Help me turn $3K into an asset!

[spydermann]

I've got $3k in the bank...sitting...making .04 cents interest a year...
there are CD's sure....bonds...but those are still weak. Anyone have any idea's? Know of any opportunities?
Maybe any stock opportunities?
Gold. Currency. Eco Friendly things..?
Could definately use you smart people's creativity here,
thanks,
kyle

[stayfly]

put it in a fixed term, high interest account

and spend $100 of it buying wealth and investment books, especially "Your Money Or Your Life"

also, invest 15 minutes of your day to reading blogs like The Simple Dollar and Get Rich Slowly

all the best

[spydermann]

thanks stayfly,

does that book you recommended teach an individual on how to invest?

[SatvikBeri]

Invest in a Vanguard LifeCycle fund.

[stayfly]

Originally Posted by spydermann

thanks stayfly,

does that book you recommended teach an individual on how to invest?

it's more about your whole relationship with money and wealth although it does have a chapter strictly dedicated to (safe and secure) investing.

if you do get it, get the newly revised version.

for strictly stock market investing, Peter Lynch has some great books. At the end of the day, with the stock market, inless you want to spend a LOT of time researching and watching the market, the safest bet is a good index fund.

[Curtis2011]

*inserts stock answer of "start an SBI site"*

[nightdiamond]

Hi, spydermann;

You can also try stock options, which is very similar to stock trading, except with options, there is a time limit; it's as if you are renting a stock for a time.

You buy or sell stock options the same way you do stocks, and the profit you make depends on how the stock itself does, just like the 'regular' thing.

The idea with options is that, assuming you pick the right stocks, you can earn a big profit fast, within days, or weeks or a few months-the trick is to pick the right stock.

The advantage is that options are much cheaper than stock are, (sometimes only a couple hundred dollars and less) and you control the stock it's attached to.

The potential for profit is high and the loss is limited to the price of the option only.

It is still risky- you can still lose money just like you would with stocks, so one thing you can learn is something called risk management, where you learn when to sell regardless of what you think or feel.

That will keep you from incurring large losses and help keep you with money to invest.

Hope this helps, take care..

[stayfly]

you might also want to check this book out too

Amazon.com: How to Invest $50-$5,000 (9780062736567): Nancy Dunnan: Books

[pjhaggerty]

what is your goal for your investment?

without knowing that, I might as well recommend you invest in pork belly futures. at least you won't be hungry.

[SatvikBeri]

Originally Posted by nightdiamond

Hi, spydermann;

You can also try stock options, which is very similar to stock trading, except with options, there is a time limit; it's as if you are renting a stock for a time.

You buy or sell stock options the same way you do stocks, and the profit you make depends on how the stock itself does, just like the 'regular' thing.

The idea with options is that, assuming you pick the right stocks, you can earn a big profit fast, within days, or weeks or a few months-the trick is to pick the right stock.

The advantage is that options are much cheaper than stock are, (sometimes only a couple hundred dollars and less) and you control the stock it's attached to.

The potential for profit is high and the loss is limited to the price of the option only.

It is still risky- you can still lose money just like you would with stocks, so one thing you can learn is something called risk management, where you learn when to sell regardless of what you think or feel.

That will keep you from incurring large losses and help keep you with money to invest.

Hope this helps, take care..

You should never, ever try options as a beginner. Get comfortable with stocks first.

[hawkal]

You could do a Warren Buffet. Go long with a company that make disposable products. As long as you do not need the money any time soon just forget about it for a decade or two. A book I read said something about over the long term shares are alway the best option.

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by hawkal

You could do a Warren Buffet. Go long with a company that make disposable products. As long as you do not need the money any time soon just forget about it for a decade or two. A book I read said something about over the long term shares are alway the best option.

This is definitely not what Warren Buffet does. Warren Buffet recently bought a controlling stake in one major railroad, definitely not a disposable product. He also has extensive deals in debts, currencies, precious metals, and derivatives, in addition to his equity investments across a wide range of companies. He also would not recommend 'just forgetting about it' for a decade or two. He keeps an active eye on his investments, and sells out if they become unattractive.

In addition, over the long term, shares are the better option. Unfortunately, if your long term is shorter than say 25-50 years, then they are not always the better option. Studies have been done that show for somewhere around the past 20 years, from I think 1989 till now, 30 year US treasury bonds out performed the stock market (I think they compared it to the S&P 500).

If you are going to forget about something for 20 years, buy a US treasury bond and forget about it. You are guaranteed a return. Otherwise, please plan to keep an eye on your investments, especially if they are in individual stocks.

[AttractIt]

hi spydermann,
I would reccomend you while we're on the internet allready,
to go and check some websites for sell,
you'll have to investigate a bit,
maybe to read a book or two about the subject,
But why not start (in small) an online business?

Start it with a one that is allready operate,

Good Luck,

[hawkal]

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

This is definitely not what Warren Buffet does. Warren Buffet recently bought a controlling stake in one major railroad, definitely not a disposable product. He also has extensive deals in debts, currencies, precious metals, and derivatives, in addition to his equity investments across a wide range of companies. He also would not recommend 'just forgetting about it' for a decade or two. He keeps an active eye on his investments, and sells out if they become unattractive.

In addition, over the long term, shares are the better option. Unfortunately, if your long term is shorter than say 25-50 years, then they are not always the better option. Studies have been done that show for somewhere around the past 20 years, from I think 1989 till now, 30 year US treasury bonds out performed the stock market (I think they compared it to the S&P 500).

If you are going to forget about something for 20 years, buy a US treasury bond and forget about it. You are guaranteed a return. Otherwise, please plan to keep an eye on your investments, especially if they are in individual stocks.

Well yes maybe not now, he probably has a very diverse portfolio and of course he didn't get to where he is now by forgetting about his investments. The point was that he is a career investor most people are not.

As far as I'm aware and please excuse my ignorance if I am wrong. Warren buffett made a lot of his fortune investing in companies like Gillette and Coka Cola. Disposable products that people buy on a reoccurring basis.

The thing is that if you pay too much attention it could easily become an obsession. Especially if you have a lot of money invested.

I couldn't really imagine someone forgetting about their investments for 10 years.

The other reason is that I know someone who has invested before and where they would check their investments, as soon as their investments dropped they would bail out straight away cutting their losses or if shares they had bought in a company were doing really badly instead of riding out the storm they would bail out maybe only getting a 10th of what they paid for the shares.

[Brutha]

Spending time on optimizing where 3k is invested probably doesn't payoff very well.

Instead spend your time of increasing your skills and providing value for other people.

[maclinda]

What would you LIKE to do with it? What are your strengths? Background? Would you be better off as an employee or a business owner? (this is a BIG question and important to get the answer right)

Lots of questions huh!

[Infinte7]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

*inserts stock answer of "start an SBI site"*

if you do not mind me asking, how are you making money from your acupuncture site?

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by hawkal

Well yes maybe not now, he probably has a very diverse portfolio and of course he didn't get to where he is now by forgetting about his investments. The point was that he is a career investor most people are not.

As far as I'm aware and please excuse my ignorance if I am wrong. Warren buffett made a lot of his fortune investing in companies like Gillette and Coka Cola. Disposable products that people buy on a reoccurring basis.

The thing is that if you pay too much attention it could easily become an obsession. Especially if you have a lot of money invested.

I couldn't really imagine someone forgetting about their investments for 10 years.

The other reason is that I know someone who has invested before and where they would check their investments, as soon as their investments dropped they would bail out straight away cutting their losses or if shares they had bought in a company were doing really badly instead of riding out the storm they would bail out maybe only getting a 10th of what they paid for the shares.

oh, you are right, warren buffet does invest a lot in very stable businesses. He wants to get a stable business at a discount. Disposable products happen to be a fairly stable business. For example, Coke is not going anywhere any time soon. But it's stock swings around in price, even though the business stays relatively unchanging (Coke's earnings do not change 50% in a year even though it's stock price might and has done so in the past). So, buffett buys at a discount, sells at a premium as the market goes crazy and the underlying business keeps chugging along.

Your friend sounds like a scared speculator. Scared speculators tend to lose their money. He would probably be more profitable if he had a stop loss order and only get out if the stop loss is hit.

I agree, warren buffett is a career investor, and most people don't want to be that obsessed. Most people would do well to invest in something which they can forget about and just let it grow, unlike your friend who bails out all the time. However, shares of individual stocks are generally unsuited for this purpose. If somebody wished to follow a set it and forget it investing strategy, their best bet would be to invest in a mixed portfolio of low cost bond and stock index funds, in about a 50-50 mix.

It didn't seem like that was what the original poster was looking for, it seems like he is looking to get more actively involved 'obsessed' as you would put it, but it is solid advice for others.