I feel lost when deciding an investment strategy

[misery]

Hello, I'm asking for help because I find finances (investments,bonds,stocks) very dry and hard to wrap my head around. I know it's important to have some sort of retirement plan or long-term growth strategy but I have no idea what to do.

I'm 25, have about $29,000 in savings, no debt, and virtually under $200 of income per week (for now). I have a real estate license (Canada) and am close to becoming a residential appraiser, but at this point in time I have very little income and it's unpredictable in amount. I'm in the last leg of my training but work is so slow that I'm literally scraping by unless I dip into savings.

My parents are supporting me with some of my expenses but I'm dipping into my savings frequently and I hate it. I don't want to be dependent but right now my job opportunities are slim unless I move away from my friends,family and girlfriend.

My investment goal is not to purchase a house in 5 years (for example) but instead I am simply focusing on growing my savings for the long-term. Ideally I'd like a job that pays a predictable salary from which I can develop an investment strategy from. I have no idea if this is the best decision, as I basically have zero knowledge about the Canadian stock market or bonds, or anything!

I feel behind when looking at my peers settling into careers - but it's also important that I'm happy with whatever I choose, money isn't everything. I have a TFSA account with RBC right now but perhaps there's another institution (and/or account) where my money could be better invested? I'm looking for guidance on how I can stop feeling so "stuck" and start making beneficial investment decisions that will allow me to feel I'm addressing this aspect of my life.

All feedback is welcome, feel free to ask questions as I'll be quick to reply.

Thanks so much.

[snafu]

Kudos for having a TFSA account, it's a 1st, important step [some similarities to USA ROTH]. The fact that you do not yet have regular, full time employment is a major barrier to your desire to be self sufficient. Terrific that your parents are willing to continue to support you. Are you working with a realtor as something akin to an apprentice realtor while you continue your quest for certification as an appraiser. While agents have earning that rise and fall with sales, they have opportunities to make major income based on the effort they put in. The rest of us who are salaried have constraints on income.

Stocks & Bonds: Stocks are shares in major companies who have meet the listing requirements of the TSX [Toronto Stock Exchange]. Some companies make a profit, the value of their stock goes up for the most part. Some companies never seem to make a profit, their stock value goes down. Right now the value of oil is dropping like a rock and everything associated with the oil patch is flyingg downward. Consumers are thrilled with the drop at the pump, Albertans are losing jobs by the thousands, their oil based economy is crashing and everything that can go wrong is going wrong. We all know this will reverse, the question is when...2 yrs, 4 yrs, 6 yrs??

Bonds are loans of money. Companies that want to expand borrow money and issue bond. The biggest in Canada is the Federal Gov't who borrow for every program they operate and pay interest to the international community for the huge sums borrowed.

RBC is the biggest of the Canadian banks. You can make all kinds of investments in your TFSA and you also absorb the risk of loss of value. You can make arrangements to have RBC buy Mutual Funds [stock units that hundreds of thousands of people participate in] on your behalf. There are fees, fees and fees so this is where you must do the work. We often recommend that people just starting with investments begin with an Index Fund due to it's low cost. In this market contagion, RBC Index Fund is something I'd buy. To better understand, got to RBC's online site, Mutual Funds and seek details of their Index Fund. It will tell you the unit cost, the top 10 holdings and with some digging a lot of what is held. If you were super rich, would you buy stock in those companies?

If you read something like The Wealthy Barber [Chilton] Canadian edition, or The Automatic Millionaire [David Bach] it will give you the base you're seeking. Your library will have hard copies or you can order the e-version.

[feh]

All feedback is welcome, feel free to ask questions as I'll be quick to reply.

Sounds to me your current issue is just your monthly budget. Before investing, you need to make sure you're supporting yourself.

Worry about investing after you are on firm financial ground.

[jIM_Ohio]

Hello, I'm asking for help because I find finances (investments,bonds,stocks) very dry and hard to wrap my head around. I know it's important to have some sort of retirement plan or long-term growth strategy but I have no idea what to do.

I'm 25, have about $29,000 in savings, no debt, and virtually under $200 of income per week (for now). I have a real estate license (Canada) and am close to becoming a residential appraiser, but at this point in time I have very little income and it's unpredictable in amount. I'm in the last leg of my training but work is so slow that I'm literally scraping by unless I dip into savings.

My parents are supporting me with some of my expenses but I'm dipping into my savings frequently and I hate it. I don't want to be dependent but right now my job opportunities are slim unless I move away from my friends,family and girlfriend.

My investment goal is not to purchase a house in 5 years (for example) but instead I am simply focusing on growing my savings for the long-term. Ideally I'd like a job that pays a predictable salary from which I can develop an investment strategy from. I have no idea if this is the best decision, as I basically have zero knowledge about the Canadian stock market or bonds, or anything!

I feel behind when looking at my peers settling into careers - but it's also important that I'm happy with whatever I choose, money isn't everything. I have a TFSA account with RBC right now but perhaps there's another institution (and/or account) where my money could be better invested? I'm looking for guidance on how I can stop feeling so "stuck" and start making beneficial investment decisions that will allow me to feel I'm addressing this aspect of my life.

All feedback is welcome, feel free to ask questions as I'll be quick to reply.

Thanks so much.

I would keep liquidity (keep savings in cash) until you have a firm direction of where your employment is going