Money Talk - Everyone encouraged to read!

[Mattplusness]

Matt, what are you studying if you dont mind me asking?

Ive looked into CD's and a few mutual funds, They are definitely good investments to make cause like you said they tend to be safer than alternate routes. It seems you need to invest larger quantities for longer periods of time to really see any real profit. Im not discrediting them, I know Ill have money in funds at some point, I just know that Im not at the point yet where I can put enough into these investments to see the kind of returns Id like to see.

Do you have any specific funds in mind? or are you still spinning the idea around in your head?

If my info is wrong, please by all means correct me! I dont want to go around having incorrect information in my head. On the same note, If I happen to learn something that contradicts something I may have already said I will make every effort to correct it. Im no genius, far from it, but I do like to know what im talking about and will make every effort to ensure that my info is accurate. A financial sub forum is an excellent Idea, I meet so many people in my day to day life that just dont know how to manage money. They accrue debt like its the thing to do, charge credit cards to the max, finance things they dont need, sign contracts they haven read... If people were more financially educated EVERYONE would benefit from it.

Right now I am on the business administration track. But I am only in that because I am at a 2 year college before I transfer. I am thinking about going into something along the lines of finance or cost accounting.

As for the mutual funds I am looking at:
1) http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=MUTF:VDIGX

2)http://www.google.com/finance?q=MUTF:temfx

I am paying attention to the two because they are said to pay dividends consistently. So not only do you get the growth of the shares, but also the dividends.

As for real estate, that requires a large chunk of money to get started in, something I don't have the luxury of coming from a combined household income of 100K.

 

[jrinlv]

mmmmm pork bellies..

 

[SOUTHBUDS]

Right now I am on the business administration track. But I am only in that because I am at a 2 year college before I transfer. I am thinking about going into something along the lines of finance or cost accounting.

As for the mutual funds I am looking at:
1) http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=MUTF:VDIGX

2)http://www.google.com/finance?q=MUTF:temfx

I am paying attention to the two because they are said to pay dividends consistently. So not only do you get the growth of the shares, but also the dividends.

As for real estate, that requires a large chunk of money to get started in, something I don't have the luxury of coming from a combined household income of 100K.

Vanguard looks like a really solid fund! They hold stock of a lot of big name companies and seems to be doing good, and like you said, profit on both stock growth and the dividends! 3k minimum is out of reach for now but I will Definitely be keeping tabs on it for later on.

Templeton also looks like a good one! Ill hve to really look into these two tomorrow. Im not a much of an expert on mutual funds to begin with (yet) so i dont think looking at these half asleep is helping me any. I like that it invests in emerging markets.

Are you leaning more towards one than the other or are you looking to invest in both? Templeton is 1k Min, more doable than Vanguard (for me at least) and ill have to look some more into both to form a better opinion. Overall looks like they are both good picks!

Since you obviously like finances and accounting (judging from what you want to study after your 2 year college) can you tell me what are some of the things we should look for when looking to invest money in a mutual fund? Things to look out for? etc..

I would love to have different people here sharing their knowledge on different areas of expertise!

Thanks for your post Matt, both of those funds have sparked my interest and Ill be looking at them closely!

 

[Johnny Retro]

No Problem bro I feel this will be beneficial to me as well as anyone who decides to take part. I know there is something I can learn from everyone I meet, everyone I talk to. I like to network and put myself out there. I LOVE to learn and Im always looking for something else to incorporate into my business plans and thoughts.

I want people to come to this thread and contribute ANYTHING they feel is a good idea, thought, plan, business venture... anything! Its an awesome feeling to educate yourself about something that may be beneficial to YOURSELF. Im so dedicated to this because im SICK of working and devoting the better part of my days, weeks, months and years to an "employer" who will always be better off then and will NEVER depend on me as I would have to depend on them.

Everything you posted about your uncle clicked with me, sounds like a very smart man to me. He did things that I have done and that I plan to do. If he's available and open to you as a resource for knowledge I would love to hear what you can learn from him about the stock market. I know its one of the riskier venues to make money in but I dont plan to jump into it until I understand it completely, or at least as much as possible. I believe in taking educated, well thought out and planned risks.

What kind of classes are you taking and what area are you most interested in? Do you have any plans of investing in real estate? Thats what I have the most experience in right now since I work in the industry, If I can help in any way just let me know! If I cant help you myself Ill look into it and try to come back with something.

I plan on taking classes in the near future, Its hard for me to commit to a class because I only like to learn what I feel is relevant to me and my ideas. I keep an open mind about everything, but I do analyze things and as soon as Ive thought about it, If I feel it wont benefit me then I feel its unnecessary. One of the reasons I dropped out of college and that I never really got interested in it is because you are pretty much FORCED to learn things that are completely irrelevant to the course Im trying to take in life. Not only that but Im supposed to PAY for something that I DIDNT ask for in the first place? No thanks, Ill keep my money and put it into something that WILL benefit me and Ill dedicate my time to something that interests ME.

Anyways, I'd like to see more people here throwing ideas into the pot.

Johny, thanks for the post man we definitely think alike. Maybe you can post here what your learning in your classes and share the wealth with whoever willing to soak it up, I appreciate your input!

