Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
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Notes -
I am an inveterate saver, and due to a dirt-poor upbringing I am probably more financially conservative than 90% of the people on this board.
That said, I am trying to change that, and I'd like to take a few grand of my savings and put them to better work.
If you had ~$3,000 right now that you could use to try and get a better than 3.8% return from, what would you do with it?
Right now I can get 4.10% from a 9 month CD. I could, in theory, invest it, but I have some concerns about the economic fundamentals of the market right now.
Any advice would be appreciated.
The market is choppy and looking a bit dodgy right now. It could keep going up for another year or it's already on the way down. Nobody knows for sure but there's been signs of weakness lately.
Imo... Wait for the next (bigger) correction/bear market and then put as much money as possible in shares of great companies. There's no shame in being in 100% cash, waiting for a fresher bull market. The most important part of patience comes before buying stock, rather than after. But don't worry about hitting the exact bottom. It's impossible and foolish to try.
This is my feeling, but there's a non-zero chance Trump wakes up one morning and ditches all the tariffs, and shit moons.
Or some nerd cracks a new LLM/AI algorithm/paradigm and stuff mega-moons
Etc etc
Timing the market is RISKY
Personally, I do actually intend on not buying any more S&P ETFs for a bit, I'll probably get some more world-market equity and keep back a bit in cash
You can set alerts and buy in asap if the rocketing starts. It's ok to miss the first 10%. If something major happens it's not like the entirety of the new money will pile in during 5 minutes. It takes time, especially where institutions, who account for 80% of the money in the markets, are concerned. They buy in over the course of weeks.
Timing the market is where the real money is made. By jumping out before the worst of the bear market happens (there are signs - distribution days) you save your wallet, your confidence and your nights sleep from a lot of damage.
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