School me on investing...

N

noles19

Well-Known Member
So I saw Broome talking about oil stocks and it got me thinking that I would like to start Planning for the future and maybe try and play with stocks for the first time..
Nothing crazy, or anything maybe around 1k to play with to start. but I have zero idea where to start...
I'm self employed for the most part, so no 401k I do have a savings but thats it for now.
So advice on where to start even if its something other than stocks?
 
Start with 401k and get the tax benefit. You can move money around within a 401k, I’d start there by maxing that out. Really depends on age and goals. To just play with stocks ameritrade or the like for online trades. Throw some money in there and go to town. I have a few play accounts and it’s actually pretty fun.
 
Canadian Bacon said:
Start with 401k and get the tax benefit. You can move money around within a 401k, I’d start there by maxing that out. Really depends on age and goals. To just play with stocks ameritrade or the like for online trades. Throw some money in there and go to town. I have a few play accounts and it’s actually pretty fun.
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I'm 27 and the goal is to be rich as fuck of course haha.
I really didn't know i could start my own 401k. Like i said I know nothing about this stuff...
 
1K get a savings account and save another $1500 until you can buy a CD. CB said 401K and there's where you need to go if you don't know what to do and don't go into the high risks.

Slow and steady wins the race. Chasing fast returns ends up with you broke and someone else rich.
 
Dave K said:
1K get a savings account and save another $1500 until you can buy a CD. CB said 401K and there's where you need to go if you don't know what to do and don't go into the high risks.

Slow and steady wins the race. Chasing fast returns ends up with you broke and someone else rich.
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That’s why I have my stable investments and play accounts. I plan to retire in 10 years at 52 So need to be smart with it. Once play accounts get up to x amount they get invested.
 
Dave K said:
1K get a savings account and save another $1500 until you can buy a CD. CB said 401K and there's where you need to go if you don't know what to do and don't go into the high risks.

Slow and steady wins the race. Chasing fast returns ends up with you broke and someone else rich.
Click to expand...
Savings account I have, the 1k was really play money that I thought may be able to get started with stocks and if i lose it thats okay., I'll look into A cd though also.
 
I'm gonna give you another option to start small. If you're self employed, 401(k) may or may not be cost effective.

What is cost effective, depending on your income (I'm assuming you qualify based on your age and questions), is to set up a Roth IRA.

A traditional 401(k) is usually offered by an employer on a pretax-basis (reducing your taxable income) and is tax deferred. You will pay taxes on it one day.

A Roth IRA is tax free. Your contributions are out of pocket after you've earned them, and you can put in $5500 a year to start. At certain points in life (buying your first home, for example), you may wish to withdraw without a penalty. I say don't, if you can help it. Keep doin that contribution, and put it in a stock market exchange traded fund (ETF). Think of it as a "stock" made up as a bunch of other stocks. You buy, sell, and trade the same way, but your effectively doing it for a large portion of the market instead of a single company. Check out Vanguard. They have solid offerings and low rates with their funds.

https://investor.vanguard.com/ira/roth-ira
 
I'm in the industry. Agree (based on the little info I know about you) with lawn dart about weighing whether a 401k is worth the expense and complexity. Frankly there's a number of different ways to go, and it depends what you're trying to do.
 
Get a part time job working one or two days a week, and get the 401k from them. Once you get it and contribute a few checks you can quit and then still add to that account.
 
jonathanp said:
Get a part time job working one or two days a week, and get the 401k from them. Once you get it and contribute a few checks you can quit and then still add to that account.
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As far as I know, there are no benifits to a 401k over an IRA, other than the employer contributing a portion. When I started up one here at my place, I ended up going with a Simple IRA for my guys instead of 401K, because I could still add funds for them and it was the least expensive way for all of us. We are under 20 employees.
 
mpusch said:
I'm in the industry. Agree (based on the little info I know about you) with lawn dart about weighing whether a 401k is worth the expense and complexity. Frankly there's a number of different ways to go, and it depends what you're trying to do.
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I guess just trying to be smart with my money, and set myself up for the future. I don't make A lot right now, but I don't really have any expenses. and I'm taking classes for software engineering so I hope to be making more shortly.
 
He stated no 401k , as he's self employed.

As some mentioned, mutual fund, IRA, etc. Something well diversified. Unless you are a sophisticated market watcher, i would avoid stocks of individual companies. Mutual funds are a collection of LOTS of stocks, bonds, etc. that help take some of the guesswork out for the less sophisticated investor like you and I.
As Warren Buffet said long ago, "My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest." The power of compounding interest is an amazing thing (earnings that are reinvested in your fund)..
 
rob linders said:
As far as I know, there are no benifits to a 401k over an IRA, other than the employer contributing a portion. When I started up one here at my place, I ended up going with a Simple IRA for my guys instead of 401K, because I could still add funds for them and it was the least expensive way for all of us. We are under 20 employees.
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That makes since, I worked at a miller beer distributor so there was no cost for us even after i left
 
Agree with Roth IRA. Use someone like Scottrade or other discount broker. Open account and put money $5500 per year and invest.
Play account, use Robinhood. Free trading. Great way to play around to learn.
People make long careers about this topic, so it's a lot to learn. Get started is the best advice. And don't invest in penny stocks.
 
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