Topic: Investors thread

[the technological J]

Hypothetically lets say you had a grand set aside for some long term stock investment (like 20 yrs) and were gonna be adding to it as you got money put aside... prob a college fund or beginnings of retirement....any good companies? (besides Honda)

[cookindaddy]

Wait and watch for a while.
The market is at a bit of a high right now and there is uncertainty about many things economic.
It may go higher but if it is your first investment, you might be buying at a peak.

I know that this does not answer your question about specific companies but the basic idea (if you would like to be like Warren Buffet) is to "buy low and sell high". I think that most are high right now. So keep you powder dry for a bit.

You didn't pay for this advice, so that is what it is worth (=$0)

[72 yellow]

After a quarter of our 401k vanished I am leery about Wall Street.  At 61 it's had to start over again.  Just sayin'. 

[333]

We all should have invested that in GM about two years ago.

[BeSeeingYou]

If you have a long term outlook then anytime is a good time to invest.  For the average guy market timing is a waste of time and you more often than not lose out in the long run.   Been investing in the market for 30 years on my own until the last few years when I signed on an advisor/broker.  I like Enterprise Products Partners LP  listed as EPD on the board.  It has historically paid out 5-10% dividend.  Right now the price is the highest I have seen it in the several years I have owned it but with the high yield you are not relying on price appreciation as the sole source of gain.  This company is known as an MLP (master limited partnership) so do a bit of research on that so you understand the tax issues and the benefits and risks of this type of company.  A friend is big on a similar company, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP).  

[Uncle Ernie]

Every single advisor in the world will tell you to pay off you debts first.  VERY few stocks will make up for what your credit card interest is draining you.
If all debt is gone, put the money in a money market account and forget it.  You need money for emergencies.  Oh yes- you decidedly DO. Do.  Yes. 
For freaking emergencies.

After that, I'd say a no-load mutual fund.  Market timing is for people with too much money.  Don't you wish you had bout Google or ford a year ago?  If you were already in the market- you would have.  I think you still can, but you won't have the gains.  Just keep putting in a little evry month.  Pay yourself first; a tithe to your future that just keeps growing.  Tortoise and the hare type of thing. 
Just ask everyone who gave money to Bernie.

[FunJimmy]

Don't you wish you had bout Google or ford a year ago? 

Well, if you had bought Google a year ago, you would be in the red today, but if you purchased in July 2010 you would have a hansom return to pay taxes on today. Market timing I guess. 

[BeSeeingYou]

Money markets are for Seniors or short term places to park your money while you figure out how to make it work for you.  At best they may keep up with inflation.  No place for a youngster to be parking his money for the long term.  Mutual funds are a good way for the new investor to dip their toe in.  Hopefully you are taking full advantage of a 401 K program where you work and maxing out the employer match.  This can be huge in the long run.

[BeSeeingYou]

Don't you wish you had bout Google or ford a year ago? 

Well, if you had bought Google a year ago, you would be in the red today, but if you purchased in July 2010 you would have a hansom return to pay taxes on today. Market timing I guess. 

No, that's just hindsight.

[FunJimmy]

No, that's just hindsight.

Ya, you're right and hindsight is 20-20. 

[BeSeeingYou]

No, that's just hindsight.

Ya, you're right and hindsight is 20-20. 

And we would all be billionaires.

[seaweb11]

I missed the 1st share Yahoo buy, don't ask me #$%* about any of it

Good luck though.

[Scott S]

After a quarter of our 401k vanished I am leery about Wall Street.  At 61 it's had to start over again.  Just sayin'. 

 It's hard to say this without sounding like an ass, and that's not how I mean to come across, but when (if) I make it to 61 you better believe that about 95% of my 401K will be in very, very low risk stuff.
  Right now, at 44, I'm taking chances and seeing positive results.

[Bob Wessner]

Every single advisor in the world will tell you to pay off you debts first.  VERY few stocks will make up for what your credit card interest is draining you.
If all debt is gone, put the money in a money market account and forget it.  You need money for emergencies.  Oh yes- you decidedly DO. Do.  Yes. 
For freaking emergencies.

After that, I'd say a no-load mutual fund.  Market timing is for people with too much money.  Don't you wish you had bout Google or ford a year ago?  If you were already in the market- you would have.  I think you still can, but you won't have the gains.  Just keep putting in a little evry month.  Pay yourself first; a tithe to your future that just keeps growing.  Tortoise and the hare type of thing. 
Just ask everyone who gave money to Bernie.

Ditto.

I would emphasize the emergency fund, min. of six months of living expenses, more would be better. In another downturn, you could burn through retirement intended funds quickly.. and, they won't be there in your account when things turn around. It's the same reason they say don't borrow from 401K's unless it's the difference between life and death.

[72 yellow]

After a quarter of our 401k vanished I am leery about Wall Street.  At 61 it's had to start over again.  Just sayin'. 

 It's hard to say this without sounding like an ass, and that's not how I mean to come across, but when (if) I make it to 61 you better believe that about 95% of my 401K will be in very, very low risk stuff.
  Right now, at 44, I'm taking chances and seeing positive results.

