Comments on: Review: How to Invest $50-$5,000

By: Dan Sebring

Dan Sebring — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:15:19 +0000

As a real estate investor in income properties, I wanted to start placing a portion of income in another market to prepare for retirement years. After some research, came up with ING Annuities, and opened an account for $5000 with a minimum 7% interest with a quartery ratchet. As funds are added, the moneypile will grow quickly!

By: Havana

Havana — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:21:40 +0000

This post helped me so much in getting an idea on what to do with my money. :D I will definitely check the book out! Thanks!

By: Appfunds

Appfunds — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 11:14:28 +0000

I bought some silver coins recently.
Their prices went up so fast that they covered my stock market losses .
You can buy a single silver coin starting from around $1 I guess.

Collections and antiques are really good investment even if you have a limited budget.

By: Keiichi

Keiichi — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:11:09 +0000

Awesome review? I’m at the point in my life where I need such tips on what to do with my money. I’ll definitely have to check out this book! Thanks!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:37:34 +0000

Thanks for the great review, Trent! I’ve just requested the book through my library system and am now on my way to check out your other book reviews.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:30:43 +0000

We had a money manager speak to us this morning in my Family Financial Management course, and I wish he had just passed out copies of this book instead of lecturing. For an audience of 18-22 year olds from diverse majors he proceeded to discuss complex investment strategies for persons with a MINIMUM of $200,000 to invest, with his main case study being the Yale Endowment Fund. It was only with direct questions that I managed to get him to provide any useful information for the beginning investor, and even that was quite sparse. I also asked about your favorite- index funds- which he admitted were “the greatest thing since sliced bread,” although I’m pretty sure it was sarcasm. I think his job gets eliminated by them. But thank you for this post, as it answers many of the relevant questions that my collegiate level personal finance course fails to address!

By: 60 in 3 - Fitness and Health

60 in 3 - Fitness and Health — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:16:19 +0000

My only problem with books like this is that your outline pretty much says it all. Oh they’ll include more info and some happy stories about people who’ve used this strategy successfully, but ultimately, they have about 4 pages worth of useful stuff.

Gal

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:07:33 +0000

I recently checked this book out of the library, and really wish I’d seen it ten years ago. Lots of solid advice to get started with offered in a reasonable (if occasionally dry) manner.

By: Writers Coin

Writers Coin — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:21:57 +0000

If you have $5,000 buy a share of Berkshire B Stock and put the rest in an ING Savings account. Can’t go wrong there.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:20:01 +0000

“Due to transactions costs, I don’t think it’s really practical to think about non-retirement investment in the stock market until you’ve saved up at least $2500.”

One thing you (and this book) are leaving out are ETFs. You can buy a share of a broad index for as little as about $50, and if you use an online broker like Zecco, there’s no cost for the transaction.

Obviously, you shouldn’t put the $50 in stocks/funds for a short-term investment, but it could make sense as a small start towards retirement.

By: Chris Burgwald

Chris Burgwald — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:48:23 +0000

I’d like to put some savings in a money market account, but my preferred company (Vanguard) has a $3k minimum… does anyone have any recommendations for solid money market accounts that have a minimum of $1k or even $500?

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:42:12 +0000

Looks like exactly what I could use, though your outline might be just as useful as the book itself. Perhaps there’s a copy I can skim through tonight at Borders. :)

By: mgroves

mgroves — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:24:26 +0000

REITs sound very interesting…have you thought about doing a blog post on that?

By: Money Blue Book

Money Blue Book — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:15:43 +0000

Definitely. At the very least, money should never be sitting idly in a checking account earning less than 1% interest. Due to transactions costs, I don’t think it’s really practical to think about non-retirement investment in the stock market until you’ve saved up at least $2500. Anything less would be better served accruing interesting in a 5% or so savings account. Regular 401k+Roth contributions should always be a top automated priority.
-R