I've been thinking about making this thread for awhile. How many of you M-A users out there are investors? This isn't just limited to North American users - even you invest in any of the world markets or universal commodities.

I'm also curious as to if any of you invest in housing, bonds, annuities, currency, and so on.

I personally invest in a Roth IRA, shares in Ford, natural gas, and some CDs.

Well, I would say stay away from the American Stock Market... Not a good place to invest.

In my opinion, the best way to invest is to get your money out of the American Dollar and into foreign currencies, foreign markets, and gold and silver...

I would only trust Silver and Gold.

That is one school of thought.

I believe that now is the best time to get into the US stock market as prices are at an all time low. There are a lot of undervalued companies out there. I am more of a day trader rather than a buy-and-hold guy but I have been making money over the past few months in the market.

Forex trading is an interest of mine as well.

Im torn on gold - I wouldnt recommend making it more than 10% of your overall holdings. Focusing more on commodities could be a more sound move IMO.


OP - Diversification is key in this market though, as none of us can see what the future holds. Keep your eyes open for IPOs.

I more meant get out of the US dollar by not investing in the US stock market...

The stock market can be up 100 points and then down 100 the next day, it is all over the place, which can be good for certain investors. So maybe in the short term you can make some money, and if that's what you are going for then keep going. But my reason is because the dollar is getting weaker and weaker as we keep printing money, it keeps de-valuing it. Just wait until China and other countries stop buying up our debt, the US dollar is the last thing you'll want to have (China has already numerous times complained about us devaluing it). Hyperinflation is something this country is getting closer and closer to.

Gold and silver and other precious metals will always have a value almost anywhere toy go in the world and they have for 1000's of years. Now obviously you can't have all your money in precious metals because you can't really spend it, but I think it's a good idea to invest in it. How much percentage wise? I dunno, it varies from person to person depending on how well off they are and so on.

@Musick, I'm with you on the American Market. I wish I would have bought more stocks in Ford when it was $1.65. Within the next few days it went up to over $5. I love when Blue-Chip Stocks trade as Penny Stocks.

Yeah, that Gold kinda seems volatile to me. I mean, it is ever increasing, but I don't really trust it in a Bear Market...

One thing I really really wish I invested in was 5/3 Bank. Their share price was relatively low and then went up by over 50%. It would've been quite the gain.

I have a personal Roth IRA and a 401K through work. My Roth IRA is steadily climbing but surprisingly enough I doubled my first quarter gains in the second quarter in my 401K. Not too shabby.

Musick is right -- diversification is key. When you invest your funds over several different markets and/or industries you are almost guaranteed not to lose anything or at minimum break even.

One of my bosses lost $400,000 of his retirement in 2008 due to the collapse of the U.S. financial market. Other world markets are reactionary to the U.S.'s hence the decline in Japan's trade system as well as several other indexes around the globe.

When you invest, you're investing in YOU so it's wise to look at the pros and cons of any potential investment.

That is quite surprising, your 401k that is. My dad lost a lot in his retirement and I've seen a lot of other people do likewise. I do live in Michigan though; these kinds of losses are expected around here. How long have you been putting into your 401k and Roth?

A lot of long term penny stocks for me....just some shit that if it takes off, I'll be a millionaire by thirty and if it doesn't, I'll temporarily be out of 200 bucks. It's a win win. Most investments are in the fields of alt-energy and hybrid technologies (for autos and power plants) as there will undoubtedly be a boom in the future.

However, diversification is absolutely the key, I agree whole heartedly. Also, if you're young (like 30 or below) there is absolutely no reason not to invest, especially with penny stocks (basically 50 cents or below per share).

I actually just started both of them on the first of the year.

This is exactly why I generally day trade. Im not interested in earning tens of thousands of dollars (not am I opposed to it ), I just want to make something while remaining as liquid as possible. A little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing. The economy is bad, no doubt, but personally I dont think it is quite time to dump the dollar. Just one opinion, no more, no less.



