CD, Help PowaySeller :)

[powayseller]

Saiine, I think it would be fun to meet you and others. I would definitely go to any event you set up.

[saiine]

Awesome,

My brother in law and sister run Todays pizza and salad, gourmet pizzas and italian pastas, good meeting place to relax and share stories.

Anyone else game for this? I can coordinate with Rich on when he’d be available if he’s interested.

Thanks again, Shane

[an]

I’d be interested. But of course, it all depends on the time. Let us know.

[hs]

I will be happy to join all the smart people there to get myself smarter.:)

[Lickitysplit]

I’d attend, timing permitting.

For what it’s worth I’m a young investor (late 20’s), and I’m staying in the market. All my current investing has perks too good to pass up. For instance:

401k – company matching. The market would have to tank 50% for me to “loose”. However as this is a retirement fund it is difficult to access until then.

Roth IRA – annual contributions limited by the gov’t. If you stop contributing, you can’t make up prior years (although you can contribute prior year until tax day). As I’m sure most know, Roth IRA’s are capital gains tax-free, but again they are retirement funds and difficult to access until then. I currently have this 100% in a Fidelity Freedom Fund, which is in theory risk-indexed to my expected retirement date and diversified appropriately across holdings. I don’t like the fund much, but I’m not sure where to move it to, and as I started this account last year there isn’t much in it yet which greatly limits my diversification options. I plan on continuing to max out the Roth annual contribution regardless of market state. If it’s down, I consider it “on sale”.

Company-sponsored stock plan – I buy at a minimum 15% discount, sometimes much more (last offering period saw 40%). Even in a downward market this is a no-brainer. The only question is whether or not to sell immediately or hold. As I work for a highly regarded medical technology & supply company and the boomers are getting older, a good argument can me made for holding on to it for a few years to get more favorable tax standing.

I do have an small financial windfall I need to find a home for – the result of an inattentive driver smashing into my side (no, not my car’s side. my side). I had planned on plugging it right into the market. The doomsday talk here has me reconsidering.

[PD]

So the short answer is, “Get help but be cautious and pay attention.”
I used to work for a big brokerage firm. I saw plenty of very bad financial advisors mixed in the with the good ones. Don’t follow anyone blindly.
I remember one smooth talking creep with too much hair gel whining about the fact that his regulatory problems were causing his book to “bleed.” His book died shortly thereafter when his license was taken away, thank goodness!
FYI – a “book” means a list of clients.

[PD]

Excellent longer short answer.

[contentrenter]

Rich, Powayseller, anyone . . .

Do you think mutual funds are a bad idea even if they’re tax deferred (e.g. 401 or 457 plans)?

[contentrenter]

OK. So you’re not saying that the stock market is a complete waste of money?

I’m one of those people who had the words “dollar cost averaging” hammered into their head. I started putting 10% of my paycheck into various deferred comp plans right out of grad school, when I was 25. Now I’m 35 and I have 20% taken out of each paycheck (and, just like everyone promised, I really can’t feel it now).

Now I’m worried by everything I’m reading here. I have five different mutual funds, mostly aggressive b/c of my age. But if the stock market tanks too much, or for too long, I could be screwed.

[contentrenter]

I know you said you’re not trying to advertise for yourself here, but when do you plan to hang your shingle?

Although I’m interested in broad themes, and I spend way too much time obsessively reading sites like this one, I don’t have the interest or energy to pick individual funds. I can be one of your first customers seeking professional financial advice once you make it official.

I’ve spoken with the advisors provided by my funds from time to time (T. Rowe Price and Hartford), but their advice is very general, and very stay the course.

[Jim Brubaker]

You’ll find that most people are too busy working to ever tinker with investing their hard earned savings.

The most important part of working is taking the time to make the investments. It kind of like playing poker, it will cost you to learn, and then it becomes fun and you get skillful.

If you take the time and choose a field of investment and have a plan, you won’t have to work the rest of your life. The guy investing your money takes his cut off of the top, and thats true even if your investment lost money.

The trick is not earning money, the trick is holding onto it, and making it work for you.

[anxvariety]

It does’t always cost money to learn.. With poker and investing there are free versions out there.. I think a person, if disciplined, could use the stock market simulator and play money poker sites to build up their skills without all the risk..

I think what you said is great JB “The trick is not earning money, the trick is holding onto it, and making it work for you”. It’s pretty hard to just hold on to money… I feel like the air is full of frequencies beaming consumerism at us all, and it’s pretty darned hard to resist sometimes! 🙂

[CardiffBaseball]

Hey I order Today’s Pizza takeout and delivery at least once a week. I can make the trek over there if there ends up being a meeting.

The place is kind of cool really. I like how the owner tries to create a little atmosphere.

[saiine]

Hey Cardiff, good to know! 🙂

[Doofrat]

saiine,

Quite a nice thread you got started here :). I’d say that the best advice was to talk to a financial planner, but as Rich pointed out, that can be fraught with problems, but like previous posters said, they will be able to look at your present situation and advise you accordingly, which nobody here did before giving advice (me included)

The most important thing I wished I’d asked was whether you had any debt (high interest car loans, credit cards, etc.)

There are three things you MUST do before investing:

1. Pay off your debt
2. Pay off your debt
3. Pay off your debt

If you don’t have any debt, then great, either read all you can about investing and prepare to spend alot of time researching (you really have to enjoy doing the research to do it well) and/or go to a financial planner.

One other bit of advice I can give with no knowledge of your present situation: If Vegas sounds like your type of vacation, don’t even think about doing it yourself, get a planner and listen to them.

Powayseller,

Although I also hold your negative view about the market, Like the housing market, I think it’s virtually impossible to time when it will fail (or if). I think there are a few good values out there now that have popped up since Buffet made that statement, and even he has been buying up stock lately. If you find a good value, it’s usually a good value no matter what the market does in general. Now maybe that thinking will end up with me holding a sign out on Nobel and Genesee, and if it does and the market tanks, please stop by and give me a dollar or two.

Check out: http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?action=buy&GuruName=Warren+Buffett

and see what Warren Buffet has been buying lately.

[Author]

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