Know How to Invest $$$?

[tedro]

[quote]ShaunW wrote:
tedro, you suggest throwing money into a fund, because its passive and takes no time is a good idea? with the vagarities of the market, and 2012 coming up (ie when the western world’s baby boomers start retiring and taking their cash out of the funds, what do you reckon will happen to the market?) well good luck to you pal. If your aim in life is to work until retirement, live off a minimum allocation coz you’ve got to ensure you’ve enough cash to live for the next 15yrs, then more power to you.

Malevolence said it well - being wealthy is a full time occupation, not something you hope will happen by auto-debits into some fund.
[/quote]
Either you didn’t read my entire posts or you intentionally chose to take it out of context to start a pointless argument.

Very, very few of us have the funds to be properly diversified without investing in mutual funds. Even the mutual fund market requires constant attention to make sure you are properly diversified. Is it smarter to invest your money yourself, and constantly track it, in an attempt to beat the market? Or is it better to invest with a trusted company that is going to pool your assets with others so that you can be properly diversified, while paying extremely low expense ratios and knowing your money is in the hands of a professional? I choose the latter.

FYI, baby boomers have already started retiring. You are trying to create a sky is falling scenario with the U.S. market.

I’m glad you took it upon yourself to judge my financial situation. If you only knew.

to the OP �??your 3yrs younger than me - you’ve heaps of time to develop an investment strategy and implement it well. Diversify (and that doesnt mean 10 different funds) - look at commercial/industrial/residential property, look into becoming a business angel, listed and unlisted trusts, warrents, options, CFDs, research, learn, investigate.

Real estate can be a very good investment. Especially in the last decade. I hesitate to recommend it to anyone without knowing them well, as many have lost there shirts recently. There is a lot to know about not only the investment portion, but also about general upkeep of properties.

Understand leverage and the power it gives you. Keep your equity liquid so you can pounce on a good deal when it pops up. I know a bloke who owns 60M of property, with almost all of it debt. However the properties grow at a higher rate than the interest payable. He lives off the difference in capital growth and interest costs, and the rent is a nice sweetener. There are so many different investment vehicles out there - don’t get stuck on one basic, suboptimal method because thats what everyone else is doing.
good luck

Kind of an ironic example after what you said earlier about the markets crashing. Leverage works both ways. Many have been forced to declare bankruptcy after using your friend heres strategy. I’d hate to be in his position when property values quit growing, or even turn negative.

Historically real estate only grows at a 3% rate. It’s awfully difficult to find a loan at less than 3%.

TO THOSE TAKING THE ADVICE OF THIS THREAD:
I don’t know why, but for some reason everybody thinks they know a thing or two about finances and feels the need to let everyone in on their “secrets.” Don’t take anybody’s advice, including my own, on here for granted. Do your own research, make sure your decisions make sense for you. You will undoubtedly find a trend with some of the advice you have read on here.

[tedro]

[quote]ProRaven wrote:
Just three years ago it was $250k. Now it’s $500k. (yes, I had international funds like Russia and China. Don’t hate.)

By the time I’m 40, it will be a million.
[/quote]

I thought you said you were 36? Can I ask how much more you plan on putting in the account over the next 4 years? Doubling your money in 4 years is an awfully lofty goal.

[mazevedo]

[quote]tedro wrote:

TO THOSE TAKING THE ADVICE OF THIS THREAD:
I don’t know why, but for some reason everybody thinks they know a thing or two about finances and feels the need to let everyone in on their “secrets.” Don’t take anybody’s advice, including my own, on here for granted. Do your own research, make sure your decisions make sense for you. You will undoubtedly find a trend with some of the advice you have read on here.
[/quote]

Well so far I’ve taken your advice twice tonight, on two simple matters. First I opened up the online savings because it plain makes sense over my current bank and we’re talking about just a few thousdand dollars. Can’t go wrong and there’s no risk- it’s just a savings account.

I also took your advice on the target retirement fund. I’m 29 and in 2040 I will turn 62 which is right about a nice time for me to retire. So I logged on to my T. Rowe Price account tonight and realocated my funds from a default TRP Capital Appreciation fund and put the whole thing into the Retirement 2040 fund.

In reading your posts above, hell yes I would rather have a pro managing my assets at a very low cost. As I mentioned before, I know shit about investing and I will never have the time to watch markets closely. I am very serious about saving for the future but I’m not trying to be a hero and do it myself.

