Lux Investing
Are there stock market options that a person on a fixed income may invest?
I am on s.s.d.i. due to an acute case of Scoliosis. As such, I live on a "fixed" income. I am incredibly tired of struggling financially. I have tried diversified mutual funds a very long time ago and was very happy with it! Do you recommend them and if so, which ones? What other stocks or investments with no loads would you recommend?
Public Comments
- If you look on the Vanguard (www.vanguard.com) website they are about the best company for no-load investments. Right now I have a fund called AGG which is about $100/share but regularly pays out dividends. Good luck. Edit - I would also highly recommend investing in municipal bonds. They pay interest but it is all TAX-FREE! Vanguard has a ton to choose from.
- Vanguard S&P 500 is one that covers the whole market. Don't invest in municipal bond funds unless you have a huge income, like 150,000 a year. Less than that and you're better off taking a higher yield and paying the taxes on it, if you want bond funds at all, which is not what I'm recommending..
- Bonds are not an investment right now. Long term bonds have so very low yield right now and the price of long term bonds is almoat certain to drop significantly when yields start to rise. Short term bonds have equally bad yields, but at least they do not lose much when yields rise. Most mutual funds have a minimum investment level like 500 or more. There are some advantages in buying exchange traded funds that cover the broad market rather than paying larger fees to a mutual fund and still getting essentially a market index fund. Exchange traded funds cost you to trade, up front when you buy and when you sell, very low annual fees. On average you will have an extra 2% return with an exchange traded fund compared with the average mutual fund.
