Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - I want to start investing, where to start?

Bamrak · 12-24-2003, 07:42 PM

1. get out of debt- if not you're basically borrowing money to invest, and chances our your return won't match your loan %.

2. if you have a matching 401k at work, invest to the max of their contribution, after that go to Roth IRA's. They grow tax free, so more for your bucks. Ideally you want to invest about 15% of your income. If your 401k and the Roth's don't meet that, I would suggest growth stock mutual funds with at least a 15-25 year track record with around 10-12% overall growth.

3. while investing, begin saving for a rainy day. I would think 4-6 months of your income in a decent money market fund for easy access.

If you do those things, you'll be ahead of 95% of the people in the US. I've been following Dave Ramsey's plan for a while, and he has made a huge impact on my finances, I've paid off $13k in debt in about a year, which obviously makes me a believer that it works. I'm 25 and will be buying a $150,000 house with cash in less than 10 years.

12-24-2003, 07:42 PM	#9 (permalink)
Bamrak Enter Title Here Location: Tennessee	1. get out of debt- if not you're basically borrowing money to invest, and chances our your return won't match your loan %. 2. if you have a matching 401k at work, invest to the max of their contribution, after that go to Roth IRA's. They grow tax free, so more for your bucks. Ideally you want to invest about 15% of your income. If your 401k and the Roth's don't meet that, I would suggest growth stock mutual funds with at least a 15-25 year track record with around 10-12% overall growth. 3. while investing, begin saving for a rainy day. I would think 4-6 months of your income in a decent money market fund for easy access. If you do those things, you'll be ahead of 95% of the people in the US. I've been following Dave Ramsey's plan for a while, and he has made a huge impact on my finances, I've paid off $13k in debt in about a year, which obviously makes me a believer that it works. I'm 25 and will be buying a $150,000 house with cash in less than 10 years.