[ito]

So this is my first summer having a steady job that pays worthwhile(no unpaid internships or such) and I've managed to save up a good chunk of change. I'd like to spend it, put it towards a ar or something, but I know the smarter thing to do would be make more money with the money I have.

Basically I'd like to know what my options are short term(and possibly long term investments). Is it worthwhile to go into the stock market with approx. $4-5k? Is there any reading I should be doing to help me make wiser decisions? Or should I go through a bank and look at some of the options they have that will pay off well. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

Right now it the money is just sitting in a bank account and while it makes a little bit of interest I feel like it is a waste. So if you don't mind, what sort of options do I have and how should I go about taking advantage of them?

New to this money thing,
The Ito

 

[stinkyboy]

Crack & whores. You're young, you'll rebound.

Or: http://www.fool.com/ and hit the discussions boards.

 

[Mike B.]

So this is my first summer having a steady job that pays worthwhile(no unpaid internships or such) and I've managed to save up a good chunk of change. I'd like to spend it, put it towards a ar or something, but I know the smarter thing to do would be make more money with the money I have.

Basically I'd like to know what my options are short term(and possibly long term investments). Is it worthwhile to go into the stock market with approx. $4-5k? Is there any reading I should be doing to help me make wiser decisions? Or should I go through a bank and look at some of the options they have that will pay off well. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

Right now it the money is just sitting in a bank account and while it makes a little bit of interest I feel like it is a waste. So if you don't mind, what sort of options do I have and how should I go about taking advantage of them?

New to this money thing,
The Ito

Step number one to investing - create an emergency fund. It's not fancy, you won't make a bunch of money but it is the cornerstone to smart investing. Figure out what your expenses are (all bills included and don't forget some food) for 3 - 6 months and set that much aside. A savings account, money market, or rolling cds will work. The idea is that should anything go wrong, you're covered with money that you can get your hands on quickly without a penalty. Once that is established, you can start to seek out other opportunities and educate yourself while the fund builds.

Any of the big investment sites are a good place to learn. Sites like Fidelity, Vanguard, etc have lots of info available at no charge.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Depends on what you mean by "long" and "short" term.

4-5K is definitely enough to dabble in stocks. A good way is through mutual funds. Index fund might be worth a look.

 

[PonySoldier]

...Dude plunk it all down on one roll of the dice in Vegas..

 

[douglas]

short term = hookers

medium = mutual funds

long = IRA's



check out:

link

 

[Westy]

Just do whatever finacial advice you get from the 27th poster on a MTB forum. Riches will shower you.

 

[jmvar]

ING has savings accounts with 3.15% intrest. Put that in there as your emergency fund and then take a look at this article for the money you are socking away every month:

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Investing/Startinvesting/P117785.asp

Does your work match 401K, if so take advantage of that too, it's free money. Invest what ever percentage your work matches. There are different schools of thought on whether you should max our your 401K or not. You will have to reaserch and see what best suits you.

I would personally go with platinum teeth. Nothing says "I have a decent paying summer job" better than an bling grill.

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Investing/Startinvesting/P117785.asp

That is an excellent reference article!

 

[Repack]

I went to Fidelity. They were very helpful in setting up a diversified portolio of mutual funds. Some of the funds have a minimum purchase order of ~$2,000.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Look into a good money market account.

 

[hooples3]

not that its anything major.. but citibank has a 9 month cd giving 3.55%

 

[ito]

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Investing/Startinvesting/P117785.asp

Wow, very nice article. Thanks for the links everyone!

Still waiting on that 27th poster.....

The Ito

 

[beestiboy]

fairly sound advice so far. another site to check out is Motley Fool. If there is a 401k match offered definitely max that first. I would stay away from the fidelity's, merril lynch's and large brokerage houses. They usually have fee's that may seem minor when you are dealing with a large sum of money but less that 10k it may not be worth it. Plus alot of these places will try to push their funds on you, educate yourself most of the time they recieve a larger commission for selling their houses account