$2,000 where do i invest

[KobeBryant833]

I have $2,000 I'm looking to invest. Anyone have any suggestions? Stocks?

[PACKmanN]

I have $2,000 I'm looking to invest. Anyone have any suggestions? Stocks?

my pockets

[fenikz]

http://cgi.ebay.com/MARSHALL-1991-JCM-900-100-WATT-STACK-MINT-NO-RESERVE-/110559809459?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bde0cfb3#ht_500wt_1154

[Mr.Regular]

You looking for stocks only? Or open to anything? I'm not the best with stocks but I know it fairly well. For the record, I'm working to be a financial advisor (working at a bank right now doing that for the summer....student..)
If you're investing in one thing, than there's lots of ways to go, but nothing guaranteed. It's always smart to diversify, but if you're looking for a quick one time deal then I could recommend some stuff.

[KobeBryant833]

Im fairly open just looking for a solid investment

[jayceheathman]

I own stock in IMAX and its doing fairly well at the moment although its been getting its ass kicked. Inception is helping me since 12% of the movies first weekend receipts were from IMAX theaters although IMAX only counted for 3% of the total theaters. I bought in right when the market tanked around the beginning of the summer so I am still down. If you owned Playboy a few weeks ago you would have almost doubled your investment. There were talks that Hugh was thinking of buying out all the stock at $5 a share and making the company private so it went up 71% the next day. Now its no longer worth since its at $5.20 a share.

[KobeBryant833]

I've been thinking micron technology, apple and something in the oil industry, but I'm not too sure about them.

[RufusMcDaniel]

http://reganwolfrom.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/seinfeld_human_fund_blue_shirt.jpg

[jayceheathman]

I've been thinking micron technology, apple and something in the oil industry, but I'm not too sure about them.

Depends how much risk you are willing to take. Apple is already $260 a share so you are looking at not even 8 shares to be able to buy but you also are the least likely to lose much money. Micron is cheap and has looked pretty well over the last year. Something in the oil industry would be the biggest risk because just about every company has taken a hit because of the BP oil slick. You could definitely make some money in that category and get in cheap but you also could lose the most.

[bhaarat316]

why not just put it into a CD?

[PACKmanN]

I've been thinking micron technology, apple and something in the oil industry, but I'm not too sure about them.

well apple should rise with the new products coming out soon and the ipad becoming popluar. Not a bad investment

[broth223]

You could invest in the James W Greenwood pay back student loans fund. It garentees 150% return on your investment within 3 months of James W Greenwood finding a well paying job.

[El Peefs?????]

Invest it up your nose brosef, $2000 dollar crack party !

[Shane P. Hallam]

I'd go for some type of mutual funds.

[CLong4Heisman]

Go for the casinos in Las Vegas. No matter the economy, people will always go and spend money there.

[Brent]

government bonds

[Bob Sanders Dreadlock]

Your about to go to college right? Save it, you will need it.

[crites09]

Believe it or not but Ford stock should go up soon... They are among the leaders in Hybrid cars and they are only becoming more popular... Stock is also around 12.65 a piece... they have been kinda shedding the shittay Ford image and have been constantly rising since they got their shat together. Before their stock crashed it was at $29 a stock and I wouldn't be surprised to see it go up there soon. Type in google "Ford Motor Company Stock" and look at the trend for the last year and its promising that last couple months alone it keeps jumping

[jballa838]

With today's market the Dow is pretty much bound between 12k and 8k, with the general stocks going to go along with it, with some exceptions. If you can diversify with some good no-name stocks with a great fiscal year in 2009 then you will be set. and what i have seen echoes what Crites09 has said. Ford surpassed expectations in Earnings and Earnings per share last fiscal year, and their industry is going to always fluctuate with the economy, but it is set to rise again this upcoming year.

[LizardState]

Believe it or not but Ford stock should go up soon... They are among the leaders in Hybrid cars and they are only becoming more popular... Stock is also around 12.65 a piece... they have been kinda shedding the shittay Ford image and have been constantly rising since they got their shat together. Before their stock crashed it was at $29 a stock and I wouldn't be surprised to see it go up there soon. Type in google "Ford Motor Company Stock" and look at the trend for the last year and its promising that last couple months alone it keeps jumping

FoMoCo was the only one of the Big 3 auto makers who took no Govt. bailout $, they're still a lot more financially healthy than GM or non-foreign-owned auto maker. Makes me proud to drive my 10-yr. old Explorer Sport with its shittay MPG.

Most investments (except certain stocks) are paying at <2% right now, so buy a Jet Ski & ski your $ worries away :-)

[Philliez01]

Your about to go to college right? Save it, you will need it.

I actually would say this.

[Mr. Goosemahn]

I actually would say this.

Yeah, this is sound advice. It'll be really useful.

But if you really want to invest it, go to E*Trade or one of those sites. E*Trade is actually the one that costs the most when it comes to fees and whatnot, so look for another one.

But those sites offer great services and info for stock trading. But as someone already mentioned, $2000 isn't that much to invest in stocks though. Some are really expensive.

But I'd save it for college. That's probably the best thing you can do.

[KobeBryant833]

Well i don't have to pay for anything in college. My parents are covering all my spending needs and i have work study. I'm leaning towards some sort of bonds or low end stocks.

[Philliez01]

Not to be a cliche', but it's your own money. I was a freshman last year and you don't realize how much money you go through (and fast). It's good to give your parents a reprieve too, I'm sure they'd appreciate you buying a textbook or something.

