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Can someone recommend a book/audiobook/podcast for me that goes over the basics of investing? I'm 24 and transitioning from a generic job into a career job and I'd like to learn about various investing options, not only for retirement, but just in general. The links in the OP appear to be for stock portfolios specifically.
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Apr 16, 2010 11:19
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Not sure if this is the right thread, but does anybody have an opinion on the Amex Clear/Blue card for a first credit card?
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Apr 18, 2010 11:07
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I'm looking to play around with a couple hundred bucks in the stock market, doing some trading online, moving money around quite a bit just to play with the market and get a feel for things before I do any big investing down the road. I was thinking about Etrade. Is this recommended, or are there better alternatives? Also, one question about a policy in their accounts:quote:
Does this mean that before the 60-day mark, I either have to deposit to Etrade $500, or buy $500 worth of investments through Etrade? One other question. Because of the work I do, I have no options for a work-sponsored retirement program, leaving me to fend for myself for retirement. Is there a resource I should look into to start to piece together some ideas of what I should be looking in to? I'm 25 and have no significant retirement savings. I know a little bit about IRA's, mutual funds, and what-not, but not enough that I feel comfortable deciding on a retirement investment plan at this point. I have $0 debt, minus student loans. PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 07:21 on Feb 9, 2011 |
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Feb 9, 2011 07:08
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I have a Fidelity 401K with a couple hundred from an old job of mine. Should I be doing anything with it, seeing as how I'm not going to get any more deposits into it from my company?
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Feb 10, 2011 04:01
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Just got my first credit card: $1500 max with a $22% interest. Got a ways to go it seems 
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Feb 11, 2011 08:40
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What's the rough minimum requirement for opening a Roth IRA? I'm 25, just starting to get some retirement ideas together, but I think places like Vanguard require $3,000 to open?
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Feb 12, 2011 04:06
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Zeta Taskforce posted:You will pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty and owe taxes on the entire amount you take out. If it's a couple hundred, it's not like the penalties and taxes will kill you. But you could roll it into an IRA, or at least consider it the first part to save for an IRA. Its your call. You can blow it on something today, or put it away for tomorrow and watch it grow. Question on this: I have some minor 401k money that's not being added to anymore with Fidelity. Normally I need about $2500 to open a Roth IRA with them. Is it even possible to roll that into an IRA, do I have to pay the difference, or can I start it "underfunded" if I continually invest in it? Can I manually add to my 401k (is this a good idea, or even worth it for a company I no longer work for)? I have a hell of a time figuring out their site. Also, what do people generally think of Fidelity for IRAs? Better/worse than Vanguard? Lastly, I'm going to put a few hundred bucks into the market to do some trading with. This isn't going to be long-term investing (as I'm only 25), more just me playing with some money, trading quickly in the market. I was considering Etrade to open with, but would something else suit me better? My financial goal is to get about 2 months living expenses available (checking/savings/cash, roughly $2,000), open an IRA for retirement, and start a short-term investing stock portfolio (since I don't think I'm ready to invest long-term in stocks yet). I'm 25, unmarried, employed full-time, no significant bills (EG, car payments). Is this plan good or bad? Something I'm missing?
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Feb 15, 2011 10:20
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Is there a reason I should or shouldn't have a sweep account with Etrade? Like is it good for people who do X in the market, and not for others? I vaguely understand what they are, but I'm not certain on the practical applications (aside from "get interest on your uninvested cash with us until you spend it").
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Feb 16, 2011 08:23
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I'm still wondering my above question about Sweep Accounts: I have an Etrade account, but currently my un-invested cash with Etrade is just sitting in a cash account. Apparently Etrade "recommends" a sweep account, but I'm not certain if it's something I should be looking in to? Are there certain times or thresholds in which they're advantageous to have? Does it depend on how much I work my portfolio and how much un-invested cash I have?
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Feb 18, 2011 23:00
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If I charge a purchase to my credit card, pay it off, then return the purchase, is it possible to transfer the "extra" back into my bank account? I have an Amazon.com CC with Chase, and I bank with Chase as well.
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Mar 29, 2011 07:43
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(Solved)
PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Mar 30, 2011 |
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Mar 30, 2011 23:01
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Two questions: What's the go-to account for savings now? I was looking at ING and I have Chase for checking. This would be my primary savings account. I live in Portland if it makes a difference (say if there is a good local place that someone can recommend), but any place or online is fine with me, since I don't plan on needing to draw directly from it (I can transfer funds to Chase if I'm in a pinch). I have two credit cards. One is an Amazon Visa that I use for pretty much everything (because I buy a shitload from Amazon, enough to make 3% rewards worth it). My second card is a Barclay Visa that I got when I financed an iMac (and I paid it off early, before any interest if it matters). Now that the iMac is paid off, what should I do with the Barclay card? I don't plan on using it for anything whatsoever now that I paid off. Put a small recurring payment on it, let it sit, cancel? PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 10:25 on Feb 16, 2012 |
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Feb 16, 2012 10:13
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If I open ING Savings and it gets all shitted-up by CapOne, would it be much hassle to transfer my money out somewhere else? I wouldn't imagine so, but would the acquisition make a difference there?
