Author Topic: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?  (Read 4200 times)

cheddarpie

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$100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« on: November 13, 2015, 11:05:29 AM »
Hi!

I've recently been volunteering at a local theater. Unbeknownst to me when I signed up to volunteer, the job comes with a few perks such as a share of concession tips and occasional small stipends for extra help. I've been saving all my tips in a piggy bank (literally) and will have around $100 at the end of the year.

I would like to use this to buy an individual stock that I would never normally include in my otherwise Mustachian mainly index fund portfolio. I want to keep this separate from my normal savings/investments because it's purely "fun money" for me and I'm excited to see if I can make it grow into something even more awesome than my pretty standard boring regular-job income and investments. If I lose it, I don't really care, and if it grows into something astounding, that would be awesome too.

Any suggestions or Hot Stock Tips for companies that are doing cool things and poised to grow?

Thanks!!

bobertsen

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2015, 11:16:11 AM »
1 share of AMD. They're forecasting a return to profitability within 24 months, and even if the company goes under completely, you're only out 2 bucks.

daverobev

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2015, 11:20:30 AM »
How about peer to peer lending?

kite

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2016, 07:18:54 PM »
Pick a company you enjoy. 
A biker buddy of mine was gifted a few shares of Harley Davidson stock and it was a fun thing for him to own.  If you like Disney, there's that; or you could go for your favorite cruiseline, beverage, running shoe, etc. 

I'm not saying this in any derogatory sense, but you are gambling.  So do it in such a way that is most fun for you, rather than ask others for "hot tips" which are no more than letting some stranger pick your roulette numbers.   Think about the products you buy and businesses you enjoy patronizing and go with that as a starting point.  It's fun to invest in companies you know.  In college we had to do these projects on companies like RJ Reynolds, Hershey, Heinz, McDonald's, Phillip Morris, etc and make business recommendations for them.  One of my classmates' presentation was on L'Oréal.   It was decades ago, and we knew very little, but it was interesting to see what was behind the brands, what kind of debt a company had and do our own speculation about how they might merge, grow, modernize, compete, etc..  I did eventually go into an equities IT job, but not equity research directly. 

With my invest-for-fun money, I buy art.  It's an investment, but there is enjoyment in the tangible object, too.  The keys for me include not buying collectibles  (which are not art) and not simply getting anything someone else thinks is "hot" because I'm the one looking at this thing.  It's going to be on my wall.  It has to speak to me.  This was what kept me from getting into a Thomas Kincaid trap.  I've got a few sculptures from local artists, a couple of water colors & sketches also from local artists, and a couple of oil paintings and water colors from other countries.  Some have come direct from the artists themselves, some via galleries, some via auction.  This is under a dozen pieces over 20+ years. The art itself is enjoyable to own, but the process of learning about the art is also fun.  Gallery openings are free entertainment.  Alas, I don't drink, but it used to be a way to get free wine.  Still a free way to spend date night.
Some of the art has gone up, some might have little or no resale value, but I don't need to sell because it'll hang on my wall until I'm dead.  It's still got value for me.  If I had $100 and not enough art, I'd head to a number of local art shows and estate sales and see what was available.  Or I'd buy silver flatware to use and sent my crappy stainless stuff to the Goodwill.   

Have fun.

bobechs

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2016, 10:22:31 PM »
Lottery tickets ftw

Spondulix

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #5 on: January 05, 2016, 01:14:49 AM »
Are you taking into account the fees to buy/sell the stock? If you're paying $7 to buy $100 in stock you're losing 7% right there. It'll cost you another $7 to sell down the road, so that's over 10% of your initial investment. Personally I wouldn't get into anything for under $500 just because of the fees.

Save yourself the money and start an account on a virtual trading site. I've got $24 million across a bunch of fun stocks with zero risk and zero loss. :)

jmr5x

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #6 on: January 05, 2016, 03:52:04 AM »
What do you think is the best virtual trading company? 

ReadySetMillionaire

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2016, 07:19:18 AM »
A huge part of MMM comes down to the compound effect. To the average person, cutting cable means saving $80 per month. But a person on these forums realizes that this $80/month compounds over the course of a year and, even more importantly, over the course of a lifetime.

The compound effect applies to almost all of MMM's recommendations--biking if possible, not eating out at restaurants, buying beans and rice instead of steak and lobster, adjusting cell phone plans, etc.

With that out of the way, I wonder whether this isolated and unexpected $100 lines up with this thinking. Sure, you theoretically could invest every sum of unexpected money and, over time, that might be a lot.

But to me, this $100 seems like such a small sum of money to even worry about investing. Others have pointed out that you're going to be dealing with fees and that individual stock picking is akin to going to the casino.

Thus, I'd go on Amazon and treat yourself. I recently bought 4 books that aren't at my local library and a Kindle Fire, which is a $50 tablet and has worked great with downloading ebooks from my local library. I'm incredibly happy with the purchase thus far and have already felt like I've got $100 worth in just a few weeks.

JLee

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2016, 07:25:33 AM »
What about something that may be able to save you money somewhere else?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303330204579250763759331636

Spondulix

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2016, 02:27:19 PM »
What do you think is the best virtual trading company?
I just use an app called Stock Wars. I'm pretty sure it was free.

stlbrah

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #10 on: January 06, 2016, 08:14:36 AM »
1 share of AMD. They're forecasting a return to profitability within 24 months, and even if the company goes under completely, you're only out 2 bucks.

didn't they say that a couple of years ago because they were talking about supplying cpus for xbox one and PS4? Not sure if that even happened?

nereo

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Re: $100 "fun money" to invest -- where to put it?
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2016, 08:33:15 AM »
information being what it is, any "Hot Stock Tip" gained here is either going to be complete speculation or/and already known and factored into the stock price.

I agree that, unless you have some free trades in your account, buying $100 worth of stock is likely going to be a silly move with buy/sell commissions.  Better to just buy another 0.55 shares of Vanguard* and leave yourself a note saying "this 0.55 share was bought with fun money - to be used in the future for something fun!"

Personally, I'd look around and see what you could purchase that would give a return on investment.  Replacing lightbulbs to LEDs comes to mind.  Buy-it-for-life items would also be attractive to me. I've been eyeing an insulated metal coffee press to replace the glass version we seem to break once a year or so.  That's just me though.


* Vanguard or whatever low-cost investment fund you are using.