[CJSchneider]

The best way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

[Ravens1991]

Did u ever think of putting it in a CD(certificate of deposit) that is very safe and you will get a solid interest rate from that.

[Philliez01]

Did u ever think of putting it in a CD(certificate of deposit) that is very safe and you will get a solid interest rate from that.

But don't buy CDs you don't like....that's what got Michael.

[jayceheathman]

But don't buy CDs you don't like....that's what got Michael.

Michael is a good CD. Bad cd's is what got whoever is in your avatar.

[Philliez01]

Michael is a good CD. Bad cd's is what got whoever is in your avatar.

Michael from The Office?

Psh that's Mz Lady GaGa (the Gs are silent), The Fame Monster deluxe album is one of the best pure-pop CDs in quite some time. Meaning it's not a great CD but it's good for the target audience.

[KobeBryant833]

Did u ever think of putting it in a CD(certificate of deposit) that is very safe and you will get a solid interest rate from that.

I haven't really thought about that and honestly never heard of it before. I've got all the money im going to need up there. I just have $2,000 that im looking to start investing with

[Scotty D]

Psh that's Mz Lady GaGa (the Gs are silent), The Fame Monster deluxe album is one of the best pure-pop CDs in quite some time. Meaning it's not a great CD but it's good for the target audience.

http://imgur.com/rWDun.jpg

[Philliez01]

http://imgur.com/rWDun.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a178/yukmouth916/yes.gif

I said in terms of pop music it is.
--------------------------------

Anyway if you do want to invest, CDs are a good thing to look into for down the road. In all seriousness, look into it.

[CashmoneyDrew]

Flying Cars. They gotta come around some time. Am I right?

[PackerLegend]

How long are you looking to invest this money for? A good deal of time or just like 2 months?

[Paranoidmoonduck]

Serious answer: it may be too late to hop on, but the Tesla car company has been doing real well lately and should be decent for a while.

[thefalconer]

Serious answer: it may be too late to hop on, but the Tesla car company has been doing real well lately and should be decent for a while.

it had a crazy spike but it's steadied. kinda risky if you ask me.

are you looking for a short-term 'get rich quick' kinda stock or a long-term investment?

[Paranoidmoonduck]

It's steadied, but the joint venture with Toyota could incite a steady progression as the company grows. It's freaking tiny right now.

[Vikes99ej]

This thread just reminds me how terrible with money I am.

[PackerLegend]

If I where to invest money in stocks where do I even begin? lol

[marshallb]

If I where to invest money in stocks where do I even begin? lol

Your best bet would probably to go to your bank as banks usually will have someone who is in charge of investing and mutual funds and all that stuff, otherwise I'd say to go to a site like E*trade or Scotttrade or any of those kinds of sites. I would also suggest going to some sites like Yahoo or CNN finance and what not and see what info they have on stocks on the rise or that will rise.

[KobeBryant833]

I'm looking for the pot of gold, but thats not easy. I'd say a pretty good amount of time a year at least i just want my 2,000 to keep growing faster than the .8% my savings gives me

[cunningham06]

I'm looking for the pot of gold, but thats not easy. I'd say a pretty good amount of time a year at least i just want my 2,000 to keep growing faster than the .8% my savings gives me

Here ya on that, IMO a CD is a waste of time. I did that with my money when I was 8-15 before I started investing in stocks, and honestly you would be better served putting that money in a steady blue chip that pays out a healthy dividend.

Here's why I don't like CD's as an investment right now:

Bank interest rates suck right now, meaning if you jump into a CD right now you are going to be trailing the rate of inflation (< 3%) unless you go for something extremely long term. You know what you're going to get, so not as much uncertainty, but the downside is that you're just going to be left with a sum of money that is not as valuable as what you currently have.

Another problem with CD's is that you can't pull your money out (or there is usually some sort of penalty for doing so) until the time period you've chosen is up, so you don't have the optionality you do with a stock investment for example.

If you want a conservative pick that is pretty safe check out companies like McDonalds and Johnson and Johnson (good buy right now IMO) because they pay annual dividends above 3% and have a history of consistently increasing dividends. Now if you DRIP (Dividend reinvestment program) either stock, you will have a snowballing effect where dividend payout -> greater number of shares -> greater dividend payout in the future.

If you want to get a bit more risky small cap companies are a great opportunity. AFAM in particular is way too beat up right now, has a good niche, solid balance sheet, and excellent growth prospects.

[jayceheathman]

it had a crazy spike but it's steadied. kinda risky if you ask me.

are you looking for a short-term 'get rich quick' kinda stock or a long-term investment?

It also had a crazy spike downward after it opened up like 40% on the day of the IPO. I wouldnt risk Tesla if it were me. The owner is bankrupt because he put all of his money into the company and they arent making a profit. At least not yet they are. He is living off of loans which is why he had to put his company public to try and raise some cash. I would at least wait until earnings to see what their numbers are before considering getting in. Also, most earnings report will always put something in the minds of the shareholders that isnt good so one of my rules is to try and not hold through a conference call. Even if the company goes up in profit by 20% they will say something like their outlook doesnt look to be as good as last quarter and everyone will freak out and sell. If the quarter is bad then the stock could bomb far. I sold the day before one of my companies was to announce their conference call and that following day it opened down 27%.

[jayceheathman]

If I where to invest money in stocks where do I even begin? lol

Basically you find the stock you want and then go onto a site like Fidelity, Scottrade, Etrade, or one of the others and make an account. Most want a limit of $500 to put in your account and then you basically make a buy order by putting in the ticker symbol for that company. Then someone on the floor of the NYSE will make the trade for you.

