21 yr old college student with $5K- I'm thinking about investing it! Any advice?

Question

I'd like to invest $5000 but I don't know where to begin.
I'm considering speaking with my bank's Investment Advisor about it. Good idea?
I have about $40K in student loan debt. Should I put it towards that?
What would YOU do?

NOTE: I don't want to tie the money up for any longer than 5 years.

Thanks a lot!

Thanks for all the advice so far! Great stuff!

I forgot to mention that I'm STILL in college and won't be obligated to start paying off my debt until '08.

Answer 1

Do not goto a advisor at the bank, you don't need their skill (which you'll pay for) This is a very easy task for any financial profesional, why not goto a company where you pay no load/commission.

Do Not and I repeat do not use it to pay towards your student debt. Obviously, if you have credit card debt pay that off. Your student debt is at such a low interest rate its considered "good debt" by the credit bureau's. If you insist on investing it go with a no load mutual fund company, Vanguard, some of fidelity, TRowe price, some ING investments. 4.4% what the other person mention is very low, you can do much better than that with a money market at least 5%.

A money market is your best bet because it is the safest. You can just throw it in there and use it for a down payment on a house at some point. Stocks or other risky funds, don't even bother because even if you get a stellar fund and make 20% it won't be considerable. Best case scenario at 5 years in stocks you could double your money or take it to 12,500 with tons of risk. With the money market, you'll end up with probably around 8,000 no risk involved.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Yes, you could speak to a banks investment advisor and also an investment brokerage advisor. I believe they're more informed than the average banker.
I'd start paying down the debt....that's a lot of money, $40K. I'd pay off about $2.5K and put the balance to work. An aggressive IRA might be the way to go, after all, you're only 21 .

Good Luck

Answer 3

The advisor would most likely put you in some load funds since that's how he gets paid. Stay away from the advisor. Nothing against him but with just $5k, why bother. Since it's short term, I would appy it to the student loan. It's still debt after all. If you are one of those people who don't like having the debt, then apply it to the school loan. Or drop it in a CD. YOu can probably get about 5 1/2 percent on a 1 year cd if you shop around. What's the rate on your student loan? If the cd rate is higher then maybe it will make sense since your cd interest would be more but again...you still have the debt. I would payoff the loan.

Answer 4

pay off Credit Cards first and don't use them. Then other personal loans, cars etc. and don't get more.

Ing is OK but www.emigrantdirect.com.com is better at 5.05% (is a regular savings account tied to your local checking, i have one works great, i move money back and forth on line)

like the guy said above maybe little better with a money market if you can find a good one. Watch the fees!

Then mutual funds would be next step up and the guy above is the expert, you just need to pay attention to the fees and loads. What you are being charged on every level... by the local guy/gal, the fund managers, etc. Sure one may have an 8% return but after a % fee here a % fee there and this $40 fee and that $75 fee and etc fee, you are soon down to a net return of 2%. believe me they have a 100+ ways to nickle and dime you.

Answer 5

JD, check out ING Direct. It's an online bank for savings that is currently paying 4.4% interest on a simple savings account. There are no fees at ING, no minimum deposit requirements and no minimal time you must keep your money there to get it. I have had an account with them for 4 years, sometimes as high as 10K. It's a place I know I have money in case of an emergency and I can get to it without any penalties. Interest is paid monthly, not quarterly and it IS compounded daily. They are FDIC insured and have been operating in this country for over 100 years. NO, I don't work for them. Maybe I should, HUH?
Read up on them. If you decide to open an account, won't you contact me first. I will send you a link that you can open an account through and by using it, you get $25 to open it and I get $10 for sending you.
If you are still in school and don't have to pay the loans off yet, save it and pay off a bigger chunk when it comes time that you DO have to.

Answer 6

First of all, you don't suck at life. It seems as if you have a lot of stuff going for you. You're in college, you're headed in the right direction, so you're doing fine at life. It's the girl part you suck at. You missed a prime opportunity to hit it off with the girl you went out on a date with. When she asked if you were gay it was the time you should've told her that you're just shy, you're not great at dating, and that you really enjoyed being with her. She might have given you another chance! So, now you know what to do next time. It's easier when a guy will just tell you he's nervous or shy, the girl will probably be more receptive and willing to put you at ease. Just keep at it and relax. Don't let it kill your ego, it's going to pass. You're going to meet a great girl and she's going to be just as nervous as you are! And screw your sister. She's just being a jerk. Trust me, I used to do that to my little brother, too, and now I feel terrible about it and I've apologized. He's now engaged and is getting married at the end of August. Good luck and keep your chin up!

Answer 7

5 years is too short of a time frame for an investment.

$5K is far too little to hire a professional

If you are determined to invest find some low cost index mutual funds like Vanguards. Stay away from individual stocks and stay far, far away from anyone with a hot stock tip.

There are a lot of people out there that will be interested in turning your $5K into their $5K and they are a lot smarter than you. So beware.

Answer 8

Learn about investment in general first. There are lots of sharks out there. Go take a look at http://investing.hammocksurvivalguide.com/ for some good advice.

Answer 9

1. Find a certified financial planner.
2. Set-up an appointment
3. Obtain sound and solid advisement from a certified financial planner

Answer 10

GREAT idea!! Go invest in "something" when you are up to your *** in debt! I mean, screw it, you can always claim bankruptcy if it all goes south. I need to go to college, too. They teach some really interesting things there!