# Dow 15000 S&P 1600 highs



## mitgib (May 17, 2013)

So the stock market in the US has been hitting all time highs for the past couple of weeks, scares the hell out of me but now that May is half over, getting less panicked of the sell in May curse.

I don't live and breath this stuff, but I can't put all my eggs in VPS hosting, I'm 49, I hope to retire someday not too far off and hate the thought of cat food for dinner or depending on Social Security.

Most here are younger, are you at least saving something or going further into debt?


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## Ash (May 17, 2013)

mitgib said:


> So the stock market in the US has been hitting all time highs for the past couple of weeks, scares the hell out of me but now that May is half over, getting less panicked of the sell in May curse.
> 
> I don't live and breath this stuff, but I can't put all my eggs in VPS hosting, I'm 49, I hope to retire someday not too far off and hate the thought of cat food for dinner or depending on Social Security.
> 
> Most here are younger, are you at least saving something or going further into debt?


I'm saving, but the last place its going is in the bank. Its sad though that im 22 and still have no sight of been able to get a mortgage. At the moment i rent my house and have done for the last 3 years, it costs me


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## SeriesN (May 17, 2013)

mitgib said:


> So the stock market in the US has been hitting all time highs for the past couple of weeks, scares the hell out of me but now that May is half over, getting less panicked of the sell in May curse.
> 
> I don't live and breath this stuff, but I can't put all my eggs in VPS hosting, I'm 49, I hope to retire someday not too far off and hate the thought of cat food for dinner or depending on Social Security.
> 
> Most here are younger, are you at least saving something or going further into debt?


Got ~5K with google, 1K with dell, and some other 2-3K on gold. That is all. The rest are on property and assets,


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## TruvisT (May 17, 2013)

In before the big crash.


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## mitgib (May 17, 2013)

TruvisT said:


> In before the big crash.


Which big crash is that?  Never heard of diversifying?


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## TruvisT (May 17, 2013)

mitgib said:


> Which big crash is that?  Never heard of diversifying?


More of a joke, but I do diversify.


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## Naruto (May 17, 2013)

I don't know how to invest in stocks or anything.


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## HalfEatenPie (May 17, 2013)

Well, currently I'm a freshly graduated college student so I have no personal money to work off of.  Savings?  HA.  That's a joke.  Tell that to my hundred of thousand of dollars in debt from obtaining my degree, but thanks to the networking and connections I made through college I'm sure I can get a job in my field that's well paying especially since my resume is beefed up from what I've been involved with during my four years here.

Good thing though is that while I'm in graduate school I'll be making money from my professor who'll hire me onto his research team.


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## coreyman (May 17, 2013)

mitgib said:


> So the stock market in the US has been hitting all time highs for the past couple of weeks, scares the hell out of me but now that May is half over, getting less panicked of the sell in May curse.
> 
> 
> I don't live and breath this stuff, but I can't put all my eggs in VPS hosting, I'm 49, I hope to retire someday not too far off and hate the thought of cat food for dinner or depending on Social Security.
> ...


21 years young and unable to get a mortage, much like other people here for the past 4 years I've been renting at ridiculous fees with landlords that don't care about the properties. I'm unable to save a dime.


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## mitgib (May 17, 2013)

coreyman said:


> 21 years young and unable to get a mortage, much like other people here for the past 4 years I've been renting at ridiculous fees with landlords that don't care about the properties. I'm unable to save a dime.


I was 30 before I had my first mortgage, don't be in such a rush, good things come to those who wait, and plan.

Savings doesn't have to be much, but always pay yourself first, even $5, out of each paycheck, and put it into savings until you mass a larger sum to do something with.  I know savings rates are horrible right now, but they are secure if you keep your hands off.


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## qps (May 17, 2013)

Mortgages are definitely more difficult to obtain right now, but it's not impossible.  In the US, they want at least 2 full years of business history if you're self-employed.

One other thing to consider if you don't have extra money to save is to get a good rewards credit card and charge everything on it, but pay the balance in full each month.  For instance, you can get 2% cash back with no annual fee through a Fidelity American Express or 1.5% on a Fidelity Visa.  The cash back is automatically deposited into a Fidelity account each month, and you can save/invest that money.


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## HalfEatenPie (May 17, 2013)

qps said:


> One other thing to consider if you don't have extra money to save is to get a good rewards credit card and charge everything on it, but pay the balance in full each month.  For instance, you can get 2% cash back with no annual fee through a Fidelity American Express or 1.5% on a Fidelity Visa.  The cash back is automatically deposited into a Fidelity account each month, and you can save/invest that money.


 

Yeah once done right credit cards are amazing.  Unfortunately it's also a double edged sword.


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## qps (May 17, 2013)

HalfEatenPie said:


> Yeah once done right credit cards are amazing.  Unfortunately it's also a double edged sword.


If a person doesn't have the self control required, they shouldn't get a credit card to start with.


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## Jack (May 17, 2013)

GetKVM_Ash said:


> I'm saving, but the last place its going is in the bank. Its sad though that im 22 and still have no sight of been able to get a mortgage. At the moment i rent my house and have done for the last 3 years, it costs me


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## HalfEatenPie (May 17, 2013)

qps said:


> If a person doesn't have the self control required, they shouldn't get a credit card to start with.


 

That's true.  But the thing is credit card companies themselves are... well...  businesses.  And the entire system is setup to get you great benefits if you're very strict on your self control, but very easy to slip into massive debt.  