[wicket]

2k is to little to invest in a good portfolio (transaction costs will kill you).

go for some sort of mutual fund.

[nepg]

CDs and Bonds are garbage. My advice would be to go with a mutual fund that's been around for a long time and has shown good returns.

[P-L]

If you're going to go right into stocks, start with ones that are relatively recession-proof. Like cunningham mentioned, companies like McDonald's and Johnson & Johnson are a good place to start. Regardless of the economy, people are still going to need health care products and studies have shown that eating out is one of the last things people give up in tough times. They may not have the crazy upside that some other stocks have, but you know what you're going to get. Right now with a very volatile market, safe is the way to go.

[49erNation85]

Heck with all the invest crap.Do you self a favor and do this.Head down to Reno , NV and go to the Bunny Ranch there and have some for a an hour or so .That would be more ha giggdy .

[CLong4Heisman]

Just give it to the guys who want your bank account numbers so you can become prince of Nigeria

[cunningham06]

It also had a crazy spike downward after it opened up like 40% on the day of the IPO. I wouldnt risk Tesla if it were me. The owner is bankrupt because he put all of his money into the company and they arent making a profit. At least not yet they are. He is living off of loans which is why he had to put his company public to try and raise some cash. I would at least wait until earnings to see what their numbers are before considering getting in. Also, most earnings report will always put something in the minds of the shareholders that isnt good so one of my rules is to try and not hold through a conference call. Even if the company goes up in profit by 20% they will say something like their outlook doesnt look to be as good as last quarter and everyone will freak out and sell. If the quarter is bad then the stock could bomb far. I sold the day before one of my companies was to announce their conference call and that following day it opened down 27%.

I'm not touching Tesla right now, IPO's aren't the guaranteed profit they used to be because of the incredible amount of speculation surrounding them. Tesla (TSLA) reminds me of A123 systems (AONE), which also recently had its IPO. Because of what these companies do the P/E ratios are pretty out of whack and not very reflective of a fair value for the company. Rechargeable batteries and electric cars could be the way of the future, but until such companies can back up the hype with profitability, I'm not biting.

[cunningham06]

2k is to little to invest in a good portfolio (transaction costs will kill you).

go for some sort of mutual fund.

I started out with about that much, I'd recommend E*Trade since they offer the 100 free trades in your first month with them. Helps you get your footing and you can always consolidate your positions later when you have more money.

[aLARGEtopHat]

While I haven't done much due diligence on Tesla, I don't see how they have a viable business model. Who is their customer at 100k for a car? The sports car enthusiast? Well i would think he would want more than 250 hp, although it is light so it may be pretty good? If he wants to be environmentally responsible go buy a hybrid Lexus/Mercedes or something like that as a daily driver. The car seems like a very late stage luxury good that will be gone in a few years.

If you have a strong heart I suggest looking into RIG, Transocean, they have gotten completely destroyed the last few days, my poor portfolio :(, but I'm pretty sure they hold little responsibility for clean up costs in the gulf with BP, and have a large line to continue to build rigs. You could also look at APC, Anadarko, who was also involved in the spill, but hasn't been driven down the last few days and has got very few headlines. And even XOM, Exxon, who obviously got dragged down with everyone in oil since the spill.

Like the others said, time frame is important, especially in this crazy market where the correlation of everything seems to be almost 1...

With only 2k trading fees can be a large part, as you basically are starting out down 1% at 10 dollars a trade. Look for free trades for a month from ameritrade, e-trade, zecco, or something along those lines.

[jayceheathman]

2k is to little to invest in a good portfolio (transaction costs will kill you).

go for some sort of mutual fund.

$2000 is a perfect amount to learn how to invest. Learn the stock market now and then it could definitely be valuable when you get a career and have more disposable income.

[jayceheathman]

I'm not touching Tesla right now, IPO's aren't the guaranteed profit they used to be because of the incredible amount of speculation surrounding them. Tesla (TSLA) reminds me of A123 systems (AONE), which also recently had its IPO. Because of what these companies do the P/E ratios are pretty out of whack and not very reflective of a fair value for the company. Rechargeable batteries and electric cars could be the way of the future, but until such companies can back up the hype with profitability, I'm not biting.

If an IPO can form a base early then it wouldnt be too bad but the majority of them soar 40% and then dive bomb the 2nd or 3rd day from everyone immediately profit taking. It's hard to get into an IPO or at least with Fidelity. I attempted it once and they wouldnt let me so I called them up and they said a week before the IPO comes out I have to put my shares down to get in. I dont know if thats a Fidelity thing or something you always have to do with IPO's on it's first release date.

I am still optimistic about rechargeable batteries and electric cars completely taking over because the biggest way of transportation with companies is through 18 wheelers and that would be tons of electricity. Not to mention that the driver doesnt want to stop every 200 miles and wait for a couple of hours to charge it up. If people want to help the environment then the easiest way is to just increase the price of gas.

[cunningham06]

If an IPO can form a base early then it wouldnt be too bad but the majority of them soar 40% and then dive bomb the 2nd or 3rd day from everyone immediately profit taking. It's hard to get into an IPO or at least with Fidelity. I attempted it once and they wouldnt let me so I called them up and they said a week before the IPO comes out I have to put my shares down to get in. I dont know if thats a Fidelity thing or something you always have to do with IPO's on it's first release date.

