Comments on: How I Invest

By: Financial Independence

Financial Independence — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:10:47 +0000

Two facts, as food for thought:
- Only 202 of the 500 biggest companies in the United States in 1980 were still in existence 20 years later.
- On December 29, 1989, Tokyo’s Nikkei stock average reached its all-time peak of 38,915.87. Twenty years later, the Nikkei has never again reached that level — and, in 2009, reached a new low of 7,054.98.

By: The Incidental Economist

The Incidental Economist — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:21:38 +0000

*The* source for advice on simple, sound, index-based investing is the Bogleheads Investment Forum (http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php). It is a great place to learn.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:53:50 +0000

Exactly. If baseball were any slower, they would call it “farming.”

haha

By: How I Invest | Milk Your Money | Anti-Crisis Invest

How I Invest | Milk Your Money | Anti-Crisis Invest — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:50:07 +0000

[...] the rest here: How I Invest | Milk Your Money Tags: easy-credit, economic, few-bank, financial, primarily-early, really-began, stocks-thinking, [...]

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:08:42 +0000

Your right, ETF index funds are a great way to get into the market without minimums.

By: Blake

Blake — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:20:42 +0000

I like how you define how much you will invest in individual stocks, then stick to it. I too am a huge, huge proponent of KISS index investing, but I also realize how boring it can be! A small ‘kicker’ portion to one’s portfolio keeps your risk in check but also provides excitement and gives you something to talk about at the water cooler.

You mention that index funds tend to beat ETFs year after year, but many of them are the exact same thing; the only differences are the fact that the ETF trades like a stock instead of fund (and other small differences between the two). When I started buying Vanguard Total Stock Market Index, I didn’t have $3k free to meet the minimum investment for the index fund, so I bought the corresponding ETF instead.