What are the Investment Options Now?

Rapmastac1

Rapmastac1

macrumors 65816
I'm currently living out on my own and will be working two jobs soon. I'm going to school next year while I save. Where I'm at with my expenses, one job will be able to pay all of my monthly dues with about 300.00 left to save. I'm in line with another job now and will see about 800.00 on top of that just for savings. So figuring I would want to save about 1000.00 a month over the course of the next year, what are my investment options?

I joined Charles Schwab about a year ago to do some investing work but stopped when I saw how ludicrous their fees are. I would like a diversified profile with a medium risk medium gain strategy. A friend of mine works at World Financial Group and has given my some brief run-downs of plans they have. What other companies should I be looking at? Can I do my own investing online manually and save myself the fees?

As of now I'm looking at quick short term investments of a year or two. After I get out of school I will be more interested in long term plans as I will (hopefully) be able to save more.

With my major lifestyle change as of recent I have this big NEED to invest, not just save money. I don't want to work for money anymore... I want my money to start working for me.
 
Invest in something you understand, well.

Can be an industry, or program.

Don't hop on board a momentum stock, something that keeps going up because "it always goes up" regardless of the financials released.
 
If you have any outstanding debt, pay that off first. It may not be as sexy as investing in a security but that is like a guaranteed return.

(No debt? Good for you...)

OK, a year or two at $1k per month and not knowing what your options are = likely amateur investor which means you don't need all the offerings of the big firms so look for ones that have the lowest trade fee. You don't want the fees to eat up significant amounts of your cash pool.

Responsible thing to do: Open an IRA, stick the money in an index fund for now and revisit it after you graduate.

What I would do: Pay off the debt/school, stick it in a high yielding CD and enjoy college.

Enough randomness...coffee is wearing off and I have a presentation tomorrow...
 
My .02...do your own research and invest online thru a firm of your choosing. Unless you have a bajillion dollars and an accountant that needs to assist you with your investment options why not DIY? Sure there may be some trial and error but at the end of the day your are in charge of what works best for you and your portfolio. :rolleyes:

That being said, I've been with E*trade for a few years now and was satisfied until I was recently made aware of their "trade per QTR clause". I've been hearing some good things about ING from some buddies and may give them a spin. :)
 
I agree with the previous posters in that the first thing you need to do is invest wisely in companies and industries you know. This strategy has been made most famous by Warren Buffett in recent years who said he never invested in a company without knowing EVERYTHING about the business, its cycles, profitability, margins, etc. Furthermore, as this turndown has proven, you have to be willing to stick in the market. I tell clients that they don’t lose money until they pull it out and while times may not be great right now, the worst thing they could do is take a huge loss they could have recovered in a few years.

Finally, if you do have debt, I would also recommend paying that off/down first before getting into any kind of investments. It just makes more sense to reduce your monthly bills, plus that means you have more money to invest! :D
 
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