What to do with a bunch of money?

mscard88 said:
Nah have a deal going on some Enron stock, deep deep discount. :D
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I Don't think Enron is the way to go. Their business model is sure to keep their stocks in a steady decline.
There was something on tv about that I think. Better to put in General Motors or Chrysler I think.
 
Some utility and energy stocks pay around 4% dividends.

Think Duke Energy, Chevron. That sort of thing.

Pretty conservative investments, but there's always some risk.

Just looked and Ford has a 5.3% yield. As does AT&T.

A diversified portfolio of a few of those would be relatively high yield/low risk.
 
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Ryanb said:
You got it! Unless your very incompetent making financial decisions, then there's no need for an advisor. You think they look after your pocket? I don't think so.
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My adviser has kept me from making a whole bunch of mistakes over the past few years that would have either caused me to lose a lot of money, or to miss out on gaining a lot of money. He has more than made up for his 0.5% commission, not counting the fact that I pay no trade fees when he initiates trades for me.
 
Bank account and don't let them talk you into a brokerage account. Any of these bond funds or stocks or MLPs can lose half your money overnight, sounds like you wouldn't be happy with that. BTW oil MLPs have been great if you can stand the risk, huge dividends, but like I said, you can lose your shirt if things go to ****, be careful.
 
Been a long, long recovery - 80 months? Versus the usual 65 or so? Mr. Recession likely on the way, but (hopefully) more than a year out? Or, maybe not? Clinton or Trump, either likely to be a one-and-done, without corporate tax reform happening during their tour, or any other sound economic moves. . . stay liquid my friend, unless you have expertise in rental markets, or some other niche real estate arena?
 
ya know, you can give me up to 60K and it will be tax free for me, and a deduction for you.......;)
 
If I had extra cash I think I would buy a hanger to store my plane. Maybe live in the hanger, tinker on the plane, eat a bit, drink a bit. What more could you ask for?......:)
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Money Market.
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In all seriousness, and given the current political uncertainties (which are already beating the **** out of the equity markets), this is what I'd use for a short-term stash. I have an MMA with Sallie Mae Bank that I use for this purpose. They're probably in the top ten MMAs interest-wise at the moment, and they provide checks for instant liquidity if needed. (Most MMAs do, by the way. Sallie Mae is by no means unique in that regard. A few even offer debit cards.)

Otherwise, maybe an assortment of well-managed mutual funds / ETFs, with enough of them weighted toward capital preservation to minimize your risk exposure. I've done much better with ETFs in general than with most of my own hand-selected investments. Funds investing in utilities, consumer staples, and high-quality bonds tend to be popular retreats in uncertain times.

But if the best realistic upside potential of the investments you're considering, in actual dollars, isn't much more than a top-tier MMA would yield, I'd hold my nose and go with the MMA right now, given the current uncertainties. I'm not moving any money out of equities at the moment; but other than automated DRPs, I'm not putting any money into them, either. It's all going into high-quality bond funds or my MMA until some time after the election, or possibly even the inauguration.

And horses, of course. I won a few bucks on Arrogate in the Breeders Cup yesterday, and almost hit it big on Hoppertunity to show. But alas, he was edged out by Keen Ice. Such is life.

Rich
 
Somedudeintn said:
Ok, so not a ton of money, but I'm about to list my house for sale and I've got a bit of equity in it. Will be moving to a new city and getting an apartment for a year before buying a house again. Where is the best place to keep a few dollars that I'd like to use in about a year. Right now I'm thinking that a money market would be best, but I would like a better return. I've thought about a dividend index fund, but I realize stocks for 1 year is riskier. Money would likely be deposited this December and pulled out again next December.

Thoughts?
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If you want to use it in about a year, I'm with the folks that say money market.
 
denverpilot said:
Perspective: Woukdnt spend much time worrying about it when the money made from the sale of a typical house might make you $300 invested for a year in liquid accounts. The markets are awash in money and begging for someone qualified to borrow it. They don't need yours.
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Bah. Typo in that. I slipped a decimal point. $3000.

Point is, you still aren't talking a whole heck of a lot of money to be made investing in stuff with the typical house sale type of profit.

If you tied up the capital for a year, you'll have enough for a very rough used car after taxes. Nothing to sneeze at, but nothing to get too crazy about either.

It's too bad the OP doesn't have a business of their own to invest in, as someone else pointed out. Or themselves. It'd pay back better.
 
the next year or so is going to be very volatile in any investment. a good old fdic cert of deposit and you might hold off on new house for more than a year
 
hotprops said:
the next year or so is going to be very volatile in any investment. a good old fdic cert of deposit and you might hold off on new house for more than a year
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Except that the top MMAs are rivaling one-year CDs in interest rates these days, and MMAs don't have early withdrawal penalties.

So unless OP is certain that he won't be wanting to pull the money out before maturity, I'd lean toward the MMA. If he is certain, then a CD can provide a bit more interest.

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
Except that the top MMAs are rivaling one-year CDs in interest rates these days, and MMAs don't have early withdrawal penalties.

So unless OP is certain that he won't be wanting to pull the money out before maturity, I'd lean toward the MMA. If he is certain, then a CD can provide a bit more interest.

Rich
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I like the idea of a bit of liquidity. You never know when that dream A36 is going to come on the market. Ok so I like to dream, but we could end up buying earlier than a year if we found the right house.
 
Somedudeintn said:
I like the idea of a bit of liquidity. You never know when that dream A36 is going to come on the market. Ok so I like to dream, but we could end up buying earlier than a year if we found the right house.
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Well, nothing says it all has to go to the same place. If it's a house you're pondering, then putting enough into an MMA for a binder would be enough. The rest could go into many kinds of less-liquid investments, as long as they're reasonably safe. ETFs, for example, can be liquidated in a few days and the cash in your hands in less than a week. But you do take the risk of loss if the instrument is down when you need the money.

If you belong to a credit union, you probably have access to free financial planning. Every CU I've ever belonged to has provided it. It might be worth sitting down and talking to someone in person about this. Everyone here has given well thought-out advice. But a good plan for you would require more information about your finances, plans, and dreams than any sane person would ever post on the Interwebs.

Rich
 
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