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[SolarShado]

Okay, let me set the scene a little:

Twenty-year old college student, recently started my first job. I have a decent stash of money, and I know I can use it to make more money. But how?

I know the simplest thing would be to open a savings account and put as much as feasible in it, but I suspect the interest rate would be disappointingly low (I haven't actually checked yet though).

Any (fairly simple) suggestions?

[Zrk2]

High interest account until the economy recovers. Then the price of gold should drop off. Then buy an assload and wait for the next recession, then sell and repeat.

[Bdthemag]

High interest account until the economy recovers. Then the price of gold should drop off. Then buy an assload and wait for the next recession, then sell and repeat.

This is obviously the most fool proof way to easily make large sums of money.

[shadenight123]

keep it away from temptations for old age.
depending on how things fare, banks will fall, everything economical wallstreet related will crash, and we will thankfully maybe go back to barter sticks for stones.
Because yes, it can go that bad.
might be over simplicistic approach on how international economy works, or call me paranoic, but my cash stays with me, might lose on interest, will certainly not lose on the event of economy crashing down.
but yeah, buying gold is right.
just, don't go with high interest accounts.
go cash-gold-cash-gold.

[ChairmanPoo]

Guys, if the economy crashes and we go back to bartering with sticks, you know whose house to plunder in search of gold

[mainiac]

Put everything into a 501k invested in a broad range of stocks.  The term slips my mind but my (extremely meager) savings are put into an investment vehicle whereby the composition of the portfolio reflects the general stock market as well as possible.  This tends to do better then all but the very savviest investors over a long term.

Alternatively if you want to be able to invest your money in something specific in the future such as a business or real estate you could get a certificate of deposit for when you will want your money back and that way you will get a bit of a better rate then a savings account.

Finally you might want to strongly consider investing in real estate if you have enough for a down payment.  The market has crashed hard so prices are quite depressed right now.  If you buy something and hold onto it for 20 years you will be quite happy with yourself.  But keep in mind that you shouldn't ever look at real estate as solely an investment asset or you will be disappointed.  Only buy real estate if you can get good use out of it.

[ChairmanPoo]

@SolarShado, I received this business offer, but I think I'll pass it to you because you need it more than me

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

From: "President Hosni Mubarak"<hosni.mubarak1@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <hosni.mubarak26@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2011 07:12:03 -0800
Subject: Letter from President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

Dear Friend.

My contacting you through this medium is due to the urgency and confidentiality of this message; I want to make you an offer
so that you can assist me.
I resigned as the Egyptian President on the 11th of Feb 2011, please go through this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12433045

I know very well that the new government will be after all the moneys with me, and as such, I don’t want to lose all. I have
some deposited amount of money In Bank In New York, which I will like you change the ownership to you and have the money
moved immediately to you in your country in Cash (US$56Million) through a high Diplomatic Service.
Once you have received this first part, I will move another to you, but I want you to assure me that you can handle this
easily, as I will take care of all the documentation here and the cost here. What you are to take care of is just the
delivery and handling charges/fee once they have arrived your country.
You are receiving 30% of the total amount, so please urgently reply with your full contact information and as well as a copy
of your ID to assure me that you are not going to run with my money.
Please reply and notify me of your interest with your, Full Name, Your Contact Address, Your direct telephone Number.

I am waiting.

Thank You.

President Hosni Mubarak

[Zrk2]

Refinement on the real estate plan: Do what the cop next door did; buy houses, rent them out until the mortgage is paid off by the renters, then sell it when you need cash. There is no way this can go wrong. Especially when you can buy all of Detroit for $800.

[Leafsnail]

Refinement on the real estate plan: Do what the cop next door did; buy houses, rent them out until the mortgage is paid off by the renters, then sell it when you need cash. There is no way this can go wrong. Especially when you can buy all of Detroit for $800.

What if people don't want to rent your houses (say, because there's nowhere for them to work and earn the rent in Detroit)?

[Zrk2]

eventually something has to move in there. Or you could just rent to pot growers and never visit, giving you deniability and profit!

[Leafsnail]

Brilliant!  Now I just need to work out how to market my house to pot growers while still claiming deniability.

[Bdthemag]

Zrk2: Real Estate Master

[Eagleon]

Brilliant!  Now I just need to work out how to market my house to pot growers while still claiming deniability.

This is incredibly simple. Perform background check -> Does your potential tenant have no outstanding warrants? Does he have a solid rental history (not including prison), and yet no registered employment during the time that he rented? Congratulations! You've narrowed your clientele down to the "alternatively employed", including freelance mercenaries, drug-runners, and the undercover operatives that hunt them. You're well on your way to making the strangest neighborhood in Detroit, and that's saying something.

Now all you need to do is write an AMC dramedy from the hijinks that ensue, and you're set for life.

[Knight of Fools]

Here's my investment plan:

Guns, bullets, and food.

I mean, let's get serious, here. You can't eat gold, and it doesn't make a good weapon.


But, yeah, the thing about making money out of money is that you have to put it where there's risk. The more risk and potential, the more you might gain, but you're also likely to lose a lot of money. On the flip side, investing in something that's sure and proven won't make you much at all.  More than letting it sit in savings, yes, but still  relatively little.

If you really want to invest some cash, put it into your education and maybe some property. Renting out housing can be lucrative, but difficult to maintain and get off the ground with a small bank account. If you can't afford a decent down payment on a house, focus on education and saving more money.

Money doesn't come easily, and it always comes with a price.

[Strife26]

To give a serious answer, it really depends on how much work you're willing to put into it, as well as the amount of risk that you're wiling to go for. Firstly, there is no reason to be keeping all your money in the boxspring, it makes zero, and puts the cash at risk if you manage to start your bed on fire in a series of antics that, needless to say, involve Styrofoam, gasoline, chlorine gas, and three fancy chickens.

The second question is one of how much time you're willing to invest. For investments that are pretty much completely safe (in the category of "if the investment fails, the world is FUCKED" sort), one can't beat good old T- bonds, but the money is locked up in that case, which isn't always useful.


For low-risk, easy I'd recommend buying into a S&P 500 index fund of some sort. If the 500 tanks hard enough for you to lose money, then the government is going to have to be doing something about it, sure as sure. Any kind of lowish risk mutual fund is a decent enough investment, in most cases.