New To Investing Thread

[slucat]

Good tips, I second getting a Roth IRA
For online trading I use sharebuider from capitol one 360 (formerly ING Direct), cheap trades with some decent research tools. If you have an online savings account through them, money is moved instantly.

[scottwildcat]

hmm are benji and Scott Hendrix the same person 

['taterblast]

just opened a Roth. minimal contributions to start out with, but still. thanks guys.

[michigancat]

401k to employer match (in an index or target fund if available) than a Roth ira investing in a vanguard target retirement find.

you get a tax break on the Roth, you just see it when you retire instead of now. combining this with the 401k is hedging your bets on future tax rates. Not real sure what Steve Dave is talking about regarding Roth's.

that is exactly what I was talking about re. Roths

yeah. I was walking/tapatalking and misread.

[slobber]

If you have the option at your place of employment, invest in the Roth 401(k), not the traditional 401(k).

Hey elites, the people that are new to investing will not take my advice unless one of you agrees to it. This is a simple and easy step, but I know a lot of people freak out when they see "Roth 410(k)" and just select the traditional. Could one of you elites please agree with this statement so all of the young college grads will not make the mistake of passing on their new employer's Roth 401(k).

most places dont have roth 401k's and I dont know much about them.

They are just like IRA vs. Roth IRA. In the Roth 401(k), your money is taxed prior to being invested. Comes out tax free. The bet in either scenario is that if you are in a higher tax bracket when you retire, you come out ahead. If you are 25 and you think you are in a higher tax bracket now than what you will be in when you retire, then you are not being ambitious enough.

[ben ji]

hmm are benji and Scott Hendrix the same person 

FIII-nance

[puniraptor]

you can take principal out of the roth whenever you want? how have they not put savings accounts right out of business?

[TheHamburglar]

hmm are benji and Scott Hendrix the same person 

Is BenJi the Fitz of the college of business?  I hope not.

[steve dave]

you can take principal out of the roth whenever you want? how have they not put savings accounts right out of business?

you can only contribute $5,500 a year

[The Tonya Harding of Twitter Users Creep]

just opened a Roth. minimal contributions to start out with, but still. thanks guys.

'blast I just opened a Roth IRA too! 

Also, I just found out we're gonna be playing softball together this summer   

['taterblast]

 

[ben ji]

you can take principal out of the roth whenever you want? how have they not put savings accounts right out of business?

you can only contribute $5,500 a year

And if you are constantly pulling out the principal it really defeats the purpose of using it as a retirement account.

[Rage Against the McKee]

you can take principal out of the roth whenever you want? how have they not put savings accounts right out of business?

I really don't understand why anybody would have a savings account.

[ben ji]

you can take principal out of the roth whenever you want? how have they not put savings accounts right out of business?

I really don't understand why anybody would have a savings account.

I dont think you understand investing

[Rage Against the McKee]

you can take principal out of the roth whenever you want? how have they not put savings accounts right out of business?

I really don't understand why anybody would have a savings account.

I dont think you understand investing

Savings accounts pay less than 1% interest. Why would you put your money into a savings account when you could just make extra contributions to your 401k, pay extra on the mortgage, buy stocks, etc? Really just about anything you do with your money will be better than just letting it sit in a savings account.

[The Tonya Harding of Twitter Users Creep]

Alright, next step, you guys...

Have a 401K brewing with the maximum match and just opened a Roth IRA. What else? Wouldn't mind playing the market a little bit at a time. What's the best way to do that? Does goEMAW.com have stock? I know a good investment when I see one.

[slobber]

KKK and others, don't try to time the market. Invest long term.

[Stupid Fitz]

401k to employer match (in an index or target fund if available) than a Roth ira investing in a vanguard target retirement find.

you get a tax break on the Roth, you just see it when you retire instead of now. combining this with the 401k is hedging your bets on future tax rates. Not real sure what Steve Dave is talking about regarding Roth's.

that is exactly what I was talking about re. Roths

Do this or buy bit coin and solar stocks.  Whichever is good. 

[Emo EMAW]

RE: pulling from retirement account for a house

I generally agree that it's a bad idea, but with interest rates as low as they are, I'm starting to see the house as a real form of investment (savings account).  I'd rather pull money from a Roth now to buy a house that I could live in until the kids are gone (20 years), as opposed to skimping now and then having to upgrade later (at a higher interest rate).

[Stupid Fitz]

RE: pulling from retirement account for a house

I generally agree that it's a bad idea, but with interest rates as low as they are, I'm starting to see the house as a real form of investment (savings account).  I'd rather pull money from a Roth now to buy a house that I could live in until the kids are gone (20 years), as opposed to skimping now and then having to upgrade later (at a higher interest rate).

