Wooh Hoo!!

[rage]

after about 3 years of saving in my company 401k, I'm about to break the 5,000 dollar mark, and show an annualized personal rate of return as of 9/30/03 at 19.1 - up from two months ago when it was 15% before I made some changes about which funds I had invested in.

I just wish I could keep that 19.1% rate going until I do retire....


sorry, I had to share. It is exciting to be 22 and be finally thinking ahead....after many years of screwing up finances I'm starting to turn it all around. It's a good feeling, and I do feel proud of myself. I made some really stupid mistakes, but I was able to learn from them, and turn them around, and well, you always feel good after that.

So discuss -

How well do you handle money?
Have you any tips for those of us learning/in need of help in handling money?
Any good investment tips?
Do you invest?

I have just a couple tips:

1.) Have multiple checking accounts.

This strategy has helped me more than ever. I have 3 accounts, one I pay my personal bills out of, one I pay household expenses that I share with my roomate out of, and a third one that I know I can spend without discretion on whatever I choose. At every paycheck, I transfer set amount of money into all the bank accounts.

As far as saving accounts: I don't have a very large one at the moment cause I am working on paying off some rather large debt I acquired back when I was young and stupid (around 18-19). Still young and stupid, but better able to handle money ;)

2.) This is the most widely heard financial advise you will probably get: Keep 3 months of living expenses in an account that earns you the best amount of interest possible, while also being a very safe investment and you should be able to get money out of it within a couple days.

A good bet? An online Money Market Account. www.virtualbank.com has a great one, at 2.20% APY I believe. www.bankrate.com has a list of the highest rates for multiple things such as money market accounts, savings accounts, ect.

3.) Another highly touted recommendation is to start investing young! It is better to start out as young and make regular contributions, than starting out late and trying to catch up!

Thoughts? Tips? Advice? lets hear it.

[Uberwonder]

Good show, rage.
I am playing the catchup game.
As far as savings, I have accounts (for all four of us) in the local credit union. They are paying 3.1% which beats the hell out of the banks here.
I don't invest anywhere at the moment because it makes better sense for me to put extra bucks in the studio. A thousand dollars worth of glass turns into 3 thousand.
I got caught too many times being low on stock and having to pay premium prices buying small loads and would rather buy direct from the manufacturer where I get much better prices although I have to buy large quantities.

Keep building that up before you get saddled with kids. It's much harder to save or invest when that happens. The little shits will suck up the money in no time.

[Cruise Director]

I've got a around 20k in my 401k right now. I kept everythin in "high risk" options until I turned 30 and then diversified it into more stable funds. I need to increase my contribution so I can really start rat-holing it. Being a salaried manager, Home Depot gives me stock options each year that I will also use for my retirement. Right now I have a little over 10k shares of options. WIth the economy in the suck, they don't amount to much right now, but they are for the future, right? As for savings, I've got a good chunk of cash in there that I am saving for a down payment on a house.

I use only one checking account and have almost paid off all of my credit cards. Which leads me to my only advice: Get one credit card and one credit card only. Have them adjust your limit DOWN from where they want to to a level reasonable enough to cover an emergency, buy a plane ticket or rent a car. Credit is the enemy. I wished someone would have taught me that when I was in high school. I could only imagine how far ahead I'd be if I'd known that banks are NOT your friend!

[rage]

Originally posted by Cruise Director
I've got a around 20k in my 401k right now. I kept everythin in "high risk" options until I turned 30 and then diversified it into more stable funds. I need to increase my contribution so I can really start rat-holing it. Being a salaried manager, Home Depot gives me stock options each year that I will also use for my retirement. Right now I have a little over 10k shares of options. WIth the economy in the suck, they don't amount to much right now, but they are for the future, right? As for savings, I've got a good chunk of cash in there that I am saving for a down payment on a house.

Sounds good. I hope to next year pay off a car and start saving for a down payment on a house.

If you got time, than stock options are a good thing - if you have 10 -15 years, you'll almost always make a good chunk of change off of a rising stock price, especially a large company such as Home Depot. And it is good that you are buying now with the economy in the suck, cause you are getting them cheap, and brief look back at the stock market will show you that recovery is highly likely.

Originally posted by Cruise Director
I use only one checking account and have almost paid off all of my credit cards. Which leads me to my only advice: Get one credit card and one credit card only. Have them adjust your limit DOWN from where they want to to a level reasonable enough to cover an emergency, buy a plane ticket or rent a car. Credit is the enemy. I wished someone would have taught me that when I was in high school. I could only imagine how far ahead I'd be if I'd known that banks are NOT your friend!

Oh, I agree, I agree. by the time I was almost 20, I accrued almost 10,000 dollars in debt and outstanding bills (electricity, rent, ect.), and basically fucked my credit hard-core. I'm 22 now, and just after I turned 21, I moved back with my grandmother and got serious about paying shit off...I'm down to under 5000 now, and hope to have that paid off early next year. I wish I knew how to and had the discipline to manage money properly back then like I do now. I would have saved myself alot of headaches and would probably already be driving a paid-off new car. Sigh...mistakes suck...at least we can learn from them.

Credit definitely is an enemy, unfortunately it is a necessary one if you ever want to get a house or buy a car.

Infact, everything I went through and what I have learned just in the past year or so has lead me to think about going to school for personal finance or something similar...

[rage]

Originally posted by Uberwonder
Good show, rage.
I am playing the catchup game.
As far as savings, I have accounts (for all four of us) in the local credit union. They are paying 3.1% which beats the hell out of the banks here.
I don't invest anywhere at the moment because it makes better sense for me to put extra bucks in the studio. A thousand dollars worth of glass turns into 3 thousand.
I got caught too many times being low on stock and having to pay premium prices buying small loads and would rather buy direct from the manufacturer where I get much better prices although I have to buy large quantities.

