I think you about covered it. Start saving for a house. If you want to see a real estate agent's head blow up, put 100% down on the house.

Stock Market all the way. Everything is discounted, companies like GE that aren't going any where. Heck, go a little high risk and invest in some financials. I am long in NCC (National City) a large regional bank that has a pretty low toxic loan portfolio and has tons of cash on hand. Their positioning in the midwest, where large banks like BofA and others have little market share also makes them an attractive take over target.

@APFPilot: The regionals are gonna disappear. The big boys need the depositors and are going to start (or continue) buying them up. That would make them a solid investment BUT since he will need the money in less then a year I would avoid the volatility and go with a decent CD like Ben suggested.

What type of companies are paying signing bonuses in this market? I know the Pharma's have stopped, along with most of the big accounting firms.

Think outside the box here.. har har... don't get married so soon. Put that money aside, adjust to life as a non-student, get use to working, then add on the pressure of planning and paying for a wedding.

I am curious about 401ks with the company matching stuff. I took a new job recently and my company matches up to 8%. However I'm afraid to jump in, because all I hear about is people losing 30, 40, 50+ percent on their 401ks. Should I wait until this meltdown is over? Or get in now, because I'm 25 and in 40 years this will just be a little blip in financial history?

@Tux the Penguin: I would say more, but this sums it up: <3

Stocks. If you don't know what you're doing investment wise yet just toss some money into Small Cap funds. Small caps always lead economies out of recessions.

@TracyHamandEggs!: Engineering firms are (civil engineering that is). Massive shortage of engineers, and its unlikely to correct itself when you consider a significant portion are going to move into retirement going forward (well that and the fact no one wants to be an engineer anymore).

@AngrySicilian: Agreed. Getting married so quickly could be a big mistake. If he's gonna do it, I have one (hyphenated) word for him: "Pre-nup".

@downwithmonstercable: I am going to preface this with I am not an expert. But 401Ks and investments are supposed to be for the long haul so I think getting in now might be a good idea.

My mom's 457 is matched 100% which is really nice.

@downwithmonstercable: 401k match is exactly what you want. Most companies will match a percentage of your contribution to a certain amount. So if they match, say 50% of the first 6%, that means for those first 6% contributed, you get an IMMEDIATE return of 50%.

Trust me, the market might go up and down, but that kind of return is unbeatable. In times like this, contribute up to the point they stop matching and then dump the rest into a savings account.

Even if the funds offered in your 401k have high expense ratios and fees, it makes sense to contribute IF your company offers good matching. Even 50% matching will outweigh these fees and probably most of the losses you'll see in the next few years as the economy continues to decline. Plus, when you change jobs you'll be able to roll it over, most likely into some better funds.

@downwithmonstercable:

Absolutely not. First off, DEFINATELY put the 8% in if you can afford it. you will have an instant 100% return on that money assuming that you work with your company long enough to become fully vested( varies from company to company). Further, at 25, you have a LONG time for the market to go back up. Historically, the market out performs other methods of savings. As you get older, you want to move the money out of stock funds in your plan to bonds or other similar, less volatile securities. However, at 25, I would invest in higher rist securities (usually the ones in 401k plans arent incredibly risky anyway).

@downwithmonstercable: um now is the time to buy, especially if you're 25. your money will be used to buy up cheap shares of stock, meaning if you wait to invest until the market is on the rise, the same amount of money will buy fewer shares. invest now and definitely max out your company match. you might tank for a while but that just means you're set to make that much more in the long run.

do your research on your funds and move your money around when appropriate, but do it asap. company match = free money.

@TracyHamandEggs!: Yeah didn't see the short term need until after I posted. I agree with the CD idea 100%. GMAC usually has pretty good rates on their CD's and they are FDIC insured.

@APFPilot: he wants quick investments to pay for his wedding in a year... if u need this money in a year, dont think the stock market will come back so quickly..

@downwithmonstercable: If you're really concerned about losses right now, you can select conservative funds until market conditions improve. I actually have two funds that have yielded 2% and 4% over the last 12 months (not counting today's gains). However, by selecting these, you're going to be giving up on the big gains that'll come from higher risk (usually called "long term") funds.

Get in now. Corporate matching = FREE MONEY. Of course you want to see about fees and vesting periods and so forth, but if your company matches, they are doubling your investment (up to the percentage of match).

@AngrySicilian: I got married a year after starting my job. Aaron has nearly a year to plan and get settled with his job and the money. I recommend that you get a grasp on what your expectations are with this wedding and save money by restraining yourself...don't blow $50,000 on a wedding. It might seem like you're invincible and you have all this money, but trust me...the real world does not come cheap. Save your money, put some aside for the wedding, spend less than you set aside.

