Investing/Stock Market Folks?

[LockedBreech]

At the age of 30, with my student loan defeated, most guns on my immediate wish list obtained, I finally had enough money lying around to start investing.

Much to my surprise, I am having an amazing time with it. Just like guns, there is so much to learn and so much that starts making sense once you learn how the gears of the system function. I understand it's like gambling to some degree, but it's gambling where you actually have a decent shot at beating the house.

My early portfolio is safety focused (some stable highly rated index and mutual funds with low management fees by T Rowe Price and Schwab as well as my Roth IRA) with about 20% of it in higher-risk, more aggressive EFTs and a couple of speculative stocks. I don't have a huge stake yet, just a few thousand, but I am looking forward to watching it grow and diversify for the 30-40 years I'm planning to work yet.

Any tips for an early investor or simply sharing of my enthusiasm? I always knew investing at some point would be smart. I did not expect it to be fun.

[Cheap Shot]

https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/sea...25076101d561bf

What PF is for shooting handgun's, Boglehead's is for investing. Highly recommend.

[GJM]

Buying equities is always fun when the market is going up.

[Rockey]

https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/sea...25076101d561bf

What PF is for shooting handgun's, Boglehead's is for investing. Highly recommend.

This. Ignore anything else. Learn the bogelhead way, everything else is just gambling. Keep costs low, buy the whole market, diversify, invest regularly, and stay the course.

[Crow Hunter]

This. Ignore anything else. Learn the bogelhead way, everything else is just gambling. Keep costs low, buy the whole market, diversify, invest regularly, and stay the course.

I want to +3 this.

I follow Mr. Larimore's 3 Fund portfolio. Very simple and easy to do.

What I do in order of importance as you get more cash:

-Fund your 401k/403b/457/etc to the match
-Max your HSA (if you have one)
-Max your Roth IRA contribution
-Max your 401k/403b/457/etc
-Invest in broad market tax efficient mutual funds or pay off your house

You are already a leg up by having your student loans paid off.

[LtDave]

I have been investing for 40 plus years.

I believe in buy and hold.
I much prefer buying individual stocks vs mutual funds. I have some mutual funds but haven't put any additional money in any in some time.
Buy companies whose products you use and like. Ideally ones with a good dividend return. Companies that actually make money.
Keep sufficient cash on hand to take advantage of buying opportunities.
Diversify. Do not put all your eggs in one market segment.
You only have to hit it big on one or two stocks to make a lot of money.
Real estate is another excellent place to earn a decent return on your money and potential long term capital gains. Take a look at triple net (NNN) commercial property. Commercial property rentals have much less tenant drama than residential rentals.

[BehindBlueI's]

I'd recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-M...dp/0062006487/ as a place to start. It's a good foundation for personal finance.

Individual stock picking is risky and a lot of work. I took the accouting classes in college to be able to look at a company's books and figure out their financial picture, but it's real work. Time consuming, and something you have to do routinely. I don't buy many individual stocks because of the time sink, and because it's rarely worth long term vs ETFs and mutual funds. Figure it's more of a hobby then the main focus of my retirement strategy.

I am a fan of buy-and-hold on stocks with safe dividends. As an example, power companies and utilities aren't sexy and won't rocket in value, but are generally steady earners. My goal is passive income to supplement my pension. Part of developing a strategy is developing your goals and time lines. How much risk you're willing to tolerate, etc.

[SteveB]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5tj8480ji5...20Can.pdf?dl=0

[pangloss]

Bogleheads is a great forum. I was active there for several years and the people there during that time were super helpful. The most important decision to make is what your asset allocation will be. Once you decide, then implement that plan using the lowest cost mutual funds or ETFs that you can find. The other alternative is to put everything into a Target date account that becomes more conservative as you age.

It's much much easier to become a good investor than a good shot with a pistol, but I make a big distinction between investors and speculators.

The Intelligent Asset Allocator by Bernstein is the best investing book I've ever read. Lucky for me it was also the first. The Random Walk Guide to Investing by Malkiel is also very good and less technical.

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

[Guerrero]

I want to +3 this.

I follow Mr. Larimore's 3 Fund portfolio. Very simple and easy to do.

What I do in order of importance as you get more cash:

-Fund your 401k/403b/457/etc to the match
-Max your HSA (if you have one)
-Max your Roth IRA contribution
-Max your 401k/403b/457/etc
-Invest in broad market tax efficient mutual funds or pay off your house

You are already a leg up by having your student loans paid off.

This