Comments on: im setting my savings goal at 100,000 before ivesting to high?

By: Susie T

Susie T — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:13:13 +0000

You need at least 8 months’ living expenses (not income) in a safe place like bank, credit union or money market: “cash”.

After that, you can start investing. Forget about puts and calls until you have money you can afford to lose. It’s a professional’s game. Forget about individual stocks (remember Enron–and Ford and GE? And your accountant will hate you at tax time). Someone starting out should start a diversified portfolio of mutual funds at Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity or T Rowe Price, all consumer-friendly firms. You do need to read and educate yourself before investing. Never invest in anything you don’t understand. There are lots of good books out there, and every major investment company has info online. Use Morningstar.com to evaluate mutual funds and learn about investing. Good luck!

By: Ruby

Ruby — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:26:34 +0000

Here’s a definitive answer– it depends! Are you employed now? Do you have the funds to live on and an emergency fund as well? (6 months of income should you need it). If the answer is yes, I think you can start investing.

I suggest dollar cost averaging your investment monthly–and I’d suggest Sharebuilder.com for that reason. You can set up a monthly investment plan and purchase fractional shares there. It may be a bit more expensive, but if you are starting out, it may be a good place for you.

By: Peter B

Peter B — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:17:54 +0000

If you are saving,you’ve already got the money working for you.

For the last few years, I’ve been doing the stock market with a float of about $10,000 – it’s not much, but it lets me buy a range of shares for day trading. Despite the down turn, It has worked out quite well (mind you just before that happened,I stuck the money into a set of shares that pays a reasonable dividend, rather than doing the usual playing buy low/sell high). Sure the shares are down, but the dividends keep coming,which makes up the bulk of the capital loss.

The thing is, if you are adventurous enough, you can do put and call options, for which you will get paid. $10,000 is enough to get moving in that area. But it is risky, so you need to learn the ropes.

Basic advice: don’t wait until you have $100,000 – it’s a nice amount, but,unless you have learned how to make use of the market and how it works, your portfolio, when you get it, won’t last long. Play the markets with what you can afford to lose right now.

By: Eddy T

Eddy T — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:20:37 +0000

To start investing you must learn and know all about investing and of course enough money to invest. I think this the best goal. Yes you can ask questions about investing here, you can also learn from books,the web, magazines and from business teachers and stock brokers. You do not need to set a goal at such a big amount. You can start with enough money to buy one lot of share say at 10,000 dollars. Then if you have made profit on the first one you can sell for profit or if you had accumulate enough money you can buy another one and so on. A wise investor takes a short term view on his investments. Take profit from time to time. Cash is king.