Investing 102

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by NOVA

Greg - wouldn't a person need to set up something like this to do what you are doing in this scenario or no ? http://www.sensefinancial.com/servic...o-401k-basics/ ..... if nothing else kind of an interesting site.

In our personal situation - "retirement" accounts don't make any sense. I've already BEEN retired 23 years... Gwen has retired TWICE... and she's younger than I am. So the point it - in a retirement account we'd have money tied up that we'd have no access too. Having said that we do have them and they're 7 figure accounts... but that's because they were well invested and have been for many years.


Now --- You have to be really really careful about buying REAL ESTATE investments AKA "passive" investments inside a retirement account. I have done that - mistakenly - and that IRA had to file an income tax form every year and pay taxes. I'm not a "tax" guy... Taxes are way too complicated for my feeble brain - and my stuff if far far too complicated (last years filing was almost 200 pages!). So I stay away from stuff I don't understand as I've made that mistake in the past.

The other thing is -- DIVIDENDS -- are taxed at 20%. They're NOT "earned income" or interest... and the LLC's I've invested in are DIVIDEND paying set ups. That -- and much of the income - if not all of it - is offset by the DEPRECIATION that you get (again - complicated and much more to it than meets the eye). I first got into real estate LLC's via my tax accountant... so since he put his money where his mouth is - and understood our situation - if he said I should do it - I did. Other than that.... I'm an idiot about most of it. The part I do know -- every one of them has worked out in OMG fashion... OMG as in GREAT.

[GregWeld]

Thought of something this morning while reading the "business news". The headline says the US stock market follows Europe down over the Greek debt issue.


I thought to myself.... REALLY? So McDonalds and Coke and Caterpillar are going to be sold off because "WE" are worried about whether or not the Greeks can pay their bills. You know what.... I didn't get up this morning and change a single thing I'm doing or planning based on this kind of info. Frankly - I could care less if they're in or out of the whole "euro" currency thing - because I don't care about the "euro" - who's in it or what it's even all about.

What I do care about is whether or not the businesses I'm investing in are paying their bills - whether or not their sales are higher going forward - and what their willing to share with me as a stockholder. I looked around and didn't see a single company that I'm in that was dependent on Greece for their business.

What's my point?? The point is that the "news" can drive you crazy.... which is why I call them "talking heads". 10 years from now we won't even remember who Greece is let alone whether they "reformed" or not. It's like discussing a pimple. Greece isn't China. I'll get worried when China can't pay it's bills.

[SBDave]

Embarrassingly I've known about this thread since it began and something recently sparked me to start reading it. I've read through page 57 over the last couple days.... which is interesting because I can see the advice and discussions and then what happened in the market following the discussions.

What is your advice on getting caught up on the thread? I can slowly work my way through all 500 pages but that'll take some time.

I need to refine my own investments and feel like I'm in a very good position to use the lessons in this thread. I'm 31 and have a 401K, ROTH 401K, ROTH IRA, HSA, a managed portfolio as well as other mutual funds and am a partner in a craft brewery.
I've been wanting to get into real estate but my location makes it somewhat prohibitive (Santa Barbara, CA).

Thanks!
Dave

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by SBDave

am a partner in a craft brewery.
I've been wanting to get into real estate but my location makes it somewhat prohibitive (Santa Barbara, CA).

Thanks!
Dave

Nice! Which one?

[SBDave]

Faction Brewing in Alameda, CA

http://factionbrewing.com

I'm a small partner

[WSSix]

Dave, if you've read to page 57 already, you should have the basics down. Now, it's just time to start applying that info to various stocks/companies that interest you. Analyze them to see if they are worth owning. You can give us a report on your choices and why you like them. From there, we can see if you're thinking things through correctly. It's the method that matters.

You may want to see if you can consolidate some of your accounts, too. It could help you save some fees and simplify what you're looking at. I love Roth accounts.

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by SBDave

Faction Brewing in Alameda, CA

http://factionbrewing.com

I'm a small partner

That's awesome. I just took my wife and son there last weekend and had a couple beers and lunch (from Scolari's) on the patio there. Killer scenery.

I must say the people working the bar need to turn over the customers quicker... leaving lots of dollars on the table.

Good beer! Hope it works out well for ya.

[SBDave]

Nice! The beer and view are pretty hard to beat. I know what you mean about the bar tenders, although it can be outside their control i.e. people ordering samplers, growlers or picking up kegs. My brother said one time a bus with 50 people from Google showed up half hour before they were supposed to close The business is doing very well though!

Would love to talk more beer but I've gotta go find out what my money is doing.

Thanks to Greg and everyone sharing in this thread, what I learn here will no doubt help not only me but my family and friends as well.

Dave

[NOVA]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

In our personal situation - "retirement" accounts don't make any sense. I've already BEEN retired 23 years... Gwen has retired TWICE... and she's younger than I am. So the point it - in a retirement account we'd have money tied up that we'd have no access too. Having said that we do have them and they're 7 figure accounts... but that's because they were well invested and have been for many years.


Now --- You have to be really really careful about buying REAL ESTATE investments AKA "passive" investments inside a retirement account. I have done that - mistakenly - and that IRA had to file an income tax form every year and pay taxes. I'm not a "tax" guy... Taxes are way too complicated for my feeble brain - and my stuff if far far too complicated (last years filing was almost 200 pages!). So I stay away from stuff I don't understand as I've made that mistake in the past.

The other thing is -- DIVIDENDS -- are taxed at 20%. They're NOT "earned income" or interest... and the LLC's I've invested in are DIVIDEND paying set ups. That -- and much of the income - if not all of it - is offset by the DEPRECIATION that you get (again - complicated and much more to it than meets the eye). I first got into real estate LLC's via my tax accountant... so since he put his money where his mouth is - and understood our situation - if he said I should do it - I did. Other than that.... I'm an idiot about most of it. The part I do know -- every one of them has worked out in OMG fashion... OMG as in GREAT.

Thanks for your reply on this Greg