Hello, all been browsing and pondering the idea of starting to invest in the stock market.  I'm 31 getting married in 2 months exactly don't really have much lets say $300 to start and I make around 80k a year with only a mortgage on my expense list.  I've paid off all my debts I owe nothing and now have just started to have money to enjoy myelf and do it quite frequently.  I'm looking to open an account with Fidelity, Vanguard etc...  and start investing, but don't know where to start.  I know my funds are low but I will be buying weekly from here on out.  I'm a union employee with no 401k I have a pension that I and my company pay into.  Was seeking some advice about where to start investing and what to invest in?  I've invested quite a bit in modern firearms (my hobby) and pretty much have nothing left that I could want to buy. Been think about buying some physical bullion is this wise or should I stick with the market?  Any advice would be helpful and thank you. Also would a IRA of any type be a wise choice starting now ( I know im 31 and it's a little late).

I have zero credentials but since you asked, I would invest part in physical bullion and the rest in cash.  The stock market is making highs and very little in the economy suggests it should be.   It seems the only thing propping up the market is the easy money from the Feds.   Bullion on the other hand is selling less than the cost of productions.  Wait to we see a moderate size correction then start putting in some of the cash savings into the stock market.  I would not start buying while it is hitting all-time highs.

So I'm better off investing in physical bullion now than anything else.  I've seen JP Morgan just increased their holding physical and stocks to over 55 million oz.  So invest in physical silver, platinum, gold and wait to invest money into the market is what your saying?  How about these so called penny stocks is it worth hours of research to buy any of it.  Saw a video awhile back about this thing called the internet of things, is that worth investment or am I being mislead like I think I am.

Do not listen to that. That's horrible advice. Investing in silver, gold, etc . . . is a great way to earn less than inflation and slowly lose your purchasing power.

You're young and have a good 30-35 years to invest. The stock market has averaged, what, like 7% over the last 200 years?

I would invest 80% in an index fund with low expense ratios and 20% in an index bond fund. Then pay into it as much money as you can. With as good of an income as you have, you should be at least maxing out a Roth IRA every year.

As others have pointed me to, check out Vanguard. They seem to have the lowest expense ratios.

ANy idea which index funds would be best and which bond funds would potentially be the most profitable?  Is Vanguard a good company compared to EJones, Fidelity, and such etc....  Whats the best company to open a Roth with and which kind of Roth (trad. or) should I get?

Purchasing bullion is not supposed to be about making money, it is about preserving your wealth.  That is why I would not recommend going all in but definitely some percentage especially at the current low prices.  As for the market, yes great way to build money but I would not at the current overly valued market.  Sit on a cash stockpile and wait for the correction for a buying opportunity.

You have many years ahead of you before you retire, so just start buying into a couple of mutual funds or index funds each and every month.  You'll be surprised how fast it will grow if you're good about putting $300-$500 per month in there.  I use www.sharebuilder.com and I have it setup to automatically pull $750 out of my checking account on the first Tuesday of the month and invest in whatever I have chosen.  They charge a reasonable $4.00 trade fee per mutual fund or stock, so if you're starting with a lower monthly investment amount, you might just consider buying one mutual fund.  I'm a fan of the Fidelity Contra fund.  It has a good fund manager and that's costs a little bit, but I think it's worth it.

Link to Yahoo Finance FCNTX

Good luck.

I am in a state retirement system.  Aside from that, to generate extra income over the long term, I invest $100 a month into 1 of 3 mutual funds. It's not much, but over the course of 20-40 years, there will be a lot of money there. Getting my babies hospital bill taken care of then will increase as much as I can.

I have a little silver, but it makes me no money.  Mutual funds pay cash on specific dates.

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Vanguard is up there with the best of 'em. Keeping your expenses low keeps more money in your funds which then compounds over time, so choose funds that meet your objectives and have low expense ratios (ideally less than 0.3).

An index fund has stocks from a representative part of the market that allows for the fund to mirror what the whole stock market does. Look at an S&P 500 index fund. Historically, index funds outperform many other mutual funds.

Most people get Roth IRA's. You put after-tax money into it and then when you withdraw it at retirement, it's all tax free.

Hopefully ar-jedi will be along soon to set you straight.

