So while on this deployment I havent had enough time to get any classes done, so I took a major step and starting talking to my dad about Investing. Hes new to it and Also I want to get into it. Ive Read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and although most of the steps are to get out of debt and to start Investing because Investing is key. Dave Mentioned about splitting up into four investments and I cant remember them off the top of my head but I am looking for Moderate Help in detail.

Im going to be coming back with no debt at all from this deployment and pretty much starting fresh. No Car Payment, nothing except a couple hundred bucks a month for cellphone and insurance for the car. Ill be coming back with money that can be put into investments and I was wondering where would I first look for mutal long term funds that I can get out in 10-15 years maybe even longer? Lets just say Ill have a good chunk that i want to throw into investments.

I really appreciate the help and insight I might or might no recieve but, I figured why not start asking advice from a better place like the family of s2k's!

Thank you again
~Ken

 

I'm going to suggest you just work on savings and not investing.

The first thing you want to get is a property of your own, house, townhouse, condo. Squirrel away money until you've got 20% to put down on something to call your own and then buy it.

Stay out of debt, get a house to live in and stack up a cushion of liquid cash to secure your situation from adversity. The rule of thumb is 6 months of expenses worth which is going to be $20,000-$30,000 for most people. Put that in secure short-term CDs and high interest savings accounts without fees.

Once you've got that sorted, max out your IRA and 401(k) contributions to get the maximum tax savings possible. Keep those investments in no-load diversified mutual funds.

That's the first few steps. HTH

 

I agree wih Cthree: the first thing you need is about 6 months worth of expenses (rent or house payment and taxes, car payments, insurances, groceries, etc.) in a savings account or short-term CD's. (I know you said you don't have a car payment now, but that won't last forever.)

In order to invest successfully, you have to be able to weather bad times. If you're forced to sell assets at low prices in bad times to raise money to pay the bills, you lose big time. If you have liquid savings to cover expenses, you can sit tight and wait for the market (stocks, real estate, precious metals, tulip bulbs, whatever) to recover.

Job loss, disability, medical bills, etc. happen to people. Cash in the bank lessens the blow.

Next on the agenda is to ensure that you do not leave any employer-match 401(k) money on the table. Find a way to contribute enough to get the full employer match if one is available to you. Deprive yourself if you have to, but get the full match available to you.

Third is to save for a down payment on residence.

These things should keep you busy for a couple of years...

 

I would say first should be an emergency savings account not a property. Also youre in the service so buying a house would be a hassel moving every three years. At least i know i do this is what has stoped me from buying one and is why i rent. Also no medical bills seeing medical is payed for us. Another thing is no matching on any 401k for us service members at all. Start with about 6 months to one year of savings. Than start to open a Roth IRA and max that out if possible. After that look into the TSP thats our 401k plan. Also on deployments you could have stated the savings deposite program. Its a high yeild savings account for us to use when we deploy. You can contribute up to $10k in it and you earn 10% last time i checked. Good luck best advice is keep reading and learning. Also MINT.COM is a great free site to do budgeting and goal setting. I recently started using it and because of it i now have about an extra $700 a month that i use to just blow on little stuff here and there that i never thought about.

 

Awesome advice guys Im taking notes as I reply. Let me tell you a little bit about my self. Im in the Army Reserves so will be going back to college when I get back but is already paid for by the Military. Also, I live with my parents and I might be living there for 2 more years till I gather enough for a down payment for a house because Ive pretty much been accepted into the Border Patrol as a Helo Pilot, just have to go back and finish some paperwork and attend school, so after I gather about 50% of a downpayment Im going to throw that into a house. My emergency fund as of right now is 10g's thats planning 3-6 months in advance. So taking advantage of all the help as of having a roof to live under and meals paid for, so im going to build up my funds.

Once I get a house and enough funds saved up i will boost my emergency fund to 20g's and start throwing money into TSP and Roth's. by this time I will already have been throwing 15% of my income BEFORE tax into investments so that in 15-20 years in the service ill be able to retire and not have to worry about anything.

Yes the deployment savings is still around. the max you can put in is 10g's and you get 10% back so at 10g's ill get 11000 at the end of the deployment. I will also checkout Mint.com

 

Than I might suggest you invest in things you can understand. If you cannot research it and figure it out, you'll likely be investing in something to 'complicated' for you. This type of simpler investing will help you avoid products that can burn you. You may miss out on some big gains but you'll fail to get burned by their fall. IE How Enron made money. How derivatives really play out in the market place... etc