I am still optimistic about rechargeable batteries and electric cars completely taking over because the biggest way of transportation with companies is through 18 wheelers and that would be tons of electricity. Not to mention that the driver doesnt want to stop every 200 miles and wait for a couple of hours to charge it up. If people want to help the environment then the easiest way is to just increase the price of gas.

IPO's that aren't hype lightning rods can be a good investment. My problem with IPO's is that the sales price is pretty arbitrary and extremely volatile as everyone tries to figure out what a fair value is. As far as getting in on the ground floor of an IPO is it's tough because the introductory price can jump all over the place and you have to be prepared early in advance.

The thing about electric cars that annoys me is that that power isn't generated by your wall. It's still electricity that is likely powered by one fossil fuel or another, you just don't have to "see it" the way you do when you pump gasoline. Good point on stopping to recharge, I hadn't thought of that.

Gas is a pretty inelastic good so it would have to be a very sizable price hike to drastically alter consumption patterns. And people would ***** to no end about it.

[Todd Bertuzzi]

Put it on red.

[jayceheathman]

Put it on red.

As in the Red One 4K resolution cameras? haha Just the base of that camera costs $17,500 and another $19,000 for the set of all the lenses. Maybe one day I will be able to afford it.

[jayceheathman]

IPO's that aren't hype lightning rods can be a good investment. My problem with IPO's is that the sales price is pretty arbitrary and extremely volatile as everyone tries to figure out what a fair value is. As far as getting in on the ground floor of an IPO is it's tough because the introductory price can jump all over the place and you have to be prepared early in advance.

The thing about electric cars that annoys me is that that power isn't generated by your wall. It's still electricity that is likely powered by one fossil fuel or another, you just don't have to "see it" the way you do when you pump gasoline. Good point on stopping to recharge, I hadn't thought of that.

Gas is a pretty inelastic good so it would have to be a very sizable price hike to drastically alter consumption patterns. And people would ***** to no end about it.

That is true about gas being pretty inelastic although we started to see a little bit of a change once gas hit $4 two summers ago. People definitely would ***** to no end but it would eventually accomplish a decrease in demand if you went high enough. Granted, more expensive gas means higher shipping costs, higher shipping costs means more money the companies now have to pay so they start taking it out on customers by raising the price, with the price increase then people stop buying as much, with people not buying much means companies start laying off. Gas hitting $4.50 was probably one of the big factors in starting the recession.

I dont think oil is going anywhere anytime soon so out of the stocks he mentioned, the most money would be made in that industry. The only problem is the bad rep they have been receiving due to the BP oil slick so at the moment it would be risky. You would have to keep an eye on it more than Apple or McDonalds where you could put your money in and not worry as much.

[Rosebud]

http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/build/images/gold1.jpg

[Todd Bertuzzi]

As in the Red One 4K resolution cameras? haha Just the base of that camera costs $17,500 and another $19,000 for the set of all the lenses. Maybe one day I will be able to afford it.

http://r4nt.com/images/v6/article/large_pic/210/roulette_lg.jpg

[yourfavestoner]

JuzFoFMJB1Q

Sell it all, double down, do it again. TI's get rich quick scheme.

[aLARGEtopHat]

Gas hitting $4.50 was probably one of the big factors in starting the recession.
What? This is so wrong.

[tjsunstein]

'Distribute.'

[prock]

Take your $2000 and invest in into my college education. In about 10 years, you will make a few grand :)

[jayceheathman]

What? This is so wrong.

It was a big factor of it. A huge portion of our economy is based off of energy. Gas doubles and companies now have extra costs to ship their products, the costs then move on to consumers and prices end up going up. That is what you saw at grocery stores with all the items going up. Every single product out there was affected by gas prices going up. Also, it takes a lot of energy to power the plants in the factories as well. People then stopped buying their F-150's, their Escalades, their Yukons, their Expeditions, and so on and so forth because it cost $100 to fill the tank up. That then caused the auto industry to drop because everyone was all into the phrase "bigger is better."

Gas as well as people putting all of their money into a house they couldnt afford because they thought the price would never drop were huge factors to what put us where we are now.

If you disagree then what is your theory?

[hockey619]

depends. how long are you looking to leave it for?

youre on this board so youre probably young so idk if you have two grand to just put away somewhere for a bit. not really sure what short term investments you can make and come out with good buck for your risk.

if youre looking to just put it into something and come out with a ton of money a ways down the road, just invest in oil. at some point in the next decade or two its gunna hit over 10$ a gallon. its happened elsewhere like Europe and the UK. experts are thinking itll be a while before that happens like fifty years but no way its gunna take that long for the price to surge up.

[tjsunstein]

Start gambling?

[KobeBryant833]

depends. how long are you looking to leave it for?

youre on this board so youre probably young so idk if you have two grand to just put away somewhere for a bit. not really sure what short term investments you can make and come out with good buck for your risk.

if youre looking to just put it into something and come out with a ton of money a ways down the road, just invest in oil. at some point in the next decade or two its gunna hit over 10$ a gallon. its happened elsewhere like Europe and the UK. experts are thinking itll be a while before that happens like fifty years but no way its gunna take that long for the price to surge up.

Ya I'm going to college in a week. I'm looking to invest this for awhile I have no intention of spending this money.

