Youngin' looking for some direction

[Student-of-Finance]

Hello,

I've been reading various threads the past few days and just figured I'd take the plunge. I'm 19 years old and attend the University of Arizona where I'm pursuing accounting and entrepreneurship degrees. Like most college students I'm a bit strapped for money but have still managed to save up $8k of "extra" money to add to my small portfolio.
In October of '09 I invested $7k into two etf's following the S&P (IVW and IVE) with the intention of leaving that money in there as long as possible. Now that I have some more to invest I'm trying to develop an approach to reach my goal of $1mil by 35 and $2mil by my low 40's. I realize these goals are lofty considering my lack of current career, or degree for that matter but I'm looking for a place to start.
I picked up a part time job this past semester and will likely have accumulated $2,000 by the time April rolls around, at which point I'm thinking I will put all $2k into a roth IRA (i know it doesn't get me my million by 35 but I want one hell of a safety net) and then the rest into........ this is where I would like some direction. I understand the money I have to work with is meager at best but I'm banking on the fact that my youth and compound interest can create a decent sum while I wait to enter the real world.
I'm open to all suggestions, and reality checks, I'm here to learn!

Thanks,
Student

 

[Onward]

Student, become a student of this:

Happy reading!

 

[Student-of-Finance]

And on to amazon I go, thanks for the suggestion Onward.

 

[REWahoo]

And on to amazon I go, thanks for the suggestion Onward.

Psst. Try the library..and invest your savings.

 

[RonBoyd]

Psst. Try the library..and invest your savings.

That way, whenever you need to refer to it later, you can also get in a little physical exercise by running to the Library.

 

[REWahoo]

That way, whenever you need to refer to it later, you can also get in a little physical exercise by running to the Library.

And when you've done that enough to get in shape, you can reward yourself by purchasing the book - a used copy, of course.

 

[RonBoyd]

And when you've done that enough to get in shape, you can reward yourself by purchasing the book - a used copy, of course.

 

[East Texas]

You're doing well with the income. My humble words of advice are to stay out of debt. Most "stuff" put on a credit card is either a consumable or a dust collector. Use cash for consumables and put the money you would have spent on dust collectors in a cookie jar.

 

[Student-of-Finance]

You're doing well with the income. My humble words of advice are to stay out of debt. Most "stuff" put on a credit card is either a consumable or a dust collector. Use cash for consumables and put the money you would have spent on dust collectors in a cookie jar.

I've actually managed to avoid credit cards all together thus far, when you are bringing in as little as I am it hurts to see it leave at the end of every month.


I also picked up a used copy of Bogleheads and have started absorbing what it has to offer. Thanks everyone for the advice! Hopefully I can become a contributing member in the not-so-distant future.

 

[JPatrick]

This is likely the minority view, but I'll toss it out to you anyway.
You are 19 and probably ahead of 98% of your peers when it comes to saving/investing. Two great qualities--youth and smarts.
Given those attributes I'd advise you to get a good bit wilder and crazier with your investment selections. To do so will require more work than buying and holding a couple of index funds for life, but I believe the rewards will be worth it.
You obviously know how to buy ETF's, so please get the book "ETF Trading Strategies" by Vomund. It is about the size of a "Readers Digest," but it lays out several easy to use investing programs. Special note of the words "easy to use." I would not think of stealing your youth to work some investment plan that takes all your free time. I remember what I did at 19, and it was far more important than investing, but I digress.

Best of luck

 

[brewer12345]

A bit of non-investing advice: in addition to time and a spot of money, what you have now is relative freedom. When you graduate and get on the career or entrepreneurship track, you will have many, many responsibilities and constraints. Do not squander this precious time with all menial work just to raise a few bucks. Go experience life, backpack the Appalachians, smoke weed, whatever; this is your chance for probably the next 30 years so do not miss it.

 

[Student-of-Finance]

Thank you very much for your input JPatrick, the past 5 or so years I have been doing nothing but shopping for the lowest price, and saving the rest for future investments. I think that because I know how long it took me to acquire the small savings I do have (without a job) I have developed a superficial attachment to it causing me to look at more conservative investments. At the same time I recognize the potential that my youth affords me and the prospect of capitalizing upon it greatly interests me.

I am far from being a source of knowledge concerning investing but I will surely do some research to diversify my knowledge of investing strategies.

Again thanks to everyone that's replied, your time has not been wasted.

-Student-