Quote:
Originally Posted by thesurgeon
If you're gonna need the money in a couple of years, don't invest it....
60K isn't 60K if you need it soon.
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This. If you'll have a NEED for the money in the (relatively) short term, your first priority should be to avoid risk. Second should be liquidity. I call it "maintaining a strong cash position."
Quote:
Originally Posted by snowy
I'd rather pay off my debt first.
I truly envy those who do not have that consideration. To me, the question posed in the OP is moot because all I can think of is paying off my debt.
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I'm with Snowy. I'd do that also. I would always (and did) pay off debt first. The only exception would be if I had a plan at work that offered a really good match. Any employer match is, of course, an instant 100% return on the amount matched.
Otherwise, paying off $10k of high interest debt could return much more than investing $60k in something safe and liquid. And you would still have $50k to hoard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by telekinetic
Buy guns. Lots of guns. Guns are the only toy that appreciates.
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Other toys appreciate, if (big if) you buy at the right price. I'm thinking of sports memorabilia and collectible musical instruments, specifically, but those kind of things tend to be illiquid because of the limited market.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hunnychile
American Funds.
But first get a good experienced broker who knows those funds extremely well and....
PS - I've lost $80K before to someone who drove the Jag and was recommended to me by a person who was a salesman buddy (!!!) and this investor dude lived in a huge house in Dallas, - except, on credit, of course...plus he was never available for meetings. Geez, I wish that someone had told me to do my homework back then.
Hope this info helps someone else out there. Good luck. Be cautious and trust your gut. If it sounds too good it's probably bullshit.
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American Funds is a great family, but a lot of brokers are nothing more than salesmen. They don't have much of their own skin in the game. I wouldn't trust the advice of someone who shows off a lot of flashy depreciating high status assets. It just shows their bad judgement. Warren Buffett, who could afford anything, drives a ten year old car. What does that tell you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
See, that's the thing, gg. When you need the money, it's different from money you don't necessarily need. You should keep the two separate when investing it. Don't gamble with the downpayment on your home, especially if you have a plan in two years' time.....
Two years isn't a lot of time. Not with money that's already slotted for a specific use when the time is up.
---------- Post added at 09:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 AM ----------
EDIT:...There is too much uncertainty and potential volatility currently, that I wouldn't be surprised to see most of the recent gains of the past year or two wiped out again.
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Good advice, Baraka. I wouldn't count on growth in the next couple of years, at least not in the USA.
Some banks, usually in small towns in the midwest and south, offer what they call rewards checking. They take a lot of micromanaging because the require you to do one direct deposit, one electronic bill pay, and use their debit card a dozen or so times. Rates are between 3 and 5% and deposits are limited to something under $25,000 and if you miss jumping through one of the required hoops the rate for that month drops precipitously.
But deposits are FDIC insured and 100% liquid.
I have an account in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that pays 4% on balances up to $25k. IF I remember to use the card. The other stuff is automated.
Lindy