Investing Money Markets

Advice on Investing for a 25 year old?

I am a 25 yr old married man. Total net income is approx. 80k/yr. My wife has no 401(k)/IRA, but I do have a company matched which i max out and then add on 6% before tax unmatched after that, which totals 12% of my paycheck going into my 401(k). We have our savings, approx 17k in a high interest online savings account. We have a 529 being funded $100 every month for when my wife goes back to school. We also have approx. 35k in mutual funds. Zero credit card/school loan debt and only a car payment on 1 of our 2 cars. We do rent as of now, only because we are "on call" to be transfered out of town within 6 months. Here is my question: We will be coming into approx. 5k in the next month or so and I want some opinions on how to invest it. Stick with mutual funds? Are REITS even worth it with the housing market as it is? I am pretty familiar with mutual funds, but after that, my knowledge is limited. Any advice?

Public Comments

1. go to http://www.daveramsey.com/ he always says that you should find some that can explain everything that you need to know with a heart of a teacher. In his website go to Trusted Services, you can find a endorsed local providers that can help you with your questions.
2. Check for the breakpoints schedule on your mutual funds , I advise my clients to stick to one fund to qualify for lower commissions on shares and stick to A shares only!!!!
3. Since your life is so busy, I would advise you to stay with a mutual fund. Further, look for a mutual fund that is not similar to what you currently own, so you will have some diversification. In the meantime, try to give yourself a little knowledge about individual stocks and investing in individual shares. You sound young, so you need to gain some knowledge before you take too many risks.
4. From what I understand from what you have presented, I suggest that you establish a ROTH account for your wife. Establish it in one of the mutual funds with which you are familiar. I suggest you place the maximum contribution for 2007 and reserve the remainder for January for 2008. Everything else looks really solid. You didn't say anything about children, whether you have any now or plan to have in the future. The 529 plan would work for them as well. I would suggest you check out the website www.upromise.com. I always link a upromise account with every 529 account that I set up. One thereby gets free education money for nothing. I hope that this helps.
5. how about tax liens? tax liens are property taxes not paid by homeowners .. pretty secured investment http://www.theforeclosuresinfo.com/tax-lien.html
6. I would have to agree with some of the other posters and suggest you probably stick with a mutual fund. You probably do not have much time to go hunting for stocks. But if you're intersted in educating yourself in regard to the stock market, visit my blog. - Dedicated to beginner investors.
7. Mutual fund is the safest & easiest to invest