I need sound financial advice - who's got some for me?

It can be a book to read, a website to check out, whatever. I don't know where to begin & I can't just let it sit in a savings account.

For goodness sakes, give it to me... and I will invest it for you. My pleasure, that's what friends are for.

By the way... I know all investments.

Not.

~Smile.

Go in2 sharez!!

Or sumfin...

And to think I got all excited when I saw 2 responses

CalhounSq said:

Invest in properties!! Buy, re-vamp and sell houses. Or sumfinz...

Property! It's pretty stable, I mean the potential losses you might incur are nowhere near as great as say the stock market. imo.

Bricks and mortar

Propery - buy yerself a holiday home. Or give it all away and start again

--- I am kinda a new comer as far as investing is concerned too ...

I have a good buddy .... who is a CPA/major accountant for a large large corporation .... who told me ...just invest on your own ! .... use Ameritrade ... or Price-Waterhouse .... and DO IT !!! ... read read read ... and for heavens sake --- dont put all of it in one stock !!!! ...

I actually have another college friend who is ON WALL ST ... (with a major firm) who actually handles the acct for me ... so he basically picks where and who to invest in ... for me ... but i am seriously thinking of switching ...

my mother has another financial advisor ... who did much better last yr (than my guy did ... and she pays that one LESS than i am paying mine ... so that is the reason I may switch ... keep in mind--- over the yr the market was up ...

i think there are a couple comments I would make --- one is how much do u want to be involved ... in the investing ... is it like a hobby for you ??? or is it something more like ... ok ... here is $3,000.... invest it .... check it occasionally ... etc .... i only say this because my father was a very active trader ,etc ... and it became his PASSION /HOBBY ... and to me ... i never wanted it to be that ... FOR ME ... etc ... if the market goes down 300 points , etc ... i dont wanna have a coronary ...

the other things ... or comment .... i would have is ... and any basically smart person knows this ... but DIVERSIFY .... if u have 200,000 in stocks ... maybe u should put 100,000 into real estate ... etc .... if u have 200,000 in stocks ... dont put it all in drug companies ( i say this because recently u can check ... Merck and Pfizer have slid drastically ... in some cases ) ... I work in the real estate industry ... and often i think ... maybe i should buy some more real estate , etc ...

---oops --- you asked about websites.... books ... too ....

when i first got involved in investing ... i read a book ... by Charles Schwab ... it was a "beginners guide" etc .... and it did teach me alot ... especially about STOCKS ... and MUTUAL FUNDS , etc .... my father was mainly involved in STOCKS ... but ... i didnt know all the differences ... between stocks, bonds, mutual funds , etc ... there are so many ... one of the main things i learned ...and i think about it alot ... and this concerns his views on STOCKS :

- (he was really pushing the idea of investing in STOCKS ... ) and he made a comment --- that you should think of owning stock - as a "living thing" whose purpose is to "grow" ...and DO NOT fall in love with a particular stock ... sometimes because of economic cycles, etc ... it may be time to sell a particular stock and move onto another ... etc ...

another website ... that was recommended to me ... for its "free portions" ... was MOTLEY FOOL .... keep in mind ... they do have a "members area" that is supposed to be good too ... (i never did join .. mainly because ... i was paying a financial guy , etc )

and lastly --- i do buy BARRONS once in a while ... i like the "reviews" that they do ... and i am surprised how accurate some of their "forecasts" end up being ....

How I learned about getting out of debt and investing was first reading the book Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey!!! He is a syndicated money talk host and has a few others books out as well. He was a millionare at 26 and lost everything!!! He radio show is great see if you can find it in you area. Or visit www.daveramsey.com!!! I already had a savings account but once I started paying off debts and having extra money to invest well the future is much brighter.

I would start with a Roth Ira first, before you go into stocks and mutual funds. And now I have a 401k at my job too so that helps alot.

Yeah will agree that investing in property is a good idea. Also, have you thought about stocks and bonds? The smartest thing I could've ever done.

Smooches;)

i would agree with the advice about the IRA ... whether a Roth is best or another IRA ... it is a good thing to start with !!! ... (in many cases ... your investment is growing ... tax free ... )

I would caution you about the REAL ESTATE ... or "property " investing ... in general ... it sounds great --- but as i said ... i am in the business ... around here ... it has been a sound investment ... so why would i caution you on it ???!!! because there are parts of the country ... that real estate is much more UP AND DOWN ... and that worries me ...

