Where to put money?

[Silverback]

but really, not sure on your education level, but investing in that first is always a good thing. hopefully it's return on your overall income will be greater than turning 10000 into 13000 in 5 years.

There are a lot of ways to make money on real estate, a lot are gambles, others require more work and money. But all in all you really can't go wrong in the long run with a hard asset like property

[Sleeper]

Farm land. Even if you don't farm it yourself. It usually pays for itself.

[347Mike]

but really, not sure on your education level, but investing in that first is always a good thing. hopefully it's return on your overall income will be greater than turning 10000 into 13000 in 5 years.

There are a lot of ways to make money on real estate, a lot are gambles, others require more work and money. But all in all you really can't go wrong in the long run with a hard asset like property

Education is on the list. These are excuses but work has me travelling a lot, most of the time for months at a time and I missed this Falls enrollment. lol But yes, this is on the list.

[Broncojohnny]

1) I don't make any investment without doing my own due dilligence.
2) Your advice was one of the ones I was hoping to hear so don't be so humble.

How do I know which investments are tax free or are all stocks for example taxable but certain bonds aren't?

I was hoping for something a bit more secure or shall I say, less risky. I am using a quarter of my liquid cash in the market right now and have thought about moving all of it to the market but I am a bit nervous about that idea for obvious reasons.

What are a few stocks you are invested in if you don't mind me asking? I know JNJ is one of them.

A lot of municipal bond and bond funds offer tax free interest. For a single bond they should have that in the basic description. For a bond fund it should be one of the first things in any description. The problem with buying any of them is that as soon as interest rates come up you are going to take a hit on your value or share price (for a fund).

Dividends on stocks held more than 60 days are taxed at 15% maximum, sometimes zero if your income is low enough. Read this link:

http://taxes.about.com/od/taxglossary/g/dividends.htm

I'm hesitant to offer advice on individual companies because people just see the ticker and rush out and buy it just because someone mentioned it. Dumbest thing in the world and really not what I would recommend. Besides, I am only excited about a stock when it is at the right price, the ticker is just one part of the equation. I bought JNJ at $57, it is now around $66, a price at which I wouldn't buy it. The only thing I have bought lately to hold for an extended period is Wells Fargo, I like it at anything under $30 but the cheaper the better, obviously. Be prepared to hold it for years.

A lot of my strategy is to sit around and wait for the market to take a shit and look for bargains that I'll keep for a long time. With WFC, the hedge funds dumped it in the first quarter and it got down into the $25s here recently. This whole week has been pretty good for it, it was all the way up to $33-34 until it got on everyone's shit list in 1Q then dipped down to the mid $25s a couple weeks ago. I bought a lot of shares in the $25 to $27 range. I did the same thing with KO, XOM, KFT, DD back in the days when everyone was shitting their pants saying the world was ending. Buy when there is blood in the streets, especially if it is your own!

[Silverback]

Education is on the list. These are excuses but work has me travelling a lot, most of the time for months at a time and I missed this Falls enrollment. lol But yes, this is on the list.

Online programs allow you to complete your work from anywhere.

I'm finishing my Bachelors with Texas A&M Commerce in spring because of the online program they offer, only 36 hours at their school, after completing everything else at other schools.

Almost all Masters programs at all schools are online now. Probably going to look for a major program for Business with a bigger school to complete it.

Good luck, just remember it's not cheap

[347Mike]

A lot of municipal bond and bond funds offer tax free interest. For a single bond they should have that in the basic description. For a bond fund it should be one of the first things in any description. The problem with buying any of them is that as soon as interest rates come up you are going to take a hit on your value or share price (for a fund).

Dividends on stocks held more than 60 days are taxed at 15% maximum, sometimes zero if your income is low enough. Read this link:

http://taxes.about.com/od/taxglossary/g/dividends.htm

I'm hesitant to offer advice on individual companies because people just see the ticker and rush out and buy it just because someone mentioned it. Dumbest thing in the world and really not what I would recommend. Besides, I am only excited about a stock when it is at the right price, the ticker is just one part of the equation. I bought JNJ at $57, it is now around $66, a price at which I wouldn't buy it. The only thing I have bought lately to hold for an extended period is Wells Fargo, I like it at anything under $30 but the cheaper the better, obviously. Be prepared to hold it for years.