Perfectly valid line of reasoning there. And no doubt, keeping an eye on Chinas handling of US T-bonds is EXTREMELY important at this point in time, especially when its new purchases of Treasury securities have fallen sharply this year. That said, China is shooting itself in the foot with any attempt to dump its stock of dollars as this would risk triggering a huge plunge in the dollar, hence the big push by China for a new global currency and its complaints towards the US for devaluing the dollar instead of liquidation.

North America remains the global economys hub. Have no doubts that ALL economies suffer when the US economy does. I hope this doesnt come across as too self-centered, but the World has an interest in making sure the dollar does not completely fail.




Precious metals - 10% is my max, so I wont comment further on them since, to be honest, I do have a bias aganist heavy investments in them. I could be totally wrong, but that is just my honest opinion on them.

China will fail without us, so while we want to avoid total collapse, there shouldn't be any worry of China. Their form of communism cannot survive without a guarantee of work and financial security; if the U.S. falls, so will the jobs we created in China. In effect, their government will become unstable and fall apart, just like almost all communism has in the past.

Ahh..Ford. I would never own one of their rides myself, but I couldnt resist the gamble back in March. I got in @ 1.80-ish. Knowing the American mentality and the fact Government Motors is going to be pushing golf cart-like cars on the public, I jumped on the last great American Auto maker and managed to pick up 650 shares. Kicking myself now for not buying more, but hindsight is 20/20.

Still holding them to this day, but Im on the fence on how long I should keep them, for a number of reasons. Im of the opinion that anything under $5 per is a bargain. I dont see it as absurd to think F will hit $8 per within a year.

That sounds good, but are you ahead overall? Me, Im still down in my 401K when compared to 18 months ago. Congrats on that PM!



While I would never use the word 'guaranteed', I swear by diversification, although it is pretty much a given in investing.

Ahh..I didnt read down far enough.

You couldnt have timed it better!

For you youngsters out there, take chances early. If you are under 25, you will have a lot of time to make back your losses. But also keep in mind that last sentence is coming from a gambler.

The only car I've ever owned (and still own) is a Ford and a complete piece of shit. I bought the car for about $11,700 back in 2004 and I've already spent close to $15,000 in maintenance and repairs on it. I'll be in the market for a new car in the next 6 months.

You invested 15K into a 12K product!?!?

Remind me not to go in business with you girl.

j/k

If I may be so bold, can I recommend a Toyota, Honda or Hyundai to you? Besides the initial purchase of my car with 3 miles on the odo (~14K) 3 years ago, my Toyota has cost me $0 besides fuel (~36 MPG!) and regular mainteance, which I do myself, so it costs very, very, very little. Less than half a cent per mile Im sure.

I must admit I was a bit jealous hearing of your 401K profits, but now I dont quite feel so bad!

Back on topic:

#3 rule of investing - dont let your personal feelings of a companies products cloud your judgement when it comes to your investments. Although I would never consume either companies products, WMT and JBX have been solid performers for me.


Random tidbit: If anyone is going to buy a Domestic vechicle and not planning on trading it in within 3-4 yrs., make sure it is a pre-'73 model.

You won't get that much of a discussion here. Most metal enthusiasts don't have money.

I've got most of my money in mutual funds, half of it is in the American market and the other half is international.

The shitty thing is that I did that like 2 months before the big crash happened. I figured the market had already dropped significantly and it wasn't going to drop too much further. Shows what I know. Either way, I've made up about half of my loss now so things are looking good for the long-term, although I wish I'd waited a little while.

Yeah, everyone is kicking themselves for that now. With the way the market is going now, you'll probably make most if not all of your money back by Q4 in 2010. That is, if the government stops spending so much money.

When everyone is buying, sell. When everyone is selling, buy.

Now is a good time to buy, but you probably won't see much returns until the Recession ends (but it's likely going to turn into a Depression first).

Most of my investments are overseas (Asia).