Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Money and investment

Help me not turn into a hopeless Scrooge!

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:03:45 -0800

I rule at saving money, and suck at the alternative. Please help this frugal girl learn to spend her hard-earned cash without experiencing fits of anxiety. (I know this question might seem a bit ridiculous, but please bear with me.)

Here goes. Over the past five+ years I've managed to save up a decent chunk of cash. Around $40,000, to be more specific, with another $20,000 in retirement savings. I'm 26, so this means that in comparison to my debt-ridden friends, I'm pretty loaded. I have this money through a combination of factors - my parents helped pay for my post-secondary schooling, I worked hard at a good job for the last few years, have no car/mortgage/children/debt, and am generally pretty frugal in my day-to-day life.

This should be a good thing, but instead it's causing me no end of anxiety. I'm currently living abroad and teaching English part-time (on sabbatical from aforementioned job). I could have afforded to simply take a year off to travel, but for an anxiety-prone person this seemed like a bit too much free time on my hands. So the goal was to have the chance to travel and see more of the world, with some daily structure. And, presumably, to spend some of my savings on much-deserved rewards.

Instead I'm agonizing over price tags - whether to buy a dress I don't desperately need but like well enough, go out for dinner or eat at home, stay at a hostel when I travel or at a hotel, etc. It's a constant battle between being a total cheapo and the desire to spend in a worthwhile way, an inner debate on whether something will ultimately be worth the money, or a source of regret. The times I do buy anything remotely expensive (or even average-priced, vs. on sale), it tends to be a bit random and sometimes forced. $60,000 isn't crazy money, but it's more than a need day-to-day, and although I'm proud to have amassed this much, the result is that money has kind of lost its meaning for me. Prices feel arbitrary, and thus confusing.

None of my friends are in the same boat - most are living lives of necessary rather than voluntary frugality, given our meagre paychecks, which makes me even more cash-conscious. My savings are basically a secret, and I don't have a good reference point for what constitutes healthy spending.

I also have no specific goal in mind for this money. I'd like to do an MA some day, but not yet. I'd like to put a down-payment on a house, but later. I don't want a car or anything else with a sizable price tag. I'd be happy to invest my savings (and $20,000 is already invested), but the rates are so awful right now that it doesn't feel like I'm doing much of anything.

Any advice for how to be a healthy saver AND spender, or similar experiences? I'd really like my money to feel like a blessing, and not a burden. I know I could try making a budget, setting monthly allowances, etc, but in the past I've had a hard time sticking to rigid plans in part because my natural inclination is to spend less, which makes a budget feel like needless work. (I could also try to find wealthier friends, I suppose, but I'm a far cry from a trust fund baby, so I don't know if that would do much to engender healthy habits.)

No throwaway email, but I will send follow-up comments/responses to question to mathowie or jessamyn for posting. Thanks in advance.

Protection in a weakening economy

CollectiveMind — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:16:04 -0800

Our deficit and our debt are at record levels, even compared to WWII. Then, the debt was financed internally, not by other countries, so the interest we could pay was lower and the money was recycled in the U.S. Now, the debt and deficit are mostly financed by other countries through bond offerings and the like. And as they grow, those debtor countries will want higher interest rates on repayments, which drains money out of the U.S. Does anyone know of, or can anyone suggest a position to take in-case our national financial fortunes deteriorate slowly? A crash, understandably, wouldn't offer much safety for anyone except the very rich. And I'd expect social unrest would threaten even them at that point. But in general and for the average investor, are there any suggestions for investment or money/asset movement strategies that can protect one in an economy with (a) increasing foreign debt payments in the short term, (b) potential significant interest rate increases in the medium term and (c) lessened national economic influence on the international currency markets in the long term? I just can't seem to find any financial wonk willing to speak plainly on this.

