Have any good investment resources?

[240marcuSX]

I am interested in learning about different kinds of investments.

I know very little about this beyond the available "high interest" accounts at my credit union. I'm searching around the internet, but its hard for a complete beginner to know which resources are good and which aren't.

I know this is a car forum, but I figured there would be at least a couple of people on here with some knowledge on the topic.

[Papi Chulo]

I put my money in the hands of Wu Tang financial.

[240marcuSX]

[93coupe]

Word bond.

[infinitgkid]

I invest my money in my money...

[RCA]

Investopedia.com is a goodie.

Also if you have the time and money, invest in a Money and Banking course or a Personal Finance course. Both were amazingly useful.

[Urabus GodofTraction]

I think the solution to good, prudent investing is somewhere between Dave Ramsey and MotleyFool (www.fool.com).

That's how I figure out where my money goes.

[rc1honda]

I am in the same boat. I finnaly make enough money where i can start ti do some basic investing. With all the information out there it's easy to get lost.

My buddie who is studying finace turned me on to website where you can play a simulator. They give you 100,000 to invest with and uses real time market numbers.

I have been playing and so far have made almost 10,000. It really gave me a good handle on stock and options but im still at a very basic stage.

here is the sitehttp://www.investopedia.com/?viewed=1

It's free and private. It has all kinds of info, and tutorials. It's a great way to get your feet wet without risking any money.

edit, i now see i was beaten to it.

[initial_jc]

You should ask yourself what kind of investor you are? You dont mind some risk or want to avoid it? Do you want to see gains right away, or can you wait? Are you okay with losing some or all of your money?

Some options to consider from riskiest to safest and level of involvement, in my opinion are Stocks, Options, Mutual Funds,CD's, and Bonds. Options are very complicated, but less risky then stock.

If you want to get into stocks I suggest you open an paper account(fake money) at investopedia, or thinkorswim, or wall street survivor. I think you should choose the initial investment amount, stick to something you are willing to really invest like 1k, 5k, or 10k because it will force you to be more cautious and it will put you in a limited buying power scenario. I suggest you choose stocks of companies that you like ie stores you like to visit, companies that provides services that you use, companies that make products you like. I dont suggest you make your portfolio too broad limit it to about 5 stocks so you can keep track of things like what you paid for the shares, what its selling at now, what you would make or loss if you sold it now, and see if you notice any trends in the price of the stock you chose( like where the price hovers, how much the price moves a day, a week, month?), and keep your eye on the news check if you see some new developments regarding companies and speculate how it will affect your prices.

[PoorManQ45]

It's simple

1: Have money2: buy product3: ???4: ???5: Profit!!!

It can't get much easier then that!

[PoorManQ45]

My buddie who is studying finace turned me on to website where you can play a simulator. They give you 100,000 to invest with and uses real time market numbers.

I have been playing and so far have made almost 10,000. It really gave me a good handle on stock and options but im still at a very basic stage.

The problem with those programs is that you are given a large sum of money to start with.

If you have $100k and make 10% you have made $10K. Seems like a big return, right? Well, most people getting started have maybe $1k. So that same 10% gets you a whopping $100. That, depending on your broker, just covers your trading costs!

The old adage of "It's easy to make money when you have money" is so true.

[Urabus GodofTraction]

Popping back in to remind everyone that investing while you have anything but a mortgage is a fool's errand.

The interest rate on that credit card or car loan is going to be higher than the growth of your investments. That's a money-losing proposition.

Unless you have an interest free loan, but still, pay that s*** off and be free. Then invest.

[PoorManQ45]

^^^ Agreed 100%!!!

That's why I said most people start with ~$1k... cash in hand!

[LongBeachCoupe]

Investopedia is a good learning resource.

If you have detailed questions, post up and I will try to help(licensed broker since 04, Ibanking, trading, options etc)

Also, on the small side, something like Kiva is also to be considered, it has a beneficial impact on individuals as well.

With all investments risk is equal and proportionate to the reward, remember that!

[Watermelonwarrior]

The old adage of "It's easy to make money when you have money" is so true.

Very true. I was interested in stocks back this summer. Now I just use my money to flip cars. Its a much safer investment and the return is a lot more then anything the stocks would be doing. But its also not something everyone is capable of doing. ie knowing the right people, and having access to a dealers license

[RCA]

Yea stock is tough with $1,000.

