Investing

[El Blanco]

While I love reading people bitch and moan and do the same song and dance on how the neo-cons are evil and how libs are evil, I actually want some plain old information.

How do you guys invest?

Me, I started a Roth IRA (I'm in my late 20s so this seemed like a good option for me). The maximum is 4k a year, but I doubt I'll even reach that unless I hit an upswing sometime soon. I'm an independant contractor, so a 401(k) would be great, but not happening right now.

I'm also hoping to buy a house by the end of the year. A modest 2 family deal so I can get someone else to pay my mortgage(most of it atleast) while I build equity.

So, what do you guys have and why?

I don't need to know exact details. Infact, its a good idea to keep it as general as possible. I just want to know whats out there and what would work for me.

[ziggytrix]

Well, if you aren't making enough to put much into stocks or savings bonds, but aren't afraid of the responsibility of owning property, buying a house is the way to go! Rent is for SUCKERS.

I can't say I'd wanna jump right into the landlord game (and I only saw about 15 minutes of Pacific Heights) - and certainly not want to share a wall with my renters, but having someone susidize your house payments must be nice. Just don't count on it in your budget til you know you have a stable renter.

Other than my house, my only real investment is a crappy low-yield savings account.

[ScruU2wice]

One of the people that came to our store worked for a wholesale mortgage company, and he told me that basically the most steady way to go was to invest in stocks.

My dad put all his money in IRA, but people were trying to convince him into real estate and business. Business is a gamble and effort, and I keep hearing about real estate bubble burst, which sounds scary...

Ask a financial advisor or two before you do anything. Opinions are a dime a dozen.

[Geggy]

I agree with ziggy. Renting is for drifters and suckers. My grandmother perished in 2000 so I inherited 10 grand. Decided to do what my grandmother would've wanted me to do, I used most of the 10 thou for down payment for a shitty ass 75 grand condo one year later. Used the remaining of the 10 thou to fix it up reeaal niiice. Now it's 5 years later it's already valued at 145,000. Oo-eeee. After refinancing 3 times, I now pay only 635 a month toward mortgage and 150 a month for condo fee. I was planning to buy another condo and live there while rent out my current condo at an insanely high price but I realize it wasn't worth the hassle since I lead a busy life. Buying a home would be the wisest choice if you plan to stay at one place for a long time, do believe.

I also signed up for 401k at work 4 years ago so I'm aiming to retire at 60 year old and hopefully work a landscaping job at a golf course so I can golf for free.

I buy store brand neccessities such as food, hyngenies, cleaning products, etc. They're usually 20-40 percent less than major brands. I throw the rest of my spending money away on toys, pot and bicycle parts.

Www.fool.com is a good website if ya wanna learn more about investing and stock. It also pays to have a lot of jewish friends...

[ziggytrix]

omg you didn't