Whats the best way to invest a small amount of money?

bike756 · Tar Sands Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 20

Hi everybody. I don't post much here though I read all the time.
Being 18 years old, I don't have much access to money or resources, but I have managed to save a small amount (~1000 dollars US and maybe 200 a month in surplus money) and I don't really have anything to do with it. I hate to just leave it sitting with all of this talk recently about devaluating US currency.

I'm at college in a mid sized city in the northeast US. I won't really have a permanent home for at least five more years, since I'm living in the dorms now, and I could be all over the place co-oping over the next fews years. I am trying to learn to live on less, especially in the last few months. I live in a very dense area right now that doesn't require a car, Im in pretty good shape, and I'm working on my education(undergrad in urban planning) while I still can.

So my questions are:
1. Whats the best thing to do with this money? (Gold, oil futures, commodities, foreign currencies?)

2. Should I invest in material goods and if so what? (water filter, food supplies, tools, warm clothes, etc.) recommendations? this would need to be easily transportable.

3. Anything else I should be doing to prepare for the future given my situation that im not thinking of?

Thanks!

vision-master

Give it to me, I'll take care of it and invest it for ya! Razz

xerces

I think you should invest the money in skills.

1. Learn how to grow your own food via a community or rooftop garden.

2. Learn(on your spare time) a skill that will still have a market even during a major economic depression. For example, my side-skill is silviculture/forest management.
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evilgenius

Put it into a high paying, likely to stay high paying dividend returning stock like PVX or PBT (oil trusts) or wait for a good entry point and buy a high yielding oil shipper like GMR. Other shippers that don't do oil pay well too, like DSX. Alternatively, if you can, wait until the financials have bottomed and buy as many shares of the surviving companies as possible. Financials have always been good to own over the course of a lifetime. If you are concerned about such things, you can choose a financial company that will do the financing for a lot of solar and wind power going forward after the crash. That way you could kill two birds with one stone.

There are other riskier investments that might or might not pay off.

I guess it depends how much risk you wish to take on.
_________________
"Hope encourages men to take risks; men in a strong position may follow her without ruin, if not without loss. But when they stake all that they have to the last coin (for she is a spendthrift), she reveals her real self in the hour of failure."

Mo_Oil_Dave

Hello there...

Please, don't even think about investing in the markets until you open an IRA. Either Roth or traditional. And be sure to put the maximum amount in it every year without fail. You have until April 15 to open one and deduct the amount from your taxes for this year, if it is traditional.

Don't make the same mistake I did and wait until your twenty one.

David
Mo_Oil_Dave

eastbay

kjmclark · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 09, 2005 Posts: 318

You're in college and you have money? C'mon, you're making this up aren't you?

I would say, buy a couple of plain 14k gold wedding bands and use the rest of the money to take a welding course at your local community college next summer. Doesn't have to be welding, but it should be something pretty different from urban planning that requires you to use your hands and some tools. Something that deals with installing solar arrays might be useful. The idea is to round your education and give you a useful skill in case things really do hit the fan.

Besides, I got a degree in computer science and now I really wish I had some clue how to weld. Urban planning is a nice, cushy field too, once you have a job, and someday if things go well you'll end up using whatever you learn on your house or car or something.

TnAndy · Heavy Crude Joined: Aug 31, 2005 Posts: 100

Get yourself a good set of bugout materials together and keep it handy should you ever have to abandon your current living space.

Backpack, sleeping bag, tarp for a shelter, some freeze dried foods, small Kydenwater filter, firemaking ability, clothing and boots, an AR-7 ( survival .22 rifle, knocks down in it's own stock ), couple boxes shells, and so on.....that would take care of 1/2 your money. Then buy 25 ounces of silver with the other half.....keep it in the bugout pack along with 50-100 bucks in small bills and change.

Bug Out Bag

TreeFarmer · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 26, 2007 Posts: 326

Build up a small emergency stash, case or two of bottled water, some can goods that you can heat in the can or eat cold, some cans of sterno so that you can heat your food and add a few cheap incidentials as you think of them. Don't spend more than $50 on this with the idea of being able to last a week with no outside assistance.

Save the rest either in a savings account at a local bank or if you can resist temptation hide it where you live (provided you don't have roommates who might steal it).

Everyone should have a small survial stash and some cash to use in financial emergencies or for unplanned expenses. I don't want to burst your bubble but you DO NOT have enough money to invest. Right now you should be investing in yourself to gain knowledge/skills.

I you want to invest, invest in these books:

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Magic-Power-be-Rich/dp/1585425559/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205280310&sr=8-2

and

http://www.amazon.com/48-Days-Work-You-Love/dp/0805444793/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205280351&sr=1-1

I have a Ph.D. in business and I've read lots of business books, those two are the ones I'd most suggest for someone in your situation.

