Do any of you buy stocks/mutual funds?

[lucky81698]

Just wondering if any of you ladies are into buying stocks or mutal funds and what you like to buy?

Jan

[Amanda]

I work for the largest no load mutual fund company in the world and have my Series 6 & 63 licenses! Unfortunately with that I am forbidden to "suggest" any mutual funds!

What I can tell you is to beware buying what they tell you in the newspaper or on financial shows- by then the people who have had the stocks are taking their profit and are selling!

Most of my holdings are mutual funds because they allow you to buy hundreds of stocks at one time! About 45% of my money is in a 500 Index fund that mirrors the S & P 500 index- it holds the same stocks (large US blue chip companies) as the index and seeks to have the same return as the S & P. Not that I'm suggesting anything of course! That could get me in trouble!


Here are some helpful calculators that I grabbed from a website:
https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/...vQuestionnaire

https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/...tent.jsp#early

[lucky81698]

Amanda,

I remember you saying the company you work for but not sure what you actually do there. I have quite a bit of stuff in them. Of course most of them custodial accounts for Billy. (wish it were mine!) I sold a bunch of his stock recently, (one not by choice but it was required due to a buyout) They are my favorite! I liked the Boggleheads book too! I wish that Bill's 401 and PCRA offered Vanguard funds as the one choice but last I looked they didn't. I've done pretty well with the stuff I invested some of the PCRA money in, but still wish they were Vanguard. Billy has some invested in the 500 Index fund with them too and I have a few more thousand to invest, just waiting since it's gone down a few bucks over the last week or so.

I saw this new company featured in our local paper called Verifone (PAY). It's a company that pretty much has a monoply on these little machines they use in restuarants all over Europe to process credit card transactions. They are just trying it out here in about 30 restaurants in CA I think. It seemed pretty interesting. I've been getting really interested in this investing stuff lately!

[Amanda]

Originally Posted by lucky81698

Amanda,
Billy has some invested in the 500 Index fund with them too and I have a few more thousand to invest, just waiting since it's gone down a few bucks over the last week or so.

Buy low, sell high (as you know)! Also timing the market is a losing battle for most investors. It's best to purchase funds on a regular basis and take advantage of dollar cost averaging.

For the last 8 years I have worked in the institutional (retirement plans) area. In AZ I was in charge of all of the new hires hired into the Participant Services department (hundreds over the years). I also facilitated classes and ensured all of the licensed people in the department were in compliance with the NASD (firm elements, annual compliance reviews, etc). Now I am a project lead creating system simulations using the Captivate program. It will give future new hires additional hands on practice with our systems before going on the phones to help shareholders.

I've heard of Verifone- they are pretty well known for credit card processing terminals, but not sure if that's the same company you are talking about. Stocks can be fun but more often than not, I've lost money with them so I tend to just play it safe these days with mutual funds. I say what the heck- it's a gamble but buy some shares and see how they do. I did that with Sirius when I found out Howard Stern was going there but it was too late and it went down instead of up. It's like going to the casino- spend what you are willing to lose and hope that it goes up!



You are so smart for putting money away for Billy's future. I wish more parents were smart like that! When I have kids I will certainly put money away in a 529.

[lucky81698]

I have about $3,000 left, do you think it is better to dump it all at once or do the monthly investment? With the other $4,000 I had to get rid of I didn't feel like bothering with it and just bought it all at once. Since that fund is so expensive, it seems putting $100 a month doesn't do too much! He also has a few other things my dad gave him and one other with TRowePrice that I started with some of the money from the other stock sale. I invest monthly in that one, but am thinking of stopping and changing it to one of the Vanguard ones he has. My dad is big into Vanguard and told me to buy that index fund, so I did! He has done really well. After dealing with Fidelity with Bill's father (they can't seem to comprehend now that people other than a spouse can inherit an IRA and not get completely screwed with the taxes!) I know when we finally get that stuff squared away, we will not be investing any more into Fidelity! (I'm sure it's a good company, but we've had a bad experience).

Yes, that is the Verifone that I am talking about. It seems kinda promising, but I don't know much about the charts and all that stuff. I'm a little leary about the 529 plans for some reason. I don't knwo if it's because I'm listening to my dad, who has always done pretty well for himself, or maybe because they already tried to change the law once regarding those. I know the UGMA can screw you up if you apply for student loans, but I'm thinking by that time hopefully Bill will make too much money to qualify anyway! I just hope we are able to teach Billy enough financial responsibility that by he time he is legal to handle his own stuff, he doesn't go out and blow it!

That sounds like a really cool job you have. What type of degree do you get to do that kinda stuff?

[TheWife]

I am soooo clueless about this stuff so I've kind of stayed away, not that I have any money to invest, but I'd still like to have a good grasp of how it all works. My FIL is adament that large amounts of money should go into 1031 exchanges (I THINK I got that right lol). He has some Jiffy Lube properties and stuff, and puts most of his money in real estate. I worry about what happens if there was another depression or something and real estate becomes worthless.

[Amanda]

Originally Posted by TheWife

I am soooo clueless about this stuff so I've kind of stayed away, not that I have any money to invest, but I'd still like to have a good grasp of how it all works. My FIL is adament that large amounts of money should go into 1031 exchanges (I THINK I got that right lol). He has some Jiffy Lube properties and stuff, and puts most of his money in real estate. I worry about what happens if there was another depression or something and real estate becomes worthless.

It doesn't have to complicated! No really! Stay away from the complicated stuff your FIL is dabbling in. That's where if you don't know what you're doing you can lose a lot!

I can help you with the basics if you want. I can't stress enough that putting in a little bit is better than nothing at all. Even a few dollars a month is a great start! There are so many people out there who have no idea how investments work. That's OK, just learn the basics and you will understand how important it is to put money away for retirement.

[czechmate]

I have ALL my money in a tube sock underneath my bed!!!!!




Just kidding!!!!
Jen

[TheWife]

Well right now I just put $25 a month in savings, that's all I can do, and it seems like about every 4-8 months, I have to empty it out for some emergency/unforseen expense. We are trying to qualify for medicaid right now to help w/ the baby bills, so I will hold off with anything at least until after that, because it gets complicated if you have to start showing them investment/asset accounts, even if they are small ones. After that though, and once dh is at an airline, we should hopefully be able to put some money aside. And at that point, I'll need the 101 for Dummies class lol.

[Amanda]

Originally Posted by TheWife

Well right now I just put $25 a month in savings, that's all I can do, and it seems like about every 4-8 months, I have to empty it out for some emergency/unforseen expense. We are trying to qualify for medicaid right now to help w/ the baby bills, so I will hold off with anything at least until after that, because it gets complicated if you have to start showing them investment/asset accounts, even if they are small ones. After that though, and once dh is at an airline, we should hopefully be able to put some money aside. And at that point, I'll need the 101 for Dummies class lol.

Let me know when you are ready to learn the 'basics of investing'! I know it is hard to save sometimes but putting away a little is a good idea. If possible try to put it in a money market vs a savings account because you can make 5% interest vs 1%! I know there are minimums to open an account but when you're ready you can open one.