Investing some "fun money"

[red dirt shootist]

DOCU
DKNG

I'm gonna hold on that

 

[red dirt shootist]

OK, about a year ago I posted that if anybody has any cash laying around doing nothing put it in a CD. So I took my own advice, which is risky, but right now I have a brand new GMC Sierra 4x4, not top of the line but not bottom either, parked in the garage. 75% paid for by interest from CD's and some bank interest figured in because I didn't start buying CD's until May of last year. The worst CD paid 5.25, it was before the peak, I have 2 that paid 6% 18 months and 26 months. Yeah I know that can be beat, but I'm old, I don't want risk. So this year I'll be looking at Cessna's............not really, but all in all I'm happy.

 

[Parks 788]

Lots of good advice and appreciate the responses. Like I said, it would only be $2K and is "fun money". My wife and I combined do quite well with our income, have our retirements doing their thing, have no mortgages no car loans or other debt other than some student loans for our son from his freshman year at OSU. We are now paying cash for his college. So, this little venture is purely for fun and I am willing to take higher risk than what i do with my current retirement. IF things took a crap would it hurt? Probably a little with my ego but not hurt us financially.

If I can find 3-4 stocks that have potential breakout growth and sit on them for a couple years or more and can cash out with $2-$5K more then great. Not looking to make life-changing money here. Break even, well I tried and had a little fun.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Since it’s fun money you should buy 100 $20 lottery scratch offs…

 

[Shadowrider]

Don't get emotionally attached to a stock. Be ready to dump it. If it grows to a reasonable amount, set a trailing stop sell order on it and let it ride until it trips and sells. Then go find something else and do it again. ETFs are a lot more stable but don't grow fast like individual stocks will. I'd use at least a 10-15% stop value AFTER it's grown that much at least, that way you will not lose anything.

Pick "trendy stuff" like green energy for one instance, or whatever is "hot" at the moment and appears it will stay that way for a year or two. Don't let politics or emotion come into play, it's about growing your account.

 

[turkeyrun]

Good stuff been put forth. "Risk" is a relative term. Tolerance to risk is based on your age and your tolerance of loss.
Over 50, risk gets scary. The farther over, the scarier.

I just moved some excess savings into money market. It pays better than CD and more fluid, not as volatile as stocks.

Since retirement, my risk tolerance has dropped considerably.

I am a big fan of ETF's. A few years back, ETFs were new, my advisor was telling me about them. I was moving some money around and decided to go in that direction. It was 17 months before the Beijing Olympics, there was an ETF investing in Chinese construction stocks. China was building the Olympic stadium and repairing / upgrading the city, for showing off to the world. I said I wanted $30k in China. Advisor tried to talk me out of it. 3 other advisors tried to talk me out of it. The Office Manager tried. I told them to buy.

16 months later, 1 month before the Olympics began, I tell him to sell. My $30k was now, $93k. Everyone in the office was asking what I was going to invest in.

Never had a hit like that, before or after.

I know several that lost a lot in the dot com era.

Just as all of the casinos were coming into being, I found a family owned company, Paul & Sons, that was going public. They manufactured 70% of all gaming tables and supplies worldwide.
Wif and I decided to buy $10k. (IPO was $10 / share)

I screwed around and missed the IPO. The stock dropped to $2, in a month. Continued to go down to $0.42. over 6 month period. Took it several years to recover to $10. I have never bought into it.

Mutual Funds for long term, unless you really know what your doing.

 

[KOPBET]

If you really want to make money in the stock market, just short everything I buy. You'll come out ahead.

 

[Snattlerake]

Lots of good advice and appreciate the responses. Like I said, it would only be $2K and is "fun money". My wife and I combined do quite well with our income, have our retirements doing their thing, have no mortgages no car loans or other debt other than some student loans for our son from his freshman year at OSU. We are now paying cash for his college. So, this little venture is purely for fun and I am willing to take higher risk than what i do with my current retirement. IF things took a crap would it hurt? Probably a little with my ego but not hurt us financially.

If I can find 3-4 stocks that have potential breakout growth and sit on them for a couple years or more and can cash out with $2-$5K more then great. Not looking to make life-changing money here. Break even, well I tried and had a little fun.

Is adoption out of the question, daddy?

 

[Rez Exelon]

12% average for the last 100 years. I checked mine this week and its doing 13.6% for the year so far.
When Trump went to the WH it did 36% the first year and somewhere still above 30% the next 3 years.

This got me thinking....I wonder what the market looks like by President. This is using the S&P:

The only three presidents to have the market go down in their terms are Hoover, Nixon and George Dubya. Obama (175%) and Clinton (211%) are the spikes. Reagan could go in that bracket but was third place of it at 130% and made the graph really busy.

Simplifying down to the last three we have Biden and Trump following a similar path with both being below Obama's performance:

 

[CHenry]

This got me thinking....I wonder what the market looks like by President. This is using the S&P:
View attachment 462044
The only three presidents to have the market go down in their terms are Hoover, Nixon and George Dubya. Obama (175%) and Clinton (211%) are the spikes. Reagan could go in that bracket but was third place of it at 130% and made the graph really busy.

Simplifying down to the last three we have Biden and Trump following a similar path with both being below Obama's performance:
View attachment 462045

I dont get your point? A mutual fund is not a day trading strategy, just let it ride over the years of highs and lows. Anytime its low, its like buying on a discount.
I it has worked very well for me.