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What would you do with $3000 Dollars?

Well, personally, I'd put it into a 6 month CD, and let it grow, just so that I couldn't get to it while I waited for UB versions of the software you need to come out.

Then snag a bottom end Intel PowerMac, which I recommend because if you don't NEED a laptop and money is going to be a problem for you it's something you can upgrade later for less than it will cost you too "trade up".

Hopefully you can manage to keep the whole thing under $2000, leaving you with a grand + the interest you earned while you waited as either some emergency money (so you don't have to use a credit card) OR to go travel as was suggested. A single young guy with $1000 can do pretty well in Europe, sleeping in hostels, on trains while traveling, etc... get a job somewhere if you can and find a place you like enough to stay for a few weeks.

That's the only thing that I wish I had done when I was "young" (I'm not old, but I am 26, married, full time job, etc etc)...
 
kvanwagoner said:
I would put the $2000 in the bank and wait for universal apps....by then who knows might be on Rev C Intels
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That is Exactly what I'm doing. After everything is available as a universel binary the value of a used G4 PB will be prety darn low. You have to figure that next year in early 2007 there will be an Intel powered 13" wide screen iBook selling at the $999.00 price point with maybe a 2.0 Ghz "Core Solo" that will blow the old G4 PB out of the water. Who would pay for a G4?

Anything with a G4 in it will have a very short life. Not a good investment.

So while my Apple upgrade plans are on hold I can use the money to execute my Nikon upgrade plans and get a DSRL, lens and strobe. Basicaly Nikon gets the money Apple would have gotten this year.

One final comment. If your main use of a computer is FCP you are going to need storage. and fast storage and a way to bacckup all the storage. I don't think the internal drive of any notebook computer is the best for that.
Whatever replaces the PowerMac would be ideal.
 
thegreatunknown said:
start a savings account. !
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Saving, except saving for a short period of time for some well defined goal is not usfull to young people. When you are 17 you can expect your income to double several times. It tales a 17 yesr old an hour to earn $5.00 after taxes and in a few short years he can expect to ne doing thrpple that and years later six times that. If you are on the steep end of the salery curve you would deposite a months pay and later withdraw a weeks pay, even with intrest.

This is why school loans are such a good idea. Spend the money when you are 18 - 22 and broke and pay it back after you've landed a good job. The 30 year old you can afford it better then the 18 year old you.

I say go to Europe and be a bum for a summer. Spend it.
 
ChrisA said:
I say go to Europe and be a bum for a summer. Spend it.
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Yeah, if you're going to spend the money, then using it to travel abroad for a couple of months is by far the best idea. That kind of extended trip will be a blast and an eye-opening experience -- and something that you'll probably never be able to do again once you enter the working world full time.
 
ChrisA said:
Saving, except saving for a short period of time for some well defined goal is not usfull to young people. When you are 17 you can expect your income to double several times. It tales a 17 yesr old an hour to earn $5.00 after taxes and in a few short years he can expect to ne doing thrpple that and years later six times that. If you are on the steep end of the salery curve you would deposite a months pay and later withdraw a weeks pay, even with intrest.

This is why school loans are such a good idea. Spend the money when you are 18 - 22 and broke and pay it back after you've landed a good job. The 30 year old you can afford it better then the 18 year old you.

I say go to Europe and be a bum for a summer. Spend it.
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Saving and investing are quite useful to people in the 18-22 range and even at 17. By that age you should definetly be saving money, an 18 year old in college can make between $8000 and $15000 fairly easy (25 hours working a week) if he works dilgently at his job. Saving and investing just $5000-$8000 a year can help to make a down payment on an appartment(so you dont have to waste money renting), help to pay for graduate/law school, or pay for other nesseicities throughout college or after college life. Making $5 an hour at 17 is pretty low, most teenagers I know make in excess of $7, and my first job started at $10 an hour with over time on a daily basis at $15 an hour. Getting a job that makes above minimum wage isnt that hard if you have any skills what so ever. College loans are a good idea if you have to take them out, there are much better ways to pay for college, suchs as working to pay for it, parents, scholarships, or junior college. I definetly wouldnt tell every kid in college to take out a college loan just because he can, its much better to be loan/debt free if possible, then that $30k-$60k your first "real" job starts at is yours to spend on what you want/need, not your college loans.
 
rhsgolfer33 said:
By that age you should definetly be saving money, an 18 year old in college can make between $8000 and $15000 fairly easy (25 hours working a week) if he works dilgently at his job.
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I take some issue with this. What wage are you using to calculate this? I used to work 20 hours a week during the semester, and I scarcely had time for my coursework, much less any social life. What's more, if your grades suffer as a result of working so much, you're throwing away thousands of dollars of learning, just so you can make a measly $8/hr.

