i have some extra money i have been saving. i have been thinking about putting it in mutual funds. any advise? is it better to use my local bank or some were like etrade? is now a good or bad time to buy?

 

Your best bet is to consult with a financial advisor, your bank SHOULD have one of these. It's a good place to get your feet wet.

If your wanting to "play," then Etrade is your playground.

My suggestion is to get a financial magazine like Barron's or Wall Street Journal and learn how to read it. This way, you can keep up with what your investing in, and get an idea of what you may want to invest in, in the future.

 

Out of curiousity,I wonder what percentage of oil companies the american public owns.
If it is enough we should band together and take the price higher and all dump it the same day. That would be a statement.

I'll bet it wouldn't be enough to **** on.

 

Invest at your own risk in this Economy!............

 

Certain industries do better in a downed economy than others. For example, take somethign we all know and hear about all the time, the Automotive Industry. When the economy takes a plunge (mainly the dollar falls against other currencies), then the Automotive industries take a huge hit.

In another case, take Wal-mart or Sams Club, or Dollar General, places that offer "cheap stuff." In times of Economic struggles, this industry is going to boom, cause everyone is looking for a deal. Am I saying go out and invest in Dollar General or Wal-Mart? (even though Wal-mart is a good safe bet cause it will eventually take over the world, you watch) no.

This isn't the first time we've seen this kind of economic downturn. Look at the 70's. Fuel Prices spiked, inflation went through the roof. What happened? Demand for fuel went down, the speculative bubble burst, and prices dropped from (from what I've read) a whopping $40/barrell to $10/barrell. The worst thing that we can do for the economy is to quit investing and quit spending, all that is going to do is drive the economy further and further down, and we have the Great Depression Version 2.

Just my .02

 

Good post!

 

Alright... To be honest, a mutual fund is most likely not the best place to put your money if you are interested in "investing" it. I use my mutual fund like a checking account and use it to buy normal things through it. There are some general kinds of mutual funds (bond, stock, money market, T funds, index) etc etc... Then also hedge funds.. (not going into that)... I would suggest if you are talking about under 100,000 to just throw it into a fidelity or Schwab (two good ones that average about a 5%ish annual) and use it as a checking account. There are also within these there are different term and stock index choices. You can make an IRA.. Short term, ultra short term, long term.. etc etc. Some really good books I would suggest anyone, any age, any money status to read is... Rich dad poor dad by Robert T Kiyosaki (this was my first book my dad bought me when I was 16 a couple years ago) then also The montley fool investment guide. 10$ books, worth every penny.

Anyways, mutual funds are okay... especially if you have no experience or are not interested in the volatility of the stock market. Especially in a decline. You could also look into getting some CDs with a set year, % rate (if you are not interested in spending a dime of it for that time) or bonds. You could read up a bit and always look into blue chip stocks that are pretty reliable. If you have any questions I could relay them to my dad or I could probably answer for you or anyone.

 

i have been watching the dave ramsey show on fox business. he talks a lot about mutual funds he really likes them. im going to start with about $1000 and im going to put more each month in it.

 

seriously, something you should think about is... starting off with that mutual fund, then start doing research and reading books.... mutual funds wont take your money near as far as other options available. go get Investor guide, montley fool book... easy read... worth 1000$ costs like 10

 

haha true that... let the manager do it for ya. I just don't like the fact you can't capitalize the tax and run it on curves. If you do start a mutual, I would just move all of your money into it and use it as a checking account.

 

i have been doing mutual funds (IRA) since i was 21 (42 now)
i am now up to $5k each, a year for me and my wife. i am not placing my future in social security, if i get it great if not. i will be ok.

i have it taken out of my savings account once a month. basically i pay my self before i ever see the money, this is a good thing to do next time you get a raise, have the extra money put towards the mutual fund (ira). building toward retirement and you get the tax deduction.

If i was saving towards a house downpayment ot short term goal i would stick to money market or CD's

I started my son one 10 years ago. I started him a fund drafting $100 per month. it is now worth $21k (american funds, growth)

i dont have the time , skill or crystal ball to time the market or move money daily.

 

Check out these sector funds. You can target a specific sector or industry. The energy sector funds are performing well, all things considered.

http://personal.fidelity.com/product...products.shtml

 

Mutual Funds are normally pretty safe bet you have some extra cash sitting around. You've got the right idea by wanting to invest rather than spend.
Have you thought about fully-funding an IRA? That might come in handy come retirement time, especially if you've got a million+ saved up by then