The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Anyone involved in finance here?  I just got a lump sum of cash ($50K+) that I want to use to start a business in a few years down the road.  I have ZERO clue about anything involving money.  How can I invest it so that I have some more in 10 years?

In general the more risky the investment, the higher the possible reward. 

If you buy CDs or Treasury bills your 50K in 10 years will be more than it is today and won't decrease in value ever.  But I can also guarentee that your money will grow slower than inflation and won't be able to buy as much with what you have then as you could today.

If you for something more risky - stocks, real estate, mutual funds you will probably do better than inflation.  But it quite possible that you will have less money maybe only a thrid of what you started with. 

I am a big fan of www.fool.com  (no joke actual solid investing advice mixed in with down to earth humor) as a starting place to understanding investments. 

Take about half of it and kick it into cd's/t-bills.  Like hoodie said it'll grow slower but you can roll it over every few months.  Leave a small chunk of it (say between 1 and 5,000) in a savings account, then use the remaining money and go into stock markets/mutual funds.  Savings account interest rates go up dramatically the more money you put in there at most banks now.

You may also want to consider putting another 5,000 into either Gold or another precious metal (silver is rising at about the same relative rate and is much cheaper) and forget about it for awhile.

Try to pick stocks that are relatively cheap ($20 or so a share or maybe lower)companies in the US (slightly less risky because you'll know a lot faster if you need to move it) that are going to be around for awhile because even if the stock doesn't gain all that much, you'll be able to do a lot with the dividends you can plow it back into the stocks or you can kick it into your savings account.

An example would be something like I did before.

gain after tax: 29,000

Gold: $2000
Savings:  $2000
Bonds:  $10,000 (this was actually part of my so-called "retirement fund" but I have a different strategy in play)
Stock: $15,000.  Companies I bought were Tyco (ex-employer) SiriusXM (current employer) Coors/Miller (I drink enough of their products, I might as well vote at the shareholder meetings) and Ford Motor Company (went from $2 per share when I got in to around $7 a share plus the dividends I'm getting).

The best ways to get involved without getting dicked around by a broker are online trading.  I like TDAmeritrade because I pay a flat fee every time I buy and I don't have to buy what they call on margin where you borrow against whatever line of credit you have with the company. 

To buy gold/metal/commodities you can actually run a search locally for a broker, I don't know what they charge anymore though and a lot of times you can buy a commodity from the same people you get your stock through.

Go to the casino and dump $25 g's of it on red or black on the roulette wheel. Best bet in the house. Quick double up.

That's what I would do.....

If you want to use all of the money towards starting a business, I think you'd be good to put half (or more) into something guaranteed, like a CD, and then play with some in a diversified stock program.  Now is probably a good time to get into it.

I would speak to a financial adviser at a place like TD Ameritrade.  I use them and it made my investing easier.  They will make some recommendations based off of your goals.

Forget the business (you already have a sports fan's dream job) and spend it all on strippers, drugs, & steak dinners.

Honestly though, good luck with whatever path you take.