Do any of you guys....

[SiR_dude]

....invest money? Like as in stocks? If so, what do you use to pick your stocks? Any advice?

I'd like to make some extra $$$ by investing some savings...it's easy enough to do online through the bank, but I'm quite a newb when it comes to public stocks...anyone?

[ESPNSTI]

I have 401K through work (Principal).
I don't really invest in individual stocks, mostly just mutual funds.
I've been doing this for 3 years now.
The first year I broke even, last year, I got a 31% return, and this year I'm getting about a 2% return (despite the big drop).

I've got most of my money in a managed retirement fund, but I also have some money in a mid-cap stock index fund, a small-cap fund and an international small company fund.
The international small company fund is doing really well at this point at an 18% return.

Now I must say, I don't know much about it at all, I simply picked the funds that have gotten the best returns over the last quarter / year and the last 5 years (which perhaps isn't the best strategy).

Some rules that I go by:

- The best way to invest is to not spend it on interest of loans, so devote most of your money to paying off credit cards, car loans, mortgages etc...
- If your renting a home, make buying one your first priority, if you're renting you throw money away each month, if you own a home, you probably pay a bit more each month, but you get most of that back in equity.
- Reduce your cost of living: If you smoke then quit, cook for yourself, rather than dining out (you'd be surprised how much money you save).

If you're investing long term and you're young and you're just starting, then :
- Buy low, sell high (duh). You don't gain the most by buying stock that has already increased in value a lot. Ideally, you want to look for something that has not gained a lot, but that you expect will start to increase (short term or in the long run).
- Put a chunk of your money in medium to high risk stock, then when you're closer and closer to retirement, move it to less risky stock.
- Once you've bought it, don't sell it, even if it drops a lot. This is because over several decades of time, it will likely have gained in value. One exception is if it just started to drop and you think the company is not going to survive.
- Diversify both in risk of stock and location. It might be good to have some low / medium and high risk stock. Also have stock from different markets (North America, Europe, Asia, etc...).

[haz]

I invest in "T5PC". It's pritty good ..

haz

[VUK]

Originally Posted by ESPNSTI

I have 401K through work (Principal).
I don't really invest in individual stocks, mostly just mutual funds.
I've been doing this for 3 years now.
The first year I broke even, last year, I got a 31% return, and this year I'm getting about a 2% return (despite the big drop).

I've got most of my money in a managed retirement fund, but I also have some money in a mid-cap stock index fund, a small-cap fund and an international small company fund.
The international small company fund is doing really well at this point at an 18% return.

Now I must say, I don't know much about it at all, I simply picked the funds that have gotten the best returns over the last quarter / year and the last 5 years (which perhaps isn't the best strategy).

Some rules that I go by:

- The best way to invest is to not spend it on interest of loans, so devote most of your money to paying off credit cards, car loans, mortgages etc...
- If your renting a home, make buying one your first priority, if you're renting you throw money away each month, if you own a home, you probably pay a bit more each month, but you get most of that back in equity.
- Reduce your cost of living: If you smoke then quit, cook for yourself, rather than dining out (you'd be surprised how much money you save).

If you're investing long term and you're young and you're just starting, then :
- Buy low, sell high (duh). You don't gain the most by buying stock that has already increased in value a lot. Ideally, you want to look for something that has not gained a lot, but that you expect will start to increase (short term or in the long run).
- Put a chunk of your money in medium to high risk stock, then when you're closer and closer to retirement, move it to less risky stock.
- Once you've bought it, don't sell it, even if it drops a lot. This is because over several decades of time, it will likely have gained in value. One exception is if it just started to drop and you think the company is not going to survive.
- Diversify both in risk of stock and location. It might be good to have some low / medium and high risk stock. Also have stock from different markets (North America, Europe, Asia, etc...).

i am very impressed

[justin syder]

Some rules that I go by:

- The best way to invest is to not spend it on interest of loans, so devote most of your money to paying off credit cards, car loans, mortgages etc...

i have a credit card with a zero balance, one card is all i need at the moment and i buy things i can pay-off. Its stupid to give those credit card bastards extra money.

Im sure Kanderson could tell us a little something about making money.

[SiR_dude]

Well, yeah, I've been in mutual funds to, and got roasted on my ass because my parent's "financial advisor" thought it was still good to put my hard-earned money into a science and technology-based mutual fund AFTER the tech bubble burst. THe result - 80% of my life savings woth less than 1/3 of what they should be. So mutual funds can kiss my ass.

