$3,000 play money

[Moemg]

My fun money goes towards penney stocks .I'm sure everyone on the forum is shaking their head at this but sometimes girls just want to have fun !!!!

 

[Spanky]

Investing in penny stocks can be very exciting. For every winner, there will be at least 7 or more losers. However, profit from a single winner can easily compensate all the losses. The key is to diversify and a sense of humor. After all, it's only play money.

 

[FinanceDude]

Investing in penny stocks can be very exciting. For every winner, there will be at least 7 or more losers. However, profit from a single winner can easily compensate all the losses. The key is to diversify and a sense of humor. After all, it's only play money.

PLRS and TTNUF are intriguing.............

 

[2B]

I don't think all the stock recommendations are going to help NYL learn how to manage her own portfolio and take control of her own future. There are plenty of "hot stock" forums floating around the internet. Most of us have ended up here because the bulk (if not all) of our assets are in indexed mutual funds. We don't have those wonderful, exciting stories for the cocktail parties but the studies all show we have better returns on our assets.

I'd like to think this forum could help a few of the newbees avoid doing what I did for a decade or more of my investment life where I chased the hot stocks, charted and hung on every word of the useless financial press.

 

[Spanky]

Personally, on a serious side, I would put that into a money market account. Why play against the odds with penny stocks? Sure you will always hear a 20 cents stock turns into $150 in a very short time. But what are the odds?

 

[Jeb-NY]

I have a play money account also. In my younger days I played with individual stock and I had a perfect record, everyone I bought lost money or went out of business. Had one penny stock that was going to be my early retirement stock. Had a great product lots of patents and went out of business. If it would have went to $100 (as I imagined it would) I would have been out the door. Luckily all this education only cost me about 10 grand. I still have a paper portfolio of stocks I thought about buying and have done better there.

I no longer buy individual stocks even in my play money account, after playing with some sector mutual funds I'm now doing ETF in different sectors. Again this is a small portion of my total portfolio, the total portfolio is about 60% in index funds another 20% will be moving into index funds this year and the rest is in taxable accounts and will be converted in the 2008-2010 time frame when the capital gains rates drop. I'll decide then if I keep the play account or add that into an index to.

By the way I still RE at 57.

Jeb

 

[FinanceDude]

I don't think all the stock recommendations are going to help NYL learn how to manage her own portfolio and take control of her own future. There are plenty of "hot stock" forums floating around the internet. Most of us have ended up here because the bulk (if not all) of our assets are in indexed mutual funds. We don't have those wonderful, exciting stories for the cocktail parties but the studies all show we have better returns on our assets.

I'd like to think this forum could help a few of the newbees avoid doing what I did for a decade or more of my investment life where I chased the hot stocks, charted and hung on every word of the useless financial press.

Agree with some of what you say.......buy NYL is in a "Way different place" than most of us are.............she already IS FI.............

When I think about her situation, it is likely she may never totally feel comfortable managing her own portfolio, and I can't say I blame her. I know some folks on here have no problem managing an 8 digit portfolio, but I wouldn't DIY myself either at that level.............

Maybe the best advice is to spend MORE TIME on here..........

 

[newyorklady]

for those of you who mentioned hedge funds, well i am very leary of them. highly unregulated. also not interested in penny stocks as they are way too risky in general. really just want to learn the basics of reading financial statements, and getting myself interested enough to educate myself. investing is an incredibly boring topic for me so a bit of "play money" is worth losing if it helps me in the long run to learn about all of this. i am much younger than most people on this site and find much of the advice on this forum very eye opening.

 

[FinanceDude]

for those of you who mentioned hedge funds, well i am very leary of them. highly unregulated. also not interested in penny stocks as they are way too risky in general. really just want to learn the basics of reading financial statements, and getting myself interested enough to educate myself. investing is an incredibly boring topic for me so a bit of "play money" is worth losing if it helps me in the long run to learn about all of this. i am much younger than most people on this site and find much of the advice on this forum very eye opening.

I have found the following book very enlightening, and I get bored easily:

Ric Edelman's New Rules of Money
One Up On Wall Street
Investing for Dummies
Intelligent Investor

 

[newyorklady]

thanks ordered the intelligent investor from amazon already after my booklist rec post. will try to see if the other books are in the library. financedude, what is your take on inflation. i am very worried about it. do you see this as a long term issue i will have to take into account for my portfolio. just read a kiyosaki article saying there will be deflation. i tend to strongly disagree. is this man just a charlatan or is there truth to this?

 

[wildcat]

i am very worried about it. do you see this as a long term issue i will have to take into account for my portfolio. just read a kiyosaki article saying there will be deflation. i tend to strongly disagree. is this man just a charlatan or is there truth to this?

Then you need to consider the only proven investments that have at least historically kept pace with inflation - stocks & inlfation protected bonds. I think you are making it more difficult than what it is.

Kiyosaki is a f!cking idiot. Just my opinion.

 

[FinanceDude]

thanks ordered the intelligent investor from amazon already after my booklist rec post. will try to see if the other books are in the library. financedude, what is your take on inflation. i am very worried about it. do you see this as a long term issue i will have to take into account for my portfolio. just read a kiyosaki article saying there will be deflation. i tend to strongly disagree. is this man just a charlatan or is there truth to this?

I think inflation is always a scary word, whether you are working or retired. The 100 year average of inflation is 3.1%. However, many financial planners are using scenarios of 4% inflation in projecting expenses forward 20 years, to show the dramatic difference inflation can have on PURCHASING power..............

The main thing that worries me is the huge deficit, which is being "financed" by other countries. That gravy train won't go on forever..............

I would say overall I have "cautious optimism" regarding the ability of the Federal Reserve to keep doing the balancing act. However, cutting the national deficit through an active budget process would make me feel a whole lot better..........

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Apropos of nothing,

Kiyosaki is a f!cking idiot. Just my opinion.

I agree, wildcat.