Years ago, I was one of the first 500 graduates of the College For Financial Planning (was even part of the adjunct faculty for a time). Nearly all of financial planning is straightforward... except for investing. No certainty at all... fraught with risk... no assurance of success regardless of what you do or don't. There is no "do this and you win".
straightforwardness of all financial planing here was and is built on more or less on straightforward American law want to do financial planning in Russia for example? what was allowed yesterday - forbidden tomorrow, or even worse - still allowed but only for few ones... the rest will now play by the unwritten rules at the whim of the government... America is going in that direction too so very possible that the financial planning of today will not survie the review 10 years from now, and not because of the volatility of the market but beacuase of volatility of the law
do you really think 500 companies are just going to keep making things nobody wants? While you are sitting on gold or cash our friend will be buying companies that are constantly adapting to the changing marketplace. That's what they do. And that's why all young men that buy stocks end up with more money than those who were betting on doom and gloom. You do know that those 500 stocks rotate and those that can't adapt get dropped and those that succeed get added. If it ever gets to the point where all 500 stocks can never make any money anymore I doubt anybody will give a shit about your gold or paper dollars. What good will it do? There will be no more surviving companies to buy anything from. Just goldbugs sitting on the sidewalk, "Hey man! Can you give me a cigarette for some gold?" "Sorry pal, I can't smoke a Krugerrand."
agree but this probably applies to almost everything in live i remember a guy, he was Armenian, in my 5th grade in Soviet Union's elementary school, who was left behind two or three years already he could not do any multiplication, addition barely... but comparing to the rest of the class was older and therefore physically stronger than everybody, bullying most of the class i remember how our math teacher was telling him: listen what are you going to do in this life, you know nothing, you complete idiot (in Russia teachers can tell staff like that) ? on that he replied: do not worry about me, I can always count the money... many yeas passed, Afghanistan happened, me and my classmates went in different direction and soon were in different parts of the world, I somehow found out that he was in the prison a few times,and then become one of the godfathers of Siberian mafia by the time perestroika happened he was selling timber to japan, urea to china, metals somewhere else, etc ...he became on of the richest men in Russia... in mid nineties i met him in New York in the middle of the Brodway , astoundingly he recognized me.. what he is doing here? buying an bank... few years ago i heard a news that he and his sons were gunned down in Moscow... as I told to newbie: invest in yourself.. just be careful what you wish for
My sister just got a new job that pays well and wanted to buy a house as an investment and needs some help with the down. The other deal they are just wondering if I want to get in on it to get my foot into some real estate.
So I am probably going to invest some money into real estate then I will invest the rest in some vanguard etfs (total stock market, S&P 500, maybe the healthcare etf since that seems to be taking off with Obamacare???) a couple blue chips and then maybe some companies that could possibly take off in a couple years due to advances in technology. Is this good? Also had another question, I was researching day trading and then stumbled upon stochastics and the whole idea of the 80 20 lines, where if its above 80% that means it overbought (sell immediately) and if its below 20% its oversold (buy immediately) how accurate is this method? and also for the ones who do day trades do you guys use normal online brokers like scottrade, etrade, etc.? If so that seems like itd be expensive since they charge you per a transaction.
Stick with one plan or another. Avoid going in too many different directions at once. I liked your original plan. Real Estate can be a good investment, and also a bad one. It has its own problems. Do not make personal investments in real estate when you are 19 years old. Wait until you finish your education and are somewhat settled in one place. Personal investments in real estate come with high transaction costs, and often high sweat equity (do you have the time?, when you should be concentrating on getting an education. ) Generally speaking, unless you are a real estate broker or professional real estate flipper, you will be locked into a real estate investment for some years before you can realize a reasonable rate of return. There are exceptions for those that are experienced and knowledgeable; but you are neither at this point in your life. You would be dependent on others' opinions; that's always a dangerous state to be in. Stick to your original plan because it does not require much depth of experience or market knowledge, and can be done successfully when you are young and inexperienced.. You can branch out later as you acquire more knowledge, and capital. Keep your eyes and ears wide open, ask many questions, and learn. I think you said you want to be an actuary. Very few know what they want to do in life when they are 19, and you may change your mind. Nevertheless, you have an idea of what interests you, so follow up on it. Call up an actuary out of the blue, introduce yourself and ask them if they will talk to you about what they do and give you the benefit of their experience. I guarantee they will be so flattered that you are interested in becoming an actuary that they will be delighted to meet you and give you advice. Talk to as many professional actuaries as you can.