Young Ones, Go Forth and Speculate

You should be prepared to lose everything more than once so don't use any money to buy stocks that you need for the necessities. If you're trying to earn a respectable 10% return without taking too much risk, you might as well stop wasting your time. That's a fine approach to take when you're older and already have some money.

If you're just starting out, then you want to turn a little money into a lot of money. You'll never do that by keeping 40% of your portfolio in bonds. You're young. You've got your entire life to earn back everything you lose. You can afford to take risks.

If you're looking for ideas, you're smart enough to know that I'm not your man. I'm surrounded by people who are much better at picking stocks than I am, and if any of you are like me, it pays to know that about yourself.

Take a look over at the Stocks Under $10 newsletter run by Frank Curzio and Larsen Kusick or at Jim Cramer's three speculative stocks of the year for "Mad Money": Savient Pharmaceuticals(SVNT Quote), Rite-Aid(RAD Quote) or Level Three Communications(LVLT Quote). Anyone who wants to start speculating should also pay some attention to stockpickr.com, which is a great way to glean great ideas from other people.