I am 30, how can I get financially set up?

Question

What are some good ways to generate another source of income for a young engaged couple?

How do we "play the game"? so that we can have an extra couple of hundred dollars coming in each week or whatever?

We don't own any properties yet, we have an existing car & credit card loan (consolidated our debts).

How much of our wage should we invest? how much of our wage should we save? etc etc

Answer 1

Congrates on your engagement. Preparing for your future wedding and finances should be discussed by each of you writing down your goals. Like will you go into more debt buying rings and paying for wedding and honeymoon expenses. To begin as debt-free as possible and staying that way is best for being financially set-up.
1. Credit cards and loans with interest rates above 0% should be used for emergencies and home loan. Not cars, jewlery, tools, funiture, toys, gifts, etc... Except for major items, for added insurance benifit, that can be paid off within 1-3 months.
2. Get short & long term disability for both of you.
3. Get good health insurance.
4. Education is a good investment to increase your income.
5. Budgetting your money for for everything NEEDED can be as good as another source of income of a few hundred a month.
6. Clipping coupons and buying things needed on sale or price matching is good way to save.
7. Save up to 6 months or more of each income for emergency like getting sick, losing job or being out of work for extended period.
8. Find jobs with good 401k plan. Invest up to matching %, then invest in Roth IRA, then go back to 401k invest up to max.
9. You should both be informed and included in all financial goals and decisions. By reviewing them as needed.
10. Have a seperate savings accounts for the things you want to buy or emergency. Like gifts, cars(expenses), home impovements(repairs) and other items. Never go in debt for gifts. If you can't pay for gifts with cash then you can't afford them.

I hope this helps you in your journey of two people becoming one. By combining your individual goals into one you should be able to save and invest up to 25% of your incomes. As for investing here are some websites and thoughts.

The best tip I could give you is learn the basics. And that will be your best investment ever. And use that info for your 401k and Roth IRA accounts, first. And then if you have any extra to invest paper trade your picks and if you can get over 75% right out of 50 picks then think about investing the extra for real. Open a demo and see how you would do if it was your real money. It could help your decisions for your 401k and Roth.
http://simulator.zacks.com/zacks/default...

Here are my favorite sites.

http://stockcharts.com/
Has basically all you need from fundamental to technical terms. Plus stock screens, charts, public chart lists, and much more useful info.

https://www.fidelity.com/
Has good learning resources.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp
In addition to yahoo finance.

http://www.reuters.com/
For news and more.

http://www.marketwatch.com/default.aspx
For news and more.

http://www.valueprime.com/index.php
For rating stock risk/reward ratio and reports.

http://www.barchart.com/
For investing in more than stocks.

http://www.lightninglive.com/
For best software timing your entry/exits any time frame for day traders and long term investors.

Others worth exploring.
http://www.equis.com/
http://www.stockta.com/
http://www.secform4.com/

After you really get your feet wet in learning if you want you can email me any questions.

Best Wishes,
Burt Whitley

Answer 2

Pay off your debt that is better than more income if your interest rates are above 4%.
Invest in ROTH IRAs and a small home to live in. When you get out of debt except the mortgage and pay down the mortgage or build other savings you can consider turning your little house into a rental and buying another to live in. Make sure you study landlording before attempting it.

Answer 3

http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/invadvisers.htm

Please check this out prior to choosing an investment adviser