Newbie investor--Newbie questions.

[Dahudze]

(Before I get to my questions I want to tell the people at iTulip how much I appreciate the resources you provide. Why does the information here make sense? I’m a teacher of history, and I find that so many “experts” have no historical context for what they’re reporting. I also find that the major news outlets are usually about 3 months behind what’s being said here and in other, more truthful online resources.)

I’m a former financial Peter Pan (“I won’t grow up”) and very new to saving and investing. I’m very small time (in dollar amounts) yet proud of having gotten out of debt and creating a start for my family's saving and investing. But I need to take it to the next step.


QUESTION 1: What advice do you have for finding a good investment counselor? So far, the people I’ve talked to are just salesmen for whatever funds they represent—no real diversity of options, and few honest answers to my questions. Or maybe they don't really know? You wouldn’t believe how many were telling two years ago to buy a home—and not understanding why I didn’t think it was a good idea.

QUESTION 2: I have some money (very small amount) in gold, and I’m thinking about investing more. But I’m wondering where to diversify. I have cash in savings, a couple of CD accounts, and since I’m a public employee (yes—I switched from private industry to the relative safety of public education) I’m putting away into a 403B account to add to my retirement. Where else could I invest $5-10 thousand? More gold?


QUESTION 3: I’m willing to invest time and money into educating myself, but where should I start? (I live in the LA area.)

Thanks in advance.