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Feb 17, 2012 02:33
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Budget question: I make around $50,000 a year. My monthly spending and expenses are around $1,200 (including extra spending like going out, excluding superfluous spending like PRADA SHOES and poo poo). I have no children/dependents, mortgage, car payments, CC debt, etc. How much emergency cash should I have available, and how much should I be investing? Would $5,000 off-hand cash be a good amount?
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Feb 17, 2012 05:11
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I could be totally wrong, but didn't Obama sign something that restricted student loan payback to like 10-20% of your income?Ganon posted:6-12 months in cash would be ideal. That should be easily attainable with such low expenses. I was just worried I might have too much in cash, and should have invested more of it. PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Feb 17, 2012 |
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Feb 17, 2012 06:07
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Has anybody gone all online with their banking? I use Chase for my checking but I'm starting to get fees now because of no direct-depositing. I use ING for savings and I have a checking account and a brokerage account with Etrade. I was thinking of just canceling canceling my Chase account to avoid fees and go all online but it seems that like it might be problematic if I have to say, deposit cash for instance. Has anyone done this?
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Mar 25, 2012 22:23
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I invest in Dow companies every year. The way I look at it is that if suddenly McDonalds, Microsoft, General Electric, AT&T, Exxon, Kraft, etc all went simultaneously bankrupt and I lost my investments, there would be a hell of a lot more to worry about in the country than a retirement plan. In my completely unfounded opinion, I think people fear the stock market because they see it as this sort of roulette wheel where if you unknowingly make one mistake you lose your entire savings and suddenly can't retire and your kids can't go to college (and commission-charging full-service brokerages are more than happy keeping people thinking that way). It's really not, you have all the tools at your disposal and can learn to manage your own retirement portfolio in just a few hours. PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 10:21 on Mar 27, 2012 |
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Mar 27, 2012 10:05
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Solved.
PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Jun 1, 2012 |
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Jun 1, 2012 05:01
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Can someone explain to me why a testamentary trust is considered legally "airtight", but other things can be contested in probate during the settling of an estate with a will? Why can the executor of the estate challenge beneficiary designations in a will, but if a trust is involved, the trust is protected from such things? Is the testamentary trust just considered a legal entity which transfers managerial ownership to the trustee/beneficiary upon the trustors death? PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Jun 15, 2012 |
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Jun 15, 2012 07:35
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As a rough estimate, about how much money should be put away in long-term savings monthly? This includes cash savings, investments, etc. 20% net? This is presuming it wouldn't better used to pay off debts/mortgage/etc.
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Jun 29, 2012 21:56
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Does anyone have a chart or something that details what percent of income is withheld with the different claimed allowances?
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Jul 5, 2012 21:36
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Remy Marathe posted:You'll probably find one in here (links to PDF): I'll check it out. I'm trying to crunch numbers to determine if I should claim more. Ultimately I'd like to get $0 back as a tax return (even if I pay a little bit), because I can defer that money into an investment account in the mean time.
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Jul 6, 2012 17:10
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I have two cards with Chase, with near equal limits. One I opened a few months ago, one a few years. Neither carries a balance and both have activity. The newer card I find I'm using for 95% of my purchasing. Chase will transfer my limit if I close one card. Would it be advantageous to close my older card and add its limit to the new card? Would it affect credit much? I'm mainly looking to simplify my finances and don't want multiple CCs. I have 720+ credit, if it matters.
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Sep 13, 2012 23:13
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My understanding is also that because a trust is a legal entity (in a sense, sort of like a business is), the ownership of the trust just gets transferred between parties, and the assets inside the trust are protected in the event that a will is contested or something.
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Sep 24, 2012 16:07
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If you took out a 30-year loan, the monthly should be like ~25% of your net. That being said, I'd double the payment to pay it off quicker (once your other outstanding debts are eliminated of course).
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Sep 30, 2012 05:53
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If you're with BAC, check if M-L offers any sort of maintenance fee waiver on their IRAs, I know Chase does. You might consider that route.
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Oct 4, 2012 22:47
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I really like Target Date funds for 401ks, not so much for IRAs unless it's your sole retirement vehicle. However, at 24, I'd just open a brokerage account and go long on some blue chips. You've got pretty much infinite risk tolerance.
