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I want to get an account or two set up for our new child and haven't done much investing outside our normal 401K that is offered at work.  What do you guys prefer for retirement planning or college savings?  Besides driving our retirements (cool cars)  :D   do any of you have stock accounts?  What brokerage do you prefer?  Any good stock tips?  8)

I'm a fan of index mutual funds, Fidelity or Vanguard are good large mutual fund companies that have many basic Index funds to choose from.  I've ended up with most of my 401K in the target retirement funds, that gradually get more conservative the closer to your chosen retirement year.

I have no kids so not up on these, but there is a 529 account that has some tax advantages.

https://investor.vanguard.com/529-plan/

I have been investing in this site  :alan2cents:

I have 529 plans for my kids at Fidelity investments, and I'd recommend you starting one somewhere as soon as you can.  Thanks to @J-Code Jeni (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/j-code-jeni_5) for giving birth in December, you'll get the dependent benefit for the whole year.  Also, you'll get to max out your pre-tax contribution for 2019 if you start the 529 plan this year!  Back to the 529s - depending on where you go will affect your choices of plans.  Stay with choosing a larger company, well known, and with a good reputation and ratings.  The way the economy has been the last 10 years, and looking at their results, I don't think there's a bad 529 plan out there.  :alan2cents:

As far as other long term investments, that depends on your risk level and outlook.  If stocks, I usually always go with the best of breed in whatever category I'll long in. Evaluate your decision periodically as things change.  I don't want to recommend any specific stock or funds publicly, but always happy to chat.

Quote from: JonH on December 16, 2019, 08:03:11 PM
Congrats on the new baby. As others have said, definitely open a 529 for your child ASAP. I would use Vanguard or Fidelity as well. Also for retirement, if you can swing it, I would open Roth IRA's for both you and your wife. Continue to capture all the company match in your 401K, and even max it out if you can. Then contribute to a Roth IRA with after tax dollars. When you retire all the funds in the Roth will be available tax free. Your 401K is funded with pre tax dollars and will be taxed when you withdraw. (unless it is a roth 401K) If I can make 1 point, educate yourself about finances. Now, do not wait. We are typically never taught how to manage money, and it is one of the most important things in our lives. Start now while you are young and have time on your side. Put it on autopilot by contributing every paycheck. The power of compounding can be astounding. If you need help, find a fee based adviser. By that I mean someone that will charge you by the hour. Not a commissioned salesman. Stay away from individual stocks unless you are a gambler and willing to do the necessary research on your own. Oh yea, don't take advice on stocks from anyone on the internet....good luck

PS.. Google, Dave Ramsey, or go out and buy his books. Good common sense advice

Awesome advice.  I love talking finances as I teach H.S. Economics and I have made it a crash course on how to become wealthy.  This guy has a great site IMO.....https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/   He advises against international funds, but Vanguard disagrees, but his other advice is incredible

I love how you posted this as I've been meaning to start a similar thread as so many of you seem to be loaded and I want to know what you did.

Yes fidelity or Vanguard 529
Yes ROTH IRA (6,000 for you and another 6,000 for the Mrs.)  Wait, aren't you guys loaded?  Maybe just an IRA for you two.

The target funds make sense.
Individual stock picking is crazy to me, but I know a bunch of people who claim they are good at it.
I spend my pay check each month on 60% Vanguard total stock market, 20% vanguard total international market, and 20% vanguard total bond.
Shelter all of your money from the IRS (preferably legally)

Rentals have made us the most money but being a landlord is like a second job and we just sold 3 as I am not tough enough to be a landlord in wacky Cali

Feel free to give me a jingle as I love this stuff and unlike others, my advice is free.

Last tip, its about time in the market, not selling, always buying, not trying to find a needle in the haystack, just buy the whole haystack. 

I had looked into 529 plans for my son soon after he was born. He is now 14. 529 will for sure have tax advantage but it also comes with restrictions. For me, control is of extreme value so i decided to set a separate investment account for my son's education but in my name. I will manage how the money is grow and how it will be used.

Like the old saying, don't put all the eggs in one basket. No matter how each market sector performs, keep a balanced diversity. It is also about consistency and discipline and sometime luck. Stocks, bonds and real estates are your typical stable investment vehicles. Sometimes sound business ventures are good investments but more risks to manage, better than buying lottery. Need to put in the time as all have to be earned.

My only add to this dialog is to encourage you to take full advantage of having a Health Savings Account (HSA) if you're not already doing so.   A number of employers are offering these as part of their benefits but you can set one up on your own if needed.   For 2019, you can set deposit up to $7,000 as a family ($8k for those of us over 55) which comes directly off your taxable income when you file your taxes.   You can reimburse yourself from this account for co-pays, deductibles, eyeglasses/contact lenses, and any other out of pocket medical expenses.   There's no "use it or lose it" provision for HSAs, so you keep whatever you deposit and don't use immediately for future use.   I do all this online and can typically get reimbursed for any submitted expenses within about 3 days. 

