Saving for the future.

[Bumbo]

My plan going forward is to wait until one month of investing then move things around, hopefully without a huge loss. Then I will take approx $200-400/month and invest in to the ones that are working....how does everyone else choose where to continue adding to their portfolio when you have 10+ investments.

There is a difference between trading and investing.

A really smart investor I know once told me. "Money is like soap... the more you handle it, the faster it goes away."

Aside from index funds and ETFs, my goal is to buy companies I understand and believe in. I buy for keeps, and let time do it's magic.

 

[leftyguns21]

I am investing, what I meant by trade is dropping the ETFs/ indexes that are not working and combine with the ones that are. I think I am going to drop the Fidelity total market and Fidelity 500 in lieu of ARK. I also have a few in actual companies. Most are not doing well but I have faith long term they will rebound. I am taking a risk on some of the corona vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna. So far I am very down but not in panic mode just yet. fingers crossed they bounce back in a fury

 

[sn_85]

I finally took the jump in to stocks/investments. I took around $10k of 'extra' funds I have. This is after all the bills are paid, 401k is being maxed, emergency fund. I do not have my house paid off but I am borrowing at a very low rate and my mortgage is very very low. I had this money sitting in a high interest savings not doing much, I am hoping to get a better return in stocks and long term growth.

The stocks I chose are growth and a few ETF's/Indexes. I picked up a few EV growth like Tesla, SHLL, WKHS and the ETF's I have picked up were ARKK and ARKF both have done very well YTD, out performed the S&P. They have a higher fee than the Fidelity total market Index funds (got a few shares here too) but the performance is much better so I think its worth it. It is addicting, I watch the market all day checking trends and what is working or not working so I can re-allocate at the end of August. First day I was up $355 and super stoked, few days later I am only up $56 total in the portfolio. Which really isn't that bad for only 10 days.

My plan going forward is to wait until one month of investing then move things around, hopefully without a huge loss. Then I will take approx $200-400/month and invest in to the ones that are working....how does everyone else choose where to continue adding to their portfolio when you have 10+ investments. Do you continue with higher risk ETFs/Index's or do you do dividend stocks for passive income? I picked up a few shares of AT&T for their 7% dividend. Not sure if I should continue to pick these up and amass a stock pile for the dividends or continue with the riskier ETFs.

I am investing, what I meant by trade is dropping the ETFs/ indexes that are not working and combine with the ones that are. I think I am going to drop the Fidelity total market and Fidelity 500 in lieu of ARK. I also have a few in actual companies. Most are not doing well but I have faith long term they will rebound. I am taking a risk on some of the corona vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna. So far I am very down but not in panic mode just yet. fingers crossed they bounce back in a fury

My approach is to KISS (keep it simple stupid). There's a reason why Bogle and Buffet recommend low cost index funds for most investors. The more you complicate things the more you rack your brains and outsmart yourself. Everyone wants to beat the market but how many can be successful for the long term?

If you're starting out a 3 fund portfolio is not a bad idea and essentially what I use in my 401k. 75% US total market, 15% Int'l, and 10% US bonds. Keep investing and every few years rebalance as needed depending on risk tolerance. It's a dead simple strategy and requires little to no time at all. I don't have to do much research and pretend like I'm the next great stock picker. I'm a little more high risk in my Roth IRA, mostly large cap growth indexes but only use 2 different fidelity index funds. I have an HSA as well and it's all in S&P 500.

I think the important thing is really just the consistency part. Invest automatically, dollar cost average, leave it alone and never touch it until you retire. Seeking performance gains is great but I like the ease, consistency, and stability of a total market or S&P500 index fund over a 30 year period.

 

[Jernik]

Well, I can't save money for the future, I spend every penny. I should probably earn more..So, I'm looking for ways to make good money online. If you know anything about this, please share your ideas with me. At first, I wanted to bet on sports, but then I realized that this is a random profit that can turn into losses if I don't win anything. I recently found an article on Facebook about retail arbitrage yourmoneygeek.com and I think this is a good way to earn extra money. But I haven't tried myself in sales yet if you have a couple of recommendations I will appreciate it.

