Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, recently offered some important advice on how young people should approach investing and managing their money. He emphasized that the first and most important step for anyone is to invest. Cramer pointed out that investing is the only way to secure financial freedom in the long term. He then stated:
“Before you can start investing, you need to pay off the foreign credit card… No matter how much money you rack up in the stock market, if you’re carrying a balance on your credit cards, then it’s going to eat your returns.”
READ ALSO 10 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar and 17 Best Stocks for Kids According to Jim Cramer
Cramer then shared a few lessons specifically tailored for young investors. He explained that the first piece of advice is valuable to people of all ages. His advice was that young people should save money. He noted that the stock market can actually serve as a tool to help people save by forcing them to set aside a portion of their paycheck that they might otherwise spend. He then added:
“Second lesson for young investors, this is a much more targeted piece of advice: While you’re still young, you can afford to take a lot more risks than say a gray beard like myself.”
Finally, Cramer stressed that it is never too early to begin planning for retirement. He recommended taking full advantage of any employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, especially if the employer matches contributions. He also urged young investors to consider contributing to a Roth IRA, which he described as an ideal option for those early in their careers.
“Here’s the bottom line: For young people just outta college investing is a great way to trick yourself into saving money you might otherwise spend. Beyond that, remember, when you’re young, you can afford to take a lot more risk with your portfolio and it’s never too soon to start contributing to your 401k or IRA.”
Jim Cramer Shed Light on These 10 Stocks
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 10 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on January 24. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the third quarter, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Jim Cramer Shed Light on These 10 Stocks
10. The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21
Cramer expressed worry about The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) and was doubtful about the company when compared to its peers.
“I’m worried about Wendy’s. That should not have a 7% yield. That to me says something may be wrong here. McDonald’s is kicking butt. I, I saw an upgrade today for Burger King… Alright, I’ve gotta take a quick survey and I gotta tell you, you know what, Wendy’s, no. They have not demonstrated that they can pull it off in a very competitive world.”
Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) operates and franchises quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburgers, while also developing real estate and managing property leases. It focuses on both restaurant operations and franchising. On CNBC’s Cramer’s Stop Trading that was aired in February 2024, Cramer said:
“People don’t like these Wendy’s numbers and one of the things that’s really interesting is that is that they just got Kirk Tanner he’s come in from PepsiCo and I think he’s terrific but you do have a 5% yield which is raising eyebrows. Some people think that can’t be sustained remember… So, Wendy’s, you can either see it’s a great opportunity or you can be like my wife and just go eat the Baconator and move on.”
9. TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24
While Cramer acknowledged TETRA Technologies, Inc.’s (NYSE:TTI) return, he also noted the stock’s high price-to-earnings multiple.
“It’s a very good company. It did come up from the ashes. As a matter of fact, it’s come up so much, it’s up 28% for the year. So I cannot sanction by it given the fact that it has [an] incredibly high price to earnings multiple.”
TETRA Technologies (NYSE:TTI) provides energy services and solutions, including the manufacturing and marketing of completion fluids, additives, and water management services for the oil and gas industry. The company also offers products for well drilling, completion, and workover operations, along with services like frac flowback and production well testing.
Year-to-date, TETRA Technologies (NYSE:TTI) stock is up over 18%.
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