No offense taken...Unless you have a financial advisor that tells you it is just a market correction, not the beginning of a depression.  By the way he was let go by the company.

[754]

Buying right, and selling bike parts, can give huge returns..

 That being said, been out of it for quite a while.., playng the game less.. Pretty well buying stuff to keep these days.. It is harder to sell stuff these days..but.. good stuff always sells..

[74cb750]

My experience....
beware of companies touting 401k plans.

I "invested" , lets say, under $100k in 10+ years and when the company went belly up
I got $625 7 years later from the govt regulators. Seems the owner "invested"
the money into his pockets, and lost it.

Stock market investing? Never again.
peace,
from a still unemployed worker.
michel

[FrankenFrankenstuff]

Don't you wish you had bout Google or ford a year ago? 

Well, if you had bought Google a year ago, you would be in the red today, but if you purchased in July 2010 you would have a hansom return to pay taxes on today. Market timing I guess. 

I bought a single share of Google early last year. I only had enough for one. It has gone up 56%. If I had money I could have made money. I like to dump funds into mutual funds. Just put your money into something and let it sit. Dont try to be a daytrader with a grand....you will fail. I work with a guy that bought some "Rare earth elements" stock yesturday morning and it went up 14% then today it dropped. It is all speculation and Lemmings. They are all lemmings.

[BeSeeingYou]

Don't you wish you had bout Google or ford a year ago? 

Well, if you had bought Google a year ago, you would be in the red today, but if you purchased in July 2010 you would have a hansom return to pay taxes on today. Market timing I guess. 

I bought a single share of Google early last year. I only had enough for one. It has gone up 56%. If I had money I could have made money. I like to dump funds into mutual funds. Just put your money into something and let it sit. Dont try to be a daytrader with a grand....you will fail. I work with a guy that bought some "Rare earth elements" stock yesturday morning and it went up 14% then today it dropped. It is all speculation and Lemmings. They are all lemmings.

Damn!  I just bought into Lemmings

[BeSeeingYou]

My experience....
beware of companies touting 401k plans.

I "invested" , lets say, under $100k in 10+ years and when the company went belly up
I got $625 7 years later from the govt regulators. Seems the owner "invested"
the money into his pockets, and lost it.

Stock market investing? Never again.
peace,
from a still unemployed worker.
michel

Sorry about your situation.  You were obviously the victim of a massive fraud but most company sponsored 401 K programs are legit.  All the 401 programs I have been involved with were run by reputable outside financial firms.  Did your company administer this themselves?  Did they require you to buy company stock?  Those would be things that would make me take a good look at the inner workings and demand statements audited by an outside firm. Even that may not be enough, Enron comes to mind but that is the exception not the rule. 

Yeah, the market is in many ways a big casino rigged to benefit the big players and insiders but we little guys can tag along and benefit from the table scraps if we do our due diligence or you hire someone to do it for you.  I have been through three big downturns now (1987, 2001, and this latest one) and though I sh!t my pants a few times I have never regretted being in the market.  

[Don R]

A friend of mine invested in Indian motorcycles, He's got about $150,000 worth by my best guess. He started in Simplex and cushman and worked his way up. He calls them his IRA.
Indian Retirement Account. Hard to start with a grand but it depends where you start and if you trade wisely.

[dave500]

i invest in petrol once a week,but burn the profits daily!

[the technological J]

well currently im a waiter and paying my way thru college and somehow my wife and i are coming out ahead so ive just been thinking about setting aside some money to grow i dont have a 401k and prob wont endup working somewhere that offers them so ive alway thought about some investments.. i do have some cash saved up but this is money that can be done without for he next 20 years i dont knwo who to trust because idiots have disguised themselves everywhere and are quite the commoners

[cookindaddy]

Probably we don't have as many choices here in Canada but I went with my bank to set up my plan. Banks here are huge organizations and fairly conservative we keep hearing so unlikely to fail or abscond. I have on-line access so I can look in and see how things are doing and make changes if I like but I rarely do.

I have an advisor at the bank who is a licensed financial planner and I meet with her once a year but rarely do I follow her advice. I prefer to make my own decisions, based on my own research and understanding of how things are going. I own shares in just a few companies but I make a point of following them pretty closely and they are companies that I think highly of and I have done well with them. I have a couple of mutual funds but I prefer individual stocks rather than paying a percentage to a fund manager.

 

[BeSeeingYou]

Probably we don't have as many choices here in Canada but I went with my bank to set up my plan. Banks here are huge organizations and fairly conservative we keep hearing so unlikely to fail or abscond. I have on-line access so I can look in and see how things are doing and make changes if I like but I rarely do.

I have an advisor at the bank who is a licensed financial planner and I meet with her once a year but rarely do I follow her advice. I prefer to make my own decisions, based on my own research and understanding of how things are going.

 

This is exactly how I started and is a good way to get into the market for newbies.  I would also look into putting it into an Roth IRA so it can grow tax free.