Keep building that up before you get saddled with kids. It's much harder to save or invest when that happens. The little shits will suck up the money in no time.

That sounds good, and that is a damn good rate that you are being paid.

Do you blow glass (no, you sick perv, not in that way! ;) ), or what sort of studio do you have? Sounds interesting...I would love to be able to do something I enjoy alot as a job.

You said you have some saving accounts for kids...are they for college? If so, I would recommend looking into a Coverdale or 529 investment plan (more info at: www.savingforcollege.com), if you have at least 5-10 years, they are definitely the way to go (tax breaks, better return likely, ect.).

I am debating getting one for my little sister (since I know my parents, as in my case, are probably doing very little in the way of planning for her). She is 13, so she has at least 5 years that I can save for her, and if I can talk my parents and grandparents into socking some money away for her during this time, I know I can get a good amount saved up for her, allowing her to maybe only work part time at the school or something to help out.

I don't know how old the kids are, but when they get ready for college, you might want to look into www.myrichuncle.com . I found the site looking up stuff for me and my little sister, and it is an ingenious way to get some of the college expenses covered.

[Billyman]

I live on a fixed budget and boy they really fixed it good.

My 401K is doing well, oddly enough; I’ve made more money since the economy has fallen. WEIRD!

I’ve only had 401K offered by my employer for about 4 years now and have well over 8k in it. Our financial adviser sucks so I’ve moved some accounts around on my own which has resulted in “I have more money in my plan than you do” at work in comparison with all the other guys. They all ask what I am doing differently and ask me how to read and understand their quarterly statements. I show and explain it to them the best I can and the best I understand it myself, then take them to the website to show them what to look for and how to change or move their accounts at will. Most comprehend it, some don’t, regardless; they don’t do anything with it. In the mean time, I just keep building on what I can and look out for myself because no one else is going to.

[Billyman]

Originally posted by rage
Do you blow glass (no, you sick perv, not in that way! ;) ), or what sort of studio do you have? Sounds interesting...I would love to be able to do something I enjoy alot as a job.

Sorry to impose Wonderass (http://www.artists-of-sedona.com/SGW/pages/about.shtml)

[rage]

schweet...<a href="http://www.artists-of-sedona.com/SGW/pages/image14.html">I like the mask</a>

[rage]

Originally posted by Billyman
I live on a fixed budget and boy they really fixed it good.

My 401K is doing well, oddly enough; I’ve made more money since the economy has fallen. WEIRD!

I’ve only had 401K offered by my employer for about 4 years now and have well over 8k in it. Our financial adviser sucks so I’ve moved some accounts around on my own which has resulted in “I have more money in my plan than you do” at work in comparison with all the other guys. They all ask what I am doing differently and ask me how to read and understand their quarterly statements. I show and explain it to them the best I can and the best I understand it myself, then take them to the website to show them what to look for and how to change or move their accounts at will. Most comprehend it, some don’t, regardless; they don’t do anything with it. In the mean time, I just keep building on what I can and look out for myself because no one else is going to.

Good job! The best thing you can do with a 401k is not really learn all the nitty gritty stuff but is take an active interest in it. Not to change it all the time but at least understand what you have it invested in and what options you have.

Lots of people, such as those you work with loose out on the amount of money that they can make because they don't really take the time to have an active interest in it. Your example works well in showing that even a base knowledge of your 401k, and some time spent trying to understand it, can be very beneficial

The other peice of advice I see alot is "Invest in what you know" :)

[Uberwonder]

Thanks for those links. I will give that some serious thought (which means running it by Big Al).

Credit is evil. I'm down to about $1,800 total owed on 5 credit cards and am also trimming down to two cards. I've closed three and they will be history before Xmas.

I also don't like car payments. I've always bought used and pay cash. I could care less about "image" and buy invisible vehicles, the ones cops don't notice. Insurance is less too, especially since I have a perfect driving record.
The only new car I ever bought was when I was in the Air Force and had to have a '72 Javelin that was sitting on an AMC car lot. I suffered horribly a few times trying to make the payments and the insurance. Lesson learned.

[rage]

Originally posted by Uberwonder
Thanks for those links. I will give that some serious thought (which means running it by Big Al).No problem. If you have anymore questions about it, you are more than welcome to ask me, but honestly, I have just started to look into it recently, so I don't know how helpful I would be. If you get serious about it, I would definitely recommend contacting a financial advisor or something similar that would know alot more than me about it, and be able to explain it better than a website can. (I think that is what I will end up doing soon).Originally posted by Uberwonder
Credit is evil. I'm down to about $1,800 total owed on 5 credit cards and am also trimming down to two cards. I've closed three and they will be history before Xmas.

I also don't like car payments. I've always bought used and pay cash. I could care less about "image" and buy invisible vehicles, the ones cops don't notice. Insurance is less too, especially since I have a perfect driving record.
The only new car I ever bought was when I was in the Air Force and had to have a '72 Javelin that was sitting on an AMC car lot. I suffered horribly a few times trying to make the payments and the insurance. Lesson learned.

Good job! I wish I could have mine paid off by Xmas, that would be an awsome christmas present! :)

About the car? Well, I've driven P.O.S.'s for a while, so if I am able to stick to the budget I currently have going, I'll be able to have a hefty down payment and low loan that hopefully will be paid off quickly.

I figured it was time to treat myself to a nice car, one that I'm not embarressed to take a girl out on a date in, one that runs well, yah know? :)

[Billyman]

A car payment is something I will endure for the rest of my life I'm sure. I trade every three years. I just keep my ass in new stuff so I don't have to work on it. :D

[rage]

hmm...does your girlfriend know about this???

oh wait...you were talking about cars ;)