- also ... i have known several "REAL ESTATE SAVY FOLKS " ... who have lost money ... one guy had a "partner" who was a builder , etc ... and he is a pretty intelligent guy ... but he spec ' ed out a house ... and he did not make much money on it --- he blames it mostly on doin too many improvements ... (putting in a "too improved" kitchen , etc ) ....

another guy who was a contractor , etc ... did it locally here ... and he said the same thing ... sometimes u end up putting too many nice things into the house ... and ... u before u know it .... ouch ...

just my .02 cents ....

This book is great:


Read and your good. It covers EVERYTHING you need to know and it is not boring.

Motleyfool.com is also a good resource, as mentioned above.
[Edited 2/2/05 8:00am]

Amgen...invest in them.

They do a lot of work with cancer medications...I did some design work for them a little over a year ago. Great company to work for and with.
[Edited 2/2/05 8:21am]

AMGN??? do you work for them ????

that is a good example of a drug stock ... that is ... hard to follow over the last 2 yrs ... up ... down ... yet - it has what 5 drugs that are goin thru trials ... so ... it could be up up and awayyyyy!!!!

MisterMan38 said:

I don't work for them now, but have in the past...When Amgen first started up in Thousand Oaks, I lived in the apartment complex across from their first building. That company has exploded over the last 15 years...they practically have their own "town", their complex is so large...and yet the employees are all down to earth and friendly, the atmosphere working there is extraordinary.

And you're right, they do have several drugs that could soon be on the market...I think their stock last went up after their last drug hit the market, I think it was something that competed with Procrit...only patients didn't need to take as many shots to achieve the same results, which improved how they viewed their illness's effect on their daily lives...they didn't feel like they lived half their lives in the hospital getting treatments. Pretty dramatic stuff to see firsthand...

heres the real ????---- DO YOU HAVE MONEY IN IT !!!



i sold AMGEN--- trying to remember when i did ... i dont think i lost money ... but ... i didnt make too much either .. they were highly recommended ... but like alot of the drug companies in the last yr ... they are a roller coaster ride over the last 1-2 yrs ....

MisterMan38 said:

...Nope, don't have any money in it, although I wish I did... If you stick with Amgen over, say, 10-15 years, I'm pretty sure the return on your investment would be rather nice...unless some unforeseen circumstances arise (like being sued into bankruptsy for one reason or another)...

there is few good lessons ... for all investors ... beginning or experienced ....

1- if you pick a good solid company ... over the long haul ... you should make out well .... research it out --- check out Exxon, Amgen, Merck , Microsoft , etc over the last 10-15 yrs ... they do go up and down ... but ... investors have been rewarded !

2- watch out for "tips" ... i will never forget --- a buddy of mine from college (yes- a different buddy ) put ALOT of his money into a small company --- on a tip ... they were "coming out" with a "papsmear" type test ... that was easy to do at home ... and another friend of mine --- who was a broke medical student ---- put some $$$ in this company too .....

didnt hear anything bout it ... for months ...

then one day i asked him (the medical student was my roomate at the time ) ... he said they went belly up .... and he lost his 500.00 .... he hadnt heard how many thousands the other dude lost ....

I can help you...but I need to know more of what you are looking to get into as there are many many ways to invest and make money.

Do you want to do the stock market? Or maybe you want to invest in property?

Do you want to invest through work?

DO you have any financial goals...or is this just to get the ball rolling and you are not sure?

Is this long term or short term?

If you are just looking for a good resource to start and do some reading??? I would recommend ANY and ALL of the books the BEARDSTOWN LADIES put out. They are a group of retirees that are in an investment club. They came to fame in the 90's (when the markets were oh so kind)...and their whole thing is if a lil ole woman in her 70's can figure out how to invest, so can the rest of us. These ladies were pretty much on pensions and had a little saved, but through the club they have become quite comfortable...just by investing wisely.



I would really really recommend this one. We used it to model our investment club. They tell you exaclty what you need to know.
[Edited 2/2/05 11:22am]

WOW guys, thanks for all your input!! I think I'll start w/ the books you guys have suggested so I can get more of a grip on what I want. That's a good place to start for me.

SWEET!

CalhounSq said:

What about what I said?

Freespirit said:

Meet me @ the corner in 5 minutes. I'll have a dead rose in my hair & a brown grocery bag full of ones

CalhounSq said:

Are you hitting on me now.

There are two major categories of investment which have been pointed out in this thread by others:

1. Shares.

2. Property.

You have to read many of the excellent books that are out there on both. Usually, you will find people are polarised as to what is the best method of investing so you have to work out what best suits you. I cant recommend any books as the Australian ones i read are very specific to the laws here (especially for property).

Personally, I invest in property which i highly recommend.