If You Had $20k and No Savings...

[Matt Collins]

It would depend on a lot of other factors... do you have a steady job? Do you have debt? Do you have any future obligations coming due in the near future, etc.


Google for Harry Browne's Permanant Portfolio and that is a good place to start.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

What would you do with the money right now? I'm asking in complete seriousness, and could really use the advice. Where would you invest? And mutual funds worth looking at? How much into gold & silver?

I would invest it in different places . Tools that never go obsolete and are highly sought after, maybe a rifle, some pre 1960s minted u.s. coins and just spend it .Id probably spend it on something like obtaining a very rare but in demand trade skill and the tools to do that trade .

 

[Jordan]

I'd buy a $20,000 diamond ring and marry a doctor.

Seriously, keep it in cash for emergencies. Your next dollar would be a good fit for Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index.

 

[presence]

6.5k pole barn
5k solar panels and batteries
2.5k 4x triaxle loads firewood logs
2k backhoe upgrades
1k remaining parts for diesel swap on truck
1k Quaife LSD for my 50 mpg TDI
1k Mason jar, under grade.
1k Home Depot Tool department

 

[Pauls' Revere]

pay off debt(s)

 

[2young2vote]

Setting your sites kind of low there 2young, eh? $20,000 isn't a lot of money. Why would you want to work a minimum wage job?

When I say minimum wage job I don't necessarily mean I'd actually earn minimum wage, I just meant a low paying job that can be easily found around the city. Obviously if I could get a better job I would, but the low paying one is the starting point to get going. I made an excel spreadsheet and estimated that someone could put anywhere from $5000 to $7000 a year into a savings account while making $14000 a year if they lived frugally and didn't have a car and mortgage and huge electric/gas/plumbing bills. The idea is to take care of all of the necessities in life before taking any risks.

 

[PierzStyx]

Use it to invest in the precious metals market asap, gold, silver, even copper. All of them are accumulating wealth and will continue to do so. I(nvest in any thing else and you'll only see what you invested in become worth less and less as the Federal Reserve manipulates and tanks the market and devalues the dollar.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

What would you do with the money right now? I'm asking in complete seriousness, and could really use the advice. Where would you invest? And mutual funds worth looking at? How much into gold & silver?

Depends on what assets you have. Do you own a home? A car? Are you satisfied with your current home? Does your car run well? If yes to all, I say forego the gold and silver for awhile to invest in real estate. It won't get you much, but it's a good start. I would try to build your income before you start pouring your cash into gold and silver. Only put into gold and silver (preferably silver) what you can afford to do without. From there, your decisions should be ruled mainly by good sense.

 

[botounami]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

 

[PaulConventionWV]

Haha, well my savings WERE Apple stock, but I had to bail on it because I think it's a sinking ship. I'm a small business owner making $800 a month, so it will be a long journey before I have more money to invest. I just need a safe place for that money. Inflation makes savings accounts pointless.

Good luck with your business. I just wonder what made you want to start one now? Living off of $800/month is not easy, so I assume you just started it and are starting to build. What business are you in?

 

[PaulConventionWV]

pay off debt(s)

Not being in debt is awesome. I only work part time and I've already saved up almost $3k in savings even while keeping my car in perfect running condition and eating out a good bit. That's after only being on the workforce for less than a year with a $8/hour job. Imagine what happens when I get a promotion/raise. Here's to beating the economy with very few responsibilities.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

If you are very long term, you should look into a Roth IRA or a Roth 401(k) brokerage account for a portion of your savings. The benefit there is that you can buy and sell as much as you want with no tax implications (or annual tax prep headaches), and when you take the money out when you retire, there will be no taxes.

For your emergency cash, you should shop around at Credit Unions. They often have better rates and services than banks.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

Use it to invest in the precious metals market asap, gold, silver, even copper. All of them are accumulating wealth and will continue to do so. I(nvest in any thing else and you'll only see what you invested in become worth less and less as the Federal Reserve manipulates and tanks the market and devalues the dollar.

That's not true. There are several investments that beat inflation. In fact, the fortune 500 companies almost always beat inflation, and that's a relatively safe investment. Small business also has potentially much better returns for long-term investors while being somewhat more risky. Real estate is always a good investment because returns are almost guaranteed for renters. It's like operating a mini-business that takes up almost none of your time so that you can have another job along with it.

The metals market will not make you any money, they only keep up with inflation, they don't beat it. Silver might be beating it right now, but long-term it's really only a safe-store for value, not a big retuns investment. Metals are not accumulating wealth, they're accumulating dollars and keeping roughly the same value they had before. The only reason they keep going up is because of inflation.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

By long-term savings, you mean what? Just keeping the money and letting it collect dust and lose value? The other guy had a good idea. Find a cheap duplex, triplex, or quadriplex, buy it (even if you have to get a mortgage) and rent out the other apartments. I saw a quadruplex for $31,000 not too long ago, and another one for $15,000 which I could have easily gotten an immediate additional $800/month from. Keep a small amount of emergency savings and use the rest to either grow your business or get some real estate.

