So I've been giving this growing up thing a little bit of thought lately and while I'm not ready to fully commit just yet there are a few things I want to work on. Call it a new years resolution or whatever, I've just had it in the back of my mind for some time.

Years ago I got some stock from a healthcare company that I had a policy with. When they went public they gave everyone who had a policy some shares, don't remember all the details as to why. It's split once or twice and gone up and down in value. I actually am not sure how much stock I have and what it's worth. I'm thinking I need to start some sort of IRA and start contributing to it. Put the stock I have into it and maybe buy some other stocks and investments.

I bank at Chase and I know they have people I can go talk to about an IRA but I'm not so sure I want to go that route. I haven't liked Chase since they took over WaMu. There are other investment companies that only do investments. Then there's the online stuff like eTrade.

I know Andy hides all his money under his matress in the form of gold bars. That's way too uncomfortable for me so what, if anything, are the rest of you guys doing? I'm not looking to day trade or anything, just start working on a retirement.

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Drinking non-alcoholic beer is like going down on your cousin... Sure it tastes the same, but it just ain't right

I opened up an Roth IRA with Sharebuilder which lets me invest 5k/yr without getting taxed on the return. It makes it ez for me as I got it setup to auto-transfer money each paycheck from my checking account.

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Bubbles! Oh come on Sharon! I'm fucking Ozzy Osbourne, I'm the Prince of fucking Darkness. Evil! Evil! What's fucking evil about a shitload of bubbles!?

Quote:

Originally Posted by From a cop Most people in cars run because they have dope, warrants or are otherwise up to no good. People on bikes run because they can.

Do you manage what investments you have or do they manage it for you? I'm not sure how much I want or need to be involved in what I'm investing in. How much are there fees too?

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Drinking non-alcoholic beer is like going down on your cousin... Sure it tastes the same, but it just ain't right

Most if not all brokerages will offer 'managed' packages with a variety of options. Mostly revolving around your risk/reward tolerance.. You can also enlist a personal adviser, just realize that they are always trying to push securities that are going to pay THEM well, not what's necessarily right for you or your situation.

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“Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered. Those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win.” - Zhuge Liang

Off the top of my head there's no monthly fees, stocks are $12.95 per trade and mutual funds are free.

I am doing all mutual funds right now, with 70% in safe low risk funds, 20% in the middle, and 10% in high risks. Once I get brave enough to dabble in stocks, I will try and that. The thing I like is that you are in complete control of how you want to invest your IRA.

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Bubbles! Oh come on Sharon! I'm fucking Ozzy Osbourne, I'm the Prince of fucking Darkness. Evil! Evil! What's fucking evil about a shitload of bubbles!?

Quote:

Originally Posted by From a cop Most people in cars run because they have dope, warrants or are otherwise up to no good. People on bikes run because they can.

your investment elections are exactly opposite mine.. haha

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“Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered. Those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win.” - Zhuge Liang

Either you'll be way richer than me at retirement, or way poorer .

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Bubbles! Oh come on Sharon! I'm fucking Ozzy Osbourne, I'm the Prince of fucking Darkness. Evil! Evil! What's fucking evil about a shitload of bubbles!?

Quote:

Originally Posted by From a cop Most people in cars run because they have dope, warrants or are otherwise up to no good. People on bikes run because they can.

The Chase where I do my banking has a guy come in on Tuesdays to deal with investments. I have today off so I figure I should go up and talk to him. See what they have to offer.

I realize that the market is like gambling but I think that I need to start saving for the future. Seems like it's a good time to get into the market. Of course it seems like a good time to get into anything right now. My property value actually went up a little this past year because of the garage I built. Maybe in the end I'm better off investing in property and flipping it.

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Drinking non-alcoholic beer is like going down on your cousin... Sure it tastes the same, but it just ain't right