Weathering the Storm

In discussion of today's market events with my roommates, one of them stated that he moved all of his 401(k) from stocks into a money-market fund. I understand moving some money, but ALL? Especially when you are in your early 20s and have many years to reap the benefits back, and then some? (To be honest, I thought my very intelligent roommate had more sense than that.)

Like so many people, my roommate is an emotional investor. However, when you have time on your side, you should try as hard as possible to NOT let your emotions lead you. To the best of your ability.

As this article from the NYTimes so aptly states, it is not a good idea to try to be a market timer. Which is exactly what my 24-year-old roommate is trying to do. He said he would just switch his money back into stocks when they start to go up again - but, it is very difficult to realized when that will be. If he could accurately do that, he would have moved his money a year ago. What if stocks post huge gains tomorrow?

I am just starting to invest. I realize that, yes, I will lose value initially. The markets do not go up forever, they do tumble, and sometimes by a lot. However, they also post amazing gains and, in the long-run, have always provided wonderful returns.

Vanguard On Hold

I work for a private investment firm/money manager. I knew I most likely would not be able to have a personal trading account, so today I contacted our compliance department to see what my options are. (I would like to open a Roth IRA, and had planned to do so at Vanguard.)

I received a response stating that, as an employee, I can only open an account at one of the following designated brokerage firms:

TD Ameritrade
Charles Schwab
Merrill Lynch
Morgan Stanley

I tried to do some research on the sites, however there seems to be WAY more information than I want/need. I looked specifically for no-load, low-cost index funds and Charles Schwab seems to have a few (SchwabFunds) that hover around the 0.50% expense ratio. I might be able to get some sort of "special" or "discount" by stating that I am an employee of my specific firm, but I am not certain of that. I am disappointed that my no-load, low-cost Roth IRA with Vanguard has been tossed out the window while I work at my current company. I am a huge fan of Vanguard/Fidelity and heard their praises sung all during college, as well as in the pf blogosphere! My current income is low and as such, I am looking for very low costs for investing. (My 401k is through my firm and all fees are waived.)

**Update: I am going to inquire if I can specifically invest in Vanguard mutual funds, as they are 3rd-party mutual fund accounts. I am also going to see if I can allot a voluntary contribution to my 401(k) plan if I really cannot open an account with Vanguard.

What would you do in my situation? Do any of you have accounts (specifically, Roth IRAs) with the above firms, and would you recommend them?

Stock Market

The markets tumbled again today. We are living in tumultuous times. Everything seems to be having an effect on everything else.

When I got home, I logged in to my 401(k) provider's website and was happy to see that my first (Roth) contribution of $76.18 is now officially in the stock market!

This is the start of my long investing relationship with the markets. I am getting in at a very low point. Let's see what happens.

There's a lot more to come. I look forward to the near future as I continue to contribute to my 401(k) and when I open my Roth IRA.

New Hobby

Slowly I have been spending more and more time cooking. I have an obsession with food - mostly with eating it, and now I am attempting to cook it. (My love of food was increased to incredible heights during the summer of 2007 when I lived in NYC. I basically ate my way through the city - from hot dogs to pizza to dessert, but almost always mostly ethnic foods. Every single type of cuisine you could imagine, and even some you might have never even heard of!)

Cooking is extremely fun, rewarding and frustrating all in one. This weekend I made two soups (paired perfectly with some naan) and a very time-consuming (but hearty and filling) shepherd's pie. Now I have lots of leftovers for the rest of the week!

I have a few other recipes planned for later this week/weekend, once I am out of leftovers. In case you are curious, I use AllRecipes.com and Cheap Healthy Good (Kris - you're awesome!) as my main sources of inspiration. Recently, I stumbled upon a BBC show entitled "Chinese Food Made Easy" and have tried one of the recipes from the website - and it is an absolute winner!

My male roommates approved of all the food, too, which makes me extremely ecstatic because this is my new hobby. :)

Do you have any recipes that you like to make?

Homecoming Weekend

This weekend was Homecoming at my alma mater. I went to a yummy (free!) breakfast with some old friends and had a good time. I also went out to the bars with my roommates on Friday night and then I spent all of Sunday cooking! Overall a both fun and relaxing weekend.

Friday night at the bars, $21 (This is why I don't go out very often! It can add up... and I know I got away cheap.)
Groceries, $52.50 (I think I bought all the produce in the store, lol.)

Total: $73.50

Reconciliation

I just reconciled my final numbers from September and I had $100 leftover from my budget!

Instead of putting it towards my E-fund (which already got an extra $200 boost this month), it will be going into my Gift Fund. The Christmas season is only a few months away and I have not purchased a single gift yet for family or friends! With this $100 addition, I have $175 so far to spend on gifts. Now I need to figure out what to buy!

Too Hot!

Not only did the air conditioning fail at work for the first half of the day this morning, but it is currently 91 degrees... in October?!

I do live in a Southern California city known for its sunshine - but this is nuts! I was all ready to work out when I got home this afternoon, but I've decided to finish reading one of my library books and eat some ice cream instead.

I still have tomorrow and Friday to get in another workout. :)