There’s no shame in putting it into a target retirement fund. I took a glance at it and it seems pretty damn well diversified with semi-risky investments early on and from what I understand, the person(s) managing it will shift the investments into safer ones as the year 2040 approaches. Sounds good-e-damn-nough to me for the time being!

Thanks for the advice.

[tme]

My Capitol One savings is at 3.44% right now, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the bastards are paying higher for new accounts. Best I’ve got is about 4.9% awhile back, I expect it to go down again soon due to the recent Fed cuts. The bank where I have my checking account pays a whopping 0.15% on savings, and another where I have my one credit card pays an amazing 1.5%.

My cars are all paid off, and about 50% more than what I would pay for two car payments goes into the CapOne account monthly. When I have to replace one or both cars I’ll be able to pay cash. (For another 1-2 y/o repo at auction. I’ll never buy new again.)

I don’t have a 401 where I work, but I put enough into the 457 to get the max match. The rest goes into a managed account at a brokerage, where my previous 401’s have been rolled. I pay a 1.5% annual fee, but my returns have been awesome and I don’t have to work on it or worry about it. I started late and need to build aggressively, and it works better for me to go this route.

[mazevedo]

[quote]tme wrote:
My Capitol One savings is at 3.44% right now, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the bastards are paying higher for new accounts.

[/quote]

I thought the rate is variable…so if it pays higher tomorrow, won’t you be entitled to the new rate???

[tedro]

[quote]mazevedo wrote:
tme wrote:
My Capitol One savings is at 3.44% right now, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the bastards are paying higher for new accounts.

I thought the rate is variable…so if it pays higher tomorrow, won’t you be entitled to the new rate???
[/quote]

tme must have a High Yield Money Market account. It gives you a bit more liquidity, but pays less interest. It is at 3.5% APY right now, which is a nominal rate of 3.44% compounded monthly.

[AccipiterQ]

[quote]MISCONCEPTION wrote:
Just wondering if any of you are financial wizards? In the market today how would you diversify your money? How do you go about finding a reputable financial adviser that doesn’t secretly milk you and smile to your face? [/quote]

you’re looking in the wrong place for financial info. try investorshub.com or things along that line. What exactly are your goals, how old are you? How much can you invest?

[Azzurri]

Is there a rule of thumb out there in terms of what percentage of your income should go to expenses (besides the basic make more than you spend)?

[mazevedo]

[quote]Azzurri wrote:
Is there a rule of thumb out there in terms of what percentage of your income should go to expenses (besides the basic make more than you spend)?[/quote]

I think it really depends on the individual. When I was applying for my home loan, I believe the banks were looking to see a debt/income ratio of no more than .45 as being “acceptable” in order to qualify…but of course thats only one factor they look at.

I truly believe that anyone can save and live decently at the same time. Take me for example: My income is 60k and my mortgage payment (including taxes, ins, etc) is $2,260/ mo. and I put away 15% pre-taxes for 401k. Additionally, I am looking to move into my home in about 10 days and I’m looking to rack up about 10k in credit purchases (ALL INTEREST FREE FOR A MINIMUM OF 12 MONTHS MIND YOU) such as a fridge, couch, bed, tv, misc. furniture, etc.

Some people would say “you’re stretched too thin”. But I call bullshit due to the way I live my life…I don’t drink, go to clubs, spend money on women, buy lame material shit, eat at restaurants, take expensive vacations, drive a fancy car, etc. The reason I can afford this shit is only because I know I’m disciplined enough to pay off the debts and not spend my money like a ghetto bastard who won the lottery.

There are plenty of people who make more than me but they don’t have shit because they suck at managing their lifestyle. So this is why I say it largely depends on the individual in question.

[mazevedo]

[quote]AccipiterQ wrote:
MISCONCEPTION wrote:
Just wondering if any of you are financial wizards? In the market today how would you diversify your money? How do you go about finding a reputable financial adviser that doesn’t secretly milk you and smile to your face?

you’re looking in the wrong place for financial info. try investorshub.com or things along that line. What exactly are your goals, how old are you? How much can you invest? [/quote]

Wrong place for info? Bullshit! This discussion is more constructive than 99% of discussions on this website. We’re all just avg people sharing ideas. I’m not saying anyone should plan their future around this discussion, but some ideas in this thread make practical sense.

[Azzurri]

wish i read this thread a week ago before I bought a new car.