[aLARGEtopHat]

It was a big factor of it. A huge portion of our economy is based off of energy. Gas doubles and companies now have extra costs to ship their products, the costs then move on to consumers and prices end up going up. That is what you saw at grocery stores with all the items going up. Every single product out there was affected by gas prices going up. Also, it takes a lot of energy to power the plants in the factories as well. People then stopped buying their F-150's, their Escalades, their Yukons, their Expeditions, and so on and so forth because it cost $100 to fill the tank up. That then caused the auto industry to drop because everyone was all into the phrase "bigger is better."

Gas as well as people putting all of their money into a house they couldnt afford because they thought the price would never drop were huge factors to what put us where we are now.

If you disagree then what is your theory?

People receive loans they shouldn't over-saturating the market-> House prices go down after people being to default-> People can't refinance their loans -> defaults on mortgages grows and grows -> overrated MBSs begin to fail -> Bear Sterns Collapses then Lehman and so on thanks to CDSs and MBS for the most part -> whole banking system asplodes almost after Lehman -> lending is cut off to consumers, confidence dies, and house prices continue to fall -> banks can't lend to companies to expand, start new projects, and many companies lay people off obviously due to declining business -> You officially have a recession.

Oh Transocean, why must you disconnect the other 2 terrible oil stock and go down while they continue to rise. Would be up 20% if I had went with Anadarko instead.

[Mr. Goosemahn]

if youre looking to just put it into something and come out with a ton of money a ways down the road, just invest in oil. at some point in the next decade or two its gunna hit over 10$ a gallon. its happened elsewhere like Europe and the UK. experts are thinking itll be a while before that happens like fifty years but no way its gunna take that long for the price to surge up.

That's going after the big dogs right there. If you do get the profit in a decade, that's awesome, but if it does take 40 to 50 years, :S

In any case, you'd get a ****load of money.

Start gambling?

Quick way to make a small amount of big bucks. Definitely not as risky as going into stocks without truly knowing what you're doing, but risky nonetheless. Time to put that NFL knowledge into play. Just don't go betting your house.

[Mr. Goosemahn]

People receive loans they shouldn't over-saturating the market-> House prices go down after people being to default-> People can't refinance their loans -> defaults on mortgages grows and grows -> overrated MBSs begin to fail -> Bear Sterns Collapses then Lehman and so on thanks to CDSs and MBS for the most part -> whole banking system asplodes almost after Lehman -> lending is cut off to consumers, confidence dies, and house prices continue to fall -> banks can't lend to companies to expand, start new projects, and many companies lay people off obviously due to declining business -> You officially have a recession

--> Bernie Madoff tops it off running away with countless billions.

[yourfavestoner]

Ya I'm going to college in a week. I'm looking to invest this for awhile I have no intention of spending this money.

You're going to college in a week? You'll be able to more than double your money in that first week, especially if you're gonna be living in dorms.

[Rosebud]

You're going to college in a week? You'll be able to more than double your money in that first week, especially if you're gonna be living in dorms.

Seriously with 2 grand you got out and get a book of acid, taking the remaining 500-900 bucks and buy a solid gold coin, sell off 5 sheets right away to make your money back, and then sell the remaining 5 sheets by the strip and then turn all of that into gold leaving you with around 4 ounces of gold that won't go down in value again until the dollar collapses. Hell you could even leave yourself a couple hundred to gamble with to see if you're any good at that.

[KobeBryant833]

Seriously with 2 grand you got out and get a book of acid, taking the remaining 500-900 bucks and buy a solid gold coin, sell off 5 sheets right away to make your money back, and then sell the remaining 5 sheets by the strip and then turn all of that into gold leaving you with around 4 ounces of gold that won't go down in value again until the dollar collapses. Hell you could even leave yourself a couple hundred to gamble with to see if you're any good at that.

Haha and thats the reason they kicked most of the players off the team in the past.

[contento]

Gold and Silver bullion.



At the risk of sounding "tinfoil-hattish", not only is bullion a low risk/high reward investment(currently, imo)- it's also something real, not a piece of paper or numbers stored in a computer.

[Rosebud]

Haha and thats the reason they kicked most of the players off the team in the past.

You never use your own supply and keep it quiet and you can make that one time move very quickly and discreetly. Then you can get some gold, 4 ounces in gold coins is a nice little rainy day fund that'll rise steadily as long as inflation continues, which it has for decades.

[KobeBryant833]

You never use your own supply and keep it quiet and you can make that one time move very quickly and discreetly. Then you can get some gold, 4 ounces in gold coins is a nice little rainy day fund that'll rise steadily as long as inflation continues, which it has for decades.

Haha biggie ten crack commandments right there.....

[Rosebud]

Haha biggie ten crack commandments right there.....

Back when gangsta rappers had balls.

[cunningham06]

You never use your own supply and keep it quiet and you can make that one time move very quickly and discreetly. Then you can get some gold, 4 ounces in gold coins is a nice little rainy day fund that'll rise steadily as long as inflation continues, which it has for decades.

What you have to keep in mind is that gold is a commodity, and like other commodities, there is a considerable amount of volatility. When you look at an inflation adjusted gold value chart like this one, it gives some idea as to gold's historical performance: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/10/gold-inflation-adjusted/.

Timing is everything, if you bought big into gold in 1980 you would still be kicking yourself because of the downward trend following in the next 20 years. Gold has made quite a run as of late especially with the uncertainty surrounding the future of US currency, but there is some risk involved if you are just going to invest in gold bullion.

[Eaglez.Fan]

What you have to keep in mind is that gold is a commodity, and like other commodities, there is a considerable amount of volatility. When you look at an inflation adjusted gold value chart like this one, it gives some idea as to gold's historical performance: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/10/gold-inflation-adjusted/.

