investing at a young age

First of all, This is a great post:

I have a few decades of age on you; and I have been an investor since my early 20's.

1. Yes, start early

2. Think of your total investing as a basket. And in that basket you have several eggs; and maybe one of those eggs will get broken, before you get home with the basket. You still have other eggs, to make your omelet. NEVER put all your money into one egg; have a diversified basket. Stocks, Cd's, Bonds, Mutual funds, Cash. There are more choices, but learn as you go.

3. Please: do consider NO LOAD, mutual funds, cd's, or accounts. The Vanguard family of investments has been good to me. Google Vanguard

( If You are talking to a commission broker, they just shudder when you say, No Load). I admit I do own some Commission based investments, such as Edward Jones and others; but I have not seen the benefit of this, and have been scaling them back.

4. In the Military, the TSP is great for the matching funds, that you get from them. This means a lot.
Some of their investment strategy has been flawed; but the matching funds, can't be beat. Even though I am retired Military; I still have investments there. Can't put more in, once your retired though.

5. Stay With It; Don't use that investment money, wherever it is, for that new car/truck, motorcycle, trip etc.

Print this post off, and put it with your investments: and see if I wasn't right.

Yes, there will be times when you will be tested, but stick with these principles.

oldracer

 

Ziggy, if he's an E-1 he'll be lucky to scrape up enough money to meet the annual cap. They hit you for your GI Bill contribution for the first 12 months you are in. Lower enlisted with no time in service make shit for pay.

OP, after being enlisted since 1997 I can tell you THE BIGGEST SINGLE REGRET I HAVE is not starting a Roth as soon as I had the chance. Start it now and put as much money as you can into it. If you find that you are able to make the maximum annual contribution, then start looking into additional investments.

Here's a fun tool to look at how you can fund yourself through the "golden years". http://www.rothira.com/tools/calculator

 

What are you basing your opinion on? My 15% return the past 12 months, plus my lower taxable income disagree with your assertion.

 

They don't take money away anymore for the GI Bill since most new incoming into the militart are on the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

 

Lucky bastards. Thanks for the info! Either way, kid won't be making much.

AND, 15% on the TSP?!?!?! Tell me more.

 

If he's asking about investing money at a young age/low rank, he must either be frugal, or has enough disposal income to ask the question....good on him anyways.

 

Smart enough to start planning now

 

You have to actively manage your account, much like you do a stock account; meaning you have to move your money around into the different funds. Right now my allocation is 50% in C, 20% in S and 30 in I. Take a look at tsptalk.com, but most importantly check TSP.gov once a week to see the rate of return on the 5 funds. Bankroll some money into G to protect your money, but don't put a big % into G unless you feel the market is going to crash. To put it into perspective, this guy I worked with back in 2002 when I started the TSP, he's only ever put his money into the G fund which is the default fund. After 11 years he's only managed to accumulate $30K in growth, where I've tripled that.....you have to actively manage your fund like you would any other account. I'm sure there are other who have had more success than me.

 

start your Roth IRA now. dude, you would lap people starting just a few years later than you. not many people start in their TEENS..do it.

 

TYVM I did not know this.

 

My recommendation to any young member in the military is to start with the TSP first before you think about an IRA. For one the TSP is similiar to a Roth and/or traditional IRA, with the benefit it's easier to manage, and you can take a low interest loan against your balance with no penalty. The best benefit is there are no brokerage fee's or trade commisions with the TSP. Only once you max out your contributions to the TSP, should you consider investing in a traditional/Roth IRA. Also like Brunes and I mentioned, the money is taken out of your check before Taxes, so you save twice on taxes over an IRA.

 

I just got in from reserves (went active duty) in april 2013 and there taking gi bill money from me.

 

Put at least some of your savings into tangible assets like gold and other precious metals. I fully believe in the motto: 'If you don't hold it--you don't own it', so buy physical bullion and not some vague ETF crap that can vaporize in your hands. Find a safe place to keep it and tell only one other ultra-trustworthy person about it in case something happens to you.

Here's a couple places to do some homework:

http://www.kitco.com/

http://goldismoney2.com/forum.php/forums/

And here's a few reputable online dealers:

http://www.providentmetals.com/

http://www.apmex.com/

http://www.gainesvillecoins.com/

I'm not recommending any of these over the others, nor am I recommending them over any I haven't listed, just tossing them out as examples. Also look into local dealers where you can shop anonymously and buy with cash. Find out about your local laws regarding sales tax on bullion so you can make straight comparisons between buying local and online. Prices vary widely between dealers so shop around.

Avoid collector-type coins and stick with straight bullion from reputable sources. Collector stuff is nice to have, but just remember that anything is only worth what someone else is willing to pay you for it when you need it sold. Never buy anything you don't recognize from doing your own research.

Lastly, always remember the number one rule to investing: DYODD--Do Your Own Due Diligence. Asking numbnuts like us on the internet is fine for suggestions, but do your own homework before you invest in ANYTHING. It's your money that's at risk, not ours.

 

Reserves, meaning delayed Enlistment or Reserve component? The Reserve GI Bill is different if you're a Traditional.

 

I think your mistaking for the Montgomery GI bill thats 100 dollars a month. Anyways the only bill I have is a phone bill I canceled my insurance on my truck being that I can't use it for a few months. I also have the $100 coming out for 12 months. In 2 months I will be an E-3 being that I signed a 6 year contract. In a couple of months I should have about $2500 to invest. I've always been pretty good at saving money I have quite a bit in a CD. The bad part I was making more before I came in but I didn't have the benefits I have now. I also spent alot on my tacoma LOL that i kind of wished i would have saved but o well i have a nice truck.

 

also is there a good online class for stock marketing i could take once i can do tuition assistance.

 

Exactly, if I am interpreting what he is saying, he was a Reservist at one point and just came onto active duty in April. If that's the case, based on when he joined the Reserves (pre 2008) he would of automatically fell under the old Montgomery GI BIll in which case once he went on Active Duty, he would owe the $100 a month until the $1200 was paid.

He would have to opt into the Post 9/11 Bill if that is the case, and if so, it's irrevocable. Also he is throwing away $1200 if he chooses at some point to opt into the post 9/11 GI Bill.

 

This but the MGIB only pays for 3 years of college and he could use the Post 9/11 for a year to finish up his degree thats the way I understood it at the finance class I took in basic.

 

X2!

choose a roth ira and start that is all that matters. At your age your biggest asset is time. Start.

 

I was in the reserves and when I went active duty in april I saw in my LES that they were taking money for the gi bill