Hey everyone, I stumbled on this forum through one of the various money blogs that I follow. I'm hoping to learn some investing strategies that will help me reach my goals for the next few years. I have absolutely no experience in investing whatsoever and am totally lost on where to start...
I typed up this long story about myself but then I decided it was tl;dr. So here are the details:
MYSELF
Thanks for your time.
I typed up this long story about myself but then I decided it was tl;dr. So here are the details:
MYSELF
- 23 years old
- Mechanical Engineering degree but don't use it
- Currently a small stakes professional poker player $80/hr (wage will increase as I get better, hopefully)
- Split a down payment on a 2-bedroom condo with my gf in 3-4 years
- Be financially free by 30 and capable of retirement by 35
- No debt
- ~$10k in RRSP/mutual funds I invested from my previous job before I got laid off
- ~$22k sitting in an ING savings account
- ~$1k in a checking account for monthly expenses
- A completey seperate bankroll of ~$xxk which I use to play poker (money only comes out and never goes in, I will not touch this for investing either)
- I can live comfortably on $800/month since I live at home
- World Financial Group helped (read: pressured) me into investing my $10k because at the time I had no idea what I was doing. Now I've read many terrible testimonials about this company. What should I do so that I can feel safer about my money?
- I feel like the money sitting in my ING account is just barely keeping up with inflation. What should I do with it? I have zero investing experience. What are some resources I can read? Despite being a professional gambler I am actually very hesitant to invest my money in something I know nothing about.
- I bought a brand new car in 2006 which is probably the stupidest thing I have ever done financially (blew my life savings up to that point). My monthly insurance is $200/month and gas around $120 a month (it only takes 94 octane). The cost of my car accounts for almost 50% of my monthly bills. Should I just keep the car since it's paid off, or sell it?
- Do my goals sound realistic?
Thanks for your time.