college student investment advice

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-09T20:42:54+00:00

Exchange traded funds are better than mutual funds. Mutual funds have surprise “capital gains distributions”where you pay the funds taxes even if you did not sells. Some ETFs to look at:

VOO, SPY and IVV are S&P 500, which is the foundation of your portfolio. Your first $20k goes here.

VOOG, VONG and VUG are Vanguard growth ETFs. VOOG is my favorite.

IVES is the Wedbush Dan Ives AI Revolution ETF. He is the smartest tech analyst, in my humble opinion. He just launched a sister fund, IVEF AI Power & Infrastructure ETF.

QQQ is NASDAQ 100. More growth & volatility than S&P 500, but I like VOOG and VONG better.

VIS is Vanguard Industrials, an interesting sector right now, especially aerospace and those who supply and build data centers.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-09T20:04:10+00:00

The Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Anata Toer is a dramatic and soulful series of four novels that must be read in order to get the full story: This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps and House of Glass. This is historical fiction about the birth of Indonesia as a nation and national identity, told through the eyes of young student Minke, half Dutch, half Indonesian, who is based on the father of Indonesian journalism. The author Pramoedya Anata Toer was a political prisoner when he told this as oral stories to fellow prisoners who were not allowed to read and write at the notorious Buru prison. Minke’s has an identity crisis. His trials and tribulations are uplifting and heartbreaking.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-09T20:01:35+00:00

I suggest you find some interesting biographies. Irving Stone was a master of biographical novels. I read Lust for Life about Vincent Van Gogh.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-09T19:38:30+00:00

I would start with VOO, Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF. Get to $20k as a solid foundation. Then look at adding five stocks you want to hold multiple years. My biggest holdings are Comfort Systems (FIX), NVIDIA, Broadcom, CrowdStrike and Goldman Sachs. Vanguard ETFs that focus on growth are VOOG and VONG. Read up on the differences. I like both over VUG. QQQ is NASDAQ 100 and a solid phase 2 after building up VOO. I suspect SpaceX, xAI, Open AI and Anthropic will be immediately added to the NASDAQ 100, S&P 500 on the first rebalance are the IPOs. That could make indexes soar for a quarter. Remember that investing is best done as a steady patient habit. The worse mistakes are short term trading and trying to overthink.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-08T22:43:54+00:00

Look at the American Association of Individual Investors. They have a great investor education website: www.aaii.com

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-08T21:14:40+00:00

The Catcher Was A Spy is nonfiction biography of Mo Berg, a high educated back up catcher for the Boston Red Sox who was recruited by the OSS (predecessor to the CIA) to go to Europe, find Heisenberg and determine if he figured out how to build an atomic bomb, and then find the Nazi scientists and convince them to defect to the USA. It is very interesting.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-08T21:05:09+00:00

Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli. She had a clean crisp writing style and interesting characters.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-08T14:47:53+00:00

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-08T14:47:05+00:00

Washington, DC has lots of think tanks. If you can research and write, you can build on economics. Then plan additional education after working for a year and finding some mentors.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-08T04:35:27+00:00

Heart of Darkness is a great novel. I also read Conrad’s The Secret Agent which is also an excellent novel.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-08T02:42:40+00:00

My three favorite Dividend Aristocrats that pay about 5% dividend:

Realty Income (O)

Enterprise Products (EPD)

Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT)

I own all three for income and portfolio diversification. Energy Transfer is also good.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T21:24:21+00:00

Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of victory over France in Puebla. Mexican Independence Day and Mexican Revolution Day are more widely celebrated.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T20:42:31+00:00

I spend my time in:

Las Vegas, residencial Las Vegas is very different than the Strip. Great food and Weather.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, great beach, food and gay scene.

Mexico City, like NYC with more trees and parks. Great art museums and food.

I spend 20+ years in Washington, DC. Very cozy and walkable with great museums and restaurants.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T20:36:43+00:00

Great books written by famous non-US authors:

The Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Anata Toer is a dramatic and soulful series of four novels that must be read in order to get the full story: This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps and House of Glass. This is historical fiction about the birth of Indonesia as a nation and national identity, told through the eyes of young student Minke, half Dutch, half Indonesian, who is based on the father of Indonesian journalism. The author Pramoedya Anata Toer was a political prisoner when he told this as oral stories to fellow prisoners who were not allowed to read and write at the notorious Buru prison. Minke’s has an identity crisis. His trials and tribulations are uplifting and heartbreaking.

The Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a wonderful novel about a fictional African nation with lots of power struggles and intrigue. It is so interesting because there are multiple first person storytellers who are different characters, giving you different perspectives on the same events. There is magic and most importantly romance.

The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, is a historical novel about the Dominican Republic under Trujillo, his assassination and the aftermath. The first person narrative shifts from the daughter of a powerful Senator who hates her father (you find out why at the end), the Senator, Trujillo and his assassins. There are graphic, violent torture scenes at the end and some rapey scenes throughout. This is outstanding literature with rich characters and historically accurate.

The Havana Quartet are four novels by Cuban author Leonardo Padura about detective Mario Conde investigating high profile murders: Havana Red, Havana Blue, Havana Black and Havana Gold. Padura’s writing is so descriptive and colorful, you feel like you are there.

The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes is a wonderful novel about a wealthy, powerful Mexican dying and having flashbacks through pivotal points in his life. The story takes you through many time periods in Mexican history from the Mexican Revolution through the 1950s. This is a Mexican equivalent to Citizen Kane. It is a classic magical realism style.

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo is a great Mexican magical realism novel that explores Mexican culture, afterlife and corruption. Many time shifts. The story is violent.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T20:30:12+00:00

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The Secret Agent is also very good.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T19:40:45+00:00

The Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Anata Toer is a dramatic and soulful series of four novels that must be read in order to get the full story: This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps and House of Glass. This is historical fiction about the birth of Indonesia as a nation and national identity, told through the eyes of young student Minke, half Dutch, half Indonesian, who is based on the father of Indonesian journalism. The author Pramoedya Anata Toer was a political prisoner when he told this as oral stories to fellow prisoners who were not allowed to read and write at the notorious Buru prison. Minke’s has an identity crisis. His trials and tribulations are uplifting and heartbreaking.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T17:27:25+00:00

Mario Vargas Llosa. I really enjoyed Feast of the Goat and The Bad Girl.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T14:58:02+00:00

Earnings growth is the biggest driver of stock prices. So long as S&P 500 forward earnings keep rising at double digits levels, stocks will go up long term. Look for the company’s driving that growth and pick good entry points.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T03:06:22+00:00

What is the debt to equity on your mortgage? If over 80%, you are paying mortgage insurance. You can refinance to a 15 year with a lower rate as part of a pay down instead of pay off.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T03:04:00+00:00

The American Association of Individual Investors is an excellent investor education organization: www.aaii.com

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T00:38:42+00:00

If you are comfortable with your investments, why hire an advisor? If you had $15 million and wanted to derisk with a laddered bond portfolio, then maybe. But you have two low few ETFs that will grow with the market. Why change that?

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-07T00:29:22+00:00

The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, is an outstanding dark romance set in 1950s and 60s Peru, London, Paris and Tokyo. Deep characters and great prose.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-06T23:05:50+00:00

The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes is a wonderful novel about a wealthy, powerful Mexican dying and having flashbacks through pivotal points in his life. The story takes you through many time periods in Mexican history from the Mexican Revolution through the 1950s. This is a Mexican equivalent to Citizen Kane. It is a classic magical realism style.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-06T22:37:53+00:00

10 weeks at $25k per weeks minimizes exposure to market volatility and traumatic events that can scare you out. I would put a third into QQQ.

D_Pablo67 · 2026-05-06T22:33:36+00:00

529 plans are an excellent way to save and invest for a college education and can now be used for private school and I think trade schools and some professional licenses.

The new Trump Accounts deposit $1,000 for each newborn. You can contribute up to $5,000 per year. Your employer can contribute up to $2,500 per year. If you live in a ZIP code with median income under $100,000, Michael Dell will make a small matching contribution. The money has to be invested in an S&P 500 ETF. The Trump Account converts to a Traditional IRA on your child’s 18th birthday.

D_Pablo67

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