I suggest you go to DaveRamsey.com and read up on his baby steps for handling your money. He is right on with his advice.

TF

kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 1244

when I see solicitations for investment counsel I always recommend canned food and shot guns.

For the size of your investment, your age, your situation, you would do well to set up a simple checking account if you have not done so already.

If you will be in the same area for a couple of years studying, an idea may be a camper. This sort of thing goes on all around colleges. Its cheap housing. A 20-24' camper offers all sorts of space for a single young college student.

It will take a little bit of legwork to find the right place to park it, get water/sewer/electric hooked up, but the savings vs dorm fees for a couple of years may offer a splendid return. There would likely be utility bills where you hook it up, but an opportunity to work that off doing chores may be possible-mowing, snow shovelling, looking after the place.

Such a housing arrangement has advantages over dorms.
-Once you pay for it, it is yours. While the place you park it may want a few bucks, likely a pittance, the place is free after that.
-You learn how to cook your own meals
-Privacy
-If you are gone for a summer or a semester, renting it to another student may work for you.
-It may work out to take the thing with you to a co-op location. Beats the hell out of packing every time you move.
-You get the bathroom all to yourself
-When you graduate, there are plenty of students who may find such a living arrangement convenient. Sell it, get your money back.
-Its an adventure

You will have bills:
-Electricity, virtually impossible to meter, but you can't use much, figure 25 bucks a month
-Water, if you pay as much as 25/month you are probably getting ripped off
-Propane, runs the stove/oven and the heater, $10-$15 will give you all the stove operation you need for a year.
-groceries, 25-50 per week, depending on your diet habits
-rent, if this includes electric and water, you have it made. This would be determined by the arrangement

Your $200/month can cover all the bills. The dorms are running you what, $4k/semester? You're in college, do the math.

Location
all sorts of places to check out. This is where the leg work comes in
-talk to every professor/instructor/secretary/TA you know
-talk to your fellow students, no doubt there are students from the local area who may offer a lead
-fraternities/sororities
-homes in the area
-apartments, especially locally owned
-campgrounds and RV parks may be nearby

Camper
these come in all shapes and sizes. If you will be using it for your residence you will need a few things
-stove, these usually come with an oven, if not, a toaster oven can be had for $30. If no stove, an electric stove can be had, 2 cooktops, in the $40-60 range.
-fridge, with a freezer. I picked up a 4' high fridge at Lowe's for $250, runs on 1.6 amps, serves all my needs
-full bathroom, sink, flush toilet, shower. Gives you the ability to service your functions and maintain sanitation. Be sure the storage tanks do not leak.
-a motor home gives you the ability to drive away, gas cost is a consideration as is insurance, registration, license
-a 5th wheel or tow behind must be towed. the seller would probably have a truck if he has a camper, if you need a tow, just call a tow truck and have a hundred bucks ready
-you need not register the thing if it is just parked in a driveway or behind a shed, just when you go to put it on the road. For the initial move, you can probably cheat or use the sellers plate until it is parked.
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If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984

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Accept the Facts.

Niagara

I like evilgenius's idea of the financial stocks.

Here's one for you, an amazing deal. It's a 'baby thrown out with the bathwater' - Bank of Montreal, the 5th largest bank in Canada

BMO

-only 0.1% of their portfolio is exposed to sub-prime mortgages, yet the stock has been beaten down 25% recently. (Remember, Canada doesn't have a sub-prime market, lending standards are very conservative)

-the dividend yield now stands at a whopping 7%

-you're diversifying in the CDN$ which is kicking the greenback's hyper-inflated ass, and will continue to outperform it

smallpoxgirl · Moderator Joined: Nov 08, 2004 Posts: 5732

I'd buy some Euro's or gold or silver in the short term and then spend some time mulling all the stuff everyone else said.
_________________
"So while you sit and whistle Dixie with your money and your power.
I can hear the flowers a-growin in the rubble of the towers.
I hear leaders quit their lying
I hear babies quit their crying.
I hear soldiers quit their dying, one and all." - OCMS

bike756 · Tar Sands Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 20

Revi · Fusion Joined: Apr 25, 2005 Posts: 3255 Location: Maine

The best way to buy silver or gold is at a coin shop. Buy pre-1964 "junk silver". This includes walking liberties and some really nice coins. They don't take up much room and are really easy to find. I like pawn shops, but not all of them. They will sell it to you by face value. This fluctuates. The last time I bought any it was 11 times face. The price has gone up since then. These 90% silver coins are worth about 80% of an ounce price. In other words a silver dollar is worth 80% of $20 now. (that's what silver is going for per ounce) That's around $16. Just divide this for quarters, dimes, etc. A pre 1964 half dollar is worth $8, a quarter is worth $4 and a dime is worth $1.60.

It's a fun way to start investing. It's real money.
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smallpoxgirl · Moderator Joined: Nov 08, 2004 Posts: 5732