Well unfourtunately currently im taking a marketing class..not really my thing
However next semester im taking a economics of wealth class and real estate classes

Very true about classes that are irrelevant to what you want to learn. I know exactly what you mean. I simply have no intrest in whats going on so i do poorly in the class.

And about my uncle, hes an old man with alzheimers so hes incapable of helping me out sadly. His whole finacial situation is a mess tho, not in the way of hes lost money, but finding out where all his stocks, bonds, blue chips, and whatever else he has out there went

I definatly want to invest in real estate in the semi near future. I wana take advantage of the market but im still young and uneducated on the topic.

 

[SOUTHBUDS]

Well unfourtunately currently im taking a marketing class..not really my thing
However next semester im taking a economics of wealth class and real estate classes

Very true about classes that are irrelevant to what you want to learn. I know exactly what you mean. I simply have no intrest in whats going on so i do poorly in the class.

And about my uncle, hes an old man with alzheimers so hes incapable of helping me out sadly. His whole finacial situation is a mess tho, not in the way of hes lost money, but finding out where all his stocks, bonds, blue chips, and whatever else he has out there went

I definatly want to invest in real estate in the semi near future. I wana take advantage of the market but im still young and uneducated on the topic.

One of the best things about real estate is that to understand it at a very basic level all you really need is common sense. Im not saying you dont need to study and read up on it and that there isnt things that you HAVE to go to school for and theres also continuous learning that youve gotta keep up on and things are changing all the time so you also need to be up on those type of things. Theres alos alot of different roads you can take to get into different areas of real estate, good thing is that most of them are al related to each other at some point and they all share some of the same information so once you become knowledgeable in one of the areas youve also picked up a good part of another! Real estate in general though, In My Opinion, to understand the basics of it is incredibly easy!

Ive gotta get to work, ill come back and finish my post tonight. Sorry to hear about your uncle, thats crazy how his money and investments are just out there floating around! Hope all goes well with him!

 

[Puffster]

one of the new avenues my family entered rescently is geo-thermal.great green tech

 

[Mattplusness]

Vanguard looks like a really solid fund! They hold stock of a lot of big name companies and seems to be doing good, and like you said, profit on both stock growth and the dividends! 3k minimum is out of reach for now but I will Definitely be keeping tabs on it for later on.

Templeton also looks like a good one! Ill hve to really look into these two tomorrow. Im not a much of an expert on mutual funds to begin with (yet) so i dont think looking at these half asleep is helping me any. I like that it invests in emerging markets.

Are you leaning more towards one than the other or are you looking to invest in both? Templeton is 1k Min, more doable than Vanguard (for me at least) and ill have to look some more into both to form a better opinion. Overall looks like they are both good picks!

Since you obviously like finances and accounting (judging from what you want to study after your 2 year college) can you tell me what are some of the things we should look for when looking to invest money in a mutual fund? Things to look out for? etc..

I would love to have different people here sharing their knowledge on different areas of expertise!

Thanks for your post Matt, both of those funds have sparked my interest and Ill be looking at them closely!

I've been taught that the single most important and closely looked at by investors should be the EPS (Earnings Per Share). It is located in the statement of income of every publicly traded company. Another one that would be looked at in a mutual fund would be the return on stockholder's equity. That will no be given, but can be easily figured out by dividing (Net Income) by (Average Stockholder's Equity), which is computed by adding the latest year's and the previous year's totals, and diving by 2, and that is your denominator.

In this stock market, after reading House of Cards (the book about the recent stock market crash), one thing I would look for is liquidity. There are two tests, each having their own merit. The current ratio and the acid test.

The current ratio is (Current Assets)/(Current Liabilities).
The acid test is (Quick Assets)/(Current Liabilities). Quick assets being cash, accounts receivable, and any market securities listed in the available for sale section.

 

[SOUTHBUDS]

one of the new avenues my family entered rescently is geo-thermal.great green tech

How are they getting into this venue? What's their interest in it?

 

[SOUTHBUDS]

I've been taught that the single most important and closely looked at by investors should be the EPS (Earnings Per Share). It is located in the statement of income of every publicly traded company. Another one that would be looked at in a mutual fund would be the return on stockholder's equity. That will no be given, but can be easily figured out by dividing (Net Income) by (Average Stockholder's Equity), which is computed by adding the latest year's and the previous year's totals, and diving by 2, and that is your denominator.

In this stock market, after reading House of Cards (the book about the recent stock market crash), one thing I would look for is liquidity. There are two tests, each having their own merit. The current ratio and the acid test.

The current ratio is (Current Assets)/(Current Liabilities).
The acid test is (Quick Assets)/(Current Liabilities). Quick assets being cash, accounts receivable, and any market securities listed in the available for sale section.

Excellent Information! Youre definitely well informed and will buy House of Cards asap to add to my collection of books.

I love the way these formulas work numbers have grown on me and i love looking at them trying to figure out what they are saying and what it means

ill take these formulas and apply them to a few random funds and see how it works out.

Thanks again Matt great info to have

 

[Puffster]

How are they getting into this venue? What's their interest in it?

meshed well w/ biz already owned(equip/personnal)also envir. friendly which is in line w/ how we try do things (always,not just rescently)look into it.wave of future in right cliimate.oversold every original bid in first year