Maybe pick up some used sways. For the rest, start an account with vanguard. Take a look at their LifeStrategy funds. Simple way to get a very diversified portfolio with one mutual fund. At your age the LifeStrategy Growth might be a good choice. And put it in a Roth IRA.

Their website is Vanguard.com. They are about the lowest cost investing you are going to get. Plus they have an ownership structure that benefits the mutual fund shareholder, not some stockholder of the company itself. When you buy a vanguard mutual fund, you are a part owner of vanguard.

 

WHO??!!! that thread would be REALLY helpful

 

already spent a grand. im going to spend the rest over time

 

Burned a hole in you pocket, didn't it? Your young you will learn. Windfall profits should be invested to propagate more windfall profits.

 

You should have waited...

 

Vangard's index funds look pretty nice to me right about now....

 

why?

 

I dunno ING Direct is really good...they have really great MM rates...

 

F-that noise...thats what financial advisors are for! ha

 

You still have a grand, get a more affordable russian mail order bride

 

yup, i'm a big fan of vanguard index funds. And Russian mail order brides

If I recall correctly, the lifestrategy fund I mentioned consists largely of vanguard index funds. It is a fund of funds.

Not too late chet - go to vanguard.com.

 

I have my 401k with Vanguard.

 

How hard is it to start a 401k? I'm only 19...

 

i think you need a job first...

but thats assuming you dont work. you might. but i'd assume anyone with an rx8 in their younger years, like me (21,) doesnt work.

 

HAHAHA. I pay my own RX8 payments...at 600 dollars a month. Right now I'm between jobs. I've been in the work force since 15...I started off in construction work. How do you get a 401k? AND I bought my first car

 

wow. nj. i just simply withdrew the money from a trust. you bought your own car at 19? wow. that is impressive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/401(k))

 

Don't forget that the 2k is likely taxable income. You might want to save a few dollars to offset the tax hit.

 

Nah, I bought my own car at 15. I've had 3 vehicles. 95 Camaro, 1990 Suburban, 2006 RX8. I've paid/repaired all of them myself. I had to get a co-signer for the 8. But I do pay it myself, my own gas, insurance, and repairs. And aftermarket goodies. The paintjob & wheels on the Camaro down there \/ I paid for it. I'm a workaholic sometimes.

 

must be.

i dont have time to work. im a study-aholic.

 

Nice...man I've studied....3 times in my whole educational career. I'm leaving college and going to UTI for their automotive program. I'm paying for that too. $31,000. By the way, I'm NOT rich...I figured I'll be making about double that once I get a good job once I graduate. Porsche, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, and Maserati(not yet) hire people from UTI. Financing the car, student loan, financial aid, grants, scholarships. I'm scavenging for pennies right now.

 

:O

good luck. i dont know how scavenging for pennies feels like, but im sure you'll do alright. you seem to have a decent block on your shoulders. :D

 

UTI blows. They call it the "Untrained Technical Institute" around here. More than 90% of the kids that come out still think a crescent wrench is the best tool in the box and have no idea what a compression ratio is. The school is OK if you put a lot into it. If not, they just pass you along.

I'm not saying you're dumb, but I know a lot of UTI grads that haven't gotten jobs and are working at McDonald's (not joking) and paying back $400 bucks a month on a student loan, so they have to live with their parents because they can't afford rent on $7.50 an hour. The "job placement assistance" is BS, don't let them fool you.

And because of them number of untrained monkeys the school churns out, the reputation UTI has isn't so great. Some places don't like UTI grads anymore, either.

And if you intend on working in Phoenix, good luck making any decent money. Because there is UTI, MMI, and other trade schools, you are replaceable, so dealerships pay you peanuts (literally $9 bucks an hour to start).

Don't want to discourage you, just giving you a heads up from someone with experience.

 

Well I just want to say to you. You're lucky. But I like working for my own things, makes me feel better. I try to take as much off my mom's shoulder's as possible.

 

I know the risk and what people say of the graduates. I've already about about 9 courses at Glendale Community College, so I'm not walking in there with nothing under my belt. I plan on learning what I can, then going to a customization or tuner shop. I'm not changing your oil. As for the job placement program, nah. I'm getting my own job, I'm going to find another server position. Or be a runner for my stepdad's law firm...bet I could get $10 an hour for that

Plus GCC has the worst facility. Everything BARELY runs, everything smokes, chokes, dies. Tools are broken, everything is stripped of the car. I just want to be able to have a higher chance of working on cars I would be normally working on with normal problems. Also, I am taking the Ford program not just the basic course, so I'll have more experience

 

I'm glad you know the risks. I've run into too many people that walk around saying "I'm going to UTI and they're going to get me a great job and i'll be set for the rest of my life!". It's a false sense of security, for sure.

Good luck on getting into a customization shop. Those are difficult jobs to land. Just be safe and have a backup plan, in case plan A doesn't work out. Changing oil might be something you'll have to do for a while until you get the job you want.

UTI does dealership training, however, so translating that to a tuner shop can be difficult as well.