Do you live within your means and how?

Yeah, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to this stuff. Somehow I'd get ripped off by a broker smelling my ignorance as soon as I walked in.

 

A broker can answer your questions better and make the whole stock market game easier to understand.

A Roth IRA allows you to deposit money each year ($4,200 max I believe -- it used to be $3,000).  When you hit a certain age (58 I believe though I could be wrong), you can draw on this account and not have to pay taxes on the profit.  For example, your $3,000 investment this year could be $50,000 by the time you retire.  Under normal IRA's, you have to pay taxes on the $47,000 that you made.  A Roth IRA lets you avoid paying tax on that money).

 

To find a good broker, talk to your friends and co-workers. They will usually be more than happy to share a contact with you, especially if they like the people they are working with.

 

Wrong. You pay taxes when you put money into a Roth IRA.

 

Idaho is right. HSBC's internet savings is paying 5.05% right now.
http://www.hsbcdirect.com/1/2/1/offer?code=husa

I have an ING Direct account and have been pleased with it. It's paying a comparatively piddling 4.35% now, though.
www.ingdirect.com

 

I'm so wary of doing something like that on the Internet.

 

We covered this topic a few months ago, but I can't find the thread.

Basic tips from the thrift experts start with writing down every single purchase you make in a week so you know where you're spending it. A lot disappears without you realizing how much you're spending. I have a freelance gig once a week, and I have to feed a parking meter. .50 a week isn't much, but in the course of a year, it is enough to pay for my Hockey News subscription.

Personally, I have a lot of financial self-discipline and sock away more money than most, but I am single with no kids. That helps, but so does not smoking, bringing my lunch, renting movies instead of going to shows, not being a big drinker, buying a house that was well under what I could have, keeping my car for 7+ years, etc.

It's possible to save money. Make savings a priority, not something you do with what's left. Pay yourself first - have 10 percent of your check (minimum) put aside for savings. If you can, deduct it automatically. You don't miss what you never see.

It's tough and requires discipline, but yes, it's very possible.

 

I think a big part of it is where you live.

Down South, my wife and I are very comfortable and able to put quite a bit into savings thanks to a low COL. But we'd likely struggle in a major metro area on our salaries. And by "struggle" I mean live paycheck to paycheck.

 

They're real, regular banks, protected by the FDIC. They're not fly-by-night "Joe's Bank" operations. ING is backed by ING (traded on the NYSE). For more info on ING and ING Direct: http://home.ingdirect.com/about/about.asp.

HSBC has bricks and mortar branches (but maybe not in your area).

ING accounts link to accounts at another bank and that's how your transfer your money in and out.

 

I've done all that, too, since starting my new job back in February.

While I had cut out snacks long before, I stopped drinking with pop at work here, in part because bottles cost $1.25 from the vending machine. And then there's the free water from the cooler about 10 feet from my desk. I guzzle down maybe eight cups -- the large ones you get from baseball games -- a night. So while I'm always heading for the restroom, it's much healthier without pop, which I only drink at restaurants or at other public places or people's houses. I'm strictly a social drinker these days.

I save $25 month, but I wish I could do more. Once I sell my house from my previous stop, I'll definitely be able to do that from week to week.

Re: fast food, I used to have it maybe once a day. Now it's been once or twice a month. I shop each week with the fiancee. I eat Lean Pockets for breakfast -- five for $10 sale at the grocery store this week -- then bring sandwiches to work. I get a pound of ham or turkey and then I buy two packages of five of Lender's wheat bagels for those sandwiches -- two a day, five days a week at work. My home snacks are bananas.

Just by doing that, I've found I'm saving tons of money while leading a healthier lifestyle. The only regret is that I didn't make these changes sooner than February.

 

You don't need your own broker. He won't look at your account unless he has to, and you'll forever be wondering if he's recommending something only because there's a bonus or some other incentive for him.

You can open your own account at TD Ameritrade and if you want to learn about investing, there are a millions places with good, respectable information.

Don't get greedy and think every stock or mutual fund you buy is going to double in a week.

 

Those changes are among the best a person can make. PBJ's are good, good for you and really easy to make. Buy a big honking bag of Doritos, 2-lb bags of carrots and a box of snack bags. Lunch should cost you no more than $1.50 a day and you'll be soooo much better off than with four items from the Mcd dollar menu.