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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!

Should I jump ship from my Vanguard mutual funds account?

metamush — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:03:59 -0800

Should I pull my money out of the stock market? I'm pretty clueless. Well, it seems we are facing the largest plunge on the stock market since 9/11. And I'm pretty clueless about the stock market in general, which is why I am seeking your superior knowledge.

In May of 2007, when I graduated college, I invested $3,000 in a Vanguard mutual fund (symbol VFINX). I've only lost money since then, and its sunk down to about $2300. For me, $700 is a lot of money. That's like half a paycheck!

Should I pull the money out and put it in a CD? Or just keep it in there and wait for things to turn around?

liquidity, liquidity

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:47:38 -0800

Should use my mutual funds to pay off my credit card debt? Credit card debt is about $4K with an APR of 15%. Right now I can afford to pay a max of $300 a month--$200 more comfortably--toward my debt, and there are no bonuses or foreseeable windfalls in my future. I have about $22K in mutual funds: enough to have as an emergency/rainy day fund left over. Mutual funds are doing okay now, but obviously not making more than I'm paying in interest on the card.

Does it make sense to liquidate $4K to pay off the debt, or let it ride and chip away at it over time? Or should maybe I go halves--liquidate $2K now and chip away at the rest over time?

I have never had a head for numbers and can't figure out how to think about this.

Just as an insight into my spending habits: I usually am able to pay off my balance--I just use the card for the miles--but I had some medical expenses that I put on the card that have just accumulated a lot of interest, and I'd like it to go away.

My credit is excellent, so I don't feel a compelling reason to keep this debt around just to improve my score. (I have a student loan that I pay on time every month.) I also have a Roth IRA and 401k, so this is not my only cushion for the future. I am at least 30 years away from retirement.

Any insights appreciated. Thanks.

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?

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.

Financial / 401k advice for a 23-year-old engineer.

decrescendo — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:26:06 -0800

Financial / 401k advice for a 23-year-old engineer. Considering the state of the economy and the price of oil, what should I do with my stocks. Also, I have the option for a 401k but I have no idea what type of 401k to choose. I have around 30k in McDonalds stock that is up 80% from when it was bought for me when I was a kid. Should I hold onto it and weather the storm? I keep reading rumblings of a recession and stock market crash but is that just a scare tactic? I don't want to get kicked back down to a 30% gain on that stock when it's been doing so well up until right now. It has defintely been a long-haul stock but I'm afraid I'm going to lose all that I've built up over the last 23 years.

Also, I've had the opportunity to enroll in a 401k from my company for the last 6 months. I haven't done it yet mostly because I have no idea what to fill out on the form. I have the following options. Any recommendations? I believe my company matches up to 15%.

Should I go with option 1 or option 2?

1. I elect to contribute ____% or ____$ (per pay period) of my compensation as before-tax contributions to the 401(k) Plan until
such time as I revoke or amend my election.

2. I elect to contribute ____% or ____$ (per pay period) of my compensation after-tax as a designated Roth contribution to the
401(k) Plan until such time as I revoke or amend my election.

Note: The total of your before-tax and Roth deferrals cannot exceed 100% or $15,500.00. Your before-tax and Roth deferrals must be specified consistently (both as a percent or both as a dollar amount). If I am 50 years of age or older and I am eligible for a catch-up contribution, I understand I may exceed this total.

I also have all of these to pick from. No idea what to go with here. Considering the economy and what I hear, I'd probably rather take a semi-conservative approach.

Maxim Aggressive Profile II
Maxim Moderate Profile II
Maxim Conservative Profile II
American Funds EuroPacific Growth R3
Oakmark International II
Oppenheimer Global A
First American Small Cap Select A
MainStay Small Cap Opportunity A
Maxim Index 600
RidgeWorth Small Cap Growth Fund I
Lord Abbett Mid-Cap Value A
Maxim Ariel Small-Cap Value
Fidelity Advisor Mid Cap T
Fidelity Advisor Leveraged Co Stk - T
American Funds Growth Fund of Amer R3
Davis NY Venture R
Marsico Focus
Maxim S & P 500 Index
Maxim T. Rowe Price Equity Income
Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation A
RiverSource Diversified Equity Income R3
Van Kampen Comstock - R
Maxim Bond Index
Maxim Loomis Sayles Bond Portfolio
Maxim US Government Securities Fund
PIMCO Total Return Admin
Guaranteed Certificate Fund 36 Month
Guaranteed Certificate Fund 60 Month
Guaranteed Certificate Fund 84 Month
Maxim Money Market

Any help would be fantastic.

