Should I Invest, Save, or What?

Any money that you invest in now is better than never doing it! Heck i wish I did it more when i was at your age and done it a little wiser. Whatever you are doing I am sure you will make a good decision.
I just did a quick google and thought this may help http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Investing/Beginner-Investing-for-Retirement/

http://www.youngmoney.com/calculators_tools/

http://www.whatcollegeforgot.com/Retirement-Planning-Guide--5-Steps-for-the-Young-Professional (look at the graph at how much money you put down now and compare to to what you cuold have at the age of 65)

results will come, you must be patient and remember this is for YOUR retirement/savings

 

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If you want a decent rate on your savings check out SmartyPig. It is an online bank that is currently paying 2.15% APR. While this is horrible it's better than most rates brick and mortar banks are offering. The "catch" is you have to have a savings goal. The good news is you never actually have to hit this goal, or you can make your goal really low so you hit it in one deposit. All your funds are FDIC insured so you don't have to worry about that. I have a couple of accounts with them and have been pretty happy.


If decide to go the IRA route, like others I would recommend the ROTH. Just be aware you can only put in $5000 a year max (unless your taxable income is less, in which case your taxable income is your limit). I know it is hard to think about retirement before having a full time job, but if you automate the process and make it a "bill" you will be amazed how much you can save. Time is on your side, and compounding interest is the most powerful force in the universe.

 

Seeing as it's only 1K and you'd like some bullion, I'd look into silver. That kind of money won't get you much gold right now, but silver is still a decent buy and I think it has more room to grow than gold. In fact, I'm sure Doug can provide his famous graphs showing that silver has always out-performed gold percentage-wise.
Guy~

 

Not to get Biblical but google parable/talents and see what pops.

You've received some very wise and expert advice in this thread....:smile

 

Take some time to make the decision that is right for you. From here, it appears that you may already be making all the right moves. Stocks are great, if you know what you are doing. IRA's are great, but first things first. You may eventually need the money for a car, house, wedding ring :bigeyes:, or something else. Until your situation clarifies, bank accounts and CDs that mature in a year or less are probably appropriate. Inflation can eat at your purchasing power, but there is probably an almost equal probability that we will have deflation. Truth is, nobody knows. So stay flexible and alert for changes.

 

The idea is to buy low sell high. Let's see, are silver and gold at all time highs? Silver and gold have become pyramid schemes, run up by "investors" scared of the bad economy. They're only going to continue rising in price as long as more money is thrown at them. When (not if) the economy improves, who will be left holding the bag at the bottom of the pyramid.

 

This is all great information, advice, ideas etc, but I still have no idea what I'm going to do haha, maybe I'll split it and do two different things?

 

Plastic

Just another idea.....

If you have some plastic debt that can charge you over 10% APR, you might be well off to pay it down.

 

Read, Save, Read, ...then keep reading. Then invest... and keep reading.

Always study and educate yourself first, it will afford you time to save, and don't stop learning, thinking and keeping abreast of the topic once you are in. :thumb:

 

spend it and go on welfare, it the new american way...

 

I tend to subscribe to the old American way. Hopefully most Americans do too. One thing about "yanks". You make a mistake if you ever sell 'em short.....

 

I had $8k in a retirement fund by time my 22nd birthday rolled around. It's not really worth having a portfolio with less than $1k, though, because commissions and fee's will eat it up in a hurry.

FTR, good investing turned that $8k into $22k today, and then I was left a substantial inheritance by a deceased relative... By time I'm 50, I should have well north of $2mm in that account.

What would I do? Put it aside and wait until you have about $3k, then do a ton of research and pick a stock that has a solid dividend and isn't a blue-chipper. Mid-cap companies are a good investment, imho... a bit more risk, but returns can be fantastic, especially if you get a stock with a solid yield via dividend.

 

I'm going to try to get more into roll hunting for now...

 

I would buy a half oz of platinum.

 

...the way things are going, i'd have to vote for COAL! :kewl:

 

And Candles

 

So when I took the money out, I told the bank tellers I was going to go dig a hole to put the money in, and they said "be careful, because money disintegrates". I can't even bury my money to save it, because it'd be the same as spending it or throwing it away!:bigeyes: