Smart investments

[Gunner]

If you guys were going to invest money into something other than a savings account, What would it be. Do not have to be a large return but you would not like to lose any money on it. Any ideas?

[Mazin]

Well I wish I would have bought ford stock when it hit 1.07 share (during the bail outs) now its nice and up there again. But im interested in seeing whats going to be said since I have to choose some MF's for my 401k. I was playing in options for awhile but haven't messed with the markets for about a year. If you wanna do a dry run (no cash) Updown.com or trade monster have good practice formats.

[BushMasterBoy]

Last few years I bought silver bullion (coins) and have done rather well. I am going to hang on to it for my retirement. Gold or silver will probably be inflation proof over the long term. Good Luck!

[Irving]

I've been doing alright with Rare Earth Metals. Went down today, but I expected it to go, maybe tomorrow.

[Not_A_Llama]

My general strategy right now is to get long commodities - through ETFs or production companies.

I would probably short USO and oil production in general right now. As soon as the Arab political situation becomes more certain, I think oil will head back down to 70. That'd be a good time to buy in, especially considering the prospect that we may be at peak oil already, the Saudis may be lying about their reserves, and China's appetite is going nowhere but up. $150 oil I could see in a year or two, which would pay handsomely.

The nuke scare in Japan will make Natgas exploration more lucrative, even if it's resolved without major incident. I don't know about coal production plays, but considering that it's our major electrical baseload fuel, and considering the now-increasing hesitation on nuke, I think it's a solid play.

Precious metals are retardedly high right now, imo. I'd expect some sort of 30%+ devaluation in the next year, which would be a good time to buy in again.

Now would be a good time for real estate.

[Byte Stryke]

Metals...
after the current oil scare, Get into that.
Right now, Japanese major stocks are low... if you buy smart you can get in on the cheap and make some hard cash soon (~5 years)

I would steer away from most of the technologies for a while.


my opinion has no basis in reality and should be taken as such.
I am not a wall street mogul nor do I play one on Television.

[BadShot]

Talk to a financial professional. Yeah, its nice to see what your buddies are doing, but your risk aversion is most likely different than mine. the goals of your investments are also going to differ and the best way to do any of this is to talk to a professional. If by chance you have USAA, they're pretty damn good at helping you figure out what is right for you even if you do not use any of their financial services. Additionally a Certified Financial Planner is an advocate for you, as opposed to an investment broker who only wants to make their own money. Yes a CFP is going to make a fee, but the more holistic approach that they take is one I found both assuring and informative.

My personal investments are modest at best, by my goals are to provide for my children and also for myself and better half. The widow I have for those goals are again, going to be unique to me.

Here's a decent place to start if you're looking for a CFP

www.fpanet.org

[Sixgun]

Metals would be best, the Lead and Guns kind.
If things get bad, I bet they both will be worth there weight in gold. And if you really want something you can just take it from the non-gun people.

[Inconel710]

I agree with BadShot. Don't just go with what your buddies are doing - get advice from a professional. A certified financial planner is not only going to advise you on investing, they're going to look at your whole financial life. Do you have life insurance? Do you have college funds for the kids? Are you carrying too much debt? Do you have a will or an estate plan? There so much more to it than just investing. If you're not ready to talk to a certified financial planner (I haven't - yet) at least pay attention to what they are saying. For financial advice, I've come to really appreciate the honesty and professionalism of Ric Edelman and Dave Ramsey.

Edelman has written several books (The Truth About Money and The Lies About Money are probably the best) and has a weekend radio show. I don't know if it's on any of the radio stations around here because I get the podcast version and listen when I can. He gives solid, no nonsense, investing advice and preaches diversification. He also gives a lot of free advice on his website. I used it as my guide to diversifying my investments last year and it's served me well.

Dave Ramsey is on a bunch of radio stations around here for three hours everyday or you can get a one hour podcast free everyday. Dave's advice is more about handling your financial life in general - getting on a budget, setting goals, getting out of debt, dealing with creditors, etc. He's also got some books and does live events (I'm going to his event in the Springs on March 26th), but he comes at from a Christian perspective which puts some people off.

When you do talk to a planner, be wary of salesmen. An easy test is to ask them how they feel about annuities. If they think annuities are great and everyone should have them, you should RUN - all they're thinking of is the fat commision they want to earn off of you. There's alot more to it - Edelman lists 18 questions to ask a prospective CFP - but that's an easy one.

Good luck!

[Great-Kazoo]

i don't have shit but our house. and i'd off that for good deal. of course the garage is kind of small and not much area for toy projects.