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Oct 5, 2012 03:12
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MrKatharsis posted:All the target date funds in my work 401(k) have very short history. Am I really supposed to invest in something without a lifetime/10-year/5-year track record? Target Date Funds are revolving, so something like a Target Date 2055 has only been around for a few years at most. Look at the inception date on them. It wouldn't make any sense to have a target date fund for the year 2055 that started 10 years ago. Target Date Funds are just mutual funds which change their asset allocation over time to better reflect changing portfolio needs as you get closer to retirement (IE, get more conservative). Something like PIMCO Total Return (PTTRX) is fantastic when you're 10 years from retirement, but it's way too conservative for a 20-something. Target Date Funds are usually have a higher expense ratio, but for just putting away some % of your income to get an employer match is fine. It's not like that's the sole form of retirement investing you do. I put 5% into my 401K on a target date (+match), 20% into a brokerage, and N into a Trad IRA (blended) if I need a writeoff. PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Oct 5, 2012 |
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Oct 5, 2012 04:53
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MrKatharsis posted:I don't see the point in handing money to the manager off my Target Date 2055 fund if he can't get the lifetime performance of the fund above 5.35% in its youngest, fastest growing phase. This it's a good year for the market, he should be killing it. Edit: fund started Jan 1st 2011. I'm pretty sure it's not that it's not possible or that the fund manager doesn't know how to get a high return, but when you're dealing with retirements you want a lot more security and diversification in your vesting. It's not a hedge fund. If suddenly my Target Date shot up 14% (independent of the market) I'd be a little worried because that's a pretty high return for something that's supposed to be vested in a way to prevent (or at least soften) catastrophic losses. Your Target Date shouldn't be your only vehicle for retirement, but it's probably the best hands-off option available. If you want the high-risk-high-return, open an additional brokerage account to trade on the open market. My Target Date hits something like 7% annually, but my stocks hit around 12%.
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Oct 5, 2012 16:05
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The majority of people don't have the desire to learn the ins and outs of trading, technical analysis, portfolio diversity, risk assessment, and market prediction. Most people want to throw some money into a fund and pull it out in 40 years when they retire.
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Oct 6, 2012 03:37
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The "guaranteed" risk-free option is to throw it in a savings account at like ING and get a .8% return. This would net you $80 in interest over one year. Basically, the higher you want your return, the more risk you have to take on. PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Oct 6, 2012 |
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Oct 6, 2012 06:01
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A CD is basically like a "locked" savings account. You put money into a CD for a set amount of time ("term"), and you can't touch the money for any reason. After the term is up ("maturity"), you can withdraw the money back again. The advantage of a CD is that the interest rate is higher than a savings account, however you are sacrificing your ability to withdraw the money at will. Technically you can withdraw the money from the CD early but you suffer early redemption penalties by doing so.
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Oct 6, 2012 07:28
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Even with CD rates being so bad you'll be lucky to beat inflation, they're still pretty much the only "no-risk" investment option. Some people are just mentally adverse to any sort of loss whatsoever, even if it means having no net gain. I've seen people put $500,000 into a .5% CD because they're terrified of "the market" as if it's some crazy Wall Street roulette table.
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Oct 6, 2012 21:09
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I'd keep 3-6 months cash on hand as an emergency fund first off. The idea behind the IRA is that it's a retirement fund. However, Roths can be liquidated with no penalty in certain conditions, like a first-time homebuyer downpayment. If you want emergency cash on hand, do a savings. If you want to invest it for 40 years, put it on an IRA (or open a brokerage account).
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Oct 15, 2012 01:18
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The Neatest Little Guide To Stock Market Investing is really good if you want an introduction to technical stock analysis. Not general investing, but stock market specific.
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Oct 16, 2012 14:46
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Not being negative but that seems odd. If its a family friend why wouldn't they let you pay it in installments, since its an engagement ring? And if not, why are they selling you a $20K ring for only $7K? They're taking a $13K loss on it? They already made the ring with $0 down? They made a $20K ring with no contract or other guarantee of payment? PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Oct 22, 2012 |
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Oct 22, 2012 20:16
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You make 55k a year, which is around 42k net, or $3500 a month? You're expenses are $2800 a month, meaning you have only 1 month of runway and you want to take on twice as much as that in debt, with something like a personal loan? How did you expect to pay it off and what was the interest like anyway? At 10% interest it's $700/mo in interest alone--the entirety of your extra cash.
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Oct 23, 2012 23:39
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Initio posted:I've always assumed it was because the merchant pays less for debit transactions than for credit. This is why. Also, merchants can't ask for your ID when you use your card, or to refuse to run credit unless your purchase is above a certain amount. Technically speaking, as in the agreement fine print with Visa/MC.
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Oct 28, 2012 02:20
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Why not just open some extra accounts where you're at?
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Nov 6, 2012 15:55
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FCKGW posted:I got a Costco AmEx that has a 0% APR for 6 months. Can I do a balance transfer from another card and still have the 0% APR on it? There's a 3% balance transfer fee and a 15.6% balance transfer APR but I don't know if that overrides the intro APR or not. Those cards are usually 0% APR for purchases only. You'll have to read the fine print to find out if it applies to balance transfers or not.
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Nov 10, 2012 18:53
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