Another approach is to look at your habits as a way to "increase earnings".

Just as an example, say you are a pack a day smoker who makes $30,000 a year... those smokes cost you what, $7 a pack times 365 = $2,555/yr. If you quit smoking, the savings would be equivalent to an 8.5% pay raise.

But there are other things. The wife and I spend $ on craft beers and wine - we could cut this if we wanted to and save the money. Being on these forums, do we really, honestly need to spend all that money on mods? Most of us simply want to and like to - again, easy savings. Eat at restaurants often? Maybe try making meals at home to cut cost there. If you've already cut everything out, then yeah, your only option is to find a way / develop skills to make more money. Even better if you can do both - cut spending AND earn more.

 

[Bumbo]

I am investing, what I meant by trade is dropping the ETFs/ indexes that are not working and combine with the ones that are. I think I am going to drop the Fidelity total market and Fidelity 500 in lieu of ARK. I also have a few in actual companies. Most are not doing well but I have faith long term they will rebound. I am taking a risk on some of the corona vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna. So far I am very down but not in panic mode just yet. fingers crossed they bounce back in a fury

IMO month or two is not a long enough runway to really see if a fund or stock is going to be successful. If you are doing all this "rebalancing" in a taxable account, you will pay tax on gains when you sell. The biggest downside is your money will start to lose momentum, and the clock for dividends will reset… which is why many say never to sell. You want that money to grow tax deferred for a long as possible.

S&P500 is the index to beat… and most people don’t. I started investing with mutual funds and if you graph that against SPY, it’s a pretty sad sight. The mistake I made when I started investing was not realizing I had time on my side. I was way too conservative for my age.

If you have time on your side, I would pick 3-4 different funds and religiously invest in them, regardless of if the market is up or down.

This isn’t investment advice, but if I had to start right now, and pick 4 to buy and hold for keeps, it would be: SPY, DIA, BRKB, and QQQ

Slow and steady wins the race. Watching grass grow isn’t always exciting, but if you keep watering it and don’t mow your lawn for 20 years, you are going to have a shit load of grass.

You are also starting to invest during one of the most bizarre and uncertain times. Expect volatility. Don't panic and don't trade on emotions. But that's all easier said than done when 50% of your portfolio value disappears, but it’s not gone until it's realized.

 

[sn_85]

I am investing, what I meant by trade is dropping the ETFs/ indexes that are not working and combine with the ones that are. I think I am going to drop the Fidelity total market and Fidelity 500 in lieu of ARK. I also have a few in actual companies. Most are not doing well but I have faith long term they will rebound. I am taking a risk on some of the corona vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna. So far I am very down but not in panic mode just yet. fingers crossed they bounce back in a fury

I think this brings up a very important point. Had you invested in a total market or an S&P 500 you wouldn't be down. No one should be down YTD if you invested in a low cost index fund. Even when the S&P500 dropped 35% - 40% or whatever it was exactly in late Feb through March there has been a sharp V-shaped recovery since April. YTD S&P 500 is still up like 5% and even if you only started investing a few weeks ago you should be up. So anyone who thought they could outsmart the market or went to cash were the only ones who lost and are losing this year. However the savvy investor who was dollar cost averaging was putting even more money into the S&P 500 when it was valued at 2200 is reaping the rewards now. Point being is those who did nothing, didn't change their gameplan, and just rode it out are the ones ahead. Those who thought they could outsmart the market are down.

 

[leftyguns21]

all great advice from above. I do have time on my side which is where the ETFs are coming in play. A majority of my investing will be in these. I spent a lot of energy looking up historical data before investing in the ones I have chosen. from here on I will keep contributing to these and play the long game

the other ones, are my attempt at profiting quicker. I have up'd my portfolio now to $14k which is where I am comfortable at for my current situation. I invested in companies I use/like and have a long track record of doing good and a couple of long shots. One long shot has really sunk but again I feel good in the long term, and looking 3-4 years out.

