You know I just thought it would be a good idea to start a thread wher we talk about picking stocks or if your a sissy then youd most likely pick a mutual fund and if you are even more than a sissy then you probably picked the index fund. You pansy.

So I am playing the stock game and I am using Vanguard and I took my three thousand dollars and invested them into companies. Anyways I was down to 1200 and now I am at 2875 my highest was at 4500. I put my money into Chevron and BP and I also put it in safe companies which will still grow like MSFT, Wlmrt and McD's. I also put some into defense contractors like Raytheon and they are doing good. So I am on the rise I expect by next couple of weeks to be in a good position where I have evened out.

So what companies seem like a good investment for you?

I invest in Forex.

What Forex does in one week is what Stock Market does in three weeks.

Buy AUD at dips and sell Euro this week.

we'll see who's a pansy when you're paying taxes on your whopping 4% capital gains every year while i retire with almost a $bigillion in my Roth.

sincerely though, i hope you're luckier than 3 or 4%. if you don't do enough homework you'll need all the luck you can get.

jim cramer says invest in individual companies and that's working great for me.

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My SpaceMySpaceMUSIC
Anti-Purple Alliance.

forex ftw! don't do it by yourself unless you know what you're doing though...

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Originally posted by Q5echo we'll see who's a pansy when you're paying taxes on your whopping 4% capital gains every year while i retire with almost a $bigillion in my Roth. sincerely though, i hope you're luckier than 3 or 4%. if you don't do enough homework you'll need all the luck you can get.

Well I just meant how do you know you're not the next Warren Buffet if you don't give yourself a try to invest on your own rather then put all the money in an index fund. On an other note how much money do you have since you put your mola in the fund?

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Originally posted by metalgearsolid On an other note how much money do you have since you put your mola in the fund?[/color]

since the middle of 2001 i've contributed an average 6% of my base pay every year. the last statement i saw in december was 11.4% return. (2001 and 2002 really brought my average down across the last 4yrs.)

mind you this is whats called a TSP for Federal empoyees. not a Roth yet. i'll prolly take some penalties when and if i convert this year.

but to sort of answer your question, before i got out of the Navy and getting divorced i was thinking about taking a huge hit and buying one of these cash.


the S model not the base model

property > stock market.

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Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN property > stock market.

wish i had that kind of capital. i'm just a working stiff

you think it's wise to get into the real estate market now? i really don't know other than what i've read and heard.

real estate SUCKS right now. anyone who knows anything knows that at the moment.

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My SpaceMySpaceMUSIC
Anti-Purple Alliance.

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Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN property > stock market.

Depends where you get it. Like my current house my parents bought it for 300000 and now its worth more than 700000. But they also bought two apartment buildings and a house in a crappy neighborhood. The value hasn't risen. They also have a house in San Francisco when they bought it in the 60's was for 30000 and now its worth over 600000. So some of it is good you just have to be smart about it and unfortuanelty for my parents they havent exactly made the right choices that I would have. But its good I am reading books on real estate and I know I won't make the mistakes they did and instead of having 2.5mil worth of property I hope on having well over 5mil after time. Cuz you know the Chicago Suburbs are bound to expand and their is still some towns with cheap houses and taxes and I know in 20-30 yrs they will be having the boom my town is experiancing.

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Originally posted by Q5echo wish i had that kind of capital. i'm just a working stiff you think it's wise to get into the real estate market now? i really don't know other than what i've read and heard.

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Originally posted by Lepanto real estate SUCKS right now. anyone who knows anything knows that at the moment

look, im just a casual investor and i wouldnt ever claim to be an expert on either. theres also the fact that american & aussie markets are very different, and i have absolutely zero experience in the US.

however, from my experience over here- housing prices are going up faster than someone (im on an average salary) can afford to save. in my local area, house prices have doubled (on average) every 9 years since 1972. the thing with property that makes it better than stock market is that youre actually buying something; rather than a promise. if things go bad you can always offload houses. but more importantly- **people always need somewhere to live**. if there is a property market crash you still have those bricks and mortar. and if there is a crash theres a good opportunity to leverage the equity you have into buying more property at post-crash prices

you buy an average house, rent it out for ten years; and even if that house hasnt gone up in value at all, youve got 10 years worth of equity built into it that you have contributed very little from your own pocket.

i just bought a unit for around $160K (AU) and with people renting its costing me only $50/week (and this is before you factor in tax concessions) which is nothing to me.

just be smart and buy somewhere that people will be happy to live and youre laughing imo, esp if you have a decent salary backing you up and can afford several loans. as each property's equity increases you can afford to borrow more money.

again, this is just my experience, i dont know all the ins and outs. but i know as soon as i can afford to borrow some more, ill be buying more property for sure. using this mantra my best friend has become a millionaire (on paper) in about 6 years.

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