A lot of my strategy is to sit around and wait for the market to take a shit and look for bargains that I'll keep for a long time. With WFC, the hedge funds dumped it in the first quarter and it got down into the $25s here recently. This whole week has been pretty good for it, it was all the way up to $33-34 until it got on everyone's shit list in 1Q then dipped down to the mid $25s a couple weeks ago. I bought a lot of shares in the $25 to $27 range. I did the same thing with KO, XOM, KFT, DD back in the days when everyone was shitting their pants saying the world was ending. Buy when there is blood in the streets, especially if it is your own!

I agree on your last paragraph and as bad as it sounds, it is the best time to buy. I am new to the stock market but I am not that new. I have learned my lesson on band waggon jumping and I do my own research before I buy, regardless of who you are. So don't think because you says ABC is the best I am going to throw everything I have at it. lol I like exchanging symbols because who knows, it may be a good one and in the end that is all I care about, making a return.

I do think I will look into dividend stocks a bit more as well as municipal bonds.

[347Mike]

Online programs allow you to complete your work from anywhere.

I'm finishing my Bachelors with Texas A&M Commerce in spring because of the online program they offer, only 36 hours at their school, after completing everything else at other schools.

Almost all Masters programs at all schools are online now. Probably going to look for a major program for Business with a bigger school to complete it.

Good luck, just remember it's not cheap

Work would be footing the bill so no issues there. More excuses, lol - when I travel it is pretty much balls to the wall over time. I could put in 65-70 hours a week with no issues. But yeah, I see what you're saying and I would be going for Business Management or something similar... I am plan enrolling early so I can get next years Spring courses. My GF has been slamming school out full time, summer courses etc and will have her associates next year. It is good because it is finally starting to motivate me a bit more since I am witnessing it firsthand.

[Silverback]

Work would be footing the bill so no issues there. More excuses, lol - when I travel it is pretty much balls to the wall over time. I could put in 65-70 hours a week with no issues. But yeah, I see what you're saying and I would be going for Business Management or something similar... I am plan enrolling early so I can get next years Spring courses. My GF has been slamming school out full time, summer courses etc and will have her associates next year. It is good because it is finally starting to motivate me a bit more since I am witnessing it firsthand.

depending on how many credits you already have, you could do all but 36 of 120 hours at a community college on the cheap for the Bachelors at TAMU Commerce. I've done a ton of research on online schools over the last year, so if you have any questions, hit me up via PM. The good thing with a community college is you could get accepted right now for fall. I took 55 hours in a year at Dallas County schools, all online, I haven't seen a classroom since the classes I took back when I graduated highschool and went off to college.

[347Mike]

depending on how many credits you already have, you could do all but 36 of 120 hours at a community college on the cheap for the Bachelors at TAMU Commerce. I've done a ton of research on online schools over the last year, so if you have any questions, hit me up via PM. The good thing with a community college is you could get accepted right now for fall. I took 55 hours in a year at Dallas County schools, all online, I haven't seen a classroom since the classes I took back when I graduated highschool and went off to college.

I thought it was to late to register for Fall? Atleast that is what I was told. I was also told for online courses you need to be like the first in line to register since they fill up quick.

[Silverback]

I thought it was to late to register for Fall? Atleast that is what I was told. I was also told for online courses you need to be like the first in line to register since they fill up quick.

Depends on the school, I don't know much about Tarrant County CC. But for Dallas County CC, you can register all the way up to the last day of registration. For a 4 year school like UNT, you are too late for Fall.

As for online classes, DCCCD has a TON of online based classes for their core, and most general degree programs.

