Help getting a head start with investments

**dontgopoor** · 08-02-2012, 05:04 AM

Originally posted by xayasouk View Post

Hi!
As of now, I have 1.5k in a NO-Touch Savings account, 1.3k in a emergency savings account, and about 1.8k in my checkings for personal use. Right now, my expenses come down to just paying my cell phone bill which is $60/month, the rest is "going out" with friends".

According to my banks money map, I spend about $300/month including my phone bill. My income right now is $0, but I am expecting to get some sort of job through out the school year, so I could be expecting $7.25-$10/hr pay * 25hrs-ish work week.

Can you share some more about where the $300/mo ($3,600/yr) comes from? And does your brother have a dealer's license for car flipping? For how many hours have your registered for this fall?

**bjl584** · 08-02-2012, 05:53 AM

Originally posted by xayasouk View Post

What I want to know is, what can I do now on my own, to start making money with my excess money in my bank accounts? Having money sit in the bank, isn't my cup of tea because I know it could be doing so much more.

Thank you for any thoughts, comments, or concerns in advance!

There is nothing wrong with having some cash in the bank. You will need cash for emergencies, daily expenses, a car, and your tuition.

I would just continue to save for the time being. Focus on school and graduating.

**disneysteve** · 08-02-2012, 06:18 AM

Originally posted by xayasouk View Post

What I want to know is, what can I do now on my own, to start making money with my excess money in my bank accounts? Having money sit in the bank, isn't my cup of tea because I know it could be doing so much more.

You should not be investing at all. You should be saving. You should also be working to trim your excess spending.

Right now, you've got $4,600 in the bank. If you continue to spend $300/month, that money will be gone in 15 months.

You anticipate getting a job. Let's say you earn $10/hour for 20 hours/week. That's $800/month before taxes, probably $600 or so after.

How much will you need for your last 2 years of college? I suspect that $600/month isn't going to cut it as that would only be $7,200/year.

So keep putting your money in the bank. You have a very short time line for needing that money - 2 years. That is too short a time to get involved in any investing because you don't have time to ride out any market downturn before you'll need the money.

**xayasouk** · 08-02-2012, 12:04 PM

Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

How much will you need for your last 2 years of college? I suspect that $600/month isn't going to cut it as that would only be $7,200/year.

So keep putting your money in the bank. You have a very short time line for needing that money - 2 years. That is too short a time to get involved in any investing because you don't have time to ride out any market downturn before you'll need the money.

Tuition is approximately 10k and room and board is about 9k. My parents also have a college savings account for me that has between 9k-11k also which would go into my last 2 years. I was able to live off minimum wage with 15-25 hour work weeks easily and I can change my spending habits if I must.

My $300/month comes from eating out and little shopping. My parents pay for my car and repairs, gas, and insurance. I was just wondering if there were any short term investments that I could do that is similar to what I do with my brother. He is not licensed, it is just something he does on the side for extra cash. I gave him $600 for a car that he has had for 2 months and is currently trying to sell. I will receive $660+ from it (I could ask for more of the profit, but he needs to get caught up on some bills). That is way more money than what I would earn from the bank in the same scenario. Is there not anything similar to what I am doing now, that I could do on my own?

Thank you so far for the advice

**disneysteve** · 08-02-2012, 12:41 PM

Originally posted by xayasouk View Post

My parents have agreed to pay my first 2 years of college and the rest on my own.

Originally posted by xayasouk View Post

Tuition is approximately 10k and room and board is about 9k. My parents also have a college savings account for me that has between 9k-11k also which would go into my last 2 years.

Sorry, your initial post made it sound like you had to pay for your 3rd and 4th years. So even with them kicking in about 10K in year 3, that still leaves 30K or more (assuming annual increases between now and then) that you will be responsible for. So I'd stand by my original advice not to invest that money in anything other than a high-yield savings account. I don't have a problem with helping your brother flip cars. It sounds like he's proficient at it so it is probably pretty low risk. I knew someone years ago who did that also. They never owned a car for more than 6 months and always made a profit.

**dontgopoor** · 08-03-2012, 05:51 AM

From reading all of your posts it seems that you're not looking for traditional passive equity/bond investment advice but rather active business investment ideas.

When I was an undergrad, I could divide my friends into two groups: 1) The ones who worked in a store for $x/hour, and 2) The ones who started businesses - selling sunglasses, phone services, video games at bars, note taking services, photography. The latter worked fewer hours and made more money. And overall were just sharper people. They got better jobs and made better grades - on average. And looking back, the had better careers.

