wow, ok. I knew this thread would eventually get negative, a little suprised that it took five pages though. I'll try to clean it up hear and clarify some things. 1. You guys must have stopped reading halfway through some of my posts. For some reason some of you think that I am going to go out tomorrow and trade with 700k even though I have next to know experience and beginner knowledge. I have not even decided what I will do with all of it except for 55k of it (which is like 8 percent of total capital). I'm just throwing ideas around Probably I will put at least 250k in a cd, for now. The rest I do not know yet. 2. The guys who ate ramen and work nights to get through college are no different than me except that I can afford real food and have enough to pay for college. Oh yeah, I will be attending the University of Illinois in the fall but many of you just assumed I would blow off college and try for big bucks in the market (even though I previously stated that I would be attending college). 3. I'm gonna quote myself here, " at times I will be trading with just one or two thousand, but my account will be 55k." This means that I will be trading with a small percentage of that 55k which is in turn a fraction of a percentage of my total net worth. I dont understand how this is a dumbass move. Worse case scenario, I make some horrible trades and lose 5 thousand, (which is the most I would allow myself to lose). 4. sjfan said,"And instead of using that money to pay for your education, you are going to basically blow it. The money will be gone soon enough (700k ain't enough for you live off the interest)." I already said I was going to college, but you were so eager to turn this into a fighting match you didnt care to read the full thread. And 650k (50k taken out for college) at 3 percent is 19500 dollars. How is that not enough to live on when I already have a house to live in?
A fool and his money are soon parted and you're off to a great start... if you even have any and this is not yet another ET thread of make-believe.
I appreciate the advice handle, and this is what I plan to do. I will go to college and slowly learn the markets and how to invest.
So get a J-O-B, job while you learn to trade. It sucks, but many of us did it. I started trading when I was in college and worked at a grocery store at the same time. There are many people here who started off trading while working full time at any number of other careers. This would be a terrible time, at least in my opinion, for you to sell the real estate. Good luck.
What can you learn by losing $55k that you can't learn by losing $5k? Oh, I know, you're not planning to lose.. The thing is there are many mistakes that traders starting out make no matter the preparation. If you want to trade, learn trading 100 share lots. If you want to be a "professional investor" study finance and maybe engineering, math, or comp sci. I would suggest getting experience, a good degree, and let your boon be a gentle wind at your back, making life a bit easier and building wealth. You said something about not thinking you are a normal 18 yr old. This is a big red flag.
Thanks for the advice. I want to be an investor someday and I will be studing finance, math, and science in college, and I will be trading small share lots. I did say something about not being a normal 18 yr old but you sort of took it out of context. I didnt mean I was special, a genius, or some sort of trading oracle compared to all 18 year olds, I just mean I suddenly have a ton of money and properties that not a lot of 18 yr olds have, and thats what makes me "abnormal"
This makes plenty of sense to me. You have just inherited free income for life. Im not sure why you think the cash flows are more positive for equities than real estate, assuming you own it free and clear. Im 28 and if I were you Id go to college and spend each summer traveling a different continent. Shit, I practically did that anyways and I was broke. Learn to trade with as little as possible. Honestly I came into a MUCH smaller sum at your age, though it was a lot at the time, and blew a lot of it trading. You have a serious chance of doing the same, much more than you think. I had read EVERYTHING under the sun (literally 50 books minimum) and Im no dope (perfect SAT at your age). Still, got killed.
Alright, thanks for the replies, a surprisingly high percentage of them were actually positive and helpful, for this forum at least. To summarize, I am going to pay for my first year of college with some of the 55k and I'll put the rest into a trading account and swing trade with several thousand of it. I will be going to college in the fall and I will live in one house and will continue to rent out another. If I get a min. wage job, that combined with rent from one property should be sufficient. I'll probably sell another house, because it is run down and the property taxes are a killer. I now have no idea what to do with the one remaining property. Phew, I need to go to bed
Sounds like your heart is set on trading, here's my suggestion. Like mentioned, open a small account and trade only that small amount, DO NOT add more capital to your account if your up and especially if your DOWN(most likely in the begining) until you're trading without emotion and showing consistent profits. You'll have to determine that on your own. Every individual is different I don't know who you are or your emotional state, but being honest with yourself and willing to learn from --YOUR-- mistakes is critical, personal responsibilty is key. You may be the calmest person on the planet but it's very likely that in the beginning you'll be on one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride. Whatever you do, only seek advice from individuals who are succesful in the field that interests you. Good luck to you Happy
If you are going to trade an account get a non-margin account; use the inverse etf's to short. Do not give yourself the remote possibility of falling for the siren song of high win % terrible risk-reward options plays. Always think of preserving capital first; I inherited some money as well but I did not receive it until I was 25 as it was in a trust, in hindsight it was a very good thing as it allowed me to finish college and get established in a reasonably well paying field (software/IT). I trade on the side but with money I have earned, the inherited money is invested very conservatively, think I-bonds, t-bills, cd's, bank accounts, a small amount of stocks. Think about the sacrifices your family member made to earn that money, imagine facing them and having to explain how you lost it all in the stock market (I know they are gone, but imagining this will keep you conservative if they meant anything to you). Read everything you can about the market, its history, the fine details of the mechanics of order execution, instrument types; be like a sponge. Watch the market every single day, study its movements and feel its flow. Start to trade conservatively, enough size to be emotionally involved but nothing that you can't lose. Be skeptical, almost conspiratorial about everything that happens in the market and especially of commentators, shills, analysts and anyone else; figure out what their agenda is.