Investing 102

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by toy71camaro

I mean with Drip turned off.. you'd have the dividend payments sitting on the sidelines collecting dust each quarter.

With drip turned on, yes, we're taking the quarterly div payment and buying more shares at the current rate (helping our dollar cost average)..

Now, I wrote that for the general public. I know you know what drip on/off is.. lol

Yeah..... pretty much....



DRIP investing is a great way to really kick a portfolio in the bee hind.... It will automatically purchase shares for you... so dollar cost averaging is working (buying more shares when the price is low and fewer shares when the price is high).. but it's really the COMPOUNDING affect that works the magic!

[GregWeld]

It ceases to amaze me how many people are willing to look past the old "too good to be true" statement and hand their hard earned money over to some charlatan they've never met... all based on their own personal greed. Too greedy to think correctly and say "nah -- this sounds like a scam".




http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanma...te-securities/

[WSSix]

I think it stems partly from the belief by so many people that you have to be lucky or some how out smart the system to really make it in this world. Not only that but people's belief that having a lot of stuff means you're rich. Gone, for the most part, is the belief in hard work and saving.

[Vortech404]

I read most of these pages and come to the conclusion that the funds I have been contributing to for the last 8 years kind of suck.

Unfortunatly though my UPS/Teamster 401k plans all the plans are really safe. S&P 400, S&P 500, Russel 2000, etc. I contribute the FUND which has pre selected stocks/bonds in the fund. I'm not able to select one stock per say. I purchase UPS stock and a discount of 5% on the lowest quarter.I put 12% or 10k into the fund a year pre tax. I just started a Roth, not much in there. I'm thinking my 401k plan stinks with too many bonds.

Should I stop my current 401k plan with the teamsters and open another one that I can select better perfoming stocks"more control of where my money goes"? Could I still purchase these stocks pre tax to lower my income for tax purposes? Say I put $200/week into these stocks, say I pick 6 or 7 stocks I like. Are you guy's holding onto the for say 20 years or are you constantly buyiong selling. I don't know much about the market and wanted kind of set it and forget it approach or is that dumb.

Thanks guy's
John

[toy71camaro]

Originally Posted by Vortech404

I read most of these pages and come to the conclusion that the funds I have been contributing to for the last 8 years kind of suck.

Unfortunatly though my UPS/Teamster 401k plans all the plans are really safe. S&P 400, S&P 500, Russel 2000, etc. I contribute the FUND which has pre selected stocks/bonds in the fund. I'm not able to select one stock per say. I purchase UPS stock and a discount of 5% on the lowest quarter.I put 12% or 10k into the fund a year pre tax. I just started a Roth, not much in there. I'm thinking my 401k plan stinks with too many bonds.

Should I stop my current 401k plan with the teamsters and open another one that I can select better perfoming stocks"more control of where my money goes"? Could I still purchase these stocks pre tax to lower my income for tax purposes? Say I put $200/week into these stocks, say I pick 6 or 7 stocks I like. Are you guy's holding onto the for say 20 years or are you constantly buyiong selling. I don't know much about the market and wanted kind of set it and forget it approach or is that dumb.

Thanks guy's
John

A lot of that is going to rely on some "personal" data (income levels, tax levels, company match policy, etc etc). This is a question probably best left to an accountant/trusted financial adviser. Check into an "ELP" from Dave Ramsey. They're supposed to "teach" you the best path, not just sell you some other fund for their cut of the pie.

there are also financial advisers that work with you specifically to answer this sort of stuff rather than sell you retirement options. Check into a NAPFA or Garret Network fee only fiduciary. (i think i got that right. lol)

[bdahlg68]

Originally Posted by Vortech404

I read most of these pages and come to the conclusion that the funds I have been contributing to for the last 8 years kind of suck.

Unfortunatly though my UPS/Teamster 401k plans all the plans are really safe. S&P 400, S&P 500, Russel 2000, etc. I contribute the FUND which has pre selected stocks/bonds in the fund. I'm not able to select one stock per say. I purchase UPS stock and a discount of 5% on the lowest quarter.I put 12% or 10k into the fund a year pre tax. I just started a Roth, not much in there. I'm thinking my 401k plan stinks with too many bonds.

Should I stop my current 401k plan with the teamsters and open another one that I can select better perfoming stocks"more control of where my money goes"? Could I still purchase these stocks pre tax to lower my income for tax purposes? Say I put $200/week into these stocks, say I pick 6 or 7 stocks I like. Are you guy's holding onto the for say 20 years or are you constantly buyiong selling. I don't know much about the market and wanted kind of set it and forget it approach or is that dumb.

Thanks guy's
John

Don't stop the 401k. What brokerage is it thru? Fidelity has an option called Brokeragelink that will let you buy stocks. If. You are really limited than consider only enough to maximize the matching.

[Vortech404]

Thanks guys. My company doesn't match. My account
Is through Prudential

Thanks
John

[bdahlg68]

No match? I guess that is because of the discount on the UPS stock? Hmmm....

Anyway, what you may want to check into is called one of the following:

brokerage window
self-directed" 401(k)
self-directed brokerage account

Fidelity and Schwab have them but your employer (the plan "sponsor") decides whether your plan offers a brokerage window, and what proportion of your contributions you can invest through it. Your employer can also determine the range of investments permissible through a brokerage window. Some might restrict you to mutual funds, while others might permit a broader range of choices.