What do we do with a 140k inheritance?

veritas — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:39:03 -0800

We live in San Diego. We have 140k in cash after an inheritance, a mobile home we can't afford, crappy jobs, and have never had this much money ever. How do we best invest this money? My husband and I grew up in San Diego - it's expensive, the schools are terrible... but there's lots of parks, great beaches, and we have good friends here. We're 22+23 - he's in college double time for massage therapy and I'm working as an admin/personal assistant. Right now, we're the usual poor college students - I pull in about 20k a year after taxes.

The Good: We have no debt except for his school which is a $400 a month payment debited from our account. There's 8k left on his school. We're both healthy, have a huge mobile home that was also left to us, no kids. We used part of the money to get a reliable car, so that's not a problem.

The Bad: We live in one of the worst neighborhoods in town, paying $700-900 space rent + utilities on the mobile home. We both have to drive about an hour each way for work/school. We have no health insurance, and after bringing all our debts to the bare minimum, we're still in the hole 600 every month. We have someone moving into the extra bedroom soon, but that will only let us break even. We doubt we'll be able to sell the house, because there's a dozen others for sale that haven't sold, including one across from us for 29k, which is cheaper than some cars.

Our options, so far, seem to be buy a house in a crappy/still far away area (El Cajon, Lakeside, City Heights) which would use up all our saved up money, or rent a place (presumably prepaying the rent, because we just don't have credit histories), get a second car, and invest the rest in retirement/savings and making our lives better (buying clothes for once in our lives, a second car). I checked some of the other inheritance posts, but none quite dealt with this large a sum.

Investment habits for a college student?

Ricket — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:13:43 -0800

What are the best investment habits for a college student with decent income to get into, in order to maximize yield in 3 years? I am going into my sophomore year of college.

I recently opened an Orange Savings account with ING Direct and set up an automatic transfer of $30/week into it. It was what I felt safe with at the time. However, while I am glad that it's putting the money somewhere that I don't regularly see it or contemplate withdrawing it, I'd like to know if there are other better options. If my math is correct, the savings account, in the course of three years, will gain around $100 from interest, and I feel like there are better ways to invest my money out there that I just don't know about.

I don't know much about the stock market, but I do have a Scottrade account. I used it to invest quite a bit of money a couple years ago into a penny stock which dropped significantly; but I still have faith in it, and I have no need to withdraw, so I am leaving it to see what happens (rather than taking a significant loss by pulling out). However, this didn't completely scare me away; I just want to be sure, next time, that I do something MUCH less risky and something more universally accepted as a good investment practice, not 'gambling', and that I know when to stop or when to pull out before I lose too much again.

I've heard terms such as mutual fund, index fund, S&P 500, money market... I don't know what any of these are, and I've also heard that some things require minimum deposits. The largest minimum deposit I would be able to make would probably be around $2000, and I'd really like to know that my money will be safe if I do that.

Also, bonds and CDs... Are there any that last only 3 years? I'm not particularly sure what they are either.

So, as you can see, I probably need to take a course on investment, maybe in the spring semester, but for now I feel like I have too much money just sitting in my savings account doing nothing, not even collect a significant amount of interest. My last interest payment was $0.06. What tips can you give me?

And as I've said, I'm hoping for something that I can take out in 3 years, around the time that I graduate, though I'll also take long-term investment tips. And something automatic (on a regular schedule) would be nice! I like the idea of my accounts transferring and saving my money for me, because I know I would neglect to keep it up. Anything in my checking and savings account is fair game for spending, and being a computer science student, I am always drooling over the latest technology.

Thank you!

$30k: real estate or stocks?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:58:51 -0800

I will receive $30k (canadian) as an inheritance. I'd like to invest it to start getting some revenue out of it. I have a few questions. My first idea was to buy an apartment building. I live in a countryside region (on the border of being suburb...) that's currently going through the fastest growth of population in the province. I could get a 3 apartments building for around $300k, so I'd have a cashdown of 10% (I have a few thousand saved, but I'd keep it for eventual renovations). Revenues (before expenses and taxes) would be about $24k/year (full occupancy, which isn't a problem). I have time to invest for maintenance and all, so I won't count the hours spent. Could I get a better return just by putting my money in some sort of fund? By the way I would not live in the buidling, but would stay in the rented house I currently occupy.