It's possible for some, but easy? You must be kidding.
 
dferrara said:
I take some issue with this. What wage are you using to calculate this? I used to work 20 hours a week during the semester, and I scarcely had time for my coursework, much less any social life. What's more, if your grades suffer as a result of working so much, you're throwing away thousands of dollars of learning, just so you can make a measly $8/hr.

It's possible for some, but easy? You must be kidding.
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I used the wage of $10 per hour x by 25 hours per week=$250 per week x4=$1000 per month x 12= $12,000 per year after taxes your still making over $8000. My school requires at least 12 units but no more than 17 units per semester for full time students, with an average of 15 units. Units are measured in class time per week, so 15 hours of class + 25 hours of work=40 hours or a full time job. Now I understand there are homework assignments, tests, quizes and what not to study for and do, but working 25 hours and keeping A's and B's is possible, Ive done it and I know kids who work much more. Its not hard to make $8000 in a year if you have some skills, this didnt even include more hours working in the summer, which can make you a fair amount more. It may not be "easy" per say, but with good time managment skills, and a diligent student, its not particularly hard.
 
rhsgolfer33 said:
Its not hard to make $8000 in a year if you have some skills...
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You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills...

I think he should spend the $3000 on training to be a cage fighter.
 
cr2sh said:
You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills...

I think he should spend the $3000 on training to be a cage fighter.
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Terrific post. I'll train him, if he wants - just mail the check to...;)
 
corywoolf said:
As I have said in another post, I am getting $2,000 from my grandma as a graduation gift and will get between $1000-$1200 from items I will be selling either on eBay or hopefully here. My family is not well off and this is a very rare circumstance for me. I always told myself I would be smart with my money and not greedy when I get an opportunity like this. So I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to get computer hardware wise and still can't make up my mind. I first wanted to get the 17" iMac Core Duo with a dell 20" monitor and a 30 GB iPod. I then wanted to get the 20" iMac Core Duo with a 19" dell monitor and the 60 GB iPod. After that, a few days ago I really was heading towards the 1.83 Ghz Mac Book Pro with a 20" Dell monitor and 1 GB shuffle. I am now thinking about getting a 1 Ghz 17" Powerbook (with 2 GB RAM) with a 20" Dell monitor and a 1 GB shuffle. The main problem is I do a lot of work in FCP, CS2, After Effects and FCP wont even run on a Intel Mac for a while. I have a 800 Mhz iMac G4 with 768 MB RAM and wonder if 200 Mhz will make a big difference along with the 2 GB RAM? I plan on selling the Powerbook when everything I use is universal. This setup would cost me around $2000 (w/ monitor and accessories) and I would keep the monitor when I upgrade to the MBP. So what would you do in my situation?
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I would buy a new keyboard cause your enter/return key seems to be broken:D

-sorry if thats a double post
 
2k from you grandmom seems nice, but what to do with it!

Get 20'' intel iMac, large Hard Drive and maxed RAM, forget about an external display, save the $$$ for later, or for whats coming out on the 28 of Feb
 
As it appears you have college worked out and that this is a chance for you to get something that you want and something that you will use. I would go with the new MacBook Pro if I were you. You mentioned moving to NYC with your dad and then you also mentioned moving around a lot in the near future. With you being a student, the portable computer is a better choice, IMHO. I think the MBP will give you better video then the 17inch PB, and perhaps if you get 1.83Ghz MBP you will have some money left over for an LCD.

