I would love to hear what everyone thought. My wife was thinking about oil, but I have know idea.

I have a bridge in Brooklyn I will make you a sweet deal on...

Seriously though, what is the point of the investment? You want short term or long term? Can you afford to lose any of it? Can you leave it in long term and ride out a downturn? What kind of return do you want?

quote:

Originally posted by David W:
I would love to hear what everyone thought. My wife was thinking about oil, but I have know idea.

That's an impossible question to answer. Way too many variables. If you have know (sic) idea I suggest you don't invest it in anything.

quote:

Originally posted by RogB:
That's an impossible question to answer. Way too many variables. If you have know (sic) idea I suggest you don't invest it in anything.

This ^^^^^

It would be more for longterm investment, if we lost the money it would not be the end of the world, the money is just sitting there now not doing anything.

Invest it in knowledge, skill, training for another income stream/career/advancement.
.

quote:

Originally posted by David W:
It would be more for longterm investment, if we lost the money it would not be the end of the world, the money is just sitting there now not doing anything.

OKCGene makes a good point, so there's that to consider. But, assuming you don't feel a burning need to do that, perhaps try to find a fund manager you can trust and has a good track record, telling him/her what your goals are wrt the money, and investing it that way.

We did this with my 401K savings when I retired. Other than with what's going on now, it's steadily made enough money that it's gained value despite the fact we've been withdrawing over $2k/mo. to offset the difference between my income while employed and SS.

We have the occasional meeting or phone conversation with the manager to discuss the direction in which we see things going and make determinations as to what, if any, strategies need to be changed.

Doing it the way we have has made us money and is low maintenance

Oil at $2.70 a barrel is scary. I believe it was $18 Friday.

If any of us were ever going to buy oil in our lifetime - today is probably the day.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Oil at $2.70 a barrel is scary. I believe it was $18 Friday.

If any of us were ever going to buy oil in our lifetime - today is probably the day.

That's what my wife has been saying, I just don't know what to buy i.e. Exxon or some small oil company in Texas?

Before you start looking at investments:

Do you have any debt? If so, put some of your $11k toward it.

If no debt, and you're quite a few years from retirement, put some of the money into your IRA or up your 401k contributions.

If you have access to funding a HSA, max out your contributions; you can usually invest in mutual funds through your HSA and if you don't need to tap it, imagine it as a medical IRA

No Emergency fund, start one.

*free internet suggestions

CASH, the foreclosure cycle is just beginning!

precious metals are always good. I would invest in Lead and copper myself

Toilet paper, Purcell, bleach, try and find some.

quote:

Originally posted by David W:

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Oil at $2.70 a barrel is scary. I believe it was $18 Friday.

If any of us were ever going to buy oil in our lifetime - today is probably the day.

That's what my wife has been saying, I just don't know what to buy i.e. Exxon or some small oil company in Texas?

Exxon-Mobil, Chevron. Be wary of the smaller refiners - they may not survive this.

However, make you sure you have established a cash safety net and manageable debt. (similar to other comments)

$11k is not enough to be properly diversified in stocks. I would pick 3 mutual funds, vanguard seems to be popular, and split the money and put it in those. Exxon Mobil is what I'd be looking at for oil, perhaps buy 100 shares of that and put 1/3 each in 2 different mutual funds. I wouldn't invest everything in oil.

We are almost debt free.

We have two rental properties that pay+ for themselves and we have one vehicle that is almost paid for, other than that no debt.

I would invest it in Nancy Pelosi as she would give me a crony contract for $25K (of taxpayer money) to do nothing.

I don't know the interest rates you are paying on the debt, but I agree with those who say pay down debt first.

Silver. God Bless

What does your emergency fund look like? Is the $11k truly excess, or would it be better suited under your mattress as part of your emergency fund?

If it's truly just play money, then I'd look for a deal like an airline, cruise line, automaker, hotel chain, etc.

Right now I'd put it in a high yield money market fund or a short duration CD. Marcus by Goldman Sachs offers a no penalty 7 month CD at 1.7%. You can draw your money out before the maturity date with no penalty and it's only .15% lower than their regular CD's but you're money is not tied up. After things settle down, maybe look at an index fund, but with that small of a base, individual stocks are not the best choice.

As always, take internet advice with a grain of salt.