tinsnip
First Time Poster
Cash: $ 0.25
Posts: 1
Joined: 29 Jun 2006
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I would like to help my 16 year old son begin investing in mutual funds. He has built up $11,000, which is currently sitting in a savings account. He's a great kid, but unfortunately not a great student. Therefore, the money may (or may not) be used towards college, depending on the direction his education goes in.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
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Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:42 pm |
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Stock Mama
Full Member
Cash: $ 13.80
Posts: 68
Joined: 06 Apr 2006
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One site that I've found very useful is Investopedia. There's a section there with information on mutual funds. I'd highly suggest that your son be an active player in the decisions about what to do with his money. He's only two years away from adulthood and he'll be making these decisions on his own soon, so working alongside him can help him learn how to invest for the future.
Does he have any idea what he wants to do for a living someday? Even if he doesn't want to go to a four-year college, community colleges and junior colleges have good vocational training programs that can prepare him for a career at a very reasonable cost. And a community college can also serve as a bridge to a four-year school. I teach at a community college and I have lots of students who didn't do well in high school but want to go to college, so they're taking "catch-up" classes, like Math 65 and Writing 95, preparing for 100-level material. Their "two-year" degree may take three years or longer to complete, but they'll be prepared to transfer to the university.
And even at this age he can start putting together a Roth IRA for his retirement. The sooner he starts, the easier it will be to save enough to retire comfortably.
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Sun Jul 02, 2006 2:26 am |
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David Briggs
Senior Member
Cash: $ 57.86
Posts: 289
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
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Any interest you can cultivate in him in following the market will put him on the path to financial independence. (That and vocational school for whatever trade he has an aptitude for).
Exchange Traded Funds are my suggestion, not mutual funds, because you can buy and sell throughout the day.
Learn at etfconnect.com and stockcharts.com. Track the 5-day and 20-day moving averages of RSP and IWM for starters. In particular, watch the price action for the weeks following those key changes in trend when the 5-day closes above or below the 20-day. Make pretend trades and keep a record of what the real dollars would have done. Fun for the whole family.
~~David
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Mon Jul 03, 2006 7:49 pm |
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