Stock investing help

[camaro_speedemon]

So after a few toys and some bills are paid. I've decided to invest the remainder of my tax return. Looks like I'll have somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500 to invest how I want.

I'll probably put half of that in my paypal money market, and the other half in some kind of stocks.

What kind of stocks do you guys suggest. I was thinking of buying a few shares of google, probably like 2 if it hasn't split yet [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

What are some other companies I should look into?

[4thgenowner]

Publix.

[teal99camaro]

Originally posted by 4thgenowner:
Publix.

uhhh publix is a private stock.. Its only avail. to employees...

Did you mean the supermarket/pharmace chain??

[Question]

Originally posted by 4thgenowner:
Publix.

My father works for Publix, and as far as I know Publix stock is only available to employees. Judging by your area, I assume you are talking about the Grocery chain Publix?

[Everglades W68]

WFMI - Whole Foods Market.

We've bought a bunch via my IRA - they seem solid and have lots of growth potential. Tons of people say they'd shop there if only there was a Whole Foods near their house.

I like Publix (yes, it is private), but Whole Foods Market is a great complement to Publix.

[SpeedingFirebird]

Don't buy indivdual stocks - you run a much higher risk of losing your money. You will want to find a handful of well performing mutal funds and invest your money that way.

Get an e*trade account and search for no fee/no load funds. Figure out which ones have good trends and good ratings by MorningStar. You can also look into the invenstment mix to see if you agree with the direction of the fund.

Keep in mind, investing means putting the money away "for a long time". Attempting to day trade will lead you to an empty wallet (unless you have infinite free time, and you know what you are doing).

If you are not comfortable finding funds, seek real investment advice. Don't get your investment advice from gearheads over the internet. (No offense guys.) :D

[camaro_speedemon]

Originally posted by SpeedingFirebird:
Don't buy indivdual stocks - you run a much higher risk of losing your money. You will want to find a handful of well performing mutal funds and invest your money that way.

Get an e*trade account and search for no fee/no load funds. Figure out which ones have good trends and good ratings by MorningStar. You can also look into the invenstment mix to see if you agree with the direction of the fund.

Keep in mind, investing means putting the money away "for a long time". Attempting to day trade will lead you to an empty wallet (unless you have infinite free time, and you know what you are doing).

If you are not comfortable finding funds, seek real investment advice. Don't get your investment advice from gearheads over the internet. (No offense guys.) :D

Can I take the money out of a mutual fund without getting charged or penalized? I want to be able to take money out if I need to.

[SpeedingFirebird]

That depends on the trading company you use and the type of funds you buy.

Most companies (e*trade, T.Rowe Price, etc.) charge a fee for buyind and selling (stocks/funds/whatever). This is usually low - like a couple of bucks (I forget what e*trade charges, I would have to look.)

If you get no fee/no load funds, then there are no fees/penalties when selling the funds. Read every prospectus carefully to make sure there are no fees. Some funds require a minimum amount for participation.

E*trade (my only point of reference, I don't work for them) is typically very good at pointing out what the fees are. You can search funds that are no fee/no load and choose from them to make sure. Other sites may be better (or worse).

My very well to do uncle told me SPYDR funds where very cheap and did well long term. All of my 'extra' money is tied up, so I have not bothered looking into it. You may find those fees a little cheaper.

I bought an "investing for the completey brain-dead" book and that helped a lot. I just read the few chapters that interested me (I skipped junk bonds, etc). If you are serious about investing (and I recommend it), learn as much as you can before putting your money someplace where it may never come back.

Disclaimer: I am not a broker nor have I played one on t.v. Investing involves risk, of which I assume none of yours. The advice herein is worth exactly what you paid me for it. :cool:

[MTMike]

I bought a couple shares of Google at $194, sold it at $230 and thought I made a good 2-month run with it.

It's at $470 now. I kick myself every day :D

Sirius is a pretty heavly bought & sold one, but I think it has good potential to grow. I've got a bunch of it and it's on a roller coaster right now. I bought it at $6.44 last year and it's been as low as $5.15 and as high as almost $8.

I need to get more than just a few hundred into there because to buy & sell the commissions eat up most if not all the profits.

At any rate, you can never do enough research before you buy. Just find a broker with a low trade commission if you plan on doing a lot of trading

Mike

[shenanigans]

mmm publix sub + cookies...


amazing how talking stocks on a car board will help me figure out lunch.

[Copperhead]

boom. long as we are at war. they are also predicting google to go to $2,000 a share..i talked a buddy into buyin netflix at $16 he put everything he had into it..it hit $27 or $29 a share in a month...he made $30,000 in his 401k...it's down to $22 or so now..i'd keep an eye on it..main thing is to be aggressive..you don't gain or lose anything until you sell as well...just cuz it drops .50 don't freak out...it could raise $5.00 in a week..

[V6Bob]

Most people (including most mutual fund managers) who pick stocks do less well than the overall market. For every winner there are more losers.

The conservative thing is to invest in the overall market through an Index Fund. No glamor, no 50% gains, but a lot less risk.

[WSU77]

I love this subject [img]smile.gif[/img] I am a licensed financial advisor for a bank.

I have my clients go into Mutual Funds, I dont do a lot of "Stock Picking", if a client wants to do that, I have them open a separate account and put no more than 10% of their account into it for stock trading. I do not offer a lot of advice on stocks.

It is a very good way to get burned fast. I have quadrupled my own money with stocks and lost it all and came back etc. It is not a fun ride. Its all about should a could a would a.

If you are looking to possibly use this money in the next few years, I wouldnt invest it in the market. Find a CD for a year and go that route, its a lot safer and you know the money will grow, opposed to the market where you might lose some.

If you do go the mutual fund route, be careful of no loads, a lot of times their management fees are more expensive than a back end or front end load.

Remember this, It's time IN the market not TIMING the market. History shows that time in the market is very rewarding in a diversified account.

[4thgenowner]

Grocery store chain. Ohh yeeaahhh thats for employees, my girlfriend has a ****load of stock in them. I just forgot she worked there. :D

[PewterBird]

Originally posted by WSU77:
I love this subject [img]smile.gif[/img] I am a licensed financial advisor for a bank.

I have my clients go into Mutual Funds, I dont do a lot of "Stock Picking", if a client wants to do that, I have them open a separate account and put no more than 10% of their account into it for stock trading. I do not offer a lot of advice on stocks.

It is a very good way to get burned fast. I have quadrupled my own money with stocks and lost it all and came back etc. It is not a fun ride. Its all about should a could a would a.

If you are looking to possibly use this money in the next few years, I wouldnt invest it in the market. Find a CD for a year and go that route, its a lot safer and you know the money will grow, opposed to the market where you might lose some.

If you do go the mutual fund route, be careful of no loads, a lot of times their management fees are more expensive than a back end or front end load.

Remember this, It's time IN the market not TIMING the market. History shows that time in the market is very rewarding in a diversified account.

He knows what he is talking about.

I graduate next fall with a Finance Major and I will be sitting for the Series 7 in March. I currently work for a retirement planning firm.

Mutual Funds are the way to go. American Funds is doing real well recently. Check them out. Im not giving investment advice but I would trow that money into an IRA and forget about it. Im not sure what you do for a living but I woundn't coun't on a pension cosidering what IBM just did. And who knows what is going to happen for Social Security in the future.