197
votes
What options do I have at 26 years old, with 1.2 million USD?
The amount of money you have should be enough for you to live a safe but somewhat restricted life if you never worked again - but it could set you up for just about any sort of financial goal (short ...
- 42k
147
votes
I'm 23 and was given $50k. What should I do?
Here are some possibilities:
pay off the credit cards (and don't incur anymore revolving debt)
if your employment has a 401(k) or 403(b) fully fund (to the maximum extent % possible) and keep doing ...
- 2,070
114
votes
Why are low risk investments so strongly advised for first-time investors?
First-time investors, quite frankly, do not have enough experience to accurately assess their risk appetite. You're willing to "gamble" with that £50/month, but that's because it's just £50, and you'...
- 3,211
110
votes
Accepted
I won USD 50K! Now what should I do with it?
EDITED after OP added more details.
no taxes have been taken out yet.
24% will probably be withheld, taking you down to 38K.
The organization that ran the sweepstakes must withhold 24%. It's the ...
- 50.6k
92
votes
What options do I have at 26 years old, with 1.2 million USD?
Pay off the credit cards. From now on, pay off the credit cards monthly. Under no circumstances should you borrow money. You have a net worth but no external income. Borrowing is useless to you.
$...
- 21k
79
votes
Accepted
Should a high-school student invest their (relative meager) savings?
You should invest in that with the best possible outcome. Right now that is in yourself. Your greatest wealth building tool, at this point, is your future income. As such anything you can do to ...
- 76.1k
70
votes
I'm 23 and was given $50k. What should I do?
First, I would point you to this question:
Oversimplify it for me: the correct order of investing
With the $50k that you have inherited, you have enough money to pay off all your debt ($40k), ...
- 115k
66
votes
Accepted
Why invest for the long-term rather than buy and sell for quick, big gains?
There are people (well, companies) who make money doing roughly what you describe, but not exactly. They're called "market makers". Their value for X% is somewhere on the scale of 1% (that is to say: ...
- 1,370
62
votes
What are the benefits and disadvantages of investing $60-70K in the following methods?
Typical Human Advisor:
Advantages: They can recommend funds and allocations that fit to your portfolio.
Disadvantages: Those who are just fund salespeople in disguise will usually recommend poor-...
- 904
60
votes
What options do I have at 26 years old, with 1.2 million USD?
You need the services of a hard-nosed financial planner. A good one will defend your interests against the legions of creeps trying to separate you from your money.
How can you tell whether such a ...
- 1,111
60
votes
Accepted
Invest $50,000 in cash or borrow $100,000 and get a mortgage?
I can use that property to get a loan for another real estate? Or that's not how loans work?
That's not how secured loans generally work. You could get a mortgage on your rental property, but the ...
- 130k
54
votes
I'm 18 and have 6 grand. What should I do with it?
A Roth IRA is a great idea. You can only put in as much as you earn (as in, get in paychecks) each year, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem for you right now. You're paying nothing in taxes,...
- 35.7k
53
votes
Accepted
Should I invest when in debt?
All else being equal, No
The interest on your debt is quite high and is probably not tax deductable.
Any earnings on your investments would be taxed at about 30% based on your income. To positively ...
- 3,190
52
votes
I'm 18 and have 6 grand. What should I do with it?
Unlike others, I do NOT recommend putting your $6k into a retirement fund this early. It's a bad idea.1
If you're overflowing with money after college and don't know what to do with this $6,000 then, ...
- 3,369
50
votes
Why invest for the long-term rather than buy and sell for quick, big gains?
If they return to their earlier prices
Assuming I don't make too many poor choices
That's your problem right there: you have no guarantee that stocks, will in fact return to their earlier prices ...
- 8,125
48
votes
Should I open a Roth IRA or invest in the S&P 500?
Your question indicates confusion regarding what an Individual Retirement Account (whether Roth or Traditional) is vs. the S&P 500, which is nothing but a list of stocks.
IOW, it's perfectly ...
- 50.6k
47
votes
What options do I have at 26 years old, with 1.2 million USD?
Until you get some financial education, you will be vulnerable to people wanting your money. Once you are educated, you will be able to live a tidy life off this-- which is exactly why this amount ...
47
votes
I won USD 50K! Now what should I do with it?
You make $50/hr and are in debt? This is a serious problem!
The $50K is a distraction.
This is what I'd do:
Pay off any high-interest debts (say 7% and above) up to ~$40k (saving some for taxes, ...
- 1,588
47
votes
Realistically, how much do you need to start investing?
Any amount greater than 0 is fine really.*
Investing great lump sums is akin to timing the market, just set a monthly target and stick to it.** Consistency over the long term is the key to success. ...
- 4,107
41
votes
Is it an OK strategy to sell whenever an investment gains value above a threshold?
This sounds like "timing the market" and is not a viable long-term strategy. You buy when you think a stock will go up, and sell when you think it goes down, or when you want to diversify, ...
- 130k
38
votes
Why are low risk investments so strongly advised for first-time investors?
They may well be concerned that, if the fund does not perform, they could be in trouble for mis-selling further down the line if you made a complaint. Following the financial crash, and various mis-...
- 1,017
35
votes
Can you really always yield profit if you diversify and wait long enough?
"Always" is an absolute, but history does show that in the long run the (EDIT: US) stock market has gone up.
But not continuously up.
And in the long run, you're dead.
Unless you're really ...
- 50.6k
34
votes
Invest $50,000 in cash or borrow $100,000 and get a mortgage?
You've really answered your own question, without even needing to go into the financial details. "I just don't like the idea of getting in debt and not being able to move any time soon." If you want ...
- 11.2k
29
votes
I'm 18 and have 6 grand. What should I do with it?
First, it's great that you're considering these options at all, and that you're trying to be responsible and forward-thinking about planning for your future.
I'm also going to break with the ...
- 444
27
votes
Is it an OK strategy to sell whenever an investment gains value above a threshold?
This feels like a variant of a sunk-cost fallacy. Don't consider the $10k at all in your investing; there's nothing you can do to get it back.
Instead, suppose someone gave you $10.5k worth of stock. ...
- 409
25
votes
Help getting started (I've just opened a trading account)
You're not going to learn anything of significance by investing or trading with only $200 other than how to use the platform of your broker and you could easily do that by opening a FREE paper trading ...
- 75.7k
24
votes
Why invest for the long-term rather than buy and sell for quick, big gains?
On Black Friday, 1929,the market fell from over 350 to just above 200. If you were following your plan then you would buy in at about 200. But look what the market did for two years after Black Friday....
- 2,418
24
votes
Should I invest when in debt?
I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but you are quite wrong in thinking that your investment returns will "probably" be greater than how much you are paying on your debt. Only someone ...
- 15.1k
23
votes
Accepted
As a 22-year-old, how risky should I be with my 401(k) investments?
At 50 years old, and a dozen years or so from retirement, I am close to 100% in equities in my retirement accounts. Most financial planners would say this is way too risky, which sort of addresses ...
- 76.1k
22
votes
How do I invest in the S&P 500?
The S&P 500 is a stock market index, which is a list of 500 stocks from the largest companies in America.
You could open a brokerage account with a broker and buy shares in each of these ...
- 115k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible