Need ideas on where to start.

[clarklsn2001]

I am currently 24 years old and have 25,000 dollars to invest in the markets. I have tested the waters using individual stocks, but I just don't have the time to watch them very closely. I am going to invest $20,000 in a mutual fund, ira, or roth ira. I will use the other $5,000 to use as mad money in a stock or two that I can keep up with day to day and do some swing trading with. I will be purchasing a new home in about 3-6 months(down payment is not a part of the 25,000) and I will be able to start my 401k at my work (walgreens mgr) next month and plan on maxing that out as well. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? Like what are some decent no load funds? Also, this could be money I would want to use in a few years to start a business or buy some real estate, so I might not want to tie it up in an ira. What is the best way to go about doing this with the least tax liablity. I appreciate any insights and if you need more information please feel free to ask me. Thanks for all your help and I will look forward to your responses.

[Luc1Grunt]

FWIW: Vanguard for funds. MVIS for your mad money. Do a little research and you'll see where I am coming from. :)

[coolio]

Congratulations on being part of this great economy. Walgreen's is a good stock so make sure you get fully vested in your plan. Also, as a manager you have special insight into what consumer and pharma products are moving. I don't see anything wrong with putting that knowledge into stocks. Talk to your fellow managers to see national trends.

A long time ago I was a manager for a car rental company. I saw many companies that I interacted with. Most of them average, but every once in a while there would be one that had it all together. I can rattle them off right now as 4 sometime 5 baggers in terms of stock valuation over the past 15 years. I never even thought about investing in them. I was too busy "having fun" and going after the next big thrill.

Good luck!

[chinaman711]

With 80 dollar oil coming energy is the place to be imo. Good luck and add to your IRA every year

[Billionaire Boy]

Greetings. I'm 23 and just started out also. I would reccomend getting a subscription to Investors Business Daily and read it everyday. It seems like a pain but its helped me alot. Also, Upside is a really good newsletter you can get. Although this board is great, alot of people gotten lucky as this has been a favorable year for stocks, so don't put all your eggs in one basket. The End.

[cryder17]

Buy any of the stocks in cramers wild bull market. and diversify through each one. I would suggest any of these AAPL, RIG, NE, MTW, MLM, RTP, PCP, LMT, POT, CAT, MCD, (any solar, i like TSL), BAM...

i like these sector groups...and just stick with these for now because they are on fire.

$metals
$nonmet
$bldmch
$oilint
$oilsrv
$cmptrs

[BuyOnDips]

A couple of my favorite current plays:

Informatica(INFA). It's growing, a leader in it's space and is a very strong buyout candidate. It reported tonight and hit their numbers and raised it's 2007 outlook. It's a boring stock, that keeps on slowly rising with a great balance sheet. It's a long term hold for me.

Art Technology Group(ARTG). They develop and market e-commerce software products. They are a small company that has great software(expensive and rated number 1) that allows companies to maximize their sales on the internet. I bought this for a swing trade, but decided to keep it. Hopefully, it will be in my portfolio for years to come. I hope they don't get bought out.

Remember to do your homework. Good luck!