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question on investing money

J

JMaster

Golden Member
I want to save up enough money in the next 3-4 years to put a 10-15% down payment on a condo. What type of options will give me pretty good returns? I'm thinking of putting in about 2k a month.
 
I have some advice: don't take financial advice from a bunch of mostly-anonymous computer nerds.

Wait, wait, forget that... I own stock in AMD... you should buy some. Yeah. That's the ticket.
 
With that short of an investment timeframe, you will want to look for really low risk instruments like certificates of deposits (CDs) and similar. Equities (stocks) are too volatile and debt (bonds) are usually too long term. Also go to TreasuryDirect and look into US Treasury bills and notes.

Also, get Andrew Tobias' book, The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. It's a lifesaver for situations like this one. It is NOT a get rich quick book. It does NOT tell you what to buy. It tells you how to evaluate your finances and figure out if you should invest at all. And then it helps you pick the right risk strategy for those investments depending on things like timeframe and so forth.
 
Originally posted by: JMaster
I want to save up enough money in the next 3-4 years to put a 10-15% down payment on a condo. What type of options will give me pretty good returns? I'm thinking of putting in about 2k a month.
Click to expand...

What the hell kinda condo?!
2k / month = 24k a year
24k a year x 3 years = 72k.

72,000 is your 10% DOWN?! Jeebus man...
 
Dang 2k a month for 3-4 years that's $96,000 for a 10-15% down payment that must be one hell of a condo.
 
Originally posted by: hjo3
I have some advice: don't take financial advice from a bunch of mostly-anonymous computer nerds.

Wait, wait, forget that... I own stock in AMD... you should buy some. Yeah. That's the ticket.
Click to expand...
No, no, no... Buy Intel!!!


Seriously, though... If you are wondering what videocard to get, the AT forums are THE place to go. But if you want financial, medical, or relationship advice... Well, I'd say the good resource pool here is pretty shallow.

 
Originally posted by: Wingznut
Originally posted by: hjo3
I have some advice: don't take financial advice from a bunch of mostly-anonymous computer nerds.

Wait, wait, forget that... I own stock in AMD... you should buy some. Yeah. That's the ticket.
Click to expand...
No, no, no... Buy Intel!!!


Seriously, though... If you are wondering what videocard to get, the AT forums are THE place to go. But if you want financial, medical, or relationship advice... Well, I'd say the good resource pool here is pretty shallow.
Click to expand...
LOL...
 
Originally posted by: Shockwave
Originally posted by: JMaster
I want to save up enough money in the next 3-4 years to put a 10-15% down payment on a condo. What type of options will give me pretty good returns? I'm thinking of putting in about 2k a month.
Click to expand...

What the hell kinda condo?!
2k / month = 24k a year
24k a year x 3 years = 72k.

72,000 is your 10% DOWN?! Jeebus man...
Click to expand...

well, I have 1 year of school left, so I'm moving home w/my parents and commuting to school instead of renting. That saves me about 10g's this year, and then maybe work 2-3 years and save 20-30k.
 
Its good that you're able to save so much at a young age. Maetryx gave some pretty good advice but either way, the interest that you can currently earn on most investments are fairly low unless you look into more volatile investments such as the futures market or stocks which would not be a good idea because you're not using risk capital. I think a CD would be pretty good choice for you. I've seen rates between 4-4.5%. Just shop around and you should find something that suits your needs.
 
Originally posted by: Maetryx
With that short of an investment timeframe, you will want to look for really low risk instruments like certificates of deposits (CDs) and similar. Equities (stocks) are too volatile and debt (bonds) are usually too long term. Also go to TreasuryDirect and look into US Treasury bills and notes.
Click to expand...

that is pretty good advice; though I don't know if I'd shy away from bonds completely. CDs are nice and safe, but will give you almost no real return. Bonds are pretty safe and will offer you a slightly higher return (still nothing huge). As for time frame: yes, most bonds are "long term" (ie, have long maturities), but there is nothing saying you have to buy-and-hold bonds till maturity.
 
Originally posted by: Hector13

that is pretty good advice; though I don't know if I'd shy away from bonds completely. CDs are nice and safe, but will give you almost no real return. Bonds are pretty safe and will offer you a slightly higher return (still nothing huge). As for time frame: yes, most bonds are "long term" (ie, have long maturities), but there is nothing saying you have to buy-and-hold bonds till maturity.
Click to expand...

Assuming that you don't have a lot of leeway to assume risk in the next few years, I actually would avoid bonds right now. The recent troubles of the stock market had a lot of investors parking their money in bonds for "safety", which suggests that the bond market may be more inflated than usual with respect to stocks. Price volatility is of particular concern if the plans are to sell the bonds before maturity instead of using them as simply vehicles for dividend income.
 
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