Granted I'm generalizing heavily here.


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## KuJoe (May 17, 2013)

I just got my retirement account statement in the mail today and I'm extremely happy with it. Right now I only put the minimum in my 401k for my company match, but I have a house in Florida that will be paid off before I turn 65 so that will be my safety net if my retirement accounts disappear one day (assuming I don't sell it to buy a house in Colorado instead).

One thing I've always been told is to never buy stock in the company you work for, but I get it for free each year and it's equal to about how much I have in my 401k so I pretend it's not there and when I retire if it's worth anything I'll have a nice bonus.

401k - Put in high risk investments.

Employer Stock Options - Medium risk investment(?)

Employer Profit Sharing Plan - Put in low risk investments.

House in Florida - Low risk investment.

Oh, and on the flipside of the coin... eff student loans.


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## MannDude (May 17, 2013)

I'm just a week shy of 25, no regular investments. However it should be noted I have no debt and live within my means. I've got a savings, though a modest one at best.


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## mikho (May 17, 2013)

My opinion is that the best saving you can do while getting older is to make sure that you have no mortages when it's time to retire.


Almost two years ago, I bought a new house. I felt sick going to the bank and asking for the money. I will be honest and say that the first year I paid over $1300 / month in interest alone.


If I can pay of that debt by the time I retire, I will be able to live on way less then what I make today.


And I do save money at the same time to have a buffer for unexpected events.


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## KuJoe (May 17, 2013)

I didn't even have a savings account until I got a very sizable check from work to move out to Colorado, now I actually have a saving account that I put money into. One day when I collect a check from Secure Dragon I'll be able to deposit it in there.


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## mitgib (May 17, 2013)

I only started this topic to hopefully get you all to at least think or plant the idea to save something.  Being as young as you all are, the real power is in the amount of time you have to save and reinvesting doubling that every few years.

Yes most of what I have saved outside of Hostigation being my main savings is in stocks, and those investments that I have from the 80's are compounded many times over.  I do love the thrill of the stock market, but look more at income producing options now, but still love to take risks.


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## KuJoe (May 17, 2013)

+1 to what mitgib said. I know people at my work who don't invest anything in their 401k, which is FREE MONEY. Compared to other companies, it's not much ($1750/year) but in the 6 years I've worked there my 401k is more than 4 times what I put into it and is almost as much as I owe on my house (low projection for my current investment is $1.2million when I turn 65, all because I have so many years for that money to grow).

The younger you start putting into a 401k or IRA, the more beneficial it is for you. Heck, I was able to take a loan against my 401k for a down payment on my new car and it's cheaper than getting a loan anywhere else because I pay the interest to myself.

Everybody talks about how risky the stock market is, but I don't think I've ever seen a negative ROI in any of my annual statements and you always have the option to put your money into low risk investments (low risk low reward, but still better than the pennies you make off a savings account or the lint accrued under your mattress).

As mitgib also pointed out, you don't want all your eggs in one basket so be sure to diversify!

For my daughter, I've been buying her savings bonds each year as apposed to a savings account because it's a guaranteed return and will make a nice gift when she turns 18.


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## mitgib (May 18, 2013)

KuJoe said:


> For my daughter, I've been buying her savings bonds each year as apposed to a savings account because it's a guaranteed return and will make a nice gift when she turns 18.


Sharebuilder.com and the S&P 500 Index (SPY) every month, sure it can go down sometimes, but in 2 decades, it will probably go a long way towards college, but SPY is instant diversification to go along with the (I hope) I bonds.


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## jcaleb (May 19, 2013)

warren says US economy will continue to rise. Specially this year.


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## drmike (May 20, 2013)

qps said:


> Mortgages are definitely more difficult to obtain right now, but it's not impossible.  In the US, they want at least 2 full years of business history if you're self-employed.
> 
> One other thing to consider if you don't have extra money to save is to get a good rewards credit card and charge everything on it, but pay the balance in full each month.  For instance, you can get 2% cash back with no annual fee through a Fidelity American Express or 1.5% on a Fidelity Visa.  The cash back is automatically deposited into a Fidelity account each month, and you can save/invest that money.


I am clueless why anyone is truly considering mortgages.  Just look up the definition of that word for an eye opener.  Plus as you may or may not know, property titles due to MERS(sp?) fiasco has resulted in countless millions of property that cannot have a proper clean title and outright ownership.

My model is to buy distressed/uncared for/inherited properties from private owners on land contracts.    I'd rather deal with humans under ancient contract law and enrich them than a bank.  Every property I've bought has its quirks.  But mortgage free and did so in < 5 years of payments on three properties.  I hold property for my use and refuse to get into rentals or anything like that.  Too many issues.


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## KuJoe (May 20, 2013)

Mortgage payments are cheaper than rent checks (my 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment is over $500 more a month than my mortgage on my 4 bedroom/1.5 bath house) and doesn't require any cash up front which fits the criteria for most US citizens. I know a lot of people buy houses/property as an investment or so they can upgrade later, I bought my house so my daughter could have some stability and not have to worry about moving every few years. I also bought my home so I wouldn't need to work when I turned 65.

Unfortunately I did not foresee that I would be moving 2000 miles away 2 years after I bought it so now I rent it out for more than the mortgage payment and I can hopefully pay it down faster. Additionally if things don't work our here in Colorado I have a place to come back to and have even included provisions in the rental agreement for that.


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