Do you invest?

[lumis]

I'm going to be running in to a significant amount of money in a short amount of time. And instead of blowing it in a year long coke-fueled retard-fest, I thought I would save it for the future. I'm curious as to how you guys invest your money. I'm mainly interested in very safe investments (99% safe), I'm thinking high interest savings account or something (how much money would you even need to make that worth it?). I know I'll get advice to go see a professional, but I'm just wondering what you guys and gals do.

[jimmalenko]

Can you give a range of what sort of money we're talking about ?

0 - 20K
$20 - 50K
$50 - 100K
100K +

or similar ?

[MackemX]

I hope you are getting the money due to good fortunes rather that bad 8)

I invested in a very high risk and lost but it wasn't anything worth sulking about for long and hey that's life .

you have a wise head by investing in something safe

[lumis]

Can you give a range of what sort of money we're talking about ?

0 - 20K
$20 - 50K
$50 - 100K
100K +

or similar ?

100K+

[lordsmurf]

Talk to an investment firm. I PM'd you some information that may help.

[ZAPPER]

LS is right, talk to a pro and then another or two. Anything that has the chance of a good return also has the chance of looseing

[jimmalenko]

For that sort of $$$, I'd suggest a high interest term deposit at a financial institution. Safe as houses. I don't know what the interest rates are like over there, but over here you'd get around 6%, or $6,000 in the first year on $100K.

[zzyzzx]

Who died?

Go tot he http://www.fatwallet.com Finance fourm, and for starters check out some online banks like http://www.emigrantdirect.com or hsbc For other investment advics I recommend going to http://www.dailyreckoning.com

[lumis]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll look in to the links & reference.

[thecoalman]

I have some nice land in Florida if you're interested. Waterfront...

[zzyzzx]

I still want to know who died.

[MackemX]

I asked subtly but zzyzzx is straight to the point, no messing

[ZAPPER]

Part of the trouble with that kind of money is that it is right at the amount that is dangerous. To much to be putting into a low yeild account and too little to play the stocks.

Research and buy a classic car?

Rental property?

Small business capitol?

Profitable hobby?

Home improvement?

If you are just getting started in investing, diversify. Spread it around into three or four accounts. Ladder it too, that is if you opt for bonds or CDs (low earners, but safe) spread out the maturity dates to allow you the option of reinvesting in hotter accounts at future times.

Investing so much depends on your own personal lifestyle, wants, needs and nerve that nobody can tell you what is best for you.

Me? I got my stuff so spread out and disorganized that I don't even know what is working and what isn't unless I get a 1099 or something.

A smart but hard move could be to invest that money and leave it there until you die but that is no fun either.

[lumis]

My grandfather died and he left me the lions share of his money.

As far as the actual money I'll be getting, I don't really need it to live on, I make enough money to pay bills, buy stupid stuff, etc. The money would be better served sitting in an account growing until I'm old.

[MackemX]

sorry to hear that

I know when my Grandfather died it was all messed up as my Aunt twisted his mind on his death bed and made him change his will. Let's just say the rest of the family wasn't happy about it

Bitch!!!!!!

[AlecWest]

All of my investments are in funds tied to T-bills. That's about the best "conservative" investment available. If the U.S. government goes belly up, no domestic investment would be safe.

[zzyzzx]

My grandfather died and he left me the lions share of his money.

That's a dream come true for most of us. How much are we talking about here?

I'm guessing in this range $100,000 - $1,000,000

[MOVIEGEEK]

You could give it to me to invest. :P
Seriously,if you live in the US I would open a Roth IRA and buy stocks that pay a dividend.Your money will grow exponentially and you won't pay any taxes.Savings Bonds and municipal bonds are safe investments free of state and local taxes.

[Ironballs]

I have this email from Nigeria about........

[garman]

Sink your money in oil, seems to be increasing in value everytime I look at it, especially at the gas pumps! - good luck!

Have a look at this link see if you want to invest your money in these companies. -garman

http://www.globalexchange.org/getInvolved/corporateHRviolators.html

[doppletwo]

Bet all of it on black at the roulette table.

[pchan]

My grandfather died and he left me the lions share of his money.

That's a dream come true for most of us. How much are we talking about here?

I'm guessing in this range $100,000 - $1,000,000

How wicked !

[RustyBob]

To much to be putting into a low yeild account and too little to play the stocks.

I dont know about the low yeild account, but it's not too little to invest in the market. Sign up with an on line brokerage firm , like e-trade, scottrade or ameritrade and make that $$ grow.
The roth IRA is a great idea, but you can only invest $4000 a year, unless you're over 50 years of age, and then, it's only $500 more. Maybe a grand. But still a good idea. Maybe join an investment club, in order to learn a little about how the stock market works. This is what I did. The broker is a member of the club, so it is in his best interest to provide sound investment advice. Personally, I dont have an online account. But I plan to very soon. And use the advice given in the club for my personal account. I admit, I am wholey in the stock market, 401k, IRA, and in the club. Because that's where the greatest rewards are. Also, that where the greatest risk is. All the pro's say the smart money is deversified amoung stocks, bonds, and cash. Not for me. And I am 10 to 15 years away from retirement. That's just the way I operate. I have a great job. Worse comes to worse, I'll just work till I die. But I am banking on having a comfortable retirement. And I am no financial guru, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last week.

[zzyzzx]

With over 100K, don't out it all on one place. My favorite investment are those that pay high dividends. I have one stock that paid $1100 for in 1980, and reinvested the dividends (called a DRIP). It's worth over $35,000 today. That's well over the inflation rate. I would be looking to divide it up into groups:

High Risk
Meduim Risk
Low Risk

I'm not going to tell you what % to put into each group since I don't know what your investment objectives are or how old you are, etc. You can figure out that yourself. Put the low risk stuff into bonds, money market accounts, and some dividend paying stocks (the DRIP thing I was mentioning above). Put the medium risk stuff into mostly growth funds and some low risk stocks. Put the high risk stuff into precious metals/commodities and individual stocks, and some mutual funds that have some sort of specialization that makes them ricsky and/or cyclical.

That's about as specific as I can get without knowing you and/or recommending specific ticker symbols and/or getting warned/carded.

[rhegedus]

Try before you buy........

Set up a virtual portfolio in yahoo - just read up on a dozen or so stocks and virtually invest in them and see how you get on over a year.

Here's my virtual retirement fund:



You should also read up on which companies pay good dividends or give bonuses for shareholders - some airlines give a 5% discount on tickets to shareholders etc.

If you bottom out after a virtual year, you will know to get expert advice.

As others have said, it depends on how much you have to invest. The more $, the more you can diversify.........