Financial Tips

[Young Forbes]

Fellow BOTL Young Forbes here,
The intent of this post is to generate a thread where we can come together and share pointers or advice, which could deem very valuable for our B/SOTL.
To start things off i opened a Scottrade account, with reason being its only $7 in comission fees and there are no maintenace fees either, which is a plus;and for research purposes i use Motley Fool and Zack investments.
The three stocks i have purchased so far are ATVI, YONG and UEPS.
YONG(ticker symbol) is an agricultural company based in China, set to change the agricultural market in China. They are to present at an Asian conference in New York around mid September. I like ATVI (ticker symbol) because they are video game maker, with very good products in the pipeline which should an added bonus for around the holiday season.
Please fellow S/BOTL, lets help eachother out , in our pursuit for finacial freedom and more money to buy cigars for humidors, coolidors,etc.
David B.

[ggiese]

So - is it your plan to buy low and sell high? Or were you going for long term investment?

Here's a website for you...



Hot Penny Stocks



You should also look at short sales.


BTW - any plans for the millions you're going to pull in? Perhaps a new car (BMW, Caddy, Audi)? Or - maybe a 40+ foot boat? ...vacation home in the Hamptons?

[MarineOne]

Wanna throw in some ForEx, too?



Kris

[kevin7]

Meth manufacturing is where it's at now man. People are unemployed and will trade you some cool possessions for rocks ,just be sure to use protection if you are trading out services from housewives .

[denver24]

Individual stock picking is difficult, a bit like gambling, and billions of dollars are spent by major companies to do the research for you (Merrill, Fidelity, and others). Also, individual stocks offer little diversity. It is also not advisable to trade stock picks or financial tips, because in some cases it can be illegal.

I appreciate the thought, however, I think it best that you consult with a professional.

I'd recommend this guy:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HEprlTrV4P...thew_lesko.gif

[mrtr33]

I second Ian's post. Picking individual stocks, even after independently researching them, is a risky financial venture, especially for someone looking to build wealth. It's risky for two reasons:

1. Leave stock market choices to stock market professionals
2. All of your eggs are in one basket

To explain:
It's the job of financial institutions to keep track of the stock market. Theoretically, I suppose you *could* watch the stock market every day, keep careful notes of trends in consumerism, and keep an eye out for potential money makers. But this is very time-consuming, and time is worth money. I don't have the money to throw away researching stocks - that is someone else's job.
If one of those stocks fail - let's say YONG experiences a drought, US/China political relations sour, or their prices aren't competitive and they are no longer an interest to consumers, then you're done. Thanks for donating to someone's small-business idea.

A better strategy for investing in the stock market is to look for mutual funds. These are professionally managed funds that spread your money throughout many different companies. It's best to find a mutual fund company that has been in business for a long time, and has a proven track record of performance. You also want to make sure that the broker you are dealing with works off of a salary and not a commission. If he/she works off of a commission, they will look to steer you towards the managed funds that will make them the most money. Especially if they tell you they work for commission and try to assure you that they won't try to steer your decision towards a particular managed fund.

Still a better financial strategy is to eliminate as much tangible debt as you possibly can. By tangible debt, I'm talking about credit cards, student loans, money you may owe family members, your bookie, etc. That way, if you do invest and lose money, you aren't accountable to anyone else for any other finances. Instead of using credit cards, try saving up the maximum credit limit the credit cards will give you instead. It's only a matter of months before all credit cards start charging fees, anyway, and those ridiculous point/money-back scams are NEVER worth it.

Other, unsolicited advice:
Never have a savings account. Keep your money in a money market account. You can write checks against it with no penalty.
Don't use a bank. Get in with a credit union. Usually, you can use any other credit union ATM for no fee. Sure, Chase may have 12,000 ATMs for you to choose from, but there are always MANY more credit union ATMs collectively.
Read: Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey; Rich Dad/Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki; The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life by Alice Schroder. I recommend you read them in that order, however, unless you are in a financially rich position, you probably won't be able to apply principles in the latter two for some time.
Be patient. No one gets rich quickly.

[bigwhiteash]

I second K7's post.. A properly run meth lab should rake in the paper!

Just don't get high on your own supply.

[ggiese]

Be patient. No one gets rich quickly.

Well now - that just BLOWS! young furbee can be what he wants to be if he cannot get rich quickly.

[heftysmokes]

Financial Tip No. 1- Don't look for financial advice in a cigar forum.

Financial Tip No. 2- While cutting your meth with baby formula may yield a higher quality product, the added expense just isn't worth it...it's fucking meth! Go as cheap as possible; use talcum powder. It looks great and is way cheaper. Better yet, go designer! Cut with tang for citrus-y good geeter or try Crystal Lite in your crystal: berry, melon, lemon, all kinds of super flavors for the kids!

[cinda]

Financial Tip No. 1- Don't look for financial advice in a cigar forum.

Darn wish someone would of told me that sooner. Five years wasted ..

[sammis]

for mrtr33's post,

excellent info!

[Smoked!]

How on Earth did I miss this?

This is just nuts, furbee. Your compounding lab privileges are suspended permanently.
Now, back slowly away from the beaker, and no one gets hurt...

(Don't think for a minute that my pals at Methodist in Park Slope aren't on to you.)

