking money into it in a Roth IRA. Over time, if you can increase the contribution rate great.

I started small back in 1997, occasionally took time off from investing when times were tight, and now have $55,000 combined in my 401k and IRA, and my age 30 (about 7 months) will have about $70,000. It's a great feeling to have that much saved at an age when many people are just starting saving for retirement. There are people on here who are younger than me who have a lot more saved too.

Also, later down the road, don't focus solely on retirement. You pay some taxes on cap gains and dividends, but go ahead and buy a mutual fund with low stock turnover and start dabbling in that. In a pinch, you can cash it out if you need to. I started the "State Farm Growth Fund" this year, and have made nice returns on it this year.

 

[Jadow]

Originally posted by: S Freud
Thanks Phoenix:thumbsup:

Does anyone have any books to recommend on the topics of personal finance and beginning investing?

More of a personal finance book, but the Millionaire Next Door is an eye opener.

 

[Special K]

Another good resource is the diehards' forum:

diehards