A nice 3% - 4% ($30 - $40) gain on the days trading, assuming you made 2 trades (buy and sell) @ $7 a trade (cheapest in the industry)...

You end up with $16 - $26 and assuming you never have a loosing day it can take quite a while to double up. And no one who is active ever stays in the green. Mean while you are spending 8hrs a day behind a monitor.

As for IRAs and 401Ks, I would definitely start one and have some one manage your money. If you want a 401K make sure to use that 401K match and never invest a majority of your funds in the company you work for.

If you have extra funds (outside of your emergency funds) in your savings then take some and find a high yield CD and put it down for 6 months. This way you make a decent return instead of the industry standard for Savings @ .7%

[Onizuka]

Stock trading is close to what you could consider gamb|ing, except its legal in all 50 states. Some people know what they are doing, and they are all professionals. You could be a professional, but it will take time, money and failure to figure it out.

Those virtual stock programs are nice and all, but just like p0ker, when you step into the game with real money, its a whole new league.

As boring as they are, mutual funds are a fantastic way to invest in the stock market. Really good index funds charge as little as 0.18% yearly with no trading fees. If you are looking to invest long term without having to spend hours every day letting your life drain away in front of a screen its worth considering this option. Check out Vanguard, they have the lowest fee's in the industry and have excellent service.

Best way to to make loads of money is to get out there and start a successful small business. You know, work for that money. 2/3rds of all millionaires got to where they are running a business, not playing the stock market. Of course, this is really risky in its own right. You're s*** out of luck if you need health insurance and many small businesses fail within the first year.

[240marcuSX]

Thanks for all the good ideas.

I'm thinking that I'm going to invest in a couple high interest accounts, and maybe some mutual funds at first.

I will start playing around with stocks and bonds with a little money until I get the hang of it, probably on one of the online brokerage sites.

[RCA]

Also if your into Mutual Funds look into the pros and cons of ETFs and Mutual Funds.

Look into the fees and taxes and all the other generic issues with each one.

[initial_jc]

what do you do RCA?

[RCA]

I am in my senior year of a BS in Finance.

[PoorManQ45]

I am in my senior year of a BS in Finance.

Thought I smelled some college regurgitation

[RCA]

Thought I smelled some college regurgitation

Well the Stock part was personal experience, the MF vs ETF was learned in school and the CD part was common sense. But yeah you definitely learn a butt load of useful financial info and strategy in Personal Financial Planning. Tons of info worth regurgitating there

[PoorManQ45]

Well the Stock part was personal experience, the MF vs ETF was learned in school and the CD part was common sense. But yeah you definitely learn a butt load of useful financial info and strategy in Personal Financial Planning. Tons of info worth regurgitating there

How deep does the rabbit hole go though?

Do they teach you how to read charts and volume graphs? Symbols? Warning signs?

[LongBeachCoupe]

ETF's are far superior to mutual funds IMO.(i worked for the guy who patented the first etf's ever!)

CDs are one of the worst investment vehicles.

Use bankrate to find deals... On $1000, you can probably make more money opening checking accounts etc and getting bonuses than you can in any investment over a 1 yr span.

[initial_jc]

I'm doing my last semester of Finance also, but my interest has been options and real estate.

What do you longbeachcoupe?

[krimsonviper]

I feel like NICO is going to be in need of an investment sub-forum. Espcially since alot of people on here who mean something to the forum are getting grandpa-ish.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

If you are young...go for low-risk, low-gain adventures.If you are coming late to the game, stocks and other high-risk ventures are the way to go.

[marlin29311]

How deep does the rabbit hole go though?

Do they teach you how to read charts and volume graphs? Symbols? Warning signs?

Not all Finance programs are the suck.

I went to a school that had a live WS trading room, one of 14 in the nation. I'm trained how to use a Bloomberg Machine and several other pieces of software. Guess it sucks that I hate finance now...

If you are young...go for low-risk, low-gain adventures.If you are coming late to the game, stocks and other high-risk ventures are the way to go.

That's backwards. Your beginning portfolio should be mixed with about 90% stock/ 10% bond - as someone who is young, you are able to make up for losses realized on risk taking with the rest of your investing career...as you get older, you need to retain more of your money for retirement and such, so you switch over to more secure invesements like A (or higher) rated bonds and T-bills and the like.

Simply put - if you're young, you can still take risk. Look for something that has high yield potential.

[initial_jc]

word i was going to say that was backwards

you want your money to be safe when you need it most