I'm losing money in my 401K. I have about 5000.00 in the bank that I would like to invest before the dow comes back up if and when. Anyone have any suggestions?
If I had spare cash right now I would first set aside enough to live on for 6 months in an interest bearing savings account. That would pay better than Fed Bonds and be accessable in an emergency.
If I had more than that I would consider strong financials like Bank of America or Citigroup. It would be a gamble, they are waaay down but I expect that they will appreciate a lot in the next few years. Lose a little or gain a lot.
Real Estate. Houses are down in value. Buy them up and rent them out. Let someone else pay your mortgage. If you do not like being a land lord, you can hire a management company. If you are in TX the values have held but there are plenty of foreclosures to choos from. FL, CA,NM is a good place to invest because the bubble has burst and you can buy cheap.
I'm losing money in my 401K. I have about 5000.00 in the bank that I would like to invest before the dow comes back up if and when. Anyone have any suggestions?
There ain't a whole lot of options in the market for investing 5K, i would look at Money Market, T-bills or govt' backed bonds.
I recieved my statements yesterday, i'm down 28% and counting, mostly mutual funds.
This really sucks because i was planning not to work anymore on a full time basis.
I'm not sure a person could go wrong in today's market... except energy, which is still over-valued. The rest of it should see some decent gains by next year from what it is currently. It's definately a buyer's market.
if you won't need that money for 3-5 years, i'd go with SPY. basket of the S&P 500. the general market will be higher by then. there are specific companies if your risk tolerance is higher.
If I had spare cash right now I would first set aside enough to live on for 6 months in an interest bearing savings account. That would pay better than Fed Bonds and be accessable in an emergency.
If I had more than that I would consider strong financials like Bank of America or Citigroup. It would be a gamble, they are waaay down but I expect that they will appreciate a lot in the next few years. Lose a little or gain a lot.
Good advice from JB, especially the 6 month cushion. I own 3 blue chips and the only one that went up today was BOA.
Good luck, but remember that a little interest is better than the current losses many are taking right now.
Back in the mid-80's, with end of the Saving and Loans scandals, I was getting 8-8.5% on certificate of deposits (CD's), for periods as little as 1-year.
Maybe they will stage a comeback in this current mess.
Back in the mid-80's, with end of the Saving and Loans scandals, I was getting 8-8.5% on certificate of deposits (CD's), for periods as little as 1-year.
Maybe they will stage a comeback in this current mess.
But what was the inflation rate? You have to think about real rate of return, your rate of return after taxes and inflation.
If you are positive you won't need the money for at least the next 5 yrs and you already have an emergency fund of 3-6 months living expenses, then I would look at investing in a broad range index fund or ETF.
Make sure your 401k is diversified, and if there are sectors that your plan does not offer, you could also use that money to ensure you're diversified by purchasing whatever your plan lacks. To do this, you have to be sure you are looking at the cash and your 401k as one "big picture".