I completed my Associates in Field of Study Business in a year, all online, I think I had 9 -12 hours that applied from previous college exp. With that program I talked about from TAMU Commerce, you can take all but 36 hours at community college for the 120 hours required for the Bachelor Arts of Applied Science Business degree.

[347Mike]

Depends on the school, I don't know much about Tarrant County CC. But for Dallas County CC, you can register all the way up to the last day of registration. For a 4 year school like UNT, you are too late for Fall.

As for online classes, DCCCD has a TON of online based classes for their core, and most general degree programs.

I completed my Associates in Field of Study Business in a year, all online, I think I had 9 -12 hours that applied from previous college exp. With that program I talked about from TAMU Commerce, you can take all but 36 hours at community college for the 120 hours required for the Bachelor Arts of Applied Science Business degree.

PM headed your way in a few.

[03mustangdude]

Depends on the school, I don't know much about Tarrant County CC. But for Dallas County CC, you can register all the way up to the last day of registration. For a 4 year school like UNT, you are too late for Fall.

As for online classes, DCCCD has a TON of online based classes for their core, and most general degree programs.

I completed my Associates in Field of Study Business in a year, all online, I think I had 9 -12 hours that applied from previous college exp. With that program I talked about from TAMU Commerce, you can take all but 36 hours at community college for the 120 hours required for the Bachelor Arts of Applied Science Business degree.

how many classes was that per semester?

[yellowstang]

Gold and guns.

and girls!

[slow99]

Yes. Invested in a property group that gets me 15% guaranteed.

Hmmm.

[slow99]

First of all, nobody can tell you what's right for you without knowing a ton more details... we've covered this several times.

Next, you need to think about allocation. I assume that you're young with a lot of years until retirement and no significant windfalls headed your way. The NPV of your future earnings is called "human capital" and your accumulated wealth is called "financial capital". Right now, the NPV of your human capital is worth way more than your financial capital. While you're in the accumulation phase (moving from human capital to financial capital) you need to think about the qualities of your income stream that comprise your human capital. Is the stream backing your human capital more equity like or more fixed income like? Given a young age, you can start with a high allocation to risky assets... then adjust from there.

Now, if you're talking about putting funds toward risky assets, long-term ownership of equities cannot be beat...from a nominal and risk-adjusted basis. Again, nobody can tell you this without knowing more details, but if you want to take a passive, or semi-active approach to equity investing, I have a couple things I like.

1. Juicing the efficient frontier via leverage. (Google Markowitz efficient frontier for a full explanation). The idea is basically that no person can really tell you how risk averse they are. If I asked you if you could handle a portfolio standard deviation of 15% a year, how would you really know that? So, what you do is put an amount of your portfolio that's known and set every year... put this in the risky equity market via S&P 500 options, expiring in one year. The beauty of it is that you know exactly the amount you're risking each year... and in the mean time your set capital earns a "risk-free" rate, plus inflation factor if you go with TIPS. Let's say you had $100k, wanted to risk $10k of it this year in the equity market. Put $90K in TIPS for the year (which will earn interest) and buy $10k of at-the-money calls on the SP index expiring in 1 year. The option factor lets you leverage and "juice" the return on the equity market while earning a rate on your cash holdings.

2. A concept called "contingent immunization" done with equity and again, TIPS or some other cash-like, low risk instrument. Figure the amount you want to have saved in 20 years (25, 30, whatever) and adjust for inflation if you'd like. Now, discount this by the number of years and an assumed risk-free rate (nominal or real depending on how you figured your future amount). The NPV of this calculation is how much you need to put today into TIPS, treasuries, money market, CD, whatever it may be. Any excess amount, put to work in risky assets. Revisit every XX number of months.

3. I can also walk you through how to setup a "no loss" portfolio with options. You will be set to not lose an amount, but you will give up upside over XX% (15% per year, let's say) and you can do this relatively easy with options. We can talk about this offline, I'm not about to type the instructions out for that one.

As far as my money, I alternate between counting it and rolling around naked in it.