All I know is my 401k has tanked the last couple of weeks*..... THANKS OBAMA
(but is still up some crazy percentage, total)
All I know is my 401k has tanked the last couple of weeks*..... THANKS OBAMA
(but is still up some crazy percentage, total)
I am a broker/investment advisor. This market correction is just that, nothing to do with the North American economy.
I bought CPG-T for clients in the high $33 range on Wednesday.
I'm feeling generally good about my 401k. It's hard to abstract yourself from the moment and realize that by its nature it's a long play. Not my forte, but it's the only way to sleep at night.Originally Posted by Jason
I keep thinking about other investments as I'm sitting on a reasonably large pile of cash that's doing absolutely nothing. Well, I'm raking in those .02% interest rates, I guess. I would like to stuff that cash into something more worthwhile, but I have a full-time job and I don't need another. I've been strongly considering mutual funds or something along those lines... if my cash savings performed like my 401k, I think I'd be okay with that.
How large is the pile of cash? If it's enough to buy real estate, then I'd have it generate rental income that's what I'd do. My 'extra cash pile' or 'emergency fund' isn't really that big... so I just end up buying some large company stocks that pay dividends. For sure those dividends alone are generating more than the 0.02% interest for me. I'm ignoring the fluctuation of the stock value itself..., hopefully over the longhaul, these companies will continue to grow rather than fold.
Safest and easiest bet is probably to buy into some sort of index/mutual fund over a period of time to minimize your risks...
Anyway, IMHO, it's just wrong to let a pile of cash just sit there collecting .02%, but I suppose that's doing better than sitting under your mattress!
We have talked extensively about real estate, but coming from the background I have it makes me really nervous not to have a pretty substantial pillow. Although paper investments aren't liquid, it's usually pretty painless to get cash out, and more often than not keeping your shirt. If I found myself in a situation where I needed cash and the only way to get it was sell off real estate, that could hurt. Plus, there is upkeep in real estate and that can be a drain on the monthlies, not to mention an unoccupied rental or an eviction scenario. It kills me too, because I see how well the folks around me are doing with flips/rentals/etc., but they don't have the cashflow limitations I do.One guy has 142 properties at the moment. Sheesh!
That said, right now more than ever we're having these discussions. I haven't mentioned it, but the girl's mom lost her job (they were acquired and shut down) so she is living on borrowed time - actually living out the exact scenario that keeps me up at night, why I keep cash around. Anyway, if she'd move up here we'd buy a house for her to occupy. I just can't afford to buy decent real estate in SoCal, and frankly don't trust that she'd take care of it. I'd need her closer to keep an eye on it.
I don't have anything approaching the spare time to do daytrading and I don't feel like I could reliably make informed decisions about other investments. An adviser/broker type is always an option, but I feel like I could approximate those results with some sort of fund (mutual, ETF, index, whatever) with a fair amount less stress. Plus, I've had some decent exposure to a few via my 401k, so I'd at least have a place to start.
Having been a penny stock owner (my Summer o' $17m) they are WAY too volatile for me. Great way to play with a few hundred bucks, maybe, but no way I'd be throwing thousands or tens of thousands into them... they'd just never offer a good value proposition.
You could get a Roth IRA.I'm feeling generally good about my 401k. It's hard to abstract yourself from the moment and realize that by its nature it's a long play. Not my forte, but it's the only way to sleep at night.
I keep thinking about other investments as I'm sitting on a reasonably large pile of cash that's doing absolutely nothing. Well, I'm raking in those .02% interest rates, I guess. I would like to stuff that cash into something more worthwhile, but I have a full-time job and I don't need another. I've been strongly considering mutual funds or something along those lines... if my cash savings performed like my 401k, I think I'd be okay with that.
Yeah, but there are penalties involved in withdrawals. Last thing you need in an emergency is the government taking some of your slush fund.
Well, you could just keep collecting the 0.02 APY.
I am.
I could get upset about terrible savings account interest rates, but OTOH I have credit cards with single-digit interest rates and a house at 3%. Can't have it both ways.
WANT IT ALL!!!
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