Catching up

[BrianL]

I recently discovered this community through the highly linked Janszen commentary on the housing bubbles and job impact. Very relevant to me as I am in the process of purchasing our first house... probably a bad call from a portfolio standpoint, but at least I'm sticking with a small place with the intent of living there for a long time. Very close to work to minimize gas costs, small to minimize heating costs, easily within my current budget, closer to Redmond to maintain value as much as possible, etc.

In any case, I've been reading all new posts and many of the links for a few weeks now. It is a bit like drinking from a firehose; way more information than I can consume at once.

Does anyone have any suggestions on getting up to speed with where we are right now? I admit that I'm struggling with this a bit more than I'd like.

My short term goals are to figure out what to do with my 401k (Fidelity) and my roth ira (Vanguard). I'm in my late twenties and have a small amount (~50k) split between the two. Like many, I was doing reasonably well until 2007 at which time I've basically stagnated. Career-wise, I'm in an entertainment industry; specifically video game programming. I want to be sure I am making decent investment decisions given the risks associated with my job.

Thats more than enough rambling for a first post. Thank you all for putting up with the combination question/introduction.

[tombat1913]

Re: Catching up

Brian,

Don't you know that free advice is worth every penny?

[metalman]

Re: Catching up

I recently discovered this community through the highly linked Janszen commentary on the housing bubbles and job impact. Very relevant to me as I am in the process of purchasing our first house... probably a bad call from a portfolio standpoint, but at least I'm sticking with a small place with the intent of living there for a long time. Very close to work to minimize gas costs, small to minimize heating costs, easily within my current budget, closer to Redmond to maintain value as much as possible, etc.

In any case, I've been reading all new posts and many of the links for a few weeks now. It is a bit like drinking from a firehose; way more information than I can consume at once.

Does anyone have any suggestions on getting up to speed with where we are right now? I admit that I'm struggling with this a bit more than I'd like.

My short term goals are to figure out what to do with my 401k (Fidelity) and my roth ira (Vanguard). I'm in my late twenties and have a small amount (~50k) split between the two. Like many, I was doing reasonably well until 2007 at which time I've basically stagnated. Career-wise, I'm in an entertainment industry; specifically video game programming. I want to be sure I am making decent investment decisions given the risks associated with my job.

Thats more than enough rambling for a first post. Thank you all for putting up with the combination question/introduction.

you're doing fine. at your age i was nowhere near your level of sophistication about this stuff. invest in yourself and you'll keep doing fine.

[BrianL]

Re: Catching up

True true, but I reckon someone has a basic reading list at a minimum. ;) Lots of rubbish out there - any tips on where to get started are useful.

[jk]

Re: Catching up

read taleb's "fooled by randomness." you'll enjoy it. also read one of harry browne's books to get your head around the idea of viewing all your investments as a single strategic portfolio focused on certain risks and opportunities. and don't forget that the biggest piece of your portfolio currently, and likely for years to come, is your career. you have an enormous investment in [exposure to] tech by virtue of your work. so don't make financial investments in tech unless you know something very specific by virtue of your expertise and contacts.