What type of investments should a young adult start out with?
Nov.24, 2009 in
American Equity Investments
I leave for Navy boot camp in 2 months. I’m thinking that it would be very beneficial to start investing my money right away. What type of investments should I look into, and what percentage of my income should I be investing?
November 24th, 2009 at 9:28 am
ok, 2nd question ,How much of my income. Id say as much as you can afford to lose without feeling like shooting yourself. And i mean that seriously. Even though you are investing to make more (and you probly will) you should be willing to accept that you can lose it all in a bad investment, (or at least most of it).
what type, i suggest that you learn some about at least several different types of investments, IE Stocks, Bond, Real Estate, Options. and decide which one you like the best. remember that each of these have risks as well as rewards,
Learn about risk Management and analysis also trading as aposed to investing. Most of these investments will require your ongoing time and effort to sustain and make more money too.
If your time poor or dont want to learn all about these things, I recommend a Mutual fund, They have taken hits all of them recently, but they handle money all the time, and are expert at their field.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:14 am
First a safety net of 6-8 months of expenses in a savings account.
Save the maximum amount you can at least 10%.
Initially invest in a stock (equity) mutual fund with no load, open an account at Vanguard, Fidelity or T. Rowe Price. Focus on funds with the least expenses and broadest range of investments available to the manager.
That should get you started, best of luck and thank you.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:31 am
You should stick with FDIC insured CDs (certificates of deposit) at a bank. It’s amazing that anyone would recommend a new investor to put money in mutual funds or the stock market or anything else. Anything else is for AFTER you’ve got a decent amount of savings.
Before you get a CD you’ll probably just have to get a savings account at a bank. Try to get the best compounded rate you can find. I’d also recommend you go with a local bank. That way you’ll be establishing a relationship with them that might be positive for the future.
I also think a bit of gold is a good investment. It’s somewhat unusual but I like it. Find a coin shop and buy a one ounce Krugerrand!
Once you’ve got money in CDs, then you can gamble on the stock market and mutual funds. Also, real estate is where you live- it’s not an investment.
Save ’till it hurts! Remember: People that call you a tightwad cheapskate are probably broke.