Another factor to consider is that I would like to buy a house for myself in perhaps 3-4 years, and wondered if having an apartment building help to finance the house, or if I should do it the other way around (get a house, and use that to finance the building, assuming that the house would cost me $200k minus the 30k).

As you can see, this is a little vague, but then I'm really not too sure about what's the best way to make that 30k a long-term investment. Our combined family revenue is about 60k. This is in the beautiful province of Quebec.

So: (1) Assuming I have time and willingness, is buying a property to rent a better investment--ie. pays more (for long-term revenue) than a typical fund for $30k?
(1) which one should I buy first, personal house of apartment building?

I hope there are enough infos!

What to do with £5k?

like_neon — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:20:18 -0800

What to do with £5,000 in the next year? I know in investment terms £5k is not that much, but it's a lot to me! It feels like it's just lying around (in a 3% savings account) and am wondering if it could be put to better use.

Some things I've considered:
- Leave it as is and be happy there's an emergency fund given the current economic climate.

- I'm engaged! (yay!) and we are thinking the wedding will be next summer. Should I just use the £5k towards the wedding instead? We haven't started saving anything towards it yet.

- Invest somewhere else?

- Something else?

Our situation:
- We are already saving money on a monthly basis which we intend to put towards buying a house in the future. Now this will somehow need to be adjusted to save for a wedding.

- My fiance and I both currently hold jobs and bills are not a problem (touch wood).

- As of recently, neither of us have any debts (yay!)

This is just a lump sum I don't know what to do with right now and I guess it's burning a hole in my pocket. Thanks for your advice!

I received an inheritance. Now what?

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:37:17 -0800

I just received an inheritance. I want to figure out how to invest it, but I'm new to investing - and can't make sense out of this economy. One of my family members passed away last month and left me a fairly substantial inheritance of around ~$25k. I've been spending the past few weeks mourning and now am trying to figure out where I go from here.

I'm 29 and left the corporate world last year to return to graduate school. I was making a decent salary before I left the workplace and have some savings to fall back on... What I want to figure out now is how to make as much return as possible so that I'll have a cushion when I graduate next year.

Everywhere I look, I see interest rates on CDs declining, stock prices plummeting and similar nonsense all around. While I have found plenty of advice around the internet on how to invest, all of it was written before the market went to hell.

So, MeFites... suggestions for short-term investment during a recession?

FinancialFutureFilter: What should I be aiming to do to ensure I'm financially ok into my old age but still living (my version of) a good life 'til then? (Australia-centric)

springbound — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:45:13 -0800

I'm 29, single (assume it's going to remain that way) female, and have spent the last few years saving an amount that's getting close to about $30k, which I presently have in my bank's equivalent of a your average ING Saver account, figuring by now I'd've figured out what I could/was willing to do with it, towards securing some kind of financial future that doesn't involve a cardboard box. I haven't, largely I suppose because I don't know what I need to be aiming for. Looking for advice. More inside. When I began saving, it was with the vague feeling that I ought to do the grown-up thing and buy an apartment at some point to serve as an investment. I'm probably (depending on how I feel when the application's approved) going to go live overseas (Canada) for a few years, at some point in the next five years. To my vague figurings it sounded sensible to buy a two-bedroom place (as all the investment-property-luvvas recommend) and rent it out whilst overseas.

Now, (a) economic times are changing, in ways I've never experienced before so am unfamiliar with what to expect, and (b) I'm not honestly all that comfortable with the idea of being so saddled with debt that I've got no money to do any travelling for the next 30 years (or 'til whenever I could sell this fictitious apartment for some kind of profit, which given deflation and all seems like it could be some years down the track). I'm also in a period right now where I'm disliking the field I'm working in and weighing up what to do next (which will probably involve more study), whether to go overseas, whether not to, etc etc etc -- and thinking about tying myself to a loan that prevents me from studying, prevents me from changing jobs to one that might be a better fit but pays less, and just generally prevents me living my life the way I want to, makes me uncomfortable and trapped-feeling.

