1,000 to invest, any ideas?

fixer27

fixer27

Joined
Nov 17, 2004
Messages
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There is 1,000 just waiting to be invested, in the simplest manner possible.

Risk is an issue, so is a return comensurate with the risk. So what would be the "best" place to put this sum?

*Stocks
*Mutual Fund
*Bonds
*Something else

Let's hear some opinions!
 
I'd "invest" it in a new mountain bike. :D

Seriously though, you can't get any more safe than CDs or savings bonds.

-Bob
 
Your goal for this money is really determinative (retirement, kids' college, Bullitt Bike in 3 years, etc.), but as a good return, moderate risk investment if your time horizon is 5+ years, I vote for a Vanguard Index 500 or Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. Easy, simple, moderate risk, better than average returns because of low fees. :thumbup:

cheers
 
Was surprised to learn that they offer low rate loans,most thing brokers have to offer too .

Prime just went to 8.25 but with good credit,they offer car loans at 6.25.
A phone call might be worth a few minutes time. I didn't listen to all programs because I'm too old to be interested .

Uncle Alan
 
Are you looking at long term (more than five, or maybe ten years), or short term?

If long term, I'd say go with a mutual fund. Some mutual funds average 12% or more over the long term. Granted, there are market fluctuations that exist, and may appear to either make the fund appear to be dropping out of sight, or climbing really high. However, over time, the average is still higher than what is normally available on cds or bonds.

For short term,though, I'd go with bonds or cds.
 
Good advice-look at the time horizon, and your risk tolerance, and also, your intentions for the money. The other thing that you should be very careful of, is fees. If you are going to invest in Mutual funds, for example, deal directly with the company. Vanguard , Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price all are great companies and have very low fees, you should start there.
*disclaimer* I may or may not work for one of the above companies* :D
 
fixer27 said:
There is 1,000 just waiting to be invested, in the simplest manner possible.
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I'm a big fan of no-load equity mutual funds, but a thousand bucks won't make minimum investment at a lot of places these days. Many places will let you in with a lower initial investment if you'll commit to a monthly automatic investment (they suck the money right out of your checking account on a date you designate each month).

Otherwise, with a grand, see what you're bank is offering in CDs.

With only a grand, you're gonna want to be very careful about sales loads. It general, no matter how much you have, you want to be very careful about sales loads.
 
If you want a true investment, and not an income-generating source, then you need to sink that $1,000 into land. Study patiently and invest your grand at a land auction. Buy a piece of land in a strategic locale, i.e. on the outskirts of a developing town. It won't buy much, but the taxes you pay will never outgain the appreciation rate if you invest properly. The land will be worth twenty to hundred times as much in the next 20 yrs.
 
The other thing that you should be very careful of, is fees. If you are going to invest in Mutual funds, for example, deal directly with the company. Vanguard , Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price all are great companies and have very low fees, you should start there.
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No-load mutual funds are also available from discount brokerages. That way you won't be limited to buying one brand of fund or one type of investment. Some brokerages (even discount ones) charge a transaction fee on no-load funds. Scottrade charges $17 for some and nothing for others; TD Ameritrade charges $50 for some; Firstrade does not at all.

Full-service bokerages (Merrill Lynch for example) generally do not offer no-load funds. You'll pay a front-end sales load of 4% or more for many of the funds they offer.

Also be aware of possible yearly "maintainence" fees and service fees charged by the brokerages, yearly expense ratio charged by the fund, possible fees for holding a fund short-term, and fees for transfering out of one brokerage to another. Some are reasonable, some aren't. It really pays to shop around.

As Gollnick said, many mutual funds (particularly low-cost funds) have minimum investments of $2000 or more. Often times though the minimum is lower for IRA accounts.

-Bob
 
dsvirsky said:
Just blow it all on knives, like the rest of us.
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That's what I'm afraid I'll do! :D

Land for 1,000 an acre is a pipe dream in my neck of the woods unfortunately. We are experinceing the "real estate boom" in a big time way right now.

I would like to put it into a higher risk/return mutual fund rather than a bond or a CD. Does anyone have any links to that sort of fund?

I also looked into direct investment type options, buying the stock directly from the company (GE,Coca-Cola, Harley Davidson and many others offer this) But normally they want a direct draw every week from your paycheck so I passed on that.

(And Dijos, do you get a commission? :D )
 
Sure...Your $1000 would pay 1/2 of my hospital/ER bill from my "knife accident" (See my 2 threads in the "Whine & Cheese" forum)...By my way of thinking, THAT would be a GOOD investment for you.:D.:D.
 
Sure. Patterson Dental Supply stock PDCO or Henry Shein Dental Supply. HSIC.

Both have been good investments for us.

STR
 
Add a few bucks to that $1000.00 and buy 50 shares of NVDA. It's the company that dominates the gaming industry making 3d video accellerator chips. It's been cyclical but the returns over the last few years have been awesome. It's down near $21.00 a share right now and with the Play Station 3 around the corner is poised for another run up.

A more conservative play would be GLW otherwise known as Corning. A solid 100 year old American company.

YMMV
 
I lean toward Glockmans thinking. Help a brother out! I got a splinter of steel at work last week . Still stings a bit. Worth a fiver eh buddy?
But seriously, I suggest you do a bit of questioning your local contacts and find a good financial advisor nearby. Turn that Grand into 2 and you are on your way to retirement, and the 2008 Blade Show "Haul of the Year".
 
Use the $1000 for a class that gets you started in something you've always wanted to do OR a class the directly relates to our job so that it will help further your career / earning power.
 
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