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Thread: Dollar den for dummies?

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    God/dess loveandluxury's Avatar
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    Default Dollar den for dummies?

    I don't ever come in here because, well frankly, I feel like a dumbass. I have no idea what half of the terms in here mean. I'm 22 (almost 23), will be starting work as a nurse and probably still dancing on occasion. I will probably be getting divorced soon and I'll be on my own as an adult for the first time.

    Well, I was on my own for about 6 months before I met my husband.. but I was 18 and dancing, and I recall making $400 on a day shift which I really needed to put towards bills but I stopped on the way home and bought a motorola RAZR.

    Point being, I want to know more about the stock market, saving, investing etc. I really do have a genuine interest in finances but I don't know where to start and I'm very intimidated. Can anybody point me in the direction of some good threads or books I could read?

    TIA!

    Animals are my friends, and I don't eat my friends.
    - George Bernard Shaw

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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    Quote Originally Posted by loveandluxury View Post
    I don't ever come in here because, well frankly, I feel like a dumbass. I have no idea what half of the terms in here mean. I'm 22 (almost 23), will be starting work as a nurse and probably still dancing on occasion. I will probably be getting divorced soon and I'll be on my own as an adult for the first time.

    Well, I was on my own for about 6 months before I met my husband.. but I was 18 and dancing, and I recall making $400 on a day shift which I really needed to put towards bills but I stopped on the way home and bought a motorola RAZR.

    Point being, I want to know more about the stock market, saving, investing etc. I really do have a genuine interest in finances but I don't know where to start and I'm very intimidated. Can anybody point me in the direction of some good threads or books I could read?
    For every $100 you earn, put aside $10 for yourself in a savings account. If you do this regularly, religiously, you will acquire wealth and financial security.

    It's as simple as this.

    If you want further tips, after you have started doing this one simple thing, just start googling "common sense financial strategies" and the like (google is your friend), or go to the book store and look for self-help finance books. Stick to the uncomplicated stuff at first.

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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    90% of the population knows nothing about economics, finance, investing. Start out by reading...reading...reading. It is usually the terminology that intimidates people at first.

    I have a Phd in Economics, consult for private equity and hedge funds, teach MBA types at a top 10 university, Corp Finance. I get hot shots occasionally that throw out terminology that I don't even understand. These days it's some jackass with new quant models that will blow up on them. So don't sweat it.

    Read the Wall Street Journal, regularly. Even if you don't understand it, read it. Especially read the Fixed Income section, waaaay back in the Money and Investing section. Bond traders are vastly smarter than stock traders.

    Watch CNBC, especially Fast Money. Those guys (and one chick) know what they're talking about. Do not watch Jim Cramer, he's a blithering goof.

    Read A Random Walk Down Wall Street. It will put things into perspective. It will not tell you how to invest, however. That's sort of the point of the book! It is an excellent book.

    Pick up a used Macroeconomics textbook, a used Corporate Finance textbook, and a used Investments textbook. Flip through them regularly.

    Learn how to use the Hewlet Packard 12c Financial Calculator. Not just plugging numbers in, like most mindless people to, but understand the concepts. The HP12c manual itself is a mini finance/investment textbook.

    DO NOT LISTEN TO STOCK BROKERS, for stock/investment advice. They are idiots.

    DO NOT LISTEN TO FINANCIAL ADVISORS, for stock/investment advice. They are bigger idiots, and the market for them is a scam.

    DO NOT LISTEN TO ACCOUNTANTS, for stock/investment advice. They are the biggest idiots of all. They are good for taxes and only taxes.

    Rock on!

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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    a very good starting point might be

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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    Quote Originally Posted by WineSnob View Post
    90% of the population knows nothing about economics, finance, investing. Start out by reading...reading...reading. It is usually the terminology that intimidates people at first.

    I have a Phd in Economics, consult for private equity and hedge funds, teach MBA types at a top 10 university, Corp Finance. I get hot shots occasionally that throw out terminology that I don't even understand. These days it's some jackass with new quant models that will blow up on them. So don't sweat it.

    Read the Wall Street Journal, regularly. Even if you don't understand it, read it. Especially read the Fixed Income section, waaaay back in the Money and Investing section. Bond traders are vastly smarter than stock traders.

