Investing megathread extravaganza

[DaFace]

A place to talk about investing stuff.

[Hoopsdoc]

Pardon my ignorance please.

I have 3,000 dollars in savings that I’d like to invest.

I have never invested in my life but I’d like to get started.

I’m not looking for anything to risky, just slow and steady growth.

Where do I begin?

Help me Chiefsplanet!!!

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc

Pardon my ignorance please.

I have 3,000 dollars in savings that I’d like to invest.

I have never invested in my life but I’d like to get started.

I’m not looking for anything to risky, just slow and steady growth.

Where do I begin?

Help me Chiefsplanet!!!

Open a self directed ROTH IRA

1500 VOO
1500 VUG

If you've never invested anything this is what I'd do.

[UteChief]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Open a self directed ROTH IRA

1500 VOO
1500 VUG

If you've never invested anything this is what I'd do.

Why an IRA? I think more questions need to be asked before making that recommendation.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by UteChief

Why an IRA? I think more questions need to be asked before making that recommendation.

If he has nothing invested, he needs to get something in retirement IMO.

A million questions should probably be asked, but if a guy has nothing at all I’d be hard pressed to find a better positioned investment.

Logic would dictate that if he thought he would need access to the money he would have mentioned it.

[threebag]

Can’t wait to see what my SpirtAerosystems stock does when Boeing buys them back.

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by UteChief

Why an IRA? I think more questions need to be asked before making that recommendation.

it's the tax benefits of the Roth.

any gains you make will be tax free..


you can only fun a roth 6500-7500;a year, because it's such a crazy powerful advantage. your 1st 6500 - 7500 every year of savings should be a roth ira (or 401k)

[UteChief]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

If he has nothing invested, he needs to get something in retirement IMO.

A million questions should probably be asked, but if a guy has nothing at all I’d be hard pressed to find a better positioned investment.

Logic would dictate that if he thought he would need access to the money he would have mentioned it.

Sure, but I’d want to confirm if he has a retirement account. 401k, pension, etc… Does he have access to a workplace retirement? Are they forgoing a workplace match to save the $3,000.
Does he have an emergency fund? Is the money saved for anything upcoming?
In my experience novel investors need an in depth conversation before general advice.

[UteChief]

Originally Posted by Ming the Merciless

it's the tax benefits of the Roth.

any gains you make will be tax free..


you can only fun a roth 6500-7500;a year, because it's such a crazy powerful advantage. your 1st 6500 - 7500 every year of savings should be a roth ira (or 401k)

My only point was the need to ask more questions and not jump into an IRA. I work in finance, have a BS in Finance, previously was a trader with series 7 and 63. I read the posts here a lot, I just don’t comment much.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by UteChief

My only point was the need to ask more questions and not jump into an IRA. I work in finance, have a BS in Finance, previously was a trader with series 7 and 63. I read the posts here a lot, I just don’t comment much.

Hey, request for free advice here.

Does a Roth conversion count as income in MAGI for the purposes of assigning Medicare costs? In other words, could a big Roth conversion throw one's income up enough to incur the extra Medicare income-based surcharges?

I think it does, but I can't find a definitive answer on the world wide web.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by UteChief

Sure, but I’d want to confirm if he has a retirement account. 401k, pension, etc… Does he have access to a workplace retirement? Are they forgoing a workplace match to save the $3,000.
Does he have an emergency fund? Is the money saved for anything upcoming?
In my experience novel investors need an in depth conversation before general advice.

Well sure. But he threw it on a football message board.

But let’s walk through it.

He said he had nothing invested. That rules out a 401K. Doesn’t necessarily rule out a pension but if all he has is a pension he still needs a Roth.

He wouldn’t forego a workplace match. He said he HAS 3000 (not could forego contributions to a qualified plan to get 3000). And the contributions to an IRA wouldn’t count against his contributions to a qualified plan, which from what he said he doesn’t have anyway.

An emergency fund shouldn’t be “invested”.

If the money is saved for something upcoming it shouldn’t be “invested”.

He didn’t ask for a financial plan, he asked what we would do for a first investment so I told him.

Sorry if you’re offended. If he wanted an in-depth discussion we’ve been through it all. In 4 lines he asked what investment we’d put the first dollar in.

[ThaVirus]

That reminds me, say you had some money tied up in stocks and ETFs in a brokerage account. Realistically, how long would it take for you to sell those holdings and have the money moved to your primary bank account?

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

That reminds me, say you had some money tied up in stocks and ETFs in a brokerage account. Realistically, how long would it take for you to sell those holdings and have the money moved to your primary bank account?

Depends on the brokerage. Most have it spelled out in the FAQ, but most are a day to close 2 days to transfer unless you pay for a wire.

Best to read the website of your broker.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

That reminds me, say you had some money tied up in stocks and ETFs in a brokerage account. Realistically, how long would it take for you to sell those holdings and have the money moved to your primary bank account?

I've never closed an account completely, but when I've moved money to a brokerage from my bank, it's typically taken two days to complete.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

That reminds me, say you had some money tied up in stocks and ETFs in a brokerage account. Realistically, how long would it take for you to sell those holdings and have the money moved to your primary bank account?

2-3 days depending on if your cash is settling from recent trades.

[ThaVirus]

Ok, cool, I figured. So the whole “don’t invest money you’re saving for something” in regards to a brokerage account is advised more so because it’s risky and a portion of the investment could be lost?