Wow this month has been brutal on Stock Market

[lambo]

Tell me about it, AMD has be a roller coaster of emotions for me during the past few weeks.

Hasn't AMD been in the shitter for a while? I would really hope their Zen release at the end of the year brings them up.

[Schnitzer318is]

8% salary match is crazy good. bravo to you and your company

Yes, I agree, it's very good. They upped it to 8% when they did away with pensions/retirement pay. I'm cool with that as I've always thought retirement should be the responsibility of the employee and not the company. Burden the company with too many pensions and they won't be able to survive... everyone loses.

[2mAn]

I try to stay out of the market save for our 401k which has an 8% salary match so we contribute the max (when we can). 100% return is hard to turn down.

8% salary match is crazy good. bravo to you and your company

[mbonder]

To play a safe bet I would put your money in a low fee wide range index fund that is tied to the S&P500. that way you are relatively shielded from big slides because the fund is very diversified in larger companies so in tough times some will fall, some will stay neutral, some will rise, but ultimately, you aren't getting hammered because they balance each other out.

The biggest mistake a lot of people make who are just getting into investing on their own is to try to time the ups and downs of a single stock and they end up being wrong much more often than right and they lose their money. This is why a majority of people are better off just allowing a firm to invest for them because then rash decisions aren't made during trying times.

If you've got a good chunk of change, buy a few low fee widely diversified index funds and think long-term. Don't buy/sell whenever the market moves, just add whatever discretionary funds you have at the end of each month and over the course of a decade you are nearly guaranteed to do well. Don't try to be a day trader or a swing trader, it's very difficult, you aren't going to be the Wolf of Wall St. so be satisfied with small gains that add up over time.

[Schnitzer318is]

I have no experience with gambling at all, Vegas type or the business world, desperately need some sort of mentor.

Well, that's what the market is... legalized gambling. So, either do a lot of homework or invest in something tangible like real estate. Or just play it safe and get a Schwab account, tell them your desired retirement date, and let them manage it for you. Depending on your date... they'll start out more aggressive and get more and more conservative the closer it gets.

I try to stay out of the market save for our 401k which has an 8% salary match so we contribute the max (when we can). 100% return is hard to turn down.

I am no expert so take the above with a grain of salt. I have done enough reading though to know that if it weren't for the company matching I wouldn't have any money in the market. I've had relatives do really well, others lose their shirt, and others just taking 1-4% growth over the long haul diversifying in large/conservative funds...

[Vincent Brick]

Anyone have any suggestions for getting started in this stuff? I have had a significant amount of money (I think its a lot, others disagree) sitting in a no-interest savings account for almost a decade and I would love to find some way to earn from it, but I'm just not sure what to do and scared because I know I am an easy target for getting ripped off.

I have no experience with gambling at all, Vegas type or the business world, desperately need some sort of mentor.

[mrsleeve]

Nope all my energy / oil holdings are still far higher then when acquired...... I am more concerned with day to day lively hood as many of those companies are customers I work for, and them being in.the poor house liquidity wise means less work for me

[mbonder]

Oil is definitely a sketchy situation right now, a whole bunch of factors playing there right now. However, if you own stock in a big oil company, I don't think you are in trouble of losing your ass over the long run.

[kickinindian]

When though? Next year? 2020? I think its going to be much longer than this summer.

Oil I would hold till later, but the others would probably be up by then

[ST1G]

:rippedoff: oil is going to go way up eventually so i would probably hold on to those for +$100 a barrel again

When though? Next year? 2020? I think its going to be much longer than this summer.

[M-technik-3]

None of you are going to retire anytime soon, so I wouldnt worry...

Buy E30s and hold them for the long term

Not true I am retiring this year but not for good.

[kickinindian]

What about when oil stays low for the next two years due to high supply side and those companies go belly up?

:rippedoff: oil is going to go way up eventually so i would probably hold on to those for +$100 a barrel again

[ST1G]

i wish i had the ability to buy a bunch in oil commodities and diversify on companies that have dipped alot in the past couple weeks and sell off in the summer.

What about when oil stays low for the next two years due to high supply side and those companies go belly up?

[2mAn]

None of you are going to retire anytime soon, so I wouldnt worry...

Buy E30s and hold them for the long term

[kickinindian]

i wish i had the ability to buy a bunch in oil commodities and diversify on companies that have dipped alot in the past couple weeks and sell off in the summer.