Timing is everything, if you bought big into gold in 1980 you would still be kicking yourself because of the downward trend following in the next 20 years. Gold has made quite a run as of late especially with the uncertainty surrounding the future of US currency, but there is some risk involved if you are just going to invest in gold bullion.

Buy silver! It's dirt cheap compared to gold. During the last recession the gold silver ratio went to 16 to 1 (or 12 to 1, I forget) right now its at 66 to 1. Not to mention the silver shorts/market manipulators are being investigated as we speak, and a law suite might ensue.

[Rosebud]

What you have to keep in mind is that gold is a commodity, and like other commodities, there is a considerable amount of volatility. When you look at an inflation adjusted gold value chart like this one, it gives some idea as to gold's historical performance: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/10/gold-inflation-adjusted/.

Timing is everything, if you bought big into gold in 1980 you would still be kicking yourself because of the downward trend following in the next 20 years. Gold has made quite a run as of late especially with the uncertainty surrounding the future of US currency, but there is some risk involved if you are just going to invest in gold bullion.

Let's try not to hold the 80's against gold, the 80's were awful for everyone/everything. As for Gold I can only speak about my lifetime, and as a 20-something that lifetime only starts in the late 80s, but I've been putting savings away in gold intermittently throughout my life and reaped nothing but benefits, of course I've also been picking up silver and foreign currency bundles as well. Plus I just can't see inflation doing anything but accelerating for the next decade since we haven't even seen the worst of this economic collapse, making Gold likely to only accelerate it's growth.

[thefalconer]

Let's try not to hold the 80's against gold, the 80's were awful for everyone/everything. As for Gold I can only speak about my lifetime, and as a 20-something that lifetime only starts in the late 80s, but I've been putting savings away in gold intermittently throughout my life and reaped nothing but benefits, of course I've also been picking up silver and foreign currency bundles as well. Plus I just can't see inflation doing anything but accelerating for the next decade since we haven't even seen the worst of this economic collapse, making Gold likely to only accelerate it's growth.

where can i invest in gold?

[Rosebud]

where can i invest in gold?

Good question, I have a couple friends who are coin-dealers which is how I do it. Maybe some of the other guys on here could point you towards more mainstream options.

[hockey619]

Ya I'm going to college in a week. I'm looking to invest this for awhile I have no intention of spending this money.


OK so then how long are you willing to wait? you building an early retirement fund now or for something big down the road? or do you want to grab the cash and the returns right after college?

Im no financial advisor but Im an economics major and I know that at some point gas is going to sky rocket because it can, we need it so bad that we'll buy it anyway. Ive read in numberous places gas consumption is very inelastic, meaning that if the price goes up, change in demand and consumption is minimal to non existent. Ive also read that until prices hit between 8-9$ a gallon, consumption will see very little decrease at all. Only when it gets that high will gas companies really start to notice people doing less traveling and going out of their way to get less gas.

Experts are claiming it wont happen until after 2040-2050, somewhere in that time period. But my advisor, whos an econ proffessor with more degrees than i can count and has predicted a lot of whats happened in this recession to a T as well as calling bs on the claims that things were already on their way back up, talked to us about investing in oil and said it would go down different than what they all claimed. The guy really knows his stuff, and he was telling us that hed bet we see it get that high in the next 15 years easily.

Idk just something to think about. Not a lot of things are guarenteed but i feel like if youre willing to wait this one is a pretty sure bet to at some point give you a big return.

[Rosebud]

I dunno about oil. It makes sense that it should go up and 5 years ago I had a good debate with a friend of mine that Oil would be a sweet spot to invest, but it just hasn't happened quite like that. And the longer it takes oil to take off the more we'll have transitioned to solar power, wind power and natural gas to lessen the demand on oil. And now with the technology behind electric cars making big steps I'm starting to think that oil might not be able to take off as the oil companies prices will be forced downwards until we can move away from it. It also doesn't help that we keep finding more of it so those constant fears of "running out of oil" that do wonders to boost the price of the stuff get drowned out. Not even getting into all of the ill will the industry has already gotten from this gulf disaster, although I do think that if Exxon and co play their cards right they'll be able to insulate themselves from that **** storm and we'll only see BP really get pummeled because of it.

[KobeBryant833]

OK so then how long are you willing to wait? you building an early retirement fund now or for something big down the road? or do you want to grab the cash and the returns right after college?

Im no financial advisor but Im an economics major and I know that at some point gas is going to sky rocket because it can, we need it so bad that we'll buy it anyway. Ive read in numberous places gas consumption is very inelastic, meaning that if the price goes up, change in demand and consumption is minimal to non existent. Ive also read that until prices hit between 8-9$ a gallon, consumption will see very little decrease at all. Only when it gets that high will gas companies really start to notice people doing less traveling and going out of their way to get less gas.

Experts are claiming it wont happen until after 2040-2050, somewhere in that time period. But my advisor, whos an econ proffessor with more degrees than i can count and has predicted a lot of whats happened in this recession to a T as well as calling bs on the claims that things were already on their way back up, talked to us about investing in oil and said it would go down different than what they all claimed. The guy really knows his stuff, and he was telling us that hed bet we see it get that high in the next 15 years easily.

Idk just something to think about. Not a lot of things are guarenteed but i feel like if youre willing to wait this one is a pretty sure bet to at some point give you a big return.

Just looking to invest and keep investing after i invest here. This is just a stepping stone to me becoming a millionaire hopefully....

