[yuik (Banned)]

I will put away 50k each year and would like to get to around 200k in 3 years or more for a nice 60% or more down payment on a 1 br condo .

I realized at times I beat the s&p 500 and Dow Jones by 20% at other times I get my *** kicked ( and in paying A ton of transaction fees to pretty much gamble based on my thoughts on earning reports ). Not good .

My idea is to just pick a company like vanguard where I can trade their etfs and mutual funds for free . Every 2 weeks pick an etf or mutual fund that was doing the worst and buy more off it
. While trying to have good diversity .


My only problem is is vanguard pulls and Enron and tanks for some reason , would I be ****ed considering all my holdings are vanguard etfs and mutual funds ? (I know we have bigger problems hypothetically speaking if vanguard goes belly up ) . But is there a risk is all the etfs and mutual funds you own are all by one company say vanguard or pro shares ?

[Icanshootit41]

I will put away 50k each year and would like to get to around 200k in 3 years or more for a nice 60% or more down payment on a 1 br condo .

I'm not sure how much you make,but that sounds like a pretty aggressive and good savings plan, with one caveat. Taking a larger loan than 40% out on your condo isn't necessarily a bad idea.

Think of this scenario: Taking all 200k and dumping into the condo, taking a ~4% interest rate on the mortgage for the rest of the house. - This is your scenario.

Or having 200k and putting only 100k down, taking out a larger mortgage, but still only taking a ~4% hit on the mortgage. If you can invest that extra $100k in the markets and get a > 4% return, you should do this instead of putting it into the house.


I realized at times I beat the s&p 500 and Dow Jones by 20% at other times I get my *** kicked ( and in paying A ton of transaction fees to pretty much gamble based on my thoughts on earning reports ). Not good .


It seems as if you are trading pretty short-term. Repeated independent studies show that in the long run, swing trading or day-trading stocks is not profitable. Try keeping investments very long term. Yes, read quarterly earning statements, but focus on future outlooks in their annual reports. Plan to invest in terms of years, not days, weeks, or months.

My idea is to just pick a company like vanguard where I can trade their etfs and mutual funds for free . Every 2 weeks pick an etf or mutual fund that was doing the worst and buy more off it
. While trying to have good diversity .

You're pretty smart to be considering Vanguard. One thing to note is that even if the Vanguard company goes belly up, your money will be fine. It's not Vanguard that matters, it's the funds you invest in, and they depend on the companies and markets your money is dispersed in. Vanguard also has no front-end or back-end costs, and the lowest managing costs in the business.

Again, think short term, don't just pick the worst performers every 2 weeks, because transaction costs will nickel and dime you to death. Study several (or more) funds and pick a few to put your money in.

Let me know what you think.

[yuik (Banned)]

That was actually great advice thanks !

[yuik (Banned)]

Yeah my buddy who told me about the worst 2 performers each week also had similar advice .


He was like why would I want to pay for everything in cash when at times a loan might be better even though I don't need it . His example was car financing with like 0% apr where that 37k would make much more in stocks .

[yuik (Banned)]

Also to not get ****ed with taxes is there any benefit to holding things for at least a year for equities or is that gone .

Also mutual funds vs etfs , any differences tax wise In the USA

[PillsburyDoughboy]

You also fail to factor in that mortgage interest is deductible from your taxes assuming this is your primary residence. In this case I would put down the minimum amount to avoid pmi.

Assets held over a year are not taxed as capital gains but you must obey the 30 day rule.

If you have enough assets some brokers will lower your transaction fees, call and ask. You can also move to some low cost options on the net.

[yuik (Banned)]

great advice thanks

[PillsburyDoughboy]

so can you get me a job that where i can SAVE 50k a year and not live in a ****ty state like utah?

[yuik (Banned)]

Originally Posted by PillsburyDoughboy

so can you get me a job that where i can SAVE 50k a year and not live in a ****ty state like utah?

Yeah man get a CS degree from a top
20 school and you can get well over 100k without bonuses and stock in Seattle boulder Co or most of call .

You can also get close to the same if you choose like an oil company due to texases lower standard of living and the lack of sexiness of those companies .

It's more difficult to do on the east due to the higher standard of living (only really google in NYC Would be possible unless your a boss at negations ) also hedge funds but 60 hour work weeks are not cool .

[PbN_AutoTrader]

Buy the property as a LLC

Structure the deal so that you perhaps get cash back in the deal.
Look for a 2 or 3 bed ; easier resale and potential equity appreciation. Not to mention if you want to lease it later perhaps. Or room mates? cash flow?

Rates right now are low it's silly to use your own cash. Hold onto your cash for investing elsewhere. Some areas the price appreciation greatly exceeds the rate of interest and you're getting paid 4-6%+/- to use the money basically.

I do some investing and some trading. a lot of my portfolio is energy related and dividend stocks. If you want to maximize gains perhaps cycle your positions through the year. "sell in may and go away" and such.

best of luck to all!