So, however, does the thought of reaching retirement age with nothing to my name. I've seen my grandfather struggle on the pension, and he owns his own home. I'm a frugal enough person but I don't want to spent retirement being grossly unhappy and unable to do or buy anything I want to or need. I don't know what's in my superannuation fund right now, but I spent a fair bit of my 20s studying, so I doubt very much; and it's only gotten worse of course with the stock market crapping itself. I work (and have done since I graduated) for an employer who makes only the minimum contributions to it. I make none. I'm not sure whether in the current economic climate I should or shouldn't be reconsidering that.

Obviously I can't have it all, but I want as much a rewarding life as I can have. I don't want to limit my options unnecessarily, but I also want to have a secure financial future. I'm not going to have any kids whose granny-flat I can muscle in on later. ;) My immediate family are now all home-owners, and I suppose the assumption is that I'll do the same thing when I get my shit together enough (I feel pressure, too, but it's largely internal to me: the parents used to make suggestions, but I think these days they've given up on me doing anything remotely suggestive of the smell of success), but I'm also a bit different to the rest of my family in that they all want the nice house in the 'burbs with a two car garage and that makes them happy. I feel isolated in the 'burbs, want to live in areas where there's a bit of interesting stuff happening, and in an ideal world I'd go overseas once a year and change careers four times in my life.

Can anyone offer any advice, specifically, I suppose, about what (if anything), and when, I should do with this $30k I've saved (including the question: is now so bad a time to buy property that I shouldn't even *consider* it?), and, more generally, any other advice on what I should be aiming for in terms of a balance between living-my-life-being-free and having an ok old age? Most of the people around me seem to be better-placed in terms of choices, either through being older and/or richer and/or more established, or partnered with two incomes to play with, and/or with a completely different goal-set; and many are inclined (naturally!) towards suggesting I should do exactly as they have. The few who don't, I worry might be going too easy on me. ;) To clarify, by the way, I'm not saying I wouldn't like to partner and/or perhaps foster a child (the latter would be some ten years down the track); but only the first of those is a priority for me, and in the interests of not counting my chickens when they may never hatch, I'd really appreciate some knowledge about how to proceed if neither ever happen--advice from outside the circle whose advice I'm currently limited to and who also may have an investment of whatever kind in me doing what they've done. Even if you wind up repeating what others think, that would be valuable and appreciated in terms of gaining a good overview of the different approaches out there; plus I trust you guys to be more objective for not knowing me!

Thanks guys. :)

Swiss bank accounts 101, or something different?

xanthippe — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:56:54 -0800

Where should I keep my money (to protect it from the US economy)? I'm American and it's in US$, but I don't live there and don't have any good reason to keep it there. I don't have that much, but am about to receive an inheritance, which is why this is an issue. Let's say that about half of what I receive will be in either cash or liquid assets, and half will be in Beneficial IRAs (the amounts are significant to me, but probably wouldn't make an international financial planner/accountant blink).

We all know about the US economy. The relative value of the dollar is decreasing, we can count on some inflation, the stock market, etc. etc. I plan on either investing or saving most of my money, but I am unlikely to ever use it in the US (I'm actually thinking about buying a flat in Europe as an investment right now). I may use a small chunk of it for some traveling/living expenses in the near future, and would generally prefer to have all of it secure but accessible and earning some income.

I realize that selling securities/investments/etc. that are part of the portfolios these assets consist of (some of the liquid assets and some of the IRA) will lock in my losses now; however, I'm also concerned that, even if the value recovers over time, the long-term depreciation of the dollar and the effect of inflation may negate any rebound. Is there any real advantage to not moving these assets out of the US (i.e. out of US banks, the US investment market, etc.) right away?