[Eaglez.Fan]

Meh, as technology advances oil will slowly be weeded out and eventually become obsolete. With alternative energy and such. IMO gold and silver are your best bet.

[Mr.Regular]

I view gold as more of an insurance policy in a boom time. It's not a bad bet now, but IMO it can easily go down as much as it's gone up. Depends on your faith in the recovery and the strength of the US dollar I suppose.

[yourfavestoner]

Meh, as technology advances oil will slowly be weeded out and eventually become obsolete. With alternative energy and such. IMO gold and silver are your best bet.

Sure, but that kind of technology is likely a decade off. As it stands now, oil and coal are still the cheapest fuels to produce and distribute, and until the cost of alternative fuels goes way, way down you're not going to see much chage. The "green" movement has way more to do with greenbacks than being eco-friendly.

[cunningham06]

Meh, as technology advances oil will slowly be weeded out and eventually become obsolete. With alternative energy and such. IMO gold and silver are your best bet.

Maybe I'm just a hater but I am not buying into alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power as a substitute for fossil fuels.

I don't think oil is going anywhere for a long long time. Oil goes towards more than just gasoline, in fact, only 45% of oil in the US is used for gasoline. Oil is necessary to produce countless things such as plastics, synthetic rubber, fibers, paint, etc.

Nor do I see the amount of oil running out in the near future. The terrible oil spill in the gulf cast a negative image on ocean drilling, but we are really only on the tip of the iceberg as far as deep sea drilling goes. Drillers have been finding massive amounts of oil underneath the ocean floor, who knows how much is down under the deeper parts of the ocean. Then there's Alaska as well.

I like the future of oil especially once demand is firing on all cylinders again. I'm holding Transocean right now because I think that industry has a strong future, but other industry players like Diamond Offshore and Noble are pretty good options too.

[Eaglez.Fan]

Sure, but that kind of technology is likely a decade off. As it stands now, oil and coal are still the cheapest fuels to produce and distribute, and until the cost of alternative fuels goes way, way down you're not going to see much chage. The "green" movement has way more to do with greenbacks than being eco-friendly.

Oh, I agree 100% on that. The poster mentioned in the long-term (2040-2050).

@Cunningham, I agree with you that solar and wind power will not be a viable option for large amounts of energy around the world. I see the break-through coming in the hard sciences (rather than engineering) like nuclear physics (fusion tech. and all that) but that's maybe because I'm exposed to those kinds of concepts. In the long-term I can't see the oil giants hiding us from these sorts of technologies. However, in the short-run (5-10 years) these discoveries will continue to be developed/refined by the scientists and avoided by the oil giants. There are already cars which run on water, electricity (gaining momentum with Tesla) and even compressed air.

[contento]

where can i invest in gold?


If you want to purchase physical gold and hold it yourself than I'd consider apmex.com, they have awesome customer service and great feedback from their customers- including myself.

You can also invest in physical gold(although it won't be in your possession) through your SEP/IRA with a place like sterling-trust.com

Lastly, you can invest in gold through the stock market by buying an ETF that's tied to the price of gold like "GLD". IIRC, one share of GLD is equal to 1/10th the current spot price of gold.

[contento]

I view gold as more of an insurance policy in a boom time. It's not a bad bet now, but IMO it can easily go down as much as it's gone up. Depends on your faith in the recovery and the strength of the US dollar I suppose.



Bingo.

Personally I don't have much faith in the economy recovering(at least not in the near future) so Gold represents an insurance policy in case of the dollar continuing to slide or rampant inflation occurring.

If, however, the economy does miraculously recover and Gold "loses" some of it's value okay, fine. That just means I'm working more, making more money, my home value has gone up, etc etc etc.

[aLARGEtopHat]

Nice to see RIG finally finding a bottom today... 51 here we come.

Gold is tin-hatish, but if you really wanted to invest in it you could either go physical, index on the price of gold, or gold companies.

Investing in commodities for a first investment is idiotic, and trying to do anything with currencies is even more idiotic. These sectors are not made for casual investors what so ever.

Your best first investment may be to just invest in SPY, the S&P500, and go read a lot of information on trading or value investing.

[WMD]

Can anyone tell me anything about investing in natural gas?

[aLARGEtopHat]

Can anyone tell me anything about investing in natural gas?

Pretty broad question which I don't have a lot of knowledge of, but from what I gather a lot of people are trying to push it, and it is moving quickly to the foreground in the energy field. Exxon recently picked up XTO, which was a natural gas company, and T. Boone Pickens is pushing for natural gas 18-wheelers with his 46% share in Clean Energy Fuels Corporation, which operates natural gas stations.

I believe Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Devon Energy Corporation are largest companies in the sector for the extraction of natural gas, but you could also diversify and look at some MLP, master limited partnerships. These companies mostly deal with the transportation of oil/nat gas through their pipelines and have been doing rather well on top of good dividends. A few of these include Breit Burn Partners and Kinder Morgan Partners.

Added point on gold:
When all the experts and forecasts agree – something else is going to happen. When you begin to read about people buying gold on NFLDC, infomercials, and on the streets... Look for a nice bubble to pop.

[jayceheathman]

Can anyone tell me anything about investing in natural gas?

Carbo Ceramics is getting close to getting a patent on one of their products and if that happens it could be big. They produce ceramic caps for the natural gas lines and stuff like that and that could be big since the BP spill as well as the Trans Ocean spill in Michigan.

