JMitchell

The TV Municipal Bonds recently being advertised in the paper for 6+% tax free were Comunity Development District Bonds...NOt the recreational bonds that are now under scruitiny by the IRS. Totally different.

More toward the short term I would go with CD's, maybe Discover's on line bank or to get a little better return corporate bonds that are maturing in 2 to 5 years. The bonds would be stressing the return more than safety.

There are no index funds that make that claim. There are index annuities such as alliance that do give you 10% up front with guarantee of 0 loss and work off the indexes monthly or annualy and reset each month or year howerer you set it up. I preferr monthly. Example if the market goes up 2% in june you make 2 % if it drops 3% in july you lose nothing. That is if you are on a month to month annuity. I have 2 m2m and 1 annual. They work well but your money is tied up for 17 years. You can withdraw up to 10% yearly without penality. I just reinvest the dividends for now. I have made over 35K in the past 2 years on just those with no risk. Speak to a professional about them before you invest so that you get the entire picture. Now to answer the question if I was investing 250k I would open 3 50k annuities and 100k in High Dividend stocks such as ATT etc. Do not take this as finincial advise but this is only my opinion on what I would do withe the 250k question. Do your reasearch! You have to live with your decisions. GOOD LUCK!

Our broker told us, if he sends us all our money go buy bullets and can goods for the poopie is about to hit the fan. That is the best advise I ever got and thisy guy has made us money every year, no matter what the market does. Sometimes not a lot, but enough that we have had to pay capital gains every year.

I worked a five year program to qualify as a finacial advisor and before completing the last course backed away. I backed away because I felt very uncomfortable telling people how to invest their hard earned money. Giving advice in a good economy is easy but head spinning in a down turn.

Add to that the conflicting advice from the financial community and a dynamic market that spooks easy and you can see why someone like me would rethink offering advice

Remember capital gains taxes when you run the numbers. I would also assume that inflation will increase so having a fixed monthly mortgage payment for 30 years might be a good thing. I would consider a mortgage and putting trailing stop loss orders on the stock I would have sold to buy the property. You will have to put the stop 5% to 10% under the market to avoid getting sold out too soon. Maybe 10% now and if the market calms down move it to 5%. This is not risk free as you could end up selling the stock for less than you could get now.

Options
 

I trade options, usually condors or iron condors on indexes, like the Russell 2K. With that you can make money if the market goes up or down or sideways. It doesn't have to always go up to be profitable. If you know the recipe it's very safe.

..........can it be said on this forum ????? ....." S-T-R-A-D-D-L-E-S "......AND....." S-T-R-A-N-G-L-E-S "...............(YUMMY...it's time to eat)...

Remember
 

From a technical perspective, the market only goes up or down 33% of the time. Your much safer if you limit your speculative holdings and set more income earning products that make money when the market goes sideways, which is 66% of the time.

Tips
 

Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)

Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, provide protection against inflation. The principal of a TIPS increases with inflation and decreases with deflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. When a TIPS matures, you are paid the adjusted principal or original principal, whichever is greater.

TIPS pay interest twice a year, at a fixed rate. The rate is applied to the adjusted principal; so, like the principal, interest payments rise with inflation and fall with deflation.

At this time, I would never consider taking money out of the market. (This assumes that one is holding good quality stocks.) What about CDs and bonds? Low rates of return are giving a strong signal to stay away, in my opinion.


If you get into CDs or bonds now, for preservation of wealth, when would you plan on getting back in the market? Ever? Would you be waiting for the next market crash or bear market? If so, you might be waiting for 3 or 4 years. No one knows for sure but I believe it would be at least a few years away. Meanwhile, the value of your money would be eroding due to inflation.
And if inflation steps up it's pace, it could be a serious problem.


No investment is ever 100% safe. Example: If interest rates go up, which they will at some point, bond prices will fall.


You might consider some quality stocks that pay good dividends and which also stand to appreciate in price as the market goes up.

Good luck!

What to do with money
 

Ask Suze Orman!

If I took 250k out of the market - I would turn right around and put it back in ASAP !!!!!

Real Estate - bargains abound!

I am currently a residential real estate appraiser. I think I know something about my local market. I am a "hard money" lender. I currently have five (5)
1st mortgages that are 1-3 year notes with the entire principle payable as a baloon at the end of the specified term. My requirements are simple, 2-3% closing cost up front, 11.99% interest only payable on the 1st of each month. No greater than 60% loan-to-value ratio. I am the 1st mortgage! Also, I must inspect the property and do my own internal appraisal report. (to myself). No appraisal fee required! Must be properties that I would personally be comforable in.

I have turned down many request. The request are presented to me by a couple of mortgage brokers that I do business with. The typical borrower is someone that has a recent mark on the credit score, has a long term job employment history and can restore their credit score in a year or two. All of my borrowers have been great as far as payment history. Only one paid late a couple of times but my late charges went out and she got the message. She paid the loan of $160,000 off about 18 months ago.