If I do move my money abroad, how should I actually do this? What are the logistics? And where to: Swiss bank account? Investments? What currency should I go with? I may have the option to invest the assets of the Beneficial IRA in foreign markets; should I think about this, or just cash them out, take the penalty, and run with the cash? If I can invest the contents of the IRA internationally, does that really preserve it from the US market?

I currently live, work and have a bank account in Oman; the local currency (as in most GCC states) is pegged to the US dollar. There has been lots of talk about unpegging the currencies, or re-pegging them to the Euro (Kuwait already unpegged theirs). I'm no economist, but things seem pretty stable locally, and it seems to me that if I exchanged all my dollars for Omani rials while they are still pegged - i.e. the value of the dollar has not decreased against the rial as it has against every other world currency that is not pegged to it - that I could stand to benefit immensely from this transaction by either maintaining the value of my money in rials if the currencies are unpegged while the dollar drops, or even seeing it increase for the same reason. Is this foolish or a good opportunity?

I don't have a long-term commitment to Oman, however - it's just where I happen to be living right now. I don't have a long-term commitment to any place, and specifically not to the US (despite my citizenship). I'm essentially a nomad (though I may well stay where I am forever - only time will tell). So the real question is, for the long-term, where should I make my "financial home" - where should I maintain my savings and investments not knowing where I will be living for the foreseeable future? How can I educate myself about this?

I don't know what to ask more specifically because I have never had to deal with finances in excess of a few thousand dollars before, so any advice as to where to start and how to prepare myself for this kind of decision-making will be appreciated. I need to 1) protect my money from the US economy (maintain as much of its value as possible regardless of where it is invested/what currency it is denominated in); 2) make money if possible by investing/earning interest; 3) ensure that I am not vulnerable to taxation/residency or citizenship requirements for any country I keep my accounts in/maintain my investments from.

Credible returns on investment in virtual world finance?

vizsla — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:30:37 -0800

Anybody have experience in investing in virtual world banks/businesses/markets (such as those in SecondLife.com etc)? Do they provide a serious way of making a sensible risk/reward on five or six figure investments? I have found discussion of investing in virtual worlds in this article for example which concludes its very high risk but maybe someone has heard of a viable diversification strategy out there?

The business of blogging

hadjiboy — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:35:56 -0800

Help me find a way to earn some money through blogging. I'm trying to support my self and my family now that they are not able to do so themselves. My dad has been retired from work for the past 15 years and in the interim has been running a stationery for the past decade or so. Now, he has reached the stage where he will soon be selling the shop for my younger sister's marriage and keep whatever money that's left for his and my mom's future. What I would like to do is contribute as much as I can for their financial survival. In this regard I've wanted to start a blog (which I have before, on a couple of occasions) and stick to it (the longest that I have lasted is a couple of months--three or four perhaps) and would like to add advertisements to it. I had tried to do this before, but ran into a couple of difficulties with Google Adsense, telling me that I had to fulfil some conditions. If anyone could help me out with this I will be extremely appreciative. Thanks in advance.

Resource for evaluating past stock recommendations?

ibmcginty — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:10:23 -0800

Is there anyone (especially online) who's collected reasonably well-informed stock picks from, say, 2, 5, or 15 years ago and explained why the recommendations did or did not work out? Is there a better way to track that stuff down than hunting around for old articles on financial websites? It seems like making the effort to learn from mistakes in the past would help guard against over-optimistic, irrationally exuberant picks today.

Which source of $$$ to use for medical school?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:46:53 -0800

Paying for medical school -- which money to use? I'm starting medical school in Canada in September. I've got about $50k in US mutual funds and treasury bills, $15k in a Canadian RSP (which can be used to pay for education if repaid at a certain point), and the banks are offering a line of credit at prime + 1%.