 

[AKmoney]

A lot of folks like to say "I'm going to invest in ETFs." Well, ETFs are pretty broad. There's a zillion of them. But to echo some of the more recent posts, the only ones you should pay attention to are the ones that replicate the indexes. You only need three categories to cover everything: Total Stock Market (US), Total International Stock and Total Bond. Pick the right asset allocation between these three categories (the 75/15/10 ratio noted earlier is a good place to start) and dollar cost average into them as often as you can. Do it via your 401k, do it via your Roth IRA and do it in your cash/taxable account with whatever you have left over after monthly expenses. It's brain dead simple and requires zero thinking, plus there is zero chance you'll be stressing out over trying to time a buy/sell at the right time. Hint: You can't time the market.

 

[layout4]

Man oh man. The market has been brutal past few days. I'm saving up for a brand new 4Runner. But now, with the stock market like that, I feel like it would be better to throw the money into the market. I would have some decent return to purchase the car in a few years. What do you guys think? The total stock market fund has my attention right now FSKAX vs. VTSAX: Are They the Same? Which Fund Is Better? - UseFidelity

 

[Oldmanb777]

It's brutal. I've lost probably close to 3 yrs income since the first of the year. Being retired, I can't make it up, it a large part of our income for the rest of our lives. Between that and inflation, its got my attention. I expected this, and did some adjustments, last year, hope its enough. Who knows.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Man oh man. The market has been brutal past few days. I'm saving up for a brand new 4Runner. But now, with the stock market like that, I feel like it would be better to throw the money into the market. I would have some decent return to purchase the car in a few years. What do you guys think? The total stock market fund has my attention right now FSKAX vs. VTSAX: Are They the Same? Which Fund Is Better? - UseFidelity

Uhhh dude well you have you remember that you can't sell the stocks for 2 years from purchase date IF you want to avoid the gains counting as income, basically to qualify for long term capital gains. Always a good time to buy stocks. And it's definitely not a bad week to have cash. But then again inflation is crappy.

Really the only solution is to make so much money you stop caring about the ups and downs.

Of course that's not a real solution for like 99.9% of us but oh well.

And as for your question about which fund is better I'd suggest you just read the free MorningStar brief and make up your mind. Or just google the 'vs' with the fund names.
.

 

[BrianSD_42]

It's brutal. I've lost probably close to 3 yrs income since the first of the year. Being retired, I can't make it up, it a large part of our income for the rest of our lives. Between that and inflation, its got my attention. I expected this, and did some adjustments, last year, hope its enough. Who knows.

If you are talking about stocks value then this is really a misunderstanding. Unless you sold (withdrew) then you didn't lose anything. You aren't planning on being dead right? If you don't die and don't sell and the market goes back up in 6 months then you lost ZERO.

As for inflation well it's real. I tried to tell everyone including all my "more liberal" family that we shouldn't "just mail out 5 trillion in checks" (basically) because it will cause inflation. Well here it is. It's real.
.
.

 

[Oldmanb777]

We have to withdraw for our living expenses. But thats different. Yes its a "paper" loss. If the market rebounds before we need the funds, then all is good. Since we have to withdraw a certain amount every month, that part is lost to the lower market. Kinda like dollar cost averages, only in reverse. AND the big part, we can't make it back and don;t have the time to wait for the market to rebound in 10+ yrs or whatever it takes.

 

[BrianSD_42]

That sucks. I def get it. I’m pretty confident the market will go back up. A lot of enterprise software companies are KILLING IT in sales revenue and cloud companies too. The market will go up and down but overall long term I worry much more about things like housing inflation. Generally speaking What is the point of bragging about how much houses are worth now (yay Ive got equity) when you know the children will never be able to afford to live in your neighborhood? Its terrible.

 

[Jakeepoo3]

A lot of folks like to say "I'm going to invest in ETFs." Well, ETFs are pretty broad. There's a zillion of them. But to echo some of the more recent posts, the only ones you should pay attention to are the ones that replicate the indexes. You only need three categories to cover everything: Total Stock Market (US), Total International Stock and Total Bond. Pick the right asset allocation between these three categories (the 75/15/10 ratio noted earlier is a good place to start) and dollar cost average into them as often as you can. Do it via your 401k, do it via your Roth IRA and do it in your cash/taxable account with whatever you have left over after monthly expenses. It's brain dead simple and requires zero thinking, plus there is zero chance you'll be stressing out over trying to time a buy/sell at the right time. Hint: You can't time the market.

