Thread: Investing 102
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Old 12-12-2011, 10:05 PM
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GregWeld GregWeld is offline
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Okay -- only because Tracy said I had to chime in -- I will do as I'm told.


So -- this answer is one that I say to you -- well.... it all "depends". So without writing a book -- let's take a real BASIC look at savings.

A person needs to think of savings as various BUCKETS of money.

A bucket of money needs to be for "emergencies" -- and this bucket - just like the other buckets we'll get to - needs to be 'adjusted' to meet the needs of the owner. I don't need an emergency bucket. I have plenty of money. Most need some kind of "quick and easy to get to money" -- that needs to be taken care of first. Whether it's $500 or $5000... is up to you. This really needs to be funded by the people that can afford it the least - i.e., the guy with maxed out credit cards!

Another bucket is the retirement bucket.... you seem to be working on that. BTW -- Don't be afraid to put more into this bucket. You do not need to be limited to the 15% you're doing at work. The only thing you're doing to fund more than your limits is that you're putting in AFTER TAX money. Dude - when you retire - and you're all set for life - you won't give a damn what you're living on - the point is that you will have it! So max your workplace and then see if you qualify for a ROTH IRA... which is after tax savings that comes OUT tax free...

THEN -- you really asked about INVESTMENTS.... again - this depends - real estate is ILLIQUID... so unless you have a bunch of dough and are just looking to diversify - fugedaboudit. If you want some liquidity -- with GROWTH in your capital - and get paid to "wait" - get yourself a Schwab account - or some other discount broker - and buy yourself some big cap dividend paying stocks. The rule of investing is to never put more than 5% of your TOTAL INVESTABLE MONEY (all of your investable money not just what's in this particular account!) into ONE investment. That way - if you lost it all (all of one investment) you're not hurt. Pigs get fat - hogs get slaughtered. Ask the builders that loaded up on dirt before the real estate crash - because they ain't makin' any more of it they'd tell ya! Dumbasses...

I'd buy STOCKS for dividend AND growth... so look at a CHART of any company you're interested in... see that over the LONG RUN (like 10 years) the chart is lower on the left and rises as it goes to the right! Forget about the dips in 07/08 - every stock you look at will have that. But lets look at Kinder Morgan Partners - NYSE symbol KMP - there is a nice chart... AND it pays 5.86% (based on todays price) which is $1.16 per share per quarter. So if you bought 50 shares - every 3 months you'd get a dividend of $58 (you're getting paid to wait - you're waiting for the share price to appreciate!). Yeah I own it.

I'd also look at AT&T (symbol T) - pays about 6% dividend. Is "steady" price wise. Great place to park money and be relatively sure it's going to still be there - good market or bad. Again - you get paid to wait. Yeah I own it.

So that's what I'd be doing. Diversify - don't buy TWO oil stocks -- buy ONE - Then get a consumer food stock -- Coke (KO) or Pepsi (PEP) or McDonalds (MCD). Funny -- people laugh when I tell 'em to buy McDonalds -- the stock is UP 125% in the last 5 years! AND you get a .61 a share per quarter dividend! So here's the deal -- it's what I ALWAYS look for.... if they don't pay a dividend - I'm not a buyer - and if the dividend is "low" (like MCD's is) then I want the growth to be there.... I'll take STEADY (AT&T) but then I want a higher dividend. Does that make sense?

Then --- DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP IN TRADING - DO NOT PANIC - DO NOT LISTEN TO THE GROCERY STORE CLERK TELLING YOU ABOUT THEIR LATEST BIG MARKET HIT.... RUN AWAY from those people! DO NOT BUY GOLD... IF THEY MAKE A TV SHOW ABOUT SOMETHING (House flipping?) RUN FOR THE HILLS... DO NOT INVEST IN IT. YOU'RE ALREADY TOO LATE!

There is no get rich quick scheme. Steady Eddy whens the race. LONG TERM is not 15 minutes. Buy good quality big names that you know and understand - with good charts and good dividends. Then sit back and laugh at the losers when they're broke and you're not.


Oh -- and make sure you check the little box when you buy "REINVEST THE DIVIDEND". That way every time they pay you - they buy more of their stock automatically for you - more shares - more dividends - which buy more shares which pay more dividends...

If you buy a stock and it's value DOUBLES (just an example) then sell the "gain" and buy something else. Nobody ever went broke taking a profit. It helps you to diversify - and keeps each investment in that 5% bracket.

There's a lot more to it -- and more details etc - but them's the basics. Stay thirsty my friend!

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