VTSMX and VBMFX at a percentage of your age in bonds is the generic answer. You could do a lot worse.

I have had my best luck, with consistant returns with annuities.My blended funds seems to soar, then dive and lose all of their gains.The annuities seem to just keep plugging along, not gaining a ton, but never losing.
I am  an investment small fry, with only $70 k, but i hate nothing worse then seeing a loss, when i check them every 3 mos.
All  of my friend that live for investments, think i  am dumb, but this is what makes me sleep good at night.
Another thing i wouod say, is spread your $  around.Try  differet things, see what works for you, and makes you comfortable.Me personally, stocks scare me.

if you have wells fargo - go open a roth ira there - invest in dividends paying stocks and they will reinvest at o cost - watch your expenses and do your research.

Red

Therein lies the problem. I don't even think gold has outpaced inflation, so what's the point of holding it?

Timing the market is a fool's errand. For a young guy, if he buys in, and it keeps going up, his portfolio grows in value. If it goes down in value, he should keep buying even more because he literally has decades to grow his money.

There's literally no upside to buying gold or sitting on cash.

So just keep buying into these index funds (VTSMX and VBMFX and similiar) every month for awhile till I get an IRA going sound at least decent enough to get started?

No. Open the IRA, then buy those funds within the IRA. That way, you will not have any tax liabilities.

Depends on what your tolerance to risk is. Can you handle a 50% loss without panicking and selling at the bottom? That would probably be a worse case. If you think you would continue to invest after a large loss then maybe 75% total stock market index fund and 25% total bond market index. Dollar cost average and don't stop if the market is down. That's what saved me in 2008. I took a big loss but upped my 401k contributions from 5% to 15% after the crash. Within 2 years I was showing a profit again. If you think you might sell after a loss maybe 50/50 or 25% stock, 75% bond. Go with a Vanguard account. They have the lowest expense ratios.



If you have the time to research stocks there are some individual stocks priced cheaply now. All of my stock holdings are individual stocks now. Maybe I'm wrong but I believe the market as a whole is over priced. I look for stocks that have a long history of increasing dividend payments. At least 10 years with no breaks. I also look for a low PE, debt level, and positive free cash flow for 5 years. A yield of 3 - 6% seems like a good target also. Anything much higher than 6% I've found usually has bad financials. Stocks I've bought this year XOM, RDS.B, T, MSFT, BBL, SLB, STO, BABA (more of a bet on the last 2). I'm watching QCOM, SO, and CNP. I'll probably pick up SO Monday even though it has a higher PE and debt than I like. If you're going to look at one thing only, look at the cash flow statement. If they can't maintain a positive free cash flow without debt or new shares then it should be a big warning sign.

The amount you are talking about is pretty nominal, but it's a good way to get into the habit of investing.

That said, this is a bad time to buy equities, and a worse time to buy bonds.   incidentally, before you ever buy bond funds, make sure you understand exactly how they work.   (It's the opposite of what you think)


Dividend paying stocks hold up better in downturns, and also pay you whether or not the market is rising.    Just make sure they are with solid, reputable companies.  

Silver is a good bet right now.      Buy recognizable coins. US, Canadian, British, etc.      

Every Man should have an ammo can full of Pm's.   You never know when you'll need some portable wealth.   You may never need it, but it's good to know it's there.

I think its important to realize that PM is not the major investment you are going to count on. It is a good investment as a small percentage of your overall wealth, but is no substitute at all for 401k,s Stocks, Bonds, or IRA's. Diversify, and come up with reasonable percentages. Having PM on hand is great, for various reasons, but for your retirement it shouldn't be your main concern.

 

I don't consider PMs to be an investment.  Stocks are an investment, real estate is an investment, even bonds are an investment.

PMs are either a speculation, (I have done this), or a form of insurance, (I am still doing this).

Speculation is some thing to consider after you have mastered the art of investment.  I would accumulate stocks before I would consider any major amount of PMs.

And yes, stocks, RE, and bonds can also be highly speculative.  There is no investment which doesn't have some speculative part to it.

Speculation is a lot like drinking.  It is lots of fun, but you do need to slow down every so often.