Is an index fund really a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

reenum — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:34:08 -0800

InvestingFilter: Is there anything inherently flawed about investing in index funds? I recently opened up a Roth IRA, and have invested in an S&P 500 Index Fund. I'll also be investing in a bond index soon.

I've been reading articles online and books such as 'The Lazy Person's Guide To Investing' by Paul Farrell. These books make it seem that investing in anything but index funds sets you up for a loss long term.

In my opinion, I'm a passive investor. I don't have the inclination to try and pick hot stocks. I'm fine getting a market average return. Farrell's book and some other sources such David Swenson make it seem that investing in anything but an index fund is lunacy. They harp on about load funds and how actively managed funds always underperform the market.

My question is: What's the catch about investing in index funds? It seems to good to be true. You keep putting money in and 30 years later, a nice pile is waiting for your retirement.

Some input from the more financial minded members of the Hive Mind would be much appreciated.

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})

Is there a set-it-and-forget-it way to invest?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:09:53 -0800

I've got about $3,000 per month to invest, and I don't have time, knowledge, or energy to "beat the market". What's my best safe bet? I've done loads of research on all the dummies-level investment info and I've come to the conclusion I should probably invest in some index funds. I've got an account at Vanguard but they offer a zillion different funds. Is there a general risk level I should take (like 80% stock/20% bonds that people often toss around)?

I'm already maxing out my retirement, my credit cards are all paid off, and my house is my only debt. I'm doing well at work and want to do more than simply toss it into a 2% savings or 4% money market checking account. Ideally, I'd like to see 10% gains year after year with this.

Aside from index fund research, I haven't done much else, so I'm a complete novice at any other sort of investing.

Where can I find summary information for a specific stock for days in the past? (more inside)

tozturk — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 14:37:12 -0800

Where can I find summary information for a specific stock for days in the past? I'm trying to find summary information similar to what you'd find at http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=goog for a specific day in July. I have found the stock prices for those days without any problem but I've been unable to find things like market cap, volume, etc for that same day way back in July.I've been to bloomberg, wsj, zack's, and any other number of random sites but I'm having no luck. Does such a thing exist or am I just missing it?

Thank you in advance.

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?

Good online portfolio to practise stock/share trading?

you're only jung once — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 10:11:53 -0800

Does anyone know of a good real-time online stocks/shares portfolio tool I can use to practise becoming a Warren Buffet style gazillionaire? I am poor and wish to become rich beyond my wildest dreams...virtually. Thanks in advance.

Do stocks track inflation?

cschneid — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:59:49 -0800

Do stocks naturally track inflation? My idea is that over time, if inflation continues, you can expect stocks to go up at least as fast as inflation on average. The basis for me thinking this is that as inflation goes up, consumers pay higher prices for everything. That means businesses are pulling in higher revenues.

At the point businesses are making more per year, the stock for that company should go up (wild assumption, probably accurate for market as a whole).

So basically the question is why should I be concerned about inflation's effects on investments, since even if it gets higher, stocks will just rise to match.

NOTE: This post ignores most crazy situations like hyper inflation, or having the US taken over by the North Koreans or whatever.

RSS feed to track an investment portfolio?

electric_counterpoint — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 08:18:14 -0800

Looking for a site where I can enter a portfolio (stocks and funds) and generate an RSS feed that gives daily breakdowns of how each stock is doing. I'm a very hands-off investor, but I have some high-risk stuff and I'd like to make sure my IRA doesn't take when I'm not paying attention.

I've seen this thread, but I'm hoping in the last year something's changed online. I'd rather not do individual feed subscriptions for each stock in the portfolio, but rather get one update a day at markets' close telling me what's up. The more options, the better, of course.

I remember reading about one new site about a month ago. It was about investing, but with a social/community aspect. Very web 2.0, and it was the first thing I thought of when this question occurred to me. But, I can't find any reference to it now. In case this will generate the RSS I need, can anyone help my memory?

6 Months to Invest... Starting NOW

LGCNo6 — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 23:27:15 -0800

The clock starts today. I just sold a house yesterday and ended up with a decent chunk of change. On next year's tax form, I'm going to have to pay taxes on the gains, but I have 6 months to make the tax money work for me... So if you had ~$28K (the amount of tax I'll owe) to invest for 6 months, what would you do with it? Ideally, I'd like to max out the return on it, so I'm willing to be pretty aggressive with it.

