Investments

TwoBallScrewBall · Dec 20, 2005

Re: Investments

Yeah buy a corvette and then stick it in a garage somewhere. My dad's 1970 went for $4000 new and is worth about $15000 now. And that has lots of miles and is in awesome shape but not mint. Mint are worth, well, a mint.

LubeDude · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

There will definatly be at least half that amount kept in a secure place with at least some interest. I already have my eye on a few cars I know about. I can double any investment in about six months with just a bit of labor on my part. There is a 1967 Elcamino just down the road from me that I have been in contact with the owner. Needs a complete redo, but its not rusted out. Hey, remember, "Im in the know"! Especially about such things as cars and the Mafia.

DJ · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

My point is, I wouldn't risk anything if I had $50k and it was my only $50k. All sound investment strategies rely on diversification to protect the portfolio. Taking $50k and investing in something other than an FDIC insured deposit (like a CD) just isn't sound advice. When he has $300k then it's time to make the investments like $50k land purchase, $50k in an offshore loss account , etc, but not now, IMO.

FDIC, and that's a guarantee"? Remember the S & L fiasco, of which "Maverick" John McCain was a HUGE part of? No thanks-land. They ain't making anymore. With that said, be careful what you buy. Find a piece you'd like to have and by it. Chances are, someone else will like it more. Even if it does depreciate, over a year or two, it WILL come back. It always does. Look at history. Land has NEVER gone bad. Be prepared for a long run. But, I think that is what you are looking for. BTW, midwest land is undervalued and will be for MANY years.

JB · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

Anything that claims fast, high profit is also high risk. There is no "only" way to both protect and grow money, but there are a zillion (perhaps a Bazillion) ways to risk it for high payoff. My choice for long term capital gain was and is unimproved rural land suitable for agriculture, livestock or residential use within 100 miles of a major industrial/business center. The Hideout is my third venture of its type. It is also the third one to payback in excess of 10% annually, after taxes.

txswinner · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

Land you say and all of you hated Hillary and condemned her (wrongly it proved out). Now you say land. Come on now, land has been the biggest con forever. Yes returns have been good over the recent years but it can bite you quickly. Taxes etc can really wreck things. Also is there no circumstance that you might need the money. Recently got my Enron report and still own a considerable number of shares that would love to make a deal on for you. Enough of my advice.

mattttt25 · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

lol at txswinner.... i still have the letter that stated, "your shares are now worth zero. thanks for investing!"

KRS · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

You used the wrong tense txswinner, we didn't "hated" hillary, we "hate" hillary, as in the past, present and future.

treedancer · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

My dad's 1970 went for $4000 new and is worth about $15000 now. And that has lots of miles and is in awesome shape but not mint. Mint are worth, well, a mint.

hmmm wonder what that would be in 2006 dollars?

Kiwi Phil · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

Hi Lubedude. I am not completely stupid with money, although my attitudes are probably from an era before the 60's. I don't know much about you so excuse me for generalising, and probably making incorrect assumptions. But here goes. The 1st question I would ask is - do you have a mortgage on your present home. If so, free-hold the bugxar. This is especially important if you work for a Salary/Wage, due to the manner in which our Govts tax people. Another hint, if you have debt on Cr Cards etc, get rid of the debt, reduce the limits, and clear any Dr balances on a weekly basis. Do not purchase what you do not have cash saving for. In other words, "purchase out of tax paid income". I'll bet that if you followed this routine, in 5yrs you would be a completely different person. You'll just sit quietly on the porch, coldie in hand, watching everyone else fighting the tide. If you are in this position already, sorry for taking up your time. Cheers Phillip PS: I believe the wealthiest man in the street is the one who owns everything, NOT the one with the biggest everything.

mattttt25 · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

phil, while your thoughts are sound and almost correct, it doesn't always apply these days. those who think they are wealthy if they simply own everything were born before the age of investing. they're the same people that would work for the same company for 40 years, celebrate when they made their 360th mortgage payment, and depend on that pension to get by. these days, putting money into your mortgage is about as rewarding as putting that cash under your pillow. unless you plan to retire very soon and simply need to rid yourself of that mortgage (because you didn't invest well and won't be able to afford it), it just doesn't work. don't confuse this with investing in properties. if done correctly,using that money as a necessary downpayment is a great investment.

18rabbit · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

For anyone interested in land, Google for "real estate bubble" and read, read, read. Don't stop at one website, cover many websites including the progessive liberal news and conservative right news. something will fall out, something common to all of them. Also look for what Alan Greenspan has been saying to the investment community regarding the bubble relative to the stability of the US economy. Sadly, if you want to reduce the greatest amount of risk on an investment, you have to move your money out of the US, out of US dollars.

LubeDude · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

Originally posted by Kiwi Phil: Hi Lubedude. If you are in this position already, sorry for taking up your time. Cheers Phillip

Ive been where you describe, and at this time, I dont owe squate other than about $4,000.00 on a lean on my house when I hooked up to city water. Of course, that will be eliminated. Everything I have is paid for. Some of which will need to be replaced. I have allready figured this in and figure to have about what I said to invest leaving me with roughly $10,000.00 to have in a reserve to get into if I want. I honestly think that I will be working with all together about 75-100,000. Please dont think that Im bragging about this, that wasnt my intention. Maybe I shouldnt have even mentioned it at all. What about Gold for some of it, does anyone own any Gold?

