What are Your Personal Investing Strategies?

[JaniceSW]

I save loose change into separate water jugs and deposit every $5 bill I put my hands on into a savings account that yields 6.15% interest.
I'm reluctant to "gamble" in stocks... :/

Wow, where are you getting a 6.15% interest rate in a savings account.  I am getting .06%.  Is it in a CD or some other type of investment, or is it just a savings account at a bank?

BarclayUS. It's an online bank. They offer a variety of accounts but I use their "Dream Account". And I was wrong, I forgot they increased their base interest rate to 1.2% this past week. You get 2 opportunities (you can double up) to increase that rate by 2.5% each opportunity. One is for making consecutive deposits for 6 consecutive months and/or more(even a penny counts) and the other is by not withdrawing for 6 consecutive months and/or more.

I was surprised and a bit skeptical at first but man... at 21 years old, having this account is jump starting my retirement fund like crazyyy. Go check it out! I've had my accounts with them for almost 2 years and never had any isssues.

The only thing is that withdrawals take like 3-5 days to get. BUT I like that because... being a 21 yr old female who loves shopping.... it prevents spontaneous and frivolous spending

What great information on this thread.  Thank-you for starting it.  Strategies for saving and investing should be relevant to the point in life you are at.  For example, I am retired and need income with safety of principle.  For this reason, I don't look for the higher than average interest rates in mutual funds (which I like because they spread out the risk somewhat).  Higher interest rates mean more aggressive investing on the part of the company.  I can't take the chance of losing much.  My biggest savings hint is to pay yourself first.  Unless you are going to be homeless, not eat, or have no electricity, put something in that savings account or whatever each time you are paid.  Even $10 can make a difference over time if you are doing it consistently.

[bretay]

dont have any extra money to invest...

[snicole9519]

dont have any extra money to invest...

Getting started is the hardest. If you drink coffee, smoke, drink soda, drink sports drinks, or do anything that isn't necessarily necessary, try to take a couple out in the month, that will give you at least $5-$10 and ANYTHING is good to get yourself in the game of saving or investing.

[patapon555]

Diverse funds with Vanguard for the long term. Don't touch it and you'll be okay

[dsosnowski06]

I never play with the stock market to risky for me.  Have an IRA, CD and annuity. 

[braggin]

I don't have the stomach to invest in stocks. I just can't stand it when they go down in value and I worry about them all the time. So I took my money out of that type of investment and just have it in sure things that I don't have to worry about like annuities and CD's. I don't get rich that way, but at least I have guaranteed income.

[Ittai]

I have always been up for opening and wish 10- 15 years ago that i had money and the knowledge to buy stocks.  I am still new to the whole idea of what to buy and how much should i invest? YES i know it is a big risk but its a risk that some people took and made some money! BY THE WAY ....Thanks for the post and the info on Robin Hood app.

[teresa3200]

I had acorns on my phone for a day. I had to start with $20 and after the first day almost half was gone. I took the rest back and deleted the app.
I have an etrade account but not doing very well at all. I just have no idea what to do or what to buy.

[snicole9519]

I had acorns on my phone for a day. I had to start with $20 and after the first day almost half was gone. I took the rest back and deleted the app.
I have an etrade account but not doing very well at all. I just have no idea what to do or what to buy.

Well, the thing about stocks is that it's a long term game. You have to do research if you really wanna get down to the nitty gritty. One reason I choose to not invest is that I feel like I'm gambling my money and that's not ok with me. Another reason is that I am too particular with my money and budgeting (CPA and Financial Advisor... too hard to change my ways), and I could not just put money in and leave it to go up, down, sideways, all around the world, etc. I watch everything. I check my bank accounts every day. I have 5 different apps/websites to check my credit score on a rotation(can only update every 7 days on the ones I use). So, investing isn't for me and it's not for everyone. Check into the saving account that i talked about earlier in this post, it's a start to somewhere(:

[ancmetro]

    Work, work and work. Save, save and save.

[brian8713]

I'd recommend skipping the apps and focusing on retirement savings. That's the only way to really build up a sizable amount of money. Most people aren't good at picking individual stocks so don't attempt it. Just put your money in quality mutual funds, and you're close to guaranteed returns above 10% if you leave the money alone for 30 or so years. The problem is, most people don't. I've had fairly good returns in my 401K and IRA, and I also recognize that if the stock market goes down, it will go back up. I have at least 30 years until I'll be retired so I have time to let the money do the work for me.

[Chriskent13]

I had acorns on my phone for a day. I had to start with $20 and after the first day almost half was gone. I took the rest back and deleted the app.
I have an etrade account but not doing very well at all. I just have no idea what to do or what to buy.

Well, the thing about stocks is that it's a long term game. You have to do research if you really wanna get down to the nitty gritty. One reason I choose to not invest is that I feel like I'm gambling my money and that's not ok with me. Another reason is that I am too particular with my money and budgeting (CPA and Financial Advisor... too hard to change my ways), and I could not just put money in and leave it to go up, down, sideways, all around the world, etc. I watch everything. I check my bank accounts every day. I have 5 different apps/websites to check my credit score on a rotation(can only update every 7 days on the ones I use). So, investing isn't for me and it's not for everyone. Check into the saving account that i talked about earlier in this post, it's a start to somewhere(:

I am also a CPA which makes it hard because like you I check all of my accounts multiple times a week and even a day. That being said, I got into accounting to understand the details of balance sheets and income statements so I could make better investing decisions.  I have a 401(k), and HSA, multiple savings account, and a stock portfolio.  Right now I put in 4% of each paycheck with and annual increase of 1% up to 10%, I invest $20 a month in the stock market, my company puts in $250 a month into my HSA, and I try to save a little every month as well. 

I do like the idea of the savings account that you described though, so I will have to check that out.  Thanks for you post!