@kamel5547: Did not know that. I didn't think about it, but nursing is too right now, a friend of mine was just offered a very significant signing bonus with her Masters of Nursing.

I know the entire stock market is on sale right now, but don't bet the farm on it because you aren't an experienced investor, so you are the most likely one to make bad choices. Give yourself a grand or two to play around with in the market. If you loose big you still have most of your money chilling in a CD or savings account, and if you win then hey, a couple extra bucks for the wedding.

@downwithmonstercable: No start now. Put in whatever is needed to get thier 8%. 10% is pretty standard.

@downwithmonstercable: That's free money, dude. Or, rather, you company has elected to run this program instead of giving you a larger year-end bonus or a pension.

Regardless, take it and invest conservatively for now whilst the market is flaky...there are worse options out there.

If you have a traditional savings account with your bank (who I'd guess you also have a checking with), I'd consider closing that savings account and moving the money to a higher-interest, web-managed account, like INGDirect's Orange account. I know others are just as good, and pretty much everything is very easy to manage. Just make sure it's FDIC insured, etc etc. The higher interest (my INGDirect's is 2.75% -- was 3% before this whole "market collapse" happened, but I'm sure it'll go back up being as how these things fluctuate) gives your money ability to grow, and the openness of the account means if you do suddenly need the money, you can still withdraw it.

@smurph0404: If you're inexperienced go with funds. Its worth the basis points to have a professional manage your money. Again, small cap all the way for the next year.

@kamel5547: My husband (a civil engineer), his dad(environmental) and my dad (mechanical) are all engineers. I am currently pregnant and have already been told that everyone fully expects a third generation engineer. Everyone needs roads and sewers is basically the engineers motto.

@downwithmonstercable: Remember this, the first 15.5k that you put in is pretax income. So even if you lose 12% a year on your investments for the next year you wind up ahead (for now) on what you have in the account.

@KristinaBeana: I'm a PM for an engineering firm, the industry needs all the Finite Element Analysis guys we can find. They can name their price. All you gaming nerds, there is some serious money in this type of computing.

Hookers and blow. That will take care of the wedding and the money in one fell swoop.

@Tux the Penguin: Save in an FDIC institution - you can make 2.5-4.0% pretty easily with online savings accounts right now, or you can do a CD for another percentage point or so.

I'd stay relatively liquid right now, but any "extra" can go into an index fund, or your employer-matched 401(k).

Don't fear the market. If you'd bought an Index Fund on Friday that tracks the S+P 500, you'd be up 11.5% already.

One of two things will happen in the market:
1) It will recover, and you'll make 8-10% per year on average until you retire
2) The entire world's markets will crumble, leaving your money worthless, and the only good investments will be guns, canned food, and armor plated Humvees.

In the case of 2), nothing you do will save you. In the case of 1)...as they say...PROFIT!

Start by sending a check addressed to "R. Hookup." I'll hold onto your money while working with an exiled Nigerian prince and a former investment analyst from Lehman Bros. We will invest it and get you your return in the form of a cashier check on February 29th of next year.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! But try not to blow a lot of money on your wedding.

The resale price of a diamond is about 50% of the purchase price. You can't eat a diamond, and a diamond won't keep rain off your head.

Ditto for bridal gowns. I got married in a white sundress from L.L. Bean. OK, so I did buy some flowers, but 16 years later, I'm just as pleased with my wedding pictures as I would be if I'd dropped a bunch of $$$ on a gown.

What's important is who you marry and how much you love the other person, not what you're wearing or what table favors you have. Believe me, your family and friends will be happy for you because you're getting married, not because you're hosting a fancy meal.

Your wedding will be one day out of your married life. If you save your money, you'll have a house where you can live together for many days and raise your children. If you have relatives who live far away from you, they'll remember you by photos and letters (and maybe videos) of you and your children more than they'll remember your wedding.

@IHaveAFreezeRay:

don't blow $50,000 on a wedding.

Quoted-for-frickin'-truth.

There is no bigger waste than a huge wedding. If the prospective missus disagrees, your financial goals are incompatible and you're asking for trouble.

Wedding money: put it in a CD you find on bankrate.com.

Targeted retirement funds (for example, VFORX) . They set a date you'd like to retire at (30 years out, perhaps), and automatically rebalance the portfolio accordingly.

Don't try to save 100% to put down for a house. That's financial suicide. Do look into company matching contribution programs. Remember that this may be the local bottom of the stock market and a great opportunity to get in "at ground level".

Don't spend a ton of money on your wedding. I'm serious about this one. Spend enough on the ceremony that your guests aren't eating TV dinners, and your wife is happy, but don't go overboard.