 

[gwax23]

Do you own a home yet? If not get a duplex/triplex/quad and take advantage of the government's FHA program, and make money by renting out the other unit(s)

<= 3.5% interest rates
3.5% money down
270k max loan for single family, up to I think ~500k max loan for a quadplex property.

These loans are guaranteed by our wonderfully generous government, so if you have anything better than terrible credit you instantly qualify.

I just lost my car in Hurricane sandy and Im set to get a fat check from Insurance. Anyone have anymore information on this? Sounds like a interesting idea. I cant seem to find quadplex properties online....

 

[Seraphim]

In secular bull markets, assets accumulate purchasing power - they do not simply keep up with infltion.

Those who purchased gold/silver over the last 10 years have seen their purchasing power increase (WEALTH) by A LOT.

This bull market in precious metals is a super sized secular bull market. The metals are absolutely gaining wealth/purchasing power.

What you said about top producing companies is very true, however. A quality producer is a fantastic way to expand your wealth, especially if you recognize the value of the company earlier on.

That's not true. There are several investments that beat inflation. In fact, the fortune 500 companies almost always beat inflation, and that's a relatively safe investment. Small business also has potentially much better returns for long-term investors while being somewhat more risky. Real estate is always a good investment because returns are almost guaranteed for renters. It's like operating a mini-business that takes up almost none of your time so that you can have another job along with it.

The metals market will not make you any money, they only keep up with inflation, they don't beat it. Silver might be beating it right now, but long-term it's really only a safe-store for value, not a big retuns investment. Metals are not accumulating wealth, they're accumulating dollars and keeping roughly the same value they had before. The only reason they keep going up is because of inflation.

 

[Tpoints]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

Unless you either just want a degree or it's close to free, I wouldn't waste time on a philo degree, it will not increase your income.

You car has a year or 2 to live, so keep at least 5k for the next car.

 

[Tpoints]

That's not true. There are several investments that beat inflation. In fact, the fortune 500 companies almost always beat inflation, and that's a relatively safe investment. Small business also has potentially much better returns for long-term investors while being somewhat more risky. Real estate is always a good investment because returns are almost guaranteed for renters. It's like operating a mini-business that takes up almost none of your time so that you can have another job along with it.

The metals market will not make you any money, they only keep up with inflation, they don't beat it. Silver might be beating it right now, but long-term it's really only a safe-store for value, not a big retuns investment. Metals are not accumulating wealth, they're accumulating dollars and keeping roughly the same value they had before. The only reason they keep going up is because of inflation.

You don't sound like somebody who has been a landlord, have you not heard of the housing bubble and foreclosure explosion?

In your very next post you say there are houses selling for 30k, how is that a guaranteed investment to the current seller?

 

[Zippyjuan]

By long-term savings, you mean what? Just keeping the money and letting it collect dust and lose value? The other guy had a good idea. Find a cheap duplex, triplex, or quadriplex, buy it (even if you have to get a mortgage) and rent out the other apartments. I saw a quadruplex for $31,000 not too long ago, and another one for $15,000 which I could have easily gotten an immediate additional $800/month from. Keep a small amount of emergency savings and use the rest to either grow your business or get some real estate.

Some questions a potential investor in rental property should ask. What is the condition of the property? What would it cost to make it good enough to rent out? Get an inspection- especially of the roof- the most expensive to fix or replace. A cheap complex is probably priced low because it will cost a lot to bring it up to code. What are your costs and what can you rent it out at (you should be able to get enough rent in nine months to cover all of your expenses for the year)- what rent are similar units in the area getting? Do you want to be the landlord- fix everything and collect the rent. Kick out problem renters. Or would you pay somebody to do all of that (include that in your costs). Can you get a mortgage on the property? Don't forget property taxes in the expenses as well. You will need down payment and money to do initial fixing up of the place.

 

[LibertyCitrus]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

Sell your business.
Sell everything in your apartment
Get out of the apartment, start car camping
Buy passport, visas, plane ticket to Asian country of your choice
Sell your car, start backpacking, living at friends houses, couch surfing. Upgrade your backpacking equipment
Open a discount brokerage account, put all leftover money into stocks: Google, Tencent.
Hop on the plane to Asia
$19,000 is 5 years of backpacking around Southeast Asia/India/China getting market research for the international expansion of your tabletop gaming business.

You studied Asian philosophy and enjoy wilderness survival too.