I hope everything works out for you and good luck!
 
kvanwagoner said:
I would put the $2000 in the bank and wait for universal apps....by then who knows might be on Rev C Intels
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yeah, so would I say... don´t buy anything right now.
why do you HAVE to have a 60gb ipod?
don´t spend money that you don´t have...
if you work alot in those programs, then wait until apple has come out with reliable rev c or d machines that run the apps in "realtime"

and as for getting anything...
Wait untill the Rev B powermac comes out, get the "slowest" dual you can get.
And get two cheap 19" LCDs nowdays you can get GOOD widescreen 19"s for nothing... :) that´ll put you in the 2500 dollar area.
Get the memory from somewhere else and save money there. and at lasst you upgrade the harddrive when you need it and got the money! =)
 
Has anyone recommending CDs actually run the numbers? The rates are not that good. Not worth waiting I think for what he needs.

From www.bankrate.com: "The highest rate on a 6-month CD nationally is 4.69 percent, with an annual percentage yield of 4.80 percent."

At 4.8% that would give him just $144 extra for waiting. You could work for $5/hr just 28.8 hrs in that 6 months and make that much.
 
cr2sh said:
You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills...

I think he should spend the $3000 on training to be a cage fighter.
Click to expand...

Haha, yeah, those would be some sweet skills, nunchucks are pretty sweet. Good movie.
 
Ed H said:
Save it, any computer is a waste of money. If you have something that will do what you need (read NEED not WANT) it to do now then use that and stick the money in to a Savings account, companies like ING are giving 4.75% on their basic savings plans. CD's are generally safer than stocks, but with only 3,000 to invest I personally wouldn't go for stocks and stick to a 12-24 month CD or just basic savings.

Bleeding edge only lasts for months in the computer world, saving your money can bring back real monetary rewards. Hell if you continue to save and then wisely invest you can buy that new machine using the interest you made on your investments and never touch your initial principle.

Ed
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I whole heartedly agree. You are young and investing $3000 in a IRA at an average return of 7% can net you HUGE money in 50 years. Add $1000 per year to that $3000 and you will be a millionaire by the time you are 55. Yes its a long ways off but there will always be money to buy a computer. Like it or not, computers are as perishiable as bananas. They just take longer to perish. As soon as one is released, its outdated.
 
asphalt-proof said:
I whole heartedly agree. You are young and investing $3000 in a IRA at an average return of 7% can net you HUGE money in 50 years. Add $1000 per year to that $3000 and you will be a millionaire by the time you are 55. Yes its a long ways off but there will always be money to buy a computer. Like it or not, computers are as perishiable as bananas. They just take longer to perish. As soon as one is released, its outdated.
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But its not like he has $3000 laying around and nothing to do with. Investing is a very smart idea. But a computer is not a black and white investment as an IRA, where you put X amount in and get X amount back. It could be a very essential tool in aiding him in his acquiring of a career which could last him a lifetime. If he needs a computer I think he should wait on an IRA until he has a solid career where he can contribute an annual amount into the account. And that solid career will be had by a college degree. In college a computer is a necessity.
 
i know this is waay off topic...but where do i go to learn more about opening an ira? i just opened a savings account and all i have after a month is a measly .50.
 
bigbadTKO said:
i know this is waay off topic...but where do i go to learn more about opening an ira? i just opened a savings account and all i have after a month is a measly .50.
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Id talk to a broker or your bank. They can help you decide what type of IRA you need, how to open it, and about contribution limits. They may also talk to you about SEPs, they have much higher contribution limits and are intended for small business owners or people who are self-employed.
 
bigbadTKO said:
i know this is waay off topic...but where do i go to learn more about opening an ira? i just opened a savings account and all i have after a month is a measly .50.
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Very simply: your bank. But an IRA is not something you cannot just dip into when you need it. Do not plan on being able to take out soon after you put in.
 
I'm very amazed that this thread is still going. not really interested in keeping it going but I wanted to correct the above comment. A ROTH IRA is post-tax and you can take any of the money you put into it out at anytime. If you take money out you have earned through investments and stuff inside the ROTH, you have to pay taxes/fees, but the principal money you put in is yours just like a bank account. DON'T remember that I told you that and open it somewhere thats very hard for you to get the money back. yes, 17 is an amazing time to open one even if you are going to college.
 
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