Hello to all! New here with a few questions.

[tmzn32]

Greetings to you all. BTCassically I went through a phase in college a couple years back when I was considering investing $1000 into bitcoins (I even had the money transferred to a "dwolla" account that was allowing the transfer).  I shortly after got so overwhelmed with my engineering degree, I didnt want to spend a large portion of my beer-I mean- book money on a hasty investment.  After doing more recent research I understand this seems to be still something I can take advantage of.   I'd like to consider still being some of the first to be able to get into bitcoin, even if I'm just starting to get in.  I think right now the price is over $200, so it's kind of scary that I'm still considering it as an investment.  Basically, I'm thinking of putting a couple thousand into bitcoins, and pray it goes somewhere.  I have about 15k to my name, so 10-20% seems like a risky investment, but being 23 years old, not detrimental.  I'm also thinking of putting the rest of my money into silver and gold, or potentially just use this money for a down deposit on a house.  (I am fully employed).  What do you guys think is a good plan for me given my age and the current status of bitcoin? Too late to make a killing?

I finally got my wallet set up using  MultiBit, have my verification pending for mtgox and Bitstamp.  Isn't there a humongous blockchain I need to download before my wallet is up and running? 
This was the address generated....
1A4pbFEnrxyhGMBShU9EzFqVNYihQTFnnS

after reading the guide here on the forums, I'm still wondering what would happen if two .wallets existed.. ( I forgot about all this stuff when I really read up on it during college, like most of my other knowledge).
I would back the file up on a USB storage of some type, and just leave it offline, and have no trace of what was on my hard disk.

[mindfulmojo]

Housing for sure I would wait on, that's in another bubble right now. Unless you can buy cheaper than rent. I would diversify between bitcoin, and platinum, palladium, silver, and gold. The first two metals are in a shortage and are needed for catalytic converters.

[btcton]

Housing for sure I would wait on, that's in another bubble right now. Unless you can buy cheaper than rent. I would diversify between bitcoin, and platinum, palladium, silver, and gold. The first two metals are in a shortage and are needed for catalytic converters.

This, probably, although I'm not sure you could call this a bubble. Make sure not to install anything fishy that could steal all your BTC, though. Welcome back!

[BitcoinWalker]

Hello and welcome to this crazy zoo!

[tmzn32]

Thanks for the replies! I'm glad to be back. Currently I'm renting a room from a friend for $550 a month including utilities, so it's pretty cheap, comparably to apartments around here that is.
10k split invest among them those mentioned above? Evenly? I was thinking the same but only was debating on silver and gold. Either way id rather not have my money sitting in my bank account with a measly interest rate.

What about timing right now. Over $200 isn't too late by any means right? Just higher risk...

[mindfulmojo]

I'm not sure on the bitcoin, I'm still learning myself. But yeah, definitely don't leave your money in the bank. Could come the day when the government has need of it.