I've never taken a personal finance or economy class since senior year of high school 9 years ago. I have $4000 sitting in an IRA and I don't know what to do with it. It's currently in a Schwab 2040 Target Mutual Fund (SWERX) but there really isn't enough aggressive growth for me. Help me invest it in a good company. Not just a financially solid company, but someone that's GREEN and good for the earth and not just about corporate greed.

9/6/2008 5:27:07 PM

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=508055&page=42

ask here.

9/6/2008 5:52:48 PM

thanks man!

9/6/2008 7:16:01 PM

I would invest further in stupid pets and tacky shirts

9/7/2008 3:08:58 AM

put it toward your mortgage.

9/14/2008 2:04:01 AM

^ why? you can probably get a higher return than the 5-6% you're probably paying on a mortgage. not to mention the tax deductions on the mortgage

9/14/2008 8:18:49 AM

yeah, as stated in the stock market thread, don't worry about green. that's stupid.

also, for the stated reasons, don't use it to pay down a mortgage. also stupid.

buy index funds...maybe put $3k in an S&P 500 tracker, and $1k each in small-cap and emerging market indices.

9/14/2008 7:11:19 PM

agreed

9/14/2008 7:34:57 PM

the market is crap, you will do better putting it in the money market, at least you will not see it immediately loose money the day after you put it in....global ecomony is slowing, use to be an area to invest, not now.....I dont know where you bank, but 3%-4% on money market for a year or so until the market settles...today will be terrible in the market and Tuesday not looking any better, the Dow will probably be under 10k by years end...then invest...wait until the bottom which i think will be around 10k.

there is no real safe area to invest....wait, government securities!

if you think you will need that 4k anytime soon, put it in money market.

International holdings have wild swings, they have been great in years past, now they are really taking beating....really bad....there is reason oil is going down even though when had Ike...not the demand....

[Edited on September 15, 2008 at 1:57 AM. Reason : w]

9/15/2008 1:52:32 AM

Psh. I'm going to dca all the way to the bottom.

9/15/2008 9:12:51 AM

Quote :

"if you think you will need that 4k anytime soon, put it in money market. "

oh yeah, no doubt. i was thinking that was just assumed, but i guess that should be specified. if you need the money within the next 5 years (or maybe even a little more), put it in a money market acct and call it a day. the index fund approach is for if you want to invest long term (like, for retirement, which is probably what you should do with it if you have a baseline stash of money already in a money market. if not, let this be your emergency fund savings)

[Edited on September 15, 2008 at 6:03 PM. Reason : asdfasd]

9/15/2008 6:03:09 PM

The corporate greed you won't be able to avoid. You can find some companies perhaps more ethical than others, but all are going to have a level of "greed" associated with it. (At least in the U.S., if you want to research some German or Japensese companies, might have some better luck.) Finding somebody truly "green", and not just pretending to be for cost saving purposes will also be difficult.

What are your short-term and long-term life goals? Answer those questions, and the answer should be pretty obvious where your money should be going.

9/18/2008 7:40:24 AM

hookers and blow. definitely better return than the market right now.

9/21/2008 7:55:14 PM

I'm guessing blow probably always returns better than the market.

9/21/2008 7:58:58 PM

yeah, it's just like anything else...take on more risk, you generally get greater returns.

if you're willing to risk getting your face blown off or doing a stint in the butt hut, running blow offers great ROI.

9/22/2008 5:29:38 PM

Roddy got it right. I wouldn't tie it up for too long right now. Save it for a rainy day in a Money Market. SECU was giving me 4.5% but now it's down to 3. I think WaMu is offering 3.75% now. I would do something like this where you know you're going to make something until the market shapes up.

Quote :

"It's currently in a Schwab 2040 Target Mutual Fund (SWERX) but there really isn't enough aggressive growth for me."

When you do invest in mutual funds, aggressive sounds fun and it's the right thing to do at your/our age, but be prepared to enjoy the highs and hold your ground through the lows. I was up 30% a few years ago, now I'm down ~35%. Suxor, but "you're in it for the long haul" as any financial advisor would tell you right now.

9/22/2008 6:37:21 PM

if you're in it for the short term, that's obviously good advice.


if you're in it for long term retirement savings, which you should be as long as your debt is under control, don't try to time the market. buy in now while the market is depressed. if it goes down some more, buy in some more.

9/22/2008 6:52:39 PM

9/23/2008 1:12:57 AM

Quote :

"Roddy got it right. I wouldn't tie it up for too long right now. Save it for a rainy day in a Money Market. SECU was giving me 4.5% but now it's down to 3. I think WaMu is offering 3.75% now. I would do something like this where you know you're going to make something until the market shapes up. "

bet your kicking yourself if you took this advice......

key words being money market and wamu

9/28/2008 3:19:41 AM

at this point you might as well go to AC or vegas

9/28/2008 3:38:13 AM

brk.b

9/28/2008 8:46:50 AM

^^^ eh? my emigrant direct one is FDIC insured it says. shouldnt be an issue.

9/28/2008 9:51:27 AM

buy gold.

put it in your mattress.

use it to start fires.

the dollar is gonna be worthless soon.

9/28/2008 2:12:05 PM

Guns and Ammo.

(Not the magazine)

9/29/2008 5:32:55 PM

Quote :

"bet your kicking yourself if you took this advice...... key words being money market and wamu "

WaMu, yes. MM, no. my SECU MM is still sitting at 3%. i'll be sure to let you know when it starts losing money.

9/29/2008 6:09:12 PM

we'll see in another year or ten.

10/2/2008 1:43:22 PM