I know what I'll do with some of the other funds from the sale, but I'd like to hear what other people would do in the same situation.

Does technical analysis 'work'?

neilkod — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 10:47:03 -0800

I'm a buy and hold investor who wants to develop an interest in technical analysis. Specifically, I want to put aside $n and try making some purchases purely on technicals. Is this a good move? I'd also like to know if buying stocks using technical analysis necessarily equates to 'trading'?

Additionally, does this method work? The only thing I really know about TA comes from what I read long ago in the Motley Fool's investment guide-they discredited this method in favor of researching a company's fundamentals.

Can anyone recommend some good websites/blogs or other places to learn about this?

Understanding US dollar denominated securities

ikkyu2 — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:17:31 -0800

Help me understand U.S. dollar-denominated foreign securities. I understand some reasons why one might want to invest in foreign instead of domestic securities- diversification, for one; and expectation of a weakening dollar, for another.

I also understand that if you buy the foreign securities in U.S. dollars, you're in a sense avoiding exposing yourself to unpredictable fluctuations in the foreign currencies; some currencies are much more volatile than the U.S. dollar.

But if you have an expectation of a weakening dollar, does it still make sense to invest in U.S. dollar-denominated securities? Does the fact that the foreign company is presumably transacting the majority of its business in the foreign currency make this type of investment a hedge against a weakening dollar? And finally, are the theoretical implications different for equity instruments than for financial instruments such as bonds (debt)?

The best answers will explicitly exclude investment advice. I do not require investment advice. This is just about understanding - I want theoretical perspectives on the answers to this question.

stock freeware

thatjackbuilt — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 22:08:24 -0800

I'm looking for some type of freeware that will display stock info in realtime on my mac ibook. I'm not too stoked on apple's stock widget because it always seems to be unable to retrieve the data I request. I need something that will allow me to type in ticker symbols for stocks, index funds, ETFs etc. and will give me a chart or graph of current and recent performance. Any suggestions fellow readers??

Stock blackout period regulations

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 13:08:59 -0800

I work for a public company that seems to have frustatingly long stock blackout periods around their quarterly earning calls (~2 months). I'm wondering if this is normal, and if the blackout period length is an arbitrary decision or somehow regulated by law. I'm mainly just curious about the regulations surrounding such a period.

Beginner information on real estate.

JokingClown — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 02:12:24 -0800

I want as many links as can be given for real estate websites. Actually its a little more specific than that. I dont know much about real estate, and its something I would like to know much more about. I dont want any websites that are real estate directories, only websites that have articles about real estate. preferably beginner articles, but thats not necessary. I would also appreciate similar links to articles about other types of investment. Also, any good real estate forums would be helpful. Thanks.

Paying stock dividends

sandra194 — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 08:14:30 -0800

when a company says that they will pay a one time dividend of $1.00 for each outstanding share of common stock, does that mean that they are going to pay me $1 for each share of stock that I own? Or what does it mean?

Earning income from stocks

daksya — Mon, 09 May 2005 19:44:16 -0800

How do shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway earn income? It seems that dividends haven't been issued since 1967. Short of selling the stock, isn't the investment "tied up"? On a broader note, how does one earn money from stocks?

I can think of 2 ways:

1)Dividends.
2)Sell it off for a profit.

..and maybe, earn interest off it (if so, how?).

How to best invest $10K for my newborn?

fenriq — Wed, 29 Dec 2004 19:58:38 -0800

InvestmentFilter
You've got $10,000 to invest for your 6 month old child. How do you invest it for security and growth? (+) I want to make the money as safe as possible but encouraging strong growth. I expect to continue to add chunks of money to the investment over the course of its run.

I would like to present the funds to him at 18 or 21 or when he needs it.

How much could I realistically expect with a $10K initial investment and an average of $1500 a year until he's 18? Also, how much can I legally gift to him for savings without being taxed?

Can internet gossip = stock market success ?

smackfu — Wed, 29 Dec 2004 08:28:33 -0800

Anyone successfully used internet rumors/information to make money in the stock market?

Online glossaries for a stock market beginner?

Slimemonster — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 09:48:50 -0800

Stock market filter: I'm not getting the answer i want from online glossaries that I've checked out. Can anyone give me a good layman's answer for a stock market beginner? When looking at a stock's price, what are the Bid price and Ask price and how do they relate to the "current price" of a stock. It seems simple, but there is some mental block preventing me from totally getting it, i think.