[jayceheathman]

If you are going to invest, the best rule out there is the 7% sell rule. It's so hard to go by because you get attached to your stock and you dont want to admit you made a bad buy. Not to mention that you figure the stock will go back up eventually and then it keeps going down and down and before you know it you are down 30% instead of just 7%.

[KobeBryant833]

What about starting a bookie system when i get to school with my friend?

[PackerLegend]

This thread should just be turned into the financial thread. Lately I have been getting more into this stock stuff. At this point I wouldnt really know what I was getting myself into. I have money to invest but Id hate losing it. I also like the chance of making alot more then what I do off my money market.

[bored of education]

Just go on etrade or something and dont pay a broker.

[aLARGEtopHat]

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/210/ljkjkj.jpg

[jayceheathman]

What about starting a bookie system when i get to school with my friend?

There are a ton of different ones to look into like e*trade, scottrade, Fidelity, TDAmeritrade, Schwab, and many others. Scottrade is the one that has the cheapest minimum deposit I believe. All you have to put in is $500 while a few of the others want $2500. With more of the expensive ones you are paying more for customer service and stuff like that.

[JeffSamardzijaIRISH]

OK so then how long are you willing to wait? you building an early retirement fund now or for something big down the road? or do you want to grab the cash and the returns right after college?

Im no financial advisor but Im an economics major and I know that at some point gas is going to sky rocket because it can, we need it so bad that we'll buy it anyway. Ive read in numberous places gas consumption is very inelastic, meaning that if the price goes up, change in demand and consumption is minimal to non existent. Ive also read that until prices hit between 8-9$ a gallon, consumption will see very little decrease at all. Only when it gets that high will gas companies really start to notice people doing less traveling and going out of their way to get less gas.

Experts are claiming it wont happen until after 2040-2050, somewhere in that time period. But my advisor, whos an econ proffessor with more degrees than i can count and has predicted a lot of whats happened in this recession to a T as well as calling bs on the claims that things were already on their way back up, talked to us about investing in oil and said it would go down different than what they all claimed. The guy really knows his stuff, and he was telling us that hed bet we see it get that high in the next 15 years easily.

Idk just something to think about. Not a lot of things are guarenteed but i feel like if youre willing to wait this one is a pretty sure bet to at some point give you a big return.

What happens when a new energy source pops up? That would flip the elasticity of gas and make it completely elastic and worthless.

[jayceheathman]

What happens when a new energy source pops up? That would flip the elasticity of gas and make it completely elastic and worthless.

I dont see it happening for awhile because the costs are so high. Toyota was starting something with the Prius until all of that bad publicity hit the market and now no one is buying it anymore due to the stuck gas throttle problem. Hybrid's are way overpriced and many companies are just making them to deal with the new EPA regulations that say the average of their fleet has to hit a certain MPG. I dont see electric doing all that well because I bet quite a few people will get home from work and forget to recharge the battery and then not have 2 hours to wait while it charges.

Gas is pretty inelastic like the quote you mentioned even though demand was starting to take a decent hit when gas reached $4.50 two summers ago. What I find interesting is that most people traded in their big SUV during that time and got a car that has better MPG's. Well, having a car that has a better MPG is just lowering the per unit cost of driving and the law of demand states that when costs go down that demand will go up. So basically, people would end up driving more under their car that has better MPG's and spending just as much money as their big truck.

[aLARGEtopHat]

Nice to see RIG finally finding a bottom today... 51 here we come.


Feels good to be right. Now if we can just break 55...

[jayceheathman]

Feels good to be right. Now if we can just break 55...

The whole market in general hit the bottom about a week ago. It's been doing great for a few days now.

[aLARGEtopHat]

The whole market in general hit the bottom about a week ago. It's been doing great for a few days now.

How about now? Stock market 1% and RIG 17% since my statement.

[cunningham06]

How about now? Stock market 1% and RIG 17% since my statement.

I'm just as happy as you, RIG is one of my big holdings. Keep on keeping on RIG, I believe.

[thefalconer]

anyone know when interest rates, specifically CD rates, change?

[aLARGEtopHat]

anyone know when interest rates, specifically CD rates, change?

When the economy gets back on track.

[jayceheathman]

anyone know when interest rates, specifically CD rates, change?

The Fed meets like once a month to discuss what to do with interest rates.

[MikeVickTheSickest]

aLARGEtophat aka george lippard... what is your regular username on swdc?

[aLARGEtopHat]

aLARGEtophat aka george lippard... what is your regular username on swdc?
George Lippard? I'm sorry but you must be mistaken sir.

Also small mistake on the Fed. The FOMC, Federal Open Market Committee, only meets 8 times a year, not every month.

[thefalconer]

George Lippard? I'm sorry but you must be mistaken sir.

Also small mistake on the Fed. The FOMC, Federal Open Market Committee, only meets 8 times a year, not every month.

i should've known the answer to my question. econ class nostalgia. well i'm planning on getting a CD and was wondering if i should wait it out til the rates change or if i should just open one now since a change would be negligible.

[aLARGEtopHat]

i should've known the answer to my question. econ class nostalgia. well i'm planning on getting a CD and was wondering if i should wait it out til the rates change or if i should just open one now since a change would be negligible.

Probably won't be moving anytime soon since the banks can borrow from the Fed at low rates.

[Shahin]

is it really smart to take financial advice from a draft forum?

[aLARGEtopHat]

is it really smart to take financial advice from a draft forum?
Would you take a financial advice from a draft forum where you don't even take the draft advice?

[Shiver]

Time travel, then go back and bet on sporting events using your clairvoyance.