Escape the system! That's an investment! Invest in $bior biora therapeutics. They are about to blow a giant wad after the dumb FDA approves their smart drug delivery capsule by the end of the year. Replacing injection drugs mainly humira. Huge

 

[baddna]

I'm going to pose a scheme, an outline, for investment considerations.

In an ideal world, someone who wants to invest would follow some steps (and some have little directly to do with actual dollars):

1) Complete and notarize legal paperwork if >18yo - Will, Living Will, Power of Atty for medical and legal needs.
2) Know cash flow and if it isn't + every year, budget behavior so it is (spend less than take home, invest the rest).
3) Work retirement benefits - contribute up to the full match on any employer tax-differed benefit (401/403/427/TSP/etc). It's a free raise -- with rare exceptions never decline it.
4) Build an emergency/oh-sh*t fund through a CD ladder, I-bonds, and savings/money market account for at least 3-12 months' worth of budget in #2.
5) Health insurance - for the vast majority of people, choosing a HDHP plan that allows HSA accounts is sufficient. If it's right for your needs, open and contribute to a HSA investment acct up to the max allowed by IRS. HSA savings accts aren't the worst choice -- but they pay interest<inflation. (The worst choice is no insurance, the second worst choice is too much insurance sold by fear.) If interest rates on debt are > than average gains from HSA investments, allocate more to debt than HSA and/or #7 or #8.
6) No debt -- if one is in debt, change habits now to start paying it down every month, no exceptions. If interest rates on debt are > than average gains from investments, pay debt before further investing (except for #4 & #5 - do simultaneously).
7) Explore ROTH investment accounts, and contribute up to the IRS max allowed.
8) Self-employed need to discover SEP-IRAs and alike.
9) Live.

Personally, I'm a huge believer in long-term very diversified holdings such as VTI. Everyone needs to discover their own comfort zones and there are thousands if not millions of web posts, books, podcasts, pundits, courses out there. One doesn't have to spend a dime on ANY of them - most are free to download, listen, check out at the library. Keep learning -- but don't let analysis paralysis stop you from doing something today or this week. The people who don't ever start are the ones who always wish they had. The power of compounding is in your youth or my yesterdays.

With the above tackled, and you're doing that Living thing, one may consider investing in taxable accounts, or upping their work retirement program, or investing in other ways (education, play, charity, your own business/real estate). I don't consider a home mortgage to be a debt to pay off ASAP unless it's interest % > investment gains. Heck, I'm not sure owning a home is always a great idea, as renting has real $ and non-tangible advantages in the short term.

 

[fourwd1]

^^^ So, you read my book.

 

[baddna]

^^^ So, you read my book.

What book? Always willing to learn...

 

[Flyer]

IF the stock market recovers well, we will be okay. My main thing is to get my son (he is a toddler) into a top university or a university in Europe. Then he can have options- stay in the US or leave. Ideally we will stay close to him...wherever he is.

 

[baddna]

IF the stock market recovers well, we will be okay. My main thing is to get my son (he is a toddler) into a top university or a university in Europe. Then he can have options- stay in the US or leave. Ideally we will stay close to him...wherever he is.

Historically, it always recovers. This one is coming from highs that weren't justifiable by normal economic growth parameters. The ridiculous tax cuts from 2017-2018, deficit spending well before the 2020 Covid largess, continued lack of restraint or sane fiscal policies (both parties) ... afraid it may be a few years before real economic balance comes back into play so stagflation may be the only way to pay off the past borrowing of time. But eventually it'll come back and as deregulated as it is, the boom/bust cycle will continue.

Doing 529s or Coverdells for the kid? Ask your family/friends not to piss away cash on silly toys or trendy cloths/accessories. Have them fund your kid's future instead. Put the kid to work and have him build his own Roth from earned income. Teach him well; your future bills will not be an issue.