My last speculation in silver?  I was short, which was fun, but not very tax efficient.

and to be VERY specific, he needs to open a ROTH IRA.  Opening a Traditional IRA is not in his best interest at his income level.  All he'll be able to do is put money in there and file Form 8606 until he retires, then he gets to pay his tax on the gains.  The ROTH IRA is the best tax advantaged option he has right now because its all post tax and he won't have to pay any capital gains.  Plus he can pull out the original money invested tax free should there be a need or other qualified usage.

Appreciate the replies gents.  I will do a Roth Ira probably in the coming few months.  As for right now I think I will invest in a few index funds with the limited starting amount that I do have or should I wait.  It should be no issue for me to max out the Ira within the alloted time.

Agreed.

NO.  Roth IRA now.

 

Just an FYI:  Those funds have a $3,000 minimum investment each.  There are funds that you can get in to for less, like Vanguard's STAR fund (VGSTX) with a $1,000 minimum to get you started (designed for starters/ kid accts, etc), you can buy in to that and exchange it later for one of the market funds (I would go total stock market next until you hit $6,000, then split to Total Bond Market with new contributions to total stock until you hit a ratio that you are comfortable with).  Your contributions to an IRA are limited by congress (amount changes every year, $5,500 for 2015).  If these amounts sound high you need to rethink your finances, putting in the maximum amount should be a no brainer especially at your income level.  Good luck.

If you have more questions ask.  Most of the previous responses are spot on for the direction you should be going, as with anything on ARFCOM, you will get some extreme suggestions.
For more detailed information try reading at bogleheads.org  Maybe pick up their book "The Boglehead's Guide to Investing", the book taught me a lot and changed my outlook tremendously.

Just read through that. Outstanding book.

Gonna pick up that book at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or similar over the weekend.  Quick question should I wait till I have the 1,000 minimum and use Vanguard to open the ROTH IRA or should I open an account with Fidelity, Etrade, ScottTrade etc... now?  So I shouldn't invest in individual stocks right away just get  some mutual funds or index funds going first. Then invest in individual stocks?  I plan to max the Roth out every year.

You should play around with the websites of Fidelity, Vanguard, etc. to see which one you like best.  There is nothing wrong with sitting on cash until you've done enough research to know what you're doing.

 

I would open the account and put your deposits in, in CASH for now.

Keep putting in until you get to an entry point so you don't get hit with big fees... you can get different investor "classes" of mutual funds depending on your investment. For example, if I buy $2500 worth of a mutual fund from Fidelity, the expense ratio isn't as good as if I buy $10k at once.

If you can't save up for the larger amounts in a reasonable amount of time, go ahead and get the smaller amount... just be aware that the amount you buy-in with will affect the performance, if even slightly, down the road.

Buy a book over the different types of investing.   Decide what fits your risk level and your abilities, mainly your time to dedicate to it.  Then get started, small and get ready to make mistakes.  That is how you learn.   I personally would never invest in bonds.   Look over there historical averages and you will loose to inflation.  That is your biggest enemy, that and your own emotions.  Best book i have read lately on this is The Single Best Investment.  It's focused on dividends. Why anyone would invest in bonds when T is putting off a 5.6% yield is beyond me.  Bonds have no upside and if interest rates go up a huge downside.  Dividend stocks with long track records have better yields, less downside risk in this environment and UPSIDE potential.  

Full disclosure I have been ivesting my own money for about 6 months with the long term goal of living off the dividend income.

I created an account with fidelity and threw $200 hundred in it as far as Vanguard, Fidelity etc... Fidelity allows you to open a Roth with a deposit of 200 initally then 200 a month for a no cost/fee Roth from what I understood.  Should I wait to start buying till i get more money in the account or start buying stocks, funds etc... now.  I just paid off my wedding so I have no bills other than mortgage now car was just paid off a week ago.  Looking for advice on what to do with the 200 which funds or should I go stocks now until i get $2500 to invest in their mutual funds?  My wedding is two weeks away after it I plan to max out the Roth within a matter of a month or so.  Any investment help would be appreciated as I'm just starting out.  I really haven't had time to check out any books yet on investing as I've been working 60 hours a week and getting the final touches on the wedding done with the soon to be.  Thanks in advance for any of your knowledgeable responses on what I could or should do.