[MarineOne]

Financial Tip No. 2- While cutting your meth with baby formula may yield a higher quality product, the added expense just isn't worth it...it's fucking meth! Go as cheap as possible; use talcum powder. It looks great and is way cheaper. Better yet, go designer! Cut with tang for citrus-y good geeter or try Crystal Lite in your crystal: berry, melon, lemon, all kinds of super flavors for the kids!

Baby formula? Tang? Crystal Light? Regular talcum powder?

Try generic baby powder instead. Not the Johnson & Johnson stuff, but I'm talking about the crap you get from like the "Benjamin Franklin 5 and Dime" or the more well known "99 Cents Only" stores. It comes with a special added ingredient, melamine, and you don't cut into your profit margin as much.

And if you want flavor, grind up one of those Acid sticks and drop it in.


-K

[Young Forbes]

I have read all your posts and appreciate some of the positive criticism. I will continue to trade stocks and options so that way i can get a better grasp of the markets. Please still submit your ideas and lets help eachother out.

[bigwhiteash]

Here's a tip:

Invest heavily in STFU.

[ggiese]

I have read all your posts and appreciate some of the positive criticism. I will continue to trade stocks and options so that way i can get a better grasp of the markets. Please still submit your ideas and lets help eachother out.

Here's some "positive" criticism, just to "help" you out... You can get a better "grasp" of the market by reading and studying, not buying/selling stocks on speculation or posting a s "how do I get rich?" thread on a cigar forum. And (as an extra added bonus) it's a HELL of a lot cheaper...

You want a real shot at getting rich? Buy lottery tickets.

[Irish79]

Great post mrtr33. While I will dabble in individual stocks now and then, I have most of my money in mutual funds (as you suggested). One of the keys is diversification and you need a lot of money to adequately diversify via individual stocks whereas mutual funds make it easy. One point that I will add in regards to picking a mutual fund company, in addition to picking a fund with a proven track record, also take notice of the expenses that the fund charges, as these can vary greatly. Also research the fund manager(s) to see how long they have been at the helm. Were they the ones responsible for the consistent 10 year run or was there a recent change? Also determine your risk tolerance. I realize that I have many years until retirement and it doesn't phase me (too much) to see my portfolio down 50% (as it has been in the past year), as I believe that time is on my side and that long-term aggressive mutual funds are the best option for me. My brother can't stand to see his portfolio decline, so he's in more conservative funds. Higher risk = higher potential reward.

Individual stocks can be very rewarding, but you have to do your research and keep on top of it. I have doubled my money in a week but I have also taken 80% losses. Personally, I view myself investing with the mutual funds and "playing" with individual stocks. I am completely okay with losing the money that I am playing with and picking a couple of individual stocks is sort of fun. But that's just me and I'm not saying it's the same for anyone else. I became interested in investing in high school and started buying mutual funds as soon I turned 18 and stocks at 20. I also second Mark's suggestion to read about the markets.

A few of the books that I remember from my college classes are:
- Benjamin Graham's "Security Analysis". Graham was sort of the father of value investing and greatly influenced Warren Buffet
- Peter Lynch's "One Up on Wall Street". Lynch ran Fidelity's Magellan fund for 13 years, averaging a 29% return, which is fantastic
- William J. O'Neil's "How to Make Money in Stocks". O'Neil was successful enough as a stock-picker that he was able to buy a seat on Wall Street by the age of 30 and went on to start a paper, "Investor's Business Daily" or IBD.

Read and determine what your investing style is. Graham & Buffet are value guys while O'Neil is more of a growth investor. A friend and I actually ran a yearlong stock simulation where we each had a hypothetical $1M. We would track all of our "transactions" in order to see how the different philosophies played out and what style we were each comfortable with. And it didn't cost us a dime, but it did take a lot of time. Time that I don't have now (we were in college at the time), but I'm throwing it out there as something to try.

I was a member of the Motley Fool for a year or so. They recommended some great stocks and would explain their reasoning for recommending it, which is more valuable to me than just giving me a stock symbol.

This is all just my 2 cents. Take it for what it’s worth.

[Mizicke5273]

Your 24 and pissing with stocks? Your not an accountant so what's the point right now? And surly there are better things to spend your money on? I doubt you have the knowledge and experience needed to be successful with stocks, else you would have been an accountant or a stock broker, no? Now if you were say ~40, making a decent living, have some money saved, and able to afford tieing money up in investments for long term goals; then that would be a different story. But you seem to be racin for the get rich quick route, which I don't think stocks are going to help you.

FYI, getting rich quick is not easy. Bout the only ways anymore are doing things illegal, which will get you in the end anyway.

[cinda]

You might try selling your blood and any other thing you can get your hands on. Then go to the casino put all your cash on red. DO not forget to wear red shoes and turn three times while the wheel is spinning..it really increases your odds. This technique only takes a minute to double your money, how great is that! Like GG said buying lottery tickets are also an easy way to make money if it's too hard to get to the casino. All the best of luck to you ya!

[ggiese]

You might try selling your blood and any other thing you can get your hands on. Then go to the casino put all your cash on red. DO not forget to wear red shoes and turn three times while the wheel is spinning..it really increases your odds. This technique only takes a minute to double your money, how great is that! Like GG said buying lottery tickets are also an easy way to make money if it's too hard to get to the casino. All the best of luck to you ya!

I hadn't even thought of the sale of plasma. Damn - that's a GREAT money maker!!!

...and the chance to double your money on one spin> How can you pass that up!

Dang- you're a GENIUS!!!


Guess what I'm doing this weekend!