If You Had $20k and No Savings...

[PaulConventionWV]

pay off debt(s)

Not being in debt is awesome. I only work part time and I've already saved up almost $3k in savings even while keeping my car in perfect running condition and eating out a good bit. That's after only being on the workforce for less than a year with a $8/hour job. Imagine what happens when I get a promotion/raise. Here's to beating the economy with very few responsibilities.

[Brian4Liberty]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

If you are very long term, you should look into a Roth IRA or a Roth 401(k) brokerage account for a portion of your savings. The benefit there is that you can buy and sell as much as you want with no tax implications (or annual tax prep headaches), and when you take the money out when you retire, there will be no taxes.

For your emergency cash, you should shop around at Credit Unions. They often have better rates and services than banks.

[PaulConventionWV]

Use it to invest in the precious metals market asap, gold, silver, even copper. All of them are accumulating wealth and will continue to do so. I(nvest in any thing else and you'll only see what you invested in become worth less and less as the Federal Reserve manipulates and tanks the market and devalues the dollar.

That's not true. There are several investments that beat inflation. In fact, the fortune 500 companies almost always beat inflation, and that's a relatively safe investment. Small business also has potentially much better returns for long-term investors while being somewhat more risky. Real estate is always a good investment because returns are almost guaranteed for renters. It's like operating a mini-business that takes up almost none of your time so that you can have another job along with it.

The metals market will not make you any money, they only keep up with inflation, they don't beat it. Silver might be beating it right now, but long-term it's really only a safe-store for value, not a big retuns investment. Metals are not accumulating wealth, they're accumulating dollars and keeping roughly the same value they had before. The only reason they keep going up is because of inflation.

[PaulConventionWV]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

By long-term savings, you mean what? Just keeping the money and letting it collect dust and lose value? The other guy had a good idea. Find a cheap duplex, triplex, or quadriplex, buy it (even if you have to get a mortgage) and rent out the other apartments. I saw a quadruplex for $31,000 not too long ago, and another one for $15,000 which I could have easily gotten an immediate additional $800/month from. Keep a small amount of emergency savings and use the rest to either grow your business or get some real estate.

[gwax23]

Do you own a home yet? If not get a duplex/triplex/quad and take advantage of the government's FHA program, and make money by renting out the other unit(s)

<= 3.5% interest rates
3.5% money down
270k max loan for single family, up to I think ~500k max loan for a quadplex property.

These loans are guaranteed by our wonderfully generous government, so if you have anything better than terrible credit you instantly qualify.

I just lost my car in Hurricane sandy and Im set to get a fat check from Insurance. Anyone have anymore information on this? Sounds like a interesting idea. I cant seem to find quadplex properties online....

[Seraphim]

In secular bull markets, assets accumulate purchasing power - they do not simply keep up with infltion.

Those who purchased gold/silver over the last 10 years have seen their purchasing power increase (WEALTH) by A LOT.

This bull market in precious metals is a super sized secular bull market. The metals are absolutely gaining wealth/purchasing power.

What you said about top producing companies is very true, however. A quality producer is a fantastic way to expand your wealth, especially if you recognize the value of the company earlier on.

That's not true. There are several investments that beat inflation. In fact, the fortune 500 companies almost always beat inflation, and that's a relatively safe investment. Small business also has potentially much better returns for long-term investors while being somewhat more risky. Real estate is always a good investment because returns are almost guaranteed for renters. It's like operating a mini-business that takes up almost none of your time so that you can have another job along with it.

The metals market will not make you any money, they only keep up with inflation, they don't beat it. Silver might be beating it right now, but long-term it's really only a safe-store for value, not a big retuns investment. Metals are not accumulating wealth, they're accumulating dollars and keeping roughly the same value they had before. The only reason they keep going up is because of inflation.

[Tpoints]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

Unless you either just want a degree or it's close to free, I wouldn't waste time on a philo degree, it will not increase your income.

You car has a year or 2 to live, so keep at least 5k for the next car.

[Tpoints]

That's not true. There are several investments that beat inflation. In fact, the fortune 500 companies almost always beat inflation, and that's a relatively safe investment. Small business also has potentially much better returns for long-term investors while being somewhat more risky. Real estate is always a good investment because returns are almost guaranteed for renters. It's like operating a mini-business that takes up almost none of your time so that you can have another job along with it.

The metals market will not make you any money, they only keep up with inflation, they don't beat it. Silver might be beating it right now, but long-term it's really only a safe-store for value, not a big retuns investment. Metals are not accumulating wealth, they're accumulating dollars and keeping roughly the same value they had before. The only reason they keep going up is because of inflation.

You don't sound like somebody who has been a landlord, have you not heard of the housing bubble and foreclosure explosion?

In your very next post you say there are houses selling for 30k, how is that a guaranteed investment to the current seller?

[Zippyjuan]

By long-term savings, you mean what? Just keeping the money and letting it collect dust and lose value? The other guy had a good idea. Find a cheap duplex, triplex, or quadriplex, buy it (even if you have to get a mortgage) and rent out the other apartments. I saw a quadruplex for $31,000 not too long ago, and another one for $15,000 which I could have easily gotten an immediate additional $800/month from. Keep a small amount of emergency savings and use the rest to either grow your business or get some real estate.

Some questions a potential investor in rental property should ask. What is the condition of the property? What would it cost to make it good enough to rent out? Get an inspection- especially of the roof- the most expensive to fix or replace. A cheap complex is probably priced low because it will cost a lot to bring it up to code. What are your costs and what can you rent it out at (you should be able to get enough rent in nine months to cover all of your expenses for the year)- what rent are similar units in the area getting? Do you want to be the landlord- fix everything and collect the rent. Kick out problem renters. Or would you pay somebody to do all of that (include that in your costs). Can you get a mortgage on the property? Don't forget property taxes in the expenses as well. You will need down payment and money to do initial fixing up of the place.

[LibertyCitrus]

Thank you guys for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

Sell your business.
Sell everything in your apartment
Get out of the apartment, start car camping
Buy passport, visas, plane ticket to Asian country of your choice
Sell your car, start backpacking, living at friends houses, couch surfing. Upgrade your backpacking equipment
Open a discount brokerage account, put all leftover money into stocks: Google, Tencent.
Hop on the plane to Asia
$19,000 is 5 years of backpacking around Southeast Asia/India/China getting market research for the international expansion of your tabletop gaming business.

You studied Asian philosophy and enjoy wilderness survival too.