So figure out what's needed at your school and try something given your available time. Connect with peers at other schools and find out what's working there. But don't let your grades suffer or that part time job may turn into your full-time gig.

**disneysteve** · 08-03-2012, 08:48 AM

Originally posted by dontgopoor View Post

When I was an undergrad, I could divide my friends into two groups: 1) The ones who worked in a store for $x/hour, and 2) The ones who started businesses - selling sunglasses, phone services, video games at bars, note taking services, photography. The latter worked fewer hours and made more money.

So figure out what's needed at your school and try something given your available time.

I agree. I used to do a lot of photography. When I was in undergrad, I started doing senior portraits for a lot of my friends. I charged a lot less than the professional school photographer so I was saving them money and earning money in the process.

In grad school, we had a note-taking service. Every student took turns typing up class notes each day. A lot of students didn't want to be bothered so they paid others to do it for them. Typing was something I was really good at so I charged my classmates to type their notes for them. Over 2 years, I made a few thousand dollars doing that.

Find a niche, find a need that you can fill, especially if you can fill it cheaper than others in the area.

**SnapDuck** · 08-04-2012, 06:43 PM

Are your checking and savings accounts in an online bank? What kind of rate are you getting on them? I would suggest putting that money in an online savings account like ING.

**binarymaster** · 09-20-2012, 03:35 AM

Risky!? Nope...!Profitable....Yes!

If you feel risky with your extra money and even then so I personally don't see it as too much of a risk (and I will tell you why), invest in forex or binary options. With the right and enough information, you really can profit from online trading. Trading is really about knowing what to do and what not to do, about being informed so that you can make intelligent decisions. If you do that, there shouldn't be any reason to not profit!

Do research on online brokers and trading, comparing them and their advantages. If you do decide to do it, you should learn everything starting with useful terms and information to following current articles related to trading and the market. From there, you can learn and develop trading strategies by using tips and avoiding common mistakes by others. It is also important that you track previous trends in the market, by using broker signals, so you can predict future outcomes and trends to reduce the risk of loss and maximize your profits purely with the use of information and knowledge.

**ecoadapt** · 09-20-2012, 07:11 PM

You should not be investing at all. You should be saving. You should also be working to trim your excess spending.

Right now, you've got $4,600 in the bank. If you continue to spend $300/month, that money will be gone in 15 months.

You anticipate getting a job. Let's say you earn $10/hour for 20 hours/week. That's $800/month before taxes, probably $600 or so after.

How much will you need for your last 2 years of college? I suspect that $600/month isn't going to cut it as that would only be $7,200/year.

So keep putting your money in the bank. You have a very short time line for needing that money - 2 years. That is too short a time to get involved in any investing because you don't have time to ride out any market downturn before you'll need the money.

Take this advice. Even if your mother will pay for your school,money will not stay as it is. Besides, it's better to save.

**Jimhassel** · 10-24-2012, 10:04 AM

Yes, I am also of the same opinion that you should leave the money in your account as it is because you should always have a little cash handy so that it can be used in case of sudden expenditures like emergencies or exams, etc.

**Bryan Cranston** · 10-24-2012, 10:57 PM

First of all congratulations your attitude is quite mature for your age (university).

I do agree that letting the money lie in the bank is a waste, and should be limited to short- and medium-term liquidity needs.

Keep up the saving habit, and start getting into stocks. I would also suggest allocating some money in precious metals (10% at least). Full disclosure, I'm a 'gold bug' but I really think it's important.

**xayasouk** · 10-31-2012, 12:30 PM

Precious Metals

I like the idea of putting a portion of my money into metals. Is there any tips you have for me to start that. I've been looking at the best time/day/month of silver where its just under $32 an oz. At the moment, that seems to be a fair price to buy it at. When it increases around $33.5 an oz it would return close too, 5% per oz. So far this year it's hit a high of $36.

**BuckyBadger** · 10-31-2012, 12:41 PM

Originally posted by xayasouk View Post

I like the idea of putting a portion of my money into metals. Is there any tips you have for me to start that. I've been looking at the best time/day/month of silver where its just under $32 an oz. At the moment, that seems to be a fair price to buy it at. When it increases around $33.5 an oz it would return close too, 5% per oz. So far this year it's hit a high of $36.

My tip is to not invest in metals until you have a lot more experience with investing.

And probably not even then.

Help getting a head start with investments