Quote from: anlauto on December 16, 2019, 07:47:55 PM
We invest all of our extra money to paying our bills  :tired:

That is actually great advice! I can't comment specifically on your US options, but a universal thruth is to try and stay away from credit, unless you need it for something like a mortgage or a vehucle, and try to repay that as quickly as possible,then use the extra money to invest once you've paid off those loans.
A good financial advisor who knows the finer details of tax laws and market is essential, don't hesitate to shop around for a person you feel comfortable with and trust, you need to find a good match and someone who'll understand your specific needs and situation.

Congrats again to Jen and you on the baby, and on thinking ahead sooner than later...

Ben

Quote from: anlauto on December 16, 2019, 07:47:55 PM
We invest all of our extra money to paying our bills  :tired:

Same here.

I started 529 plans for each of my boys when they were born with an auto withdraw every month. They have the option to control your own investments or go with their recommendations by age or level of risk you choose.

I am driving my family's inheritance!  :cheers:

I farm for a living and buy farm land when possible and I invest with Edward D Jones and Charles Schwab with low risk mutual funds with local branches that I can personaly talk too. This year has yielded 12%. The past couple years have been exceptional for investing, but its not always going to be this good. No way would I personally invest in real estate other than farm ground. There is too many things local, regional and national to go wrong.

I've got a few accounts with Edward Jones myself and the yield is about the same this year.. 12%.. Try getting that from other investment avenues that you don't need to babysit.. I also redirect funds to max out the yearly contributions for the Roth IRA for the tax free advantage....

I'm with Alan..... :Thud:

There are more ways to invest than can be imagined but one must be disciplined, find a trusted, experienced advisor and predetermine your allowable level of risk. You can allow more risk at a younger age because you will have time to recover if you suffer any losses. Folks can become giddy when the market (DOW) continues to rise and want to join the party but, all parties end. I had friends who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars during the last stock market crash because they couldn't face the fact that they were getting their butts kicked so they held on and got slaughtered. You know the story---I'll sell when the stock gets back up to $52.00---I'll sell when it gets back up to $46.00---and so forth. 401K's are wonderful--participate as much as you can--pre tax, post tax. There were times when I was getting 32% and 29% in my 410K and I loved it until I began to read about the dotcom bubble--scared me--moved everything to Prime Reserve--earned very little but lost NOTHING--unlike friends who went from $900,000 portfolios to less then $150,000.00 in less than a year. There are three things that will absolutely destroy an investor. They are:
GREED      GREED       GREED
1. Take some profits off the table at times.
2. Cut your losses--don't be bashful about getting out of a bad investment.
3. Diversify---not all your eggs in one basket
4. Do your due diligence---find out about what you are investing in
5. Always ask your advisor about fees!!
6. Always know about tax obligations.
7. If possible try to invest in products (funds) that are FDIC covered.
Look at all your investment opportunities. Explore alternative ways to invest. I dabbled in Commodities in the late 90's. Kind of interesting to strike contracts in corn, pork bellies, coffee, sugar, lumber, etc but it is a very fast moving system and one has to pay a lot of attention. Make your fortune or lose your a$$!! Did make a little money in Commodities but it was just to nerve wracking for me. Then started looking into precious metals--Gold, Silver and Platinum. Studied the long term history of Gold and got interested in investing. When the Stock Market is up, metals usually go down. When the markets go down people will run to metals for stability. From the mid 90's to the early 2000's I purchased one ounce American Eagle bullion coins (about $100,000.00 worth) for an average price of $304.00/each. Sold them all a few years back for $1,450.00 each. I am not extra smart I just try to be wise and informed. Good luck with whatever investment route you choose but always remember--HOGS GET SLAUGHTERED. 

Car parts, as they only keep going up in value. Lol

we ...being the new baby boomers, were never taught to manage our money cause in the 30's to 70's our parents worked for companies that had pensions. Interest rates in the 70's and 80's was 12 to 13 percent. It was a time of no brainers.  Now we have to be educated, interest rates are low. it would be nice to park your money in CD's and get 4%...but that's not going to happen. The one bigger question is how much do you  need to save to retire? 1 mill, 2 mill, 3 mill, 4 mill????

This is a good topic and I get excited talking about finances. I don't know what im doing is right or wrond but here I go. I started 2 accounts for my unborn children and throw whatever money I can find in those accounts. I only use a credit card that has cash rewards to pay my bills so I can put the reward money into one of the kids savings accounts. We are all going to be paying  bills to live mind as well get paided for paying bills. I got ur regular roth ira,401k,stocks and bond accounts also. Every paycheck I also buy a stock. One great thing about real estate in America is you got 51 states to choose from and invest in. I want to buy more land and get more into commercial properties like multiplex and apartment buildings but thosw big dream are slow steady.

Quote from: nsmall on December 16, 2019, 09:46:36 PM
Individual stock picking is crazy to me, but I know a bunch of people who claim they are good at it.

Most of the people I know that picked their own stocks lost money.....

Well, I picked up some PG&E stock (PCG) last month and rode the wave up to double my money.  Also picked up about 20% profit when I bought and sold US Silica.  Taking those profits and going to buy some IT / cloud based REIT's because a few of them seem on sale and I would like to go long on them with the good dividends they payout.