I don't smoke or anything like that (well, I drink a lot of Tim Horton's coffee - usually 1 a day ) but I don't have much expenses, other than gas (about $60 CDN a week). I always pay VISA on time, so that's no prob. But me and the gf are thinking of getting married in the next coupla years, and I want to make some money investing, but I'm too scared to just go and buy stocks. I've been burned before, and don't want it to happen again. Guaranteed return stuff doesn't give enough interest to suit me.

Maybe I'll just set a few grand aside and see if I can make some. I dunno.

[haha604]

Personally I find investing a tiresome exercise because I keep thinking about it even when I work and sleep. And to be honest an outsider to the financial industry cannot possibly have the time to digest every piece of information from the market. What I do now is focus on a few items at a time, such as the dollar and oil.

Sir_dude if you want a low risk option you can always buy bonds. Better than putting money in the bank right now.

[CanadianLoonie]

Gold and silver are what potentially may be the most profitable play given the potential of a US dollar collaspe.

Reasons for a US dollar collaspe:

-record government budget deficits/debt, of which about half is foreign-held
-record trade/current account deficits (importing more than exporting)
-record consumer debt (people spending more than they can afford to)
-record low levels of household savings

All of that makes the United States of America the WORLD'S LARGEST DEBTOR.

Ever noticed how every major currency is appreciating against the US dollar recently?

And some reading to back my point up.

http://www.safehaven.com/article-2116.htm

For sometime now, we have warned about America's financial imbalance and vast accumulation of domestic debt, which are the dollar's Achilles heel. To date the dollar has lost over twenty percent of its value and appears poised to slide another 10 percent. Without the largesse of foreign investors, the Americans must somehow attract more than $50 billion of net investment each month. Foreigners bought $39 billion in net purchases of US securities in August, less than the $64 billion bought in July.

The big risk lies on the United States whose debt load threatens to endanger the world's economy. The US has become the world's biggest debtor. Every day, the superpower is looking more like another big Latin American debtor. For the past decade, America has been living beyond its means. The US government has increased spending while cutting taxes, causing a swing of $700 billion of red ink. America's households have also spent more than they earn, subsidizing their lifestyle against the illusory value of their home. We believe a potent cocktail of twin deficits will lead to a collapse of the dollar, exacerbated by $55 oil prices and continued geo-political uncertainties.

America's bubble was spawned by a huge reliance on debt and its way of life is unsustainable. Unlike the Chinese whose boom is built on traditional wealth creation, America's boom is built on debt and the false illusion of "asset wealth". Since 2001, a potent mixture of leveraged assets, deficits at 10 percent of GDP, $7.3 trillion of government debt, negligible savings and the opiate of artificially low interest rates have contributed to a huge U.S. credit binge, which will be passed on to the next generation. The United States today has over $53 trillion in government debts and liabilities that start to mature in four years when the first of the baby boomers begin to retire. The average household's personal debt today is about $85,000, and if you include Medicare and social security, this increases five times to $475,000. A mixture of spent savings and huge fiscal deficits, financed largely by foreigners, has ruined many Latin American economies. The US is poised to follow, but just how big a crash, we don't yet know (almost half of the US government debt is currently held by foreigners). And in this quarter, this appetite for American assets appears to be waning along with interest in the greenback. Gold will be a good thing to have.

[haha604]

Collapse seems too strong a word. Revaluation is more like it. Furthermore recent gains in other currencies are in my opinion due more to speculation before the US Presidential election than investors' sudden realization of US's current account deficit.

Certainly the trend for the dollar in the next few years is to go down, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will collapse. The biggest holders of American securities are Asian governments, and it is not in their interest to see America (export market) suffer an economic slump. My thought is that America will sort out a deal with its major trading partners for a revaluation of the dollar to solve its trade deficits.

[CanadianLoonie]

In any case, a lower US dollar will mean a higher gold price.

[SiR_dude]

Originally Posted by haha604

Sir_dude if you want a low risk option you can always buy bonds. Better than putting money in the bank right now.

True, but bonds are paying really low right now. Even GIC's are higher. I dunno, I have to think about it for a bit.

[bahnstormer]

i sell drugs...
very big profit margins and
gains have been growing steadily since the crash

[CanadianLoonie]

Drugs...as in flu vaccines?

[Jostyrostelli]

We have a dealer!..

[jasonchiu]

dont we all regret not buying some apple share's earlier b4 they started selling ipods? could have made loooootttttttsssssss of money