[Bhizz]

I figured this would be the best place for this.

I was involved in a car accident in May of 2009 and have since been pretty ****ed up(it was due to a drunk driver).

I am expected to receive at least $20,000 and up to $70,000.

My medical bills have already been covered every step of the way so what i do receive from the settlement will basically be for compensation only.



Now that the background of how i am coming into money has been covered I'll get to my question.

What would YOU personally do with $20,000?


Here are a couple ideas i have had.


1. purchase cars/trucks for well below market value(via craigslist, ebay, newspaper ads, etc) for small profits (my dad does this for a hobby and make about 1000 dollar per car and flips them usually within 2 weeks as long as they are purchased for the right price)


2. purchase e-cigarettes and market them locally to gas stations.(i know a couple gas station owners who said they are interested)
This would bring in small profits as well (about 300 dollars bulk sale per gas station)


3. Invest in stocks(if so which ones? I was thinking a stock in Redbox would turn out profitable in the long run because of how Hollywood Video is failing as well as Blockbuster due to redboxes success)




What would YOU do with $20,000

[theubernoob]

I would throw it into a no load index fund. or do a **** ton of research and figure out a handful of stocks to get into, but i don't really like that approach.

and dollar cost average the **** in. i don't feel good about the next 5 years.

[JmcClane]

I voted other. We're gonna die in less than 3 years so hookers and blow man, hookers and blow.

[DYEhardPballer_16]

personally i would invest in stocks. This is sort of bias due to the fact that currently trade stocks. As of which ones to trade. No one will probly tell you which ones to trade. People will advise you. But this is only due to the face that you can lose money in the stock market. If you want to do it i would suggest you do some research on stock trading. Read the sticky in here, go online and buy a few books, but do some research. I only started stock trading about 6 months ago and i have made some and lost some. Just be careful. My suggestion to you is to put it in a savings account or a very short term CD (3 month or 6 month) until you know what you want to do. Also if you do decide to invest in stock. I wouldnt suggest putting all of it into a stock account. Personally i'd put half. The rest i'd do CDs, bonds, or something safer. Good luck to you.

[Bhizz]

Thanks for the advice!
i would love to get into stocks but would definately need to read up on doing so.

Would it be smart to hire a stock broker of sorts to do it for me or would that basically drain me.

[Thrill.Ride07]

Originally Posted by Bhizz

Thanks for the advice!
i would love to get into stocks but would definately need to read up on doing so.

Would it be smart to hire a stock broker of sorts to do it for me or would that basically drain me.

Stock broker will cost you some money. If you are not investing at least a hundred thousand I would stick to discount brokerages like E-Trade or through your bank. What are you good at? Can you buy fix and sell cars? Can you analyse and do mathematics to figure out good stocks? Maybe talk to your bank its free to seek some advice.

[DYEhardPballer_16]

like the poster above me said. Stick with the discount brokers. You would need a fairly large sum of money for a stock broker. Like you said they could possibly drain you. But just do some research and you could turn whatever amount you get your hands on into possibly a lot more.

[Stupid2k5ers]

While it is certainly true that most money managers will probably have no interest in you with that sum of money, it is fairly ignorant to tell someone with no knowledge of investing to pick some stocks and go for it. Like one of the posters above said, your best bet is probably to invest in a no to low load index fund. Research shows that the vast majority of money managers don't outperform the market anyway. If there is one thing you definitely don't want to do it's try to pick stocks on your own if you have no knowledge of how investing works.

[berry_wendel]

I would use to start some type of IRA

[FiresofSirius]

Originally Posted by Stupid2k5ers

Research shows that the vast majority of money managers don't outperform the market anyway. If there is one thing you definitely don't want to do it's try to pick stocks on your own if you have no knowledge of how investing works.

Too true, speaking with a financial adviser can help reveal your risk tolerance and can help them recommend a diversified portfolio of investments. Be careful as some "financial advisers" are simply glorified salesman earning commissions from their sale of funds. A registered CFP is the best choice as they are held to a higher ethical standards and must past a rigorous three part exam which challenges their knowledge of evaluating and recommending investments for their clients.

