David is a Downer

I've definitely been starting my investments. If any of you want to read a small book that will make you feel WAY more confident about your retirement (seems reasonable to spend a few hours figuring out your last 30 years) I have this book a friend gave me called The Wealthy Barber. You can borrow it from me if you want. Its very readable and doesn't expect a lot from you. There aren't any stupid schemes or bold ideas, just safe time trusted advice. Here's the bottom line:

401k's and IRAs are the shit, there's just no denying it. Even if you feel unsafe with the current economy, invest in a Global Fund. You seriously can't lose. Even at a very modest rate of 8% (that's a low-medium return over 10-20 years) every $100 you put into a fund over 40 years will get around $700 taking inflation into account. And that's a very safe estimate. I'm not going near individual stocks, but I'll put my money into mutual funds.

Use your direct deposit like crazy. The company doesn't care how much you split up your check, so I have it going into 4 places. 401k, $50 or so going into a savings account, my student loan account, and then my final checking account. Its just a lot easier seeing one number instead of seeing your big paycheck get dwindled down by bills that you pay every month already. Might as well just make a separate checking account devoted solely to that. This alone has made my finances way easier and manageable.

Real estates seems cool, but I don't know how I feel about all the work I'd have to do. I'm sure there are many ways to do it that don't involve tons of renovations, but I'll have to reserve my judgement until I actually own a house of my own.