I would need much capital to do that glen. ;). I'm pretty fond of not blowing myself up though...

My checking account pays that....


My comment wasn't that the bug was too high relative to the 944. Just that it was high period. I've seen way nicer cars for not much more.

Ok so what I'm hearing is that I'm screwed.

For frame of reference, in July I bought some stock ~7.70, it closed at 12.36 Friday..... I expect it to level off soon due to what all the articles are saying about it. I could throw more there in hopes that it grabs another dollar or too. I've still got some free trades left in my account.

Lending club is not FDIC insured. If the company goes belly up, you can be out of your $, and that doesn't even depend on who you lent your hard earned to. I'd be very careful.

Gambling on the stock market with single stocks isn't going to work either. You may as well go play blackjack or poker with it. Visit the "how high will it go" AAPL thread for reference.

The issue is that money makes money, but not at a very rapid rate,if you don't want a down-side, especially today.

I like the suggestion best where you flip a couple cars. It will require buying wisely and some serious elbow grease.

G

G, did you miss my reply where I don't have the time to wrench on the cars I've already got.... My job requires me to travel, so I might have 2 hrs a day to poke around the net.. But finding enough time at home to spin wrenches is hard....

Vegas baby, Vegas.

But if in your travels you come across any clean $2500 RZ350s for which you don't have the time, let me know.

Gimme a 10% finders fee and we'll call it good...

http://shreveport.craigslist.org/mcy/3613669082.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1361100965.jpg

jk (a bit) Sidney. If I needed investors in my place I'd certainly take you aboard but at this point I'm still self-funded.
Jim

This (others have said it, too)

I work in the insurance industry and I work with investments.

Keep vigilant about rates rising in the near future.

Sid,

I know you want "short term" advice, but how about instead of gambling with it, you open yourself a ROTH or Normal IRA, and start saving for retirement? I know at your age that may sound like a rediculous idea, and that there are plenty of material wants in the short term, but the advantage of saving at a young age is significant.

$5000 invested for 30 years at 5% = 22,408*
vs
$5000 invested for 20 years at 5% = 13,591*
(*Assuming continuous compounding)

That is a $9000 just for you to decide to save at 20 instead of 30!

IRA's lock up your money for the long term though. You can use something like 10,000 without penalty to purchase your first home. At the moment if you went with a ROTH IRA your income would accumulate tax free. I say "at the moment" because you never know what politicians are going to do, they could change thier minds on how ROTH IRA income is taxed.

Obviously I don't know anything about your financial situation beyond what is in this thread. Maybe you have a ton of money saved somewhere else. E

Another idea is to just pay down any debt you might have. You can usually bet that you are paying more to someone else for your debt than you could earn yourself.

Not bad advice at all...that 5K can easily turn into several hundred K on down the line if you play your "cards" right. For short term gains, and utilizing the time/means at your disposal, maybe "flipping" cars/bikes that don't require "fixin' up"...just good deals that you can locate and turn almost immediately for profit...rinse and repeat. Or maybe a grow-op in CO :D...(of course I am NOT serious).

ps: Take your initial investment off the table for the stock you picked earlier and let the profits "ride". You done "good"...don't get greedy imo :).

I was assuming no debt...that's the best advice (and guaranteed return) of anything mentioned in this thread. Good luck Sid!

Maybe you could find someone to work with who does have the time and expertise to flip motorcycles and/or cars but doesn't have the cash needed to fund such an operation.

You could even do the "bush beating" online and arrange for the purchases while this other person does the work necessary to restore as needed.

I know this would require bringing another person into the equation but given all the responses thus far in the thread, this seems like a possibility.

It would have to be the right person. Maybe just a shade tree mechanic you know who is always looking for some extra side work. Maybe someone on PPOT.

Another thought is eBay. Takes a little work but what doesn't? I have had success selling sunglasses which were very small and easy to not only store but also ship. My product was very exclusive and had a nice designer niche market. You'd have to do the same in my opinion, whatever it is.

So the consensus is to keep it totally liquid with no growth potential, lock it in a Roth or other IRA, flip bikes/cars.

Seems everyone has suggested very conservative strategeries. Stock market isn't good for anything except gambling. What about real estate? I bet you could buy a lot of vacant lots in a city somewhere for 5K. You used to be able to buy a nice house and lot for $1. not long ago. Community and private truck gardens are going to pop up like mushrooms if food costs keep rising like this. It will be interesting to see if these gardens are respected by the residents thereabouts. Urban farming will have to increase

Why? Because there is NO SUCH THING as "short term investing"....

Haha! I definitely like your business.... ;) My dad and I have discussed how we'd like that business, but at 2 pawn shops in our town already, we are at capacity.....

Yup... Debt free, only have ever carried debt for about 6 months a few years ago, and thats only because I got some at 0%!

While in theory this sounds good... I'm just not the type to work this type of partnership. I'm very OCD and controlling. I wouldn't be able to sit back and let someone else do anything on my dime.

How big is your town? Mine has 14,000 and seven pawn shops (supposedly takes 50,000 for one). Operate like I do and you'll absorb the others.
Jim

Would it be legal to loan the money out & take a vehicle worth 2 -3 times as collateral?

I've heard there's good money in 'secured' loaning like this.