Pretty much try and avoid the AXA Advisors, First Investors, and Northwestern Mutual type financial planners. Generally these "advisers" are recent college graduates just pushed out from under their supervisor's wing starting in the financial planning world. This isn't to say there aren't some good advisers in these firms, but from my experience in dealing with and personal relationship with some people who've worked there, I'd take my money some place else.

[mattyb]

Invest in yourself, use some of it to make do some work for you, like stocks etc, but i would use the rest of it to have a business start up.

[hell's army-mid]

Semi-old thread, but whatever.

Do a CD ladder. It is very low-risk to no-risk savings, and you can make a good chunk of change for little to no work at all. All of this while having an amount of money fairly liquid.

[Karnivor'sFan]

Red box idea its good but dont put much into it let it grow and take out a little at the time. But can you tell us whats your ocupation right now? I would invest in a business depending on what you know how to do.

[ctindell]

Redbox is not a traded company, you will not be able to buy stock in them. You can own Coinstar, which is the majority shareholder of Redbox

Invest it in an ETF...which ETF, up to what your long term financial goals are

What is an ETF?
ETF's are investing vehicles that hold dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of companies under one umbrella unified by a particular investing theme. Here is an example of an ETFs and what sector they are involved in:

- SPDR S&P 500 ETF
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a fund that, before expenses, generally corresponds to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Index (Ticker: SPTR).

Year-over-year you will rarely beat the market; many people are under the notion that it is easy to make money in the stock market based on CNBC commentators or viewing the vast wealth of Warren Buffett, George Soros or any big name hedge fund manager. The fact of the matter is that only a small percentage beat the market year over year.

If you believe you have a "hidden gem", what makes you believe you are the only one? Do research, if the numbers agree to your gut then buy.

[IRStookmyspyder]

Why not put it into a CD at your bank? Maybe not all of it, but a good portion of it. Unless you are planning on needing a new car or something big I see this as a good option to make some money. It might not yield the highest profit, but there are no risk in this.

[iPaint106]

Buy stock in Macaroni companies. Trust me.

[bnstphnsn]

Originally Posted by IRStookmyspyder

Why not put it into a CD at your bank? Maybe not all of it, but a good portion of it. Unless you are planning on needing a new car or something big I see this as a good option to make some money. It might not yield the highest profit, but there are no risk in this.

I would do this at least until you figure out what you really want to do with the money. A CD is a safe place to keep it and let it grow a bit before you decide where/how/when/why you want to invest it into more risky but more lucrative investments. This would give you time to research your ideas and make sure they are do-able.

The car idea sounds like you would not need all $20,000 to buy the car you would fix up. So maybe a combo of idea 1 and 3. Keep $10,000 out to buy and fix up a car or two and put the other money into an investment that matches your risk tolerance. Then when you sell your car(s) use that money to buy another fixer-upper and either use the profits for bills etc or skim the profits and put them into your investment.

PS: I would also say pay off any credit card bills, etc that you have first and foremost. The interest on these could easily outrun any return you can get in the market or on your business ideas.

[Calin]

If you were to put money in the stock market, I would buy high quality large cap companies that pay dividend. MO, VZ, VOD, KO etc.....

Index funds are ok but people always want to beat the index at least some of the time. As said before most managers lose to the index. That is a misstatement. Also most index funds or index ETF always lose to the index.

I would go with the dividend story and invest the dividend into an aggressive growth mutual fund, probably of a global nature.

[theubernoob]

Originally Posted by Calin

If you were to put money in the stock market, I would buy high quality large cap companies that pay dividend. MO, VZ, VOD, KO etc.....

Index funds are ok but people always want to beat the index at least some of the time. As said before most managers lose to the index. That is a misstatement. Also most index funds or index ETF always lose to the index.

I would go with the dividend story and invest the dividend into an aggressive growth mutual fund, probably of a global nature.

in the long run index funds are the best bet. you pay taxes on dividends and if you're buying and selling stocks all the time you get taxed on those too. also, if you have a fund manager he will charge a commission and you'll lose more of your money that way too.

short term, go ahead and pick some stocks or get a manager

[PbN_AutoTrader]

1. send me the $$

2. sit back

3. profit


4. repeat