Dunaruna · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

Only the little ring on my left hand - not a bad investment if I do say so

.

Link · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

Originally posted by Dunaruna: Only the little ring on my left hand - not a bad investment if I do say so .

Good reply! (for someone whoes wife is looking at the screen)

Hey LD A lot of good advice here but I think you gave the best advice. (i think it was you) Go with what you know about and like doing IE: I've seen it said here on iboats several times that you can't make any money buying and selling used boats. Well for most that might be true. Billybob and I met in the 80's working in a marine parts store. He had made a ton of money and retired at age 37. Got into realestate and lost everything. To this day he swears NO-ONE can make any money with DIRT! He went back to what he knew. BOATS. Took a job with me at $1200.00 a month + commissions to pay bills. For the last ten years "Billybob" has worked for a Brokerage listing and selling 20-60+ ft small boats. His boss doesn't care that 5% of the boats Billybob sells are his. Sometimes he is the owner and listing agent and sometimes the seller, all three. He ofcourse isn't rich or retired anymore. But makes his Boss happy. From listing/selling he makes about 35K - 70K a year. A good income from my POV. But since his boss doesnt care where the listings come from.. (he makes a profit) Billybobs income is advanced by another $100.00 Grand as the seller! Go with what you know. My .02

Kiwi Phil · Dec 21, 2005

Re: Investments

Well in that case Lubedude, you are in a great position. You are not paying the parasites. What Link says about going with what you know is important. I have a few shares (blue ribbon), a bit of property, small amount in Mutual Funds, and some in Fixed Investments at a Bank. Over past 10 yrs this is how they have rated for me: 1. Fixed investment at Bank 2. Shares 3. Property 4. Mutual Funds BUT the best return I ever make is from my own business. Please note, I am talking nett returns here, not gross. Cheers Phillip

txswinner · Dec 22, 2005

Re: Investments

Lubedude, Your car idea is best imo as it is something you know and you are not relying on second hand info or advice from others whose agenda may be counter to yours. I learned a lesson on that late in life (Enron).

18rabbit · Dec 22, 2005

Re: Investments

Originally posted by LubeDude: What about Gold for some of it, does anyone own any Gold?

When you go to talk to a pro about what you will be doing with your money, precious metals will likely be a part of a diversified package. There are as many opinions on what percentage of your diversification should be gold as there are pros with advice. Gold is a strange beast, it is a std with a value that never changes, rather the value of all other currencies rise and fall relative to gold. When the USD was gold backed, its value never changed year to year, it couldnt. After going off the gold std, the USD became what is called a fiat currency, its value is based on faith the issuing country will make good on the face value of what is printed on the paper notes (dollars). We do not trade dollars based on their actual value, but rather on what the value is perceived to be. That is why something as vague as a rumor can cause the value of a fiat currency to rise or drop. You see/hear the word investment tossed around. Know that an investment implies an expectation of a return greater than what you put in. A liability is something that returns less value than what you put in. A new car is not an investment, it is a liability. A refrigerator is a liability. The purchase of a home can be an investment, but most people dont take advantage of it as such so for them it is actually a liability. To buy gold as an investment means you are looking for the US economy to drop in order for the gold to return more than you paid for it. If you believe the economy will improve, purchasing gold should be seen as a liability. Heres an example of the diff between actual and perceived values of our fiat currency: The actual value of $1 when Clinton took office was $0.34 The actual value of $1 when Clinton left office was $0.08 The actual value of $1 at the end of Bushs 1st term was $0.048 (less than five-cents) From 1992 to 2004 we did not see an 86% drop in the purchasing power of our dollars because other countries have faith we can provide goods and/or services to cover our printed dollars. However, the loss of the dollars value was not lost on them in the realm of a global economy. The global faith in the USD is waning. In the history of the world, no economy has ever survived the issuance of a fiat currency. But we live in a different time. Except to some degree for England and China, pretty much all countries are floating fiat currencies. China has been buying $30-billion of gold annually, shoring up her currency, the yuan. The US does not have any gold reserves, having sold them off in the 70s under Nixon. Btw, China is keeping her yuan artificially undervalued. Should you buy gold now? I dunno. You should have bought it before Clinton left office, at a time when the global markets were hoodwinked into believing the US economy was solid and the value of the USD was artificially inflated. Our economy wasnt solid, it was extremely vicarious, hence the 2001 stock market tanking. (Note/Hint/Caution: the current real estate market is lockstep in line with where the stock market was before the 2001 crash.) Had you bought gold then, you would have doubled your money in 5-years. Since Bush took office, the price of gold has been a consistent rise, meaning the global perception of our fiat currency, and thus our economy, has been a consistent decline. Kind of making sense why I said you need to move your money out of USD to reduce the risk of any investment? why I said to look internationally?!? Understanding why all serious money is OUTSIDE of the US, not in USDs? Buying gold is a way to move money out of USDs. If the real estate market "corrects" all at once, you will be glad you are holding gold. If it steps down less painfully, having gold could result in a small loss of its value due to other factors have a greater influence on the whole economy.

txswinner · Dec 23, 2005

Re: Investments

18R, Well explained and an impressive evidence of indept knowledge. And you hate lawyers, my my but you think like one (no offense meant as compliment of analytical expression).

Kiwi Phil · Dec 23, 2005

Re: Investments

Very goog 18R. Thanks. Cheers Phillip

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