Unless you have 9 dollars in your retirement account this is a terrible idea

[ben ji]

you can take principal out of the roth whenever you want? how have they not put savings accounts right out of business?

I really don't understand why anybody would have a savings account.

I dont think you understand investing

Savings accounts pay less than 1% interest. Why would you put your money into a savings account when you could just make extra contributions to your 401k, pay extra on the mortgage, buy stocks, etc? Really just about anything you do with your money will be better than just letting it sit in a savings account.

Saving Accounts are liquid...If your car/ac/heater breaks down or you lose your job etc etc etc you dont want to have to make withdrawls from your 401k or sell stocks at a loss to cover your expenses.

You should not use your roth IRA like a saving account because you are not taking full advantage of compounding interest when you keep withdrawing your principal. You can only contribute 5500 a year to it and if you pull out 3k every year for some emergency you can never put that 3k back in, you will still only be able to contribute 5500.

Also dont pay extra on your mortgage unless your are paying PMI...If your mortgage rate is 4% and the market returns an average of 7% you are losing money.There is some psychological advantage but no financial advantage.

[Emo EMAW]

RE: pulling from retirement account for a house

I generally agree that it's a bad idea, but with interest rates as low as they are, I'm starting to see the house as a real form of investment (savings account).  I'd rather pull money from a Roth now to buy a house that I could live in until the kids are gone (20 years), as opposed to skimping now and then having to upgrade later (at a higher interest rate).

Unless you have 9 dollars in your retirement account this is a terrible idea

Well let's say I pull $10k from it on the basis it will put me in a house I'd want to live in for 20 years, the other side being that if I didn't I'd want to move again in 5 years.  I think that's worth it.     We can make up that $10k pretty quickly.

I guess the alternative would be to get a second mortgage, which I dunno seems like a bad idea. 

[ben ji]

Alright, next step, you guys...

Have a 401K brewing with the maximum match and just opened a Roth IRA. What else? Wouldn't mind playing the market a little bit at a time. What's the best way to do that? Does goEMAW.com have stock? I know a good investment when I see one.

As a general rule you should max out your tax benefit accounts(401k, roth ira) before you do any investing that has no tax benefits.

Like I said earlier I have a couple hundred I use to screw around in the market with but thats just for fun. When you have to pay 7 bucks for each trade and you only have a couple hundred buck that $7 can add up to a pretty good percent of your profit.

We had an investing thread earlier where SD said something I thought was really smart, it was something to the effect of "Invest in companies that are in your industry/a field you are familiar with" AKA if your company has a vendor and they have their crap together and are a pleasure to work with you might look to invest in that company.

[Rage Against the McKee]

RE: pulling from retirement account for a house

I generally agree that it's a bad idea, but with interest rates as low as they are, I'm starting to see the house as a real form of investment (savings account).  I'd rather pull money from a Roth now to buy a house that I could live in until the kids are gone (20 years), as opposed to skimping now and then having to upgrade later (at a higher interest rate).

Unless you have 9 dollars in your retirement account this is a terrible idea

Well let's say I pull $10k from it on the basis it will put me in a house I'd want to live in for 20 years, the other side being that if I didn't I'd want to move again in 5 years.  I think that's worth it.     We can make up that $10k pretty quickly.

I guess the alternative would be to get a second mortgage, which I dunno seems like a bad idea.

If you already own a home, pulling out $10k for a payment on a new home is an even worse idea. Just get a second mortgage, and you will be paying a much lower rate on that than the $10k in your 401k will be earning.

[Rage Against the McKee]

you can take principal out of the roth whenever you want? how have they not put savings accounts right out of business?

I really don't understand why anybody would have a savings account.

I dont think you understand investing

Savings accounts pay less than 1% interest. Why would you put your money into a savings account when you could just make extra contributions to your 401k, pay extra on the mortgage, buy stocks, etc? Really just about anything you do with your money will be better than just letting it sit in a savings account.

Saving Accounts are liquid...If your car/ac/heater breaks down or you lose your job etc etc etc you dont want to have to make withdrawls from your 401k or sell stocks at a loss to cover your expenses.

You should not use your roth IRA like a saving account because you are not taking full advantage of compounding interest when you keep withdrawing your principal. You can only contribute 5500 a year to it and if you pull out 3k every year for some emergency you can never put that 3k back in, you will still only be able to contribute 5500.

Also dont pay extra on your mortgage unless your are paying PMI...If your mortgage rate is 4% and the market returns an average of 7% you are losing money.There is some psychological advantage but no financial advantage.

Checking accounts are also liquid.