    Watch CNBC, especially Fast Money. Those guys (and one chick) know what they're talking about. Do not watch Jim Cramer, he's a blithering goof.

    Read A Random Walk Down Wall Street. It will put things into perspective. It will not tell you how to invest, however. That's sort of the point of the book! It is an excellent book.

    Pick up a used Macroeconomics textbook, a used Corporate Finance textbook, and a used Investments textbook. Flip through them regularly.

    Learn how to use the Hewlet Packard 12c Financial Calculator. Not just plugging numbers in, like most mindless people to, but understand the concepts. The HP12c manual itself is a mini finance/investment textbook.

    DO NOT LISTEN TO STOCK BROKERS, for stock/investment advice. They are idiots.

    DO NOT LISTEN TO FINANCIAL ADVISORS, for stock/investment advice. They are bigger idiots, and the market for them is a scam.

    DO NOT LISTEN TO ACCOUNTANTS, for stock/investment advice. They are the biggest idiots of all. They are good for taxes and only taxes.

    Rock on!
    Looks like I finally got company. WSJ and Random Walk Down Wall Street? Add Intellligent Asset Allocator to your DO list and DO NOT Read Shady/Scum/Tabloid/Conspiracy web-sites and you are golden.

    But before you start reading anything,
    Invest $500 or $1000 every month in a Vanguard Total International Index and relax. That'll take care of all your investing

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    God/dess BalletBaby's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    When is a good time to start an IRA?

    Quote Originally Posted by AlexxaHex View Post
    Lysondra, can I taste your Abortion?
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    BalletBaby + Alice in Chains >>> Pie.

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    God/dess fancygirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    ^now, and at 5,000 a year hereafter until they up it even more.

    and get a roth ira so you pay your taxes now since taxes will typically go up and not down.

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    Featured Member Starfire's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    I have mentioned this in another thread, but I think you should read the book "smart women finish rich" by david bach. I read it awhile ago, and I found it very easy to understand with an overview of saving, investing, etc, etc. And some of the stuff in there will apply to you more, since you are starting a "real" job, hopefully with 401k, benefits, etc.

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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    It's kind of silly. A friend of mine had the book the Brooke Hogan on Hogan Knows Best was reading. "Complete Idiot's Guide: Personal Finances in Your 20s & 30s" I borrowed it from here and it actually had a few good things in it. Most of the beginning is no brainer stuff, but it explains about IRAs, 401K, money markets, etc. etc. too. I was kinda clueless about those things too.

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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    David Bach's www.finishrich.com site is a great resource, as are his books.
    Rebecca Avalon







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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    Above all, you may have noticed that apart from some fundamentals (and sometimes not even then), people disagree a lot about things.

    Make sure you can spot the difference between
    1. Fact (eg. price of gold has gone up)
    2. Good theories (eg. Black, Scholes and Merton described in rigorous detail a few decades ago why equities options should be priced a certain way, and their method has been examined and agreed with by many many smart people and has been successfully used in markets worldwide ever since)
    3. Conjecture (eg. gold and oil seem to follow each other so maybe there's an underlying relationship due to how oil companies conduct their business and how suppliers/consumers balance their exposure to commodities prices and fluctuations in exchange rates)
    4. Wild guesses (eg.gold has gone up because the US is doomed). The difference between this and the previous category is the amount or quality of supporting evidence
    5. Hot air (eg. Everyone is paying too much for gold because they are stupid). Similar to a wild guess, but with no supporting evidence


    In my posts on Dollar Den, I try to report facts and conjectures where possible, since I figure they are of the most help to others, but am prone to posting wild guesses (hopefully clearly distinguishable from the rest) if they are entertaining
    Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor
    - Dr John Zoidberg

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    God/dess loveandluxury's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    Thanks everybody! I'm going on vacation for a week, I leave Sunday and need some new reading material. I'm going to a bookstore tomorrow and I'll check out some of the suggestions

    Animals are my friends, and I don't eat my friends.
    - George Bernard Shaw

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    Default Re: Dollar den for dummies?

    A good book that deals more with accumulating wealth than finance is "The Millionaire Next Door".

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