Investing 102

[Vegas69]

My thread is a painful reminder of what not to do financially.

[Sieg]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

My thread is a painful reminder of what not to do financially.

Payback isn't paying you back?

[CRCRFT78]

This thread has definitely lit a fire under my ass. I've had an interest in handling my own investments/retirement after checking on my 401k about 4 years ago and seeing that it took a 50% loss. I've read a few books and have talked to some "professionals" (I use that term loosely because I really didn't feel as if I gained much by talking to them) and not one has broken it down into something I can relate to or truly understand. Greg, I feel that your explanations have helped me too really see the BIG picture and understand in the simplest form where I need to start and what I have to do to get going. THANK YOU.

And to the other contributing members, your information has also helped me to realize that there are other areas that are worth considering if stocks aren't your cup of tea. 2011 was an eye opening year for me after losing my house. Although I have never lived above my means I feel I can definitely downsize even more and get back on track and make 2012 a positive year both financially and personally.

Truly a must read thread for anyone looking to step up their financial game.

[Musclerodz]

Greg.......

Thanks again for the insight. It is crazy to think here I am on a car forum and the first thread I go look for is this one.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by Musclerodz

Greg.......

Thanks again for the insight. It is crazy to think here I am on a car forum and the first thread I go look for is this one.

When I lived in NYC -- I had a sign on my desk that read "Try not to let the urgent get in the way of the IMPORTANT".

So dang true... we all have the "I wants" and sometimes we let those jump in front of what's IMPORTANT - and it's IMPORTANT to be able to retire and still live etc for a very long time!

I think that's why this thread has taken on a life of it's own so to speak... everyone kinda knows how important this stuff really is... it's just that nobody talks about it. Glad you like it 'cause it is actually kinda fun!

[Track Junky]

Just wanted to say thanks Greg for providing all of this great information. I've been plugging in and out of this thread. I have never dabbled in this sort of thing and may give it a try.
Forgive me if you have already mentioned but what would be the first steps for someone that is new to this?

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by Track Junky

Just wanted to say thanks Greg for providing all of this great information. I've been plugging in and out of this thread. I have never dabbled in this sort of thing and may give it a try.
Forgive me if you have already mentioned but what would be the first steps for someone that is new to this?

First step is to open a discount brokerage account -- I use Schwab which is why I mention them - because it's what I know. I have accounts at many different places but this is the one place that has all the research and info etc that is user friendly. You can (as I do) have several DIFFERENT accounts at one brokerage. SO you could have an IRA as one account - and you could have a separate account for just "savings/investing" - and another one in a joint account with your kids for college savings/investing etc. And a secret one for car parts/track fees...

Once you have an account established -- and funded (as little as $500? I'm not really sure what the minimum is) then you can BUY a stock or two stocks. If it's a small amount - say $1000 or under - I'd just buy ONE stock.... and then you can save up and buy another when you have another 500 or 1000. If you have 10,000 to start - then I'd buy 5 stocks @ 2,000 each and so on. If you have 100,000 then I'd buy 15 to 20 stocks/ETF's and you'd have your very own mini mutual fund - but it would be without the "expenses" the funds have and would probably have a better return!

Schwab people will walk you through this process should you require it. You can actually go to one of their offices and use their computers and have someone look over your shoulder should you need it.

If you go back through this thread -- I've given some pretty good names which I've also shown the growth rates (5 year?) and the dividend %'s on. Pick a couple from there - or compare them with similar names. My point all along has been that this is super easy to do and all it really takes is to just get started.

I need everyone on here to get rich like Charley - so I have people to race with in our old age!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA

[Bucketlist2012]

I just joined today, and after posting my car on the projects thread, here I am..

Investing and Cars, and Money management, are some of my Passions...

Being the Newbie, I just want to say hello, and I will be commenting from time to time..

Again, GREAT thread. What better , than to help each other with investment ideas, and strategies.

I think I am going to learn more than just Cars on this website...Very, Very Cool.

Merry Christmas and to a even better 2012....

[RECOVERY ROOM]

Originally Posted by Musclerodz

Greg.......

Thanks again for the insight. It is crazy to think here I am on a car forum and the first thread I go look for is this one.

Me to Mike, sorta like those old EF HUTTON COMMERCIALS

[billscamaros]

So I can say that this thread has motivated me to look a little bit at the existing investments that I have ..... and I use the word "investments" loosely.

I have a long neglected Fidelity IRA with some cash sitting in cash reserve. As you might guess, my gain on cash sitting in reserve over the past few years has been .000000000000001%. I'm one of those guys who knows absolutely nothing about stocks or invesments; nothing beyond how to log into the account and see my balance. This stuff has always been so confusing!!

So .... due to Greg's obvious excitement about this investing stuff .... I decided to take the time to become familiar with my account. I've been poking around on the Fidelity website, using their research tools and reading their investing info. I decided to use the Fidelity account as my "test bed" for learning the basics. A few days ago, I bought some Nike and McDonalds stock out of my IRA cash. As Greg had mentioned in one post, the stock price immediately dipped into the red and I thought "crap ...... now I've made Greg loose millions!!" But after a day or so, it was back into the positive numbers. (Why does that initial price dip happen??)

Although I realize that it's all "paper", my Fidelity account has increased in value more over the past few days than it did in the past two years. I still have some cash left in reserve, and I've been Google Financing virtually every name that comes into my head ... I've even made up a few acronyms! Eventually I'll spread the cash out into small chunks of stocks that follow the "10 year gain" and "dividends reinvested" rules. Since this Fidelity IRA money is left over from a previous employer IRA that I rolled into another fund, I can't/won't "co-mingle" any other cash into it. And this is seperate from my current employer 401K where most of my retirement money is sitting.

Next up is to get my "emergency/regular savings" up to where I want them, and then I'll look at a seperate brockerage account.

Anyhow ..... thanks to this thread, I've learned a ton over the past week or so. And continuous learning is a life goal.

Thanks guys!!