The question is: how do I start paying for school and living expenses? Withdraw and use the investments, and then move to the line of credit when they're exhausted? Use the line of credit, and wait for the investments to grow in order to repay the LOC? Are the investments likely to grow in the next few years? Buy lottery tickets?

Lazy Money

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:56:26 -0800

What is the best way to invest $10-15,000 if you don't want to tie the money up for longer than, say, a year? I have money that is currently sitting in a bank account doing nothing. I would like it to start working for me, and I was thinking CDs might be the way to go since they're easy, but I'm wondering what the other options may be. I don't want the money to be tied up in any investment for longer than a year at a time. Another way of putting that is saying I want to be able to get it out without too severe a penalty if things start going haywire. Also, how do I, as an investor, beat our current high rate of inflation?

Trying to Buy Low so I can Sell High

SlyBevel — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:17:21 -0800

Please to give ideas on depressed stocks/funds/securities to put some money into during the downturn. I have a new job! For the first time in a long time, I'm going to get to aggressively pay down my debt, and I've also budgeted a hefty percentage for savings.

With the world of finance what it is right now, it seems like there should be something out there that's seriously devalued but relatively safe that I can put some money into. I'd rather not invest in a company like Countrywide, which is suffering due to its own stupidity, but rather one that's hurting mostly because there's plenty of hurt to go around these days.

I'm not looking to turn $100 into a million in six months, or anything so silly. I'm fine with putting money somewhere and letting it sit for five years or more. I'd just like to strike while this iron is hot and maximize my chances of growing what money I can put away.

I'm not in stocks, but I've been interested in them for a long time. I'd be fine with opening an Etrade account to buy them with.

I don't want something that will need a lot of babysitting. I know people who play the options markets, and it just seems like way too much work.

Suggestions and Reasoning please?

(For the sake of brevity, let's just assume YANMIA {You Are Not My Investment Advisor})

How to get money to start a business?

frijole — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:14:31 -0800

Some friends and I are looking at starting a business, and we need some up-front capital. About $100k. What's the best way to try and get this? Running the numbers, it looks like we'll be able to re-pay it well within the first year of operation, anywhere from 3-4 months (if everything goes perfectly right) to 8-10 months if it gets off to a rocky start. Chances are if it doesn't take off by then, it won't and we'll be hosed.

Should we try to pitch to VC companies, and if so, how does one go about doing this? Should we just try and get a bank loan? Or an SBA loan?

Thanks in advance!

FX gives me a headache

barrakuda — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:46:02 -0800

I am permanently moving from the US to Europe in about a month. I have about $50K in savings in HSBC high (and ever-falling) interest account. I am at a loss as to what to do with this money. Money-savvy Mefites, please come to the rescue. So I have all this money sitting in savings. For the next four months my salary will continue to be paid in dollars. I am a horrible, albeit charming, investment ignoramus. On one hand, I feel terrible about converting my savings to euros, on the other I don't know whether I want to leave my money in the States especially if the dollar is to further depreciate against the euro. I considered buying an apartment in Washington, DC and renting it out; but I wonder if there are other means of managing my hard-earned money and assuring that it will not loose its value. Ideas? Comments? Anyone? Bueller?

What do I do with a big check?

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:44:19 -0800

I'm about to receive $40,000. How do I deal with this much money? I'm about to get $40,000 as part of a divorce settlement from the sale of real estate (frankly, I'd rather have stayed married but that is not to be.) Can I just deposit it in my savings account or do I need to do something special? I may need to spend most or all of it in the near future: while I have it is there something very safe I can put it and "earn" interest while still being able to take it out?

Yet Another Savings Question

sprocket87 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:18:18 -0800

How can I maximize my savings for a trip I'm planning for 2009? The wife and I are potentially going to Africa in late 2009. I've got an HSBC Direct savings account (currently 4.5%), the contents of which I'm allocating toward this trip. There's currently just over $3000 in the account, and I add $75 every week. That'll grow pretty quickly, but I'd like to know what options are available for maximizing my return. Since the trip won't be for another 2 years, I figure I can make those funds relatively illiquid if it means a higher return.

