Hello everybody...

[AnemicOak]

Hi everyone,

I just found this site while researching HSA providers.* Looks like a good place to stick around & learn at so I'll at the very least be lurking a lot.

I'm 33 and wish I'd been smarter when I was younger.* I finally started an IRA last year (funding started with '04 contribution max) at Vanguard (TR 2045 for now) which I wish I'd started about 13 years ago.

I grew up in a household where buying what you wanted & racking up debt was considered an ok thing.* :* After some hard lessons with credit cards I 'woke up'.* I've gotten myself straightened out & am now spending lots of time learning/researching options for saving & investing money.* Now that my IRA is setup & I'm funding it to the max each year I'm looking at an HSA as a next step (besides a savings account at HSBC).* I see it as kind of a second IRA.

I've looked a bit at stocks, forex, etc. & doubt I'll be playing anytime soon.* I've looked into I-Bonds & other stuff at Treasury Direct and think I-Bonds might not be a bad idea for some funds.* I was financially blind more or less until the past 3-5 years so I'm still figuring some stuff out.


Regards,
Brian

[bruce1]

Welcome Brian! There are many here who wish they were smarter when they were younger my self included. Eventually some of us learn the difference between want and need and start saving and/or get a position with a good pension or retirement savings plan. I will leave investment advice to others who are more experienced. I am real estate /mortage oriented for my investments and 70% of my retirement income will be from a Federal (Canada) Pension.

Browse the old posts and you will find many good bits of information that you will then have to sift through to find if they apply to your situation.

Bruce

[Spanky]

Quote:

I was financially blind more or less until the past 3-5 years so I'm still figuring some stuff out.

I did not get started on investing until I was 30. I made a lots of mistakes - buying bonds that became defunct and penny stocks that went to zero. Trading stocks did not help either. However, those were good (but hard) lessons. I decided to invest exclusively to mutual funds (mostly index) since 1985 and contributed maximum allowable amount to 401K and RIRA (a few years ago).

[AltaRed]

As it has been said before, it's better to start late than never to have started to save and invest.

Most everyone who is middle aged today likely did not start to invest (or invest smartly) near as early as they should have, or in other cases, made many investing mistakes in their early lives. But most with 15-20 years of investing left should be able to recover nicely for a tidy retirement.

[AnemicOak]

Hi again gang.

I just ordered a couple of books...
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

The Four Pillars of Investing : Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio

Most of my reading has been online or in magazines.* The only other financial books I own are...
The Wealthy Barber - this one got me to start looking at what I needed to do.

Start Late, Finish Rich : A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age - some interesting stuff, but reads a lot like an informercial at times.

9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying - haven't read this one yet.


Are there any books that members here consider 'must have'?


Thanks,
Brian

[retire@40]

Try the ESRBob book (link at bottom of the page). I got it at the library and found it to be a good read with some good concepts.