@smurph0404: Don't play around in the stock market, period. Don't invest in individual stocks - there are no sure things.

Go for an Index Fund - basically, they're very low on fees, and track something like the S&P 500 (you know, that weird index that everybody always talks about but no one knows what it is?) That way you basically "own" the S&P 500 - when it goes up, you make money. Since the market expands at about 8% per year (on average, over the past 100 years), you're basically guaranteed to make that type of gain over the long haul.

Index Funds are as close to a sure thing as you'll find in the stock market.*

*there are no sure things in the stock market.

I'd mature her assets.

/wrong site?

@downwithmonstercable: Get in now. 1) Your company is giving you free money. 2) You're young. The stock market is on sale right now, so any money you put in should be in at the market low, or close to it. (We hope.) So over the next 40+ years, stock will go up and your money will increase. I'm 24, and I just don't think people in their 20s have to worry about their 401ks right now because retirement is so far off. Just make sure to pick low fee funds/indexes and diversify.

While the original advice given was good, I don't think it fully took into account exactly what paying for wedding entails.

I recommend that you keep a good portion of your funds liquid (just a bank account). Wedding expenses are often paid out long before the actual wedding. Almost all vendors require substantial deposits. Furthermore, many items are paid for in full well before the wedding. For instance, the wedding dress and alternations, shoes, wedding rings, honeymoon tickets, etc. are paid for before the wedding date. Therefore, you cannot have your funds tied up in a non-liquid asset, like a CD.

If you have extra funds (money that is in addition to what you will use to pay for the wedding), then you can take the investment advice of what others have said.

@AngrySicilian: Sure, but you can't forget how being married and wearing a wedding ring is a huge chick-magnet.

(preemtive serious-business reply reply: I keed I keed)

@kamel5547: Hey, watch it there...I'm a relatively recent Engineering graduate who stepped into a great job and generally enjoy what I'm doing. Why wouldn't I want to be an engineer? At least from a financial position, it's a great choice of career!

First of all, I'd seriously look at downgrading your wedding expenses. My wife and I had our wedding for $3000, plus $1000 for her dress; However, her dad picked that up, and she only got that expensive of a dress because he wanted it to be his gift. We had about 75 guests (picked only close family and friends) and an awesome dinner from a local catering company, and a really good DJ (we interviewed a few of them too).

You'll look back on your wedding day and thank yourself for spending your money where it matters the most - A house. Because we spent so little on our wedding we were able to afford our first house and also had extra money for improvements.

Life is short and you don't know where you'll be tomorrow. I say, blow all that money is some nice wheels. Forget the wedding, chicks will be raining on you with one of these...

[www.zcars.com.au]

Diversify is what I've always heard (and tried to do with limited funds ;0). Equal parts: Oil and Gas. Precious metals. Stocks. Bonds. Real Estate.

Also, mix your risk and return within each and mix your liquidity (e.g. owning a house, very ill-liquid; savings account, very liquid).

This way any single sector melt-down won't harm you.

Mule

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: i dunno. w/ modeling programs getting better and better, i kinda see FEAs getting more specialized and possibly outsourced sooner. and a lot of my CE friends are getting jobs, but not the type to make EE or MEs jealous.

anyway, if i could do it over again i'd go bioE and try for a MD or go specialized in biotech. oh and actually bust my ass in school. curse you alcohol.

@bunt: oh and yes, Enviro will be huge. HUGE. but im sure KristinaBeana already knows that.

Post after post about bail-outs, stocks tanking, and banks folding, and you're recommending he put his savings into these sinking ships? Insanity.

After you zero out all your debts, investing in gold and silver is a no-brainer. It just keeps going up year after year. And don't get gold stocks, get physical gold coins that are in high demand now. And live as cheaply as you can. Buying a house is a great idea if you're handy and you have 10's of thousands of cash on hand.

And don't be stupid and get into debt for your wedding. If she pouts cuz she can't get her ice sculptures, dump her, as she cares more about the wedding than marrying you! There's nothing wrong with a trip to Vegas with a few friends and family. And, you'll have more fun, too.

Good luck!

Try to live on what you were making before and save or invest the difference. You'll notice a lot more money rather quickly.

Buy a house.

Buy the house, bought my house a year ago, and I couldn't be happier. I felt like I was pissing my money away living in a crappy apartment. I've actually seen my home value climb almost almost 15-20% in the time i've bought it (got into it for 100k).

Do your homework, and look into first-time homebuyer grants. I got 7500 that matures over 5 years, and considering I am not going anywhere in 5 years, it works just fine for me.

As far as investments, Blue Chips are solid, and invest in stuff that people need, like clean freshwater and electricity. I'd advise against buying into precious metals, they've seen a huge spike in prices, and I'd be wary of it.