So what options are there? Obviously nothing that would be considered a "risky" investment, as I want to ensure I have a secure savings accrued come 2009. But I'd like to have something that grows even marginally faster than inflation, eh?

Thanks!

What should I do with my money?

bernsno — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:09:44 -0800

I am trying to figure out what to do with some money and I have often seen useful suggestions on MeFi, so I thought I'd ask. Here is the deal: I am 22 years old, not entirely certain what I would like to do with my life working for a temp agency in Chicago making ~20/hr. My monthly expenses usually total somewhere around $1300/mo. including rent, insurance (car and health), though I have been known to be less than thrifty, but never to the point of going into debt or becoming broke. Otherwise, I have no debt and no big plans to acquire or do anything requiring me to spend crazy amounts of money, except possibly grad school. That being said I have recently been informed that there is a fairly substantial amount of money with my name on it --> ~$60,000 in two separate accounts. I am not concerned about tax consequences currently, but rather what to do with the money. I have looked elsewhere but it seems like everyone and their mom has an investment strategy website so it is difficult to determine what's legit. Any suggestions on the best way to become better educated, or simply what to do with the money would be greatly appreciated.

How much money would I need to live in the U.S. without having to work for the rest of my life?

dcrocha — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:15:04 -0800

How much money would I need to live in the U.S. without having to work for the rest of my life? I would like to live in an average-living-cost city (not NYC or LA for example), have a decent middle class life, with a fully paid house, switching cars every 3 or 4 years, and my monthly income would come from investments. How much money would I need to amass before beginning to have such lifestyle?

Important info: I'm 30 years old now, so let's say I have such money by my 40s so I would live some 25 to 30 years as a retired man living from interests. In the 70s, I think one million dollars would be enough, but I'm well aware that this is not enough money in 2007.

O! hive mind, guide me on how to retire early!

Hostile aquisitions and stock prices -- what happens?

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 29 May 2007 19:34:51 -0800

What tends to happen to a large, international company's stock price post-hostile acquisition in the case of the acquired company? Before the fact, their stock price tends to rise, as the acquisition target pumps up its stock price to make the acquisition more difficult and expensive for the predator.

What about afterwards? Is it possible to generalize?

You take the high load, I'll take the low load

doctorcurly — Tue, 15 May 2007 10:38:15 -0800

My 401k retirement plan through the company I work for is managed by Fidelity Investments. I have read recently that a "high-load" mutual fund will often return poorer yields than a "low-load" or "no-load" mutual fund. How do I find out if my plan is high-load, low-load, or no-load?

What's life like for someone working in corporate real estate in new york city?

BigBrownBear — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 09:46:57 -0800

What's life like for someone working in corporate real estate in new york city? I am a New Yorker who has been working in corporate real estate consulting/analysis/inverstments in Europe for the past two years (think CB Richard Ellis, Knight Frank, Cushman & Wakefields, etc.)

I am looking to move back to NYC but want to know what the lifestyle, money and hours are like as I start interviewing. Part of the reason I came over here originally is that I was tired of working until 3 in the morning every night (I was a paralegal in a big law firm back then).

Investment options for the young and the restless?

killdevil — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:03:32 -0800

A friend needs to find a good place to park some money that will ultimately be used for house down-payment purposes. Help me come up with a few good investment options. My friend has around $100k sitting in a low-yield savings account. It pains me to see the cash left there when better options are legion.

Key points: the money will be invested for around 1-3 years. I think one or two good mutual funds would be a reasonable choice, but am not really an investor myself so I don't have specific funds or fund families to which I can point my friend.

Other options are welcome, of course, provided they are relatively conservative and are low-maintenance (i.e. they do not require active monthly monitoring; keep in mind that my friend is relatively young and is not an experienced investor).

Thanks!