As for ROTH IRAs or Traditional IRAs, I can't have them due to our income level. 

I'm trying to build a base of stocks and REITs that I can hold for a long time and collect dividends.  I might put a few ETF's in my portfolio too.

Anyone have thoughts on these 2 stocks?

GE?

OXY?

With the current state as it is, I'm investing in (P P P) Powder, Primers and Projectiles!

OXY is favored by Warren Buffet and with Icahn making noise I'm surprised it has not surged.  I'm waiting to get in on the next retreat to the 36-37 range.  GE has rebounded and was very tempting afew months ago when under $10.  Maybe throw alitte at it, but still risky future for the company.  If your are looking long, all the THC companies are at lows now, there's a ETF symbol MJ that has a good dividend yield now, and will rise once the sector matures out. No dividend on HMMJ.TO now but really tempting at under $10 a share.

I really like QRVO and SWKS with the next transition into 5K LTE, and I own 1 of them(disclosure)

Really long I think AMZN, MSFT, and APPL will continue to grow and dominate.  best of breeds stocks.  :alan2cents:

Quote from: Cuda Cody on December 19, 2019, 05:27:21 AM
Well, I picked up some PG&E stock (PCG) last month and rode the wave up to double my money.  Also picked up about 20% profit when I bought and sold US Silica.  Taking those profits and going to buy some IT / cloud based REIT's because a few of them seem on sale and I would like to go long on them with the good dividends they payout.

As for ROTH IRAs or Traditional IRAs, I can't have them due to our income level. 

I'm trying to build a base of stocks and REITs that I can hold for a long time and collect dividends.  I might put a few ETF's in my portfolio too.

Anyone have thoughts on these 2 stocks?

GE?
OXY?

Well, when you started this thread I thought you were really looking for advice. After reading this post, I don't think you need any advice from a bunch of car guys! Sounds like you have it under control...

If there's something I've learned a long time ago it's that I can always learn something from anyone.  Bet there's a lot a lot of car guys on here that know more about investing than I do.... and I hope to learn from them.   :grouphug:

Quote from: JonH on December 19, 2019, 07:37:08 AM

Quote from: Cuda Cody on December 19, 2019, 05:27:21 AM
Well, I picked up some PG&E stock (PCG) last month and rode the wave up to double my money.  Also picked up about 20% profit when I bought and sold US Silica.  Taking those profits and going to buy some IT / cloud based REIT's because a few of them seem on sale and I would like to go long on them with the good dividends they payout.

As for ROTH IRAs or Traditional IRAs, I can't have them due to our income level. 

I'm trying to build a base of stocks and REITs that I can hold for a long time and collect dividends.  I might put a few ETF's in my portfolio too.

Anyone have thoughts on these 2 stocks?

GE?
OXY?

Well, when you started this thread I thought you were really looking for advice. After reading this post, I don't think you need any advice from a bunch of car guys! Sounds like you have it under control...

Won't help Cody but here is something I've learned as I approach retirement.  In your younger years, to me it makes the most sense to invest in 401Ks and traditional IRAs as it reduces your tax burden when you are younger and likely need more available cash.  Perhaps when you reach 45 or so, it may be wise to take some of that money going into 401Ks and traditional IRAs and starting putting into a Roth IRA.  Roth IRAs are after tax investments but grow tax-free.  This becomes important when you reach age 70 and have to take the required minimum distributions.  That applies only to the before tax investments in 401Ks and traditional IRAs.  So at age 70, the money in the Roth can sit and you can take it tax free whenever you want and however much you want.  Just something to think about.  I'm not a tax attorney nor a financial advisor so I might not know what I'm talking about :).

Diversification has been the key for me over the years.

Real estate, 401k, mutual funds, stock portfolio (heavy diversification), IRA, ESPP

My wife and I have tuned our living to survive on 40% of my pay, that allows us to save significantly, pay taxes, but also invest to the future.

Given that the US Dollar, Canadian Dollar and Euro continue to be debased (as happens to all fiat currencies eventually), the mix should include some hard assets and precious metals, along with financial ones.

I invest all of our money in PB.

Paying Bills that is  :Thud:

Quote from: YYZ on October 02, 2020, 06:10:51 AM
Given that the US Dollar, Canadian Dollar and Euro continue to be debased (as happens to all fiat currencies eventually), the mix should include some hard assets and precious metals, along with financial ones.

My favorite hard assets are cars!  And also firearms.

Hi! I hope that you will be able to persuade your husband to make such a responsible purchase. As a woman, I understand you , because setting up your new home is so exciting and responsible, because now it is very profitable to invest in real estate.
When I was choosing my house to buy, I took a very responsible approach to the choice and faced the problem of lack of funds. Many different options were considered and many specialists tried to help me. By a lucky chance, I came across an interesting site that helped me find investors. Have you heard about how to flip house (https://connectedinvestors.com/platform) system? This is my small and good advice for you. Let's say I'm very happy with the result!
I wish you a successful purchase and good neighbors!