- Joined
- Jul 15, 2023
- Messages
- 982
The stock market is not a zero sum game. It’s a rigged game, but not zero sum.If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. We need losers to create winners. Remember that
Put all your eggs in one basket with investing?
- Thread starter The motor guy
- Start date
Boy it's tough ramping up that %. I make over median income, and kept my house to median value (for the state), and have cut where I could (cell, cable, etc). Was not easy to get to 20% of my paycheck, and I still have yet to figure out how I can "go to the next step" and start doing 10% for short term goals (next car for instance). Would have been easier had I started earlier, for sure.
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
I day trade 6 months on and off. I go at it hard and have done over 750 trades in one month.
It can really wear on you. I flip and I do what I do best. I don't care about long term or dividends.
I have a buddy in TN and we will be on the phone most days working it. He has his own approach.
My business is cranking right now so I am on a respit. In the meantime I am happy collecting brokerage interest.
I don't deviate from my system. I'm good at it and happy with the success. Once you fall into the groove, why fight it?
It can really wear on you. I flip and I do what I do best. I don't care about long term or dividends.
I have a buddy in TN and we will be on the phone most days working it. He has his own approach.
My business is cranking right now so I am on a respit. In the meantime I am happy collecting brokerage interest.
I don't deviate from my system. I'm good at it and happy with the success. Once you fall into the groove, why fight it?
Sure it's possible to become very wealthy almost overnight with the right stock, as long as you pick the right one out of the thousands of companies.
By and large, the safest way is index funds and stick with it. But if you think you are so good to time the market, buy and sell the index funds when you think the market will go up and down. Unless you beat the law of averages, you will lose vs Joe next door who bought the same funds and held them. But at least with index funds you wont lose your life savings.
Another way is to answer your own question by doing this. Reserve for the time being a small part of your investment to speculate while investing the larger part of your investment in index funds.
Using a small amount of money, see if you can pick and choose stocks that are going to bring you that return you are looking for percentage wise, then if you can repeat the results over and over, you should not even have to touch the conservative side of your investments, you will be making money hand over feet with the speculative side and on your way to 1 million.
I do hold two different retirement accounts, one purely speculative with conservative low P/E stocks or stocks that have performed as expected for decades, yet even that is considered risky having the entire account in two stocks, one of which I trade in and out, sometimes the same stock and sometimes another.
The other account is purely index funds. Last I checked Im beating them with the speculative account but nothing that I would call outstanding.
One thing to remember, EVERYONE is a hero in a marketing that is moving higher, easy stuff. The key is, one day everything will reset and all those unrealized gains will evaporate unless you turn them into realized gains. Or as I am doing this stage of my life, being in stocks for my spec account that have performed well in market downturns.
Its really an individual decision, some people have done incredible in this and other forums but many more lose. So why not just start out slow, keep your money conservative and a small portion invest in the way you think you are going to make the big money, after all, if you are right, you will be able to repeat the results over and over.
I have been try to convince my rich friend to get rid of mutual funds in his brokerage. Make up you own if you wish with an aggragate of single marketable securities. That way you dont have to pony up annually on moves and manipuations, LT and ST gain, etc. Big plus for do it yourself turbo tax jockeys having to enter 10+ lines from 1099-Bs.There should be a BITOG rule on these threads. In order to give great investment advice we must-see atleast one brokerage account or your overall portfolio..
I never said this in my life but old age is ruling my brain these days. Knowing @AutoMechanic can do it to you.
If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. We need losers to create winners. Remember that
Yes you do have to manage it - or not.
Recently rode SLQT from 1.19 to 2.00 in few months. Sweet. But did it inside a rollover IRA.
You doesn't need to worry about diversification
Get rich quick? Put it all on red...
Let's look at the darling stock of a couple of years ago; Tesla. If you bought early and sold at the peak, you look pretty good. If you bought at the peak, well, bring a lunch...
My advice is the same as the others with significant portfolios; get started early. I am big on tech, living in Silicon Valley. The S&P top companies by weight are overwhelmingly tech.
Most of all, invest in yourself. Get the career you can enjoy and make money. I worked for companies that paid for my education.
FYI, I have a ton of $$ in 1 stock, but that is due to my company's options and grants. Take that stock out of my portfolio, the rest are long term, relatively conservative, time proven products that have secured my retirement.
Good luck.
What matters most is your 20s and a bit of 30s do as much as possible. I am coasting in my 50s because 20s I maxed out retirement coupled to profit sharing.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
Bought 4 shares of NVDA today. $3559.00 total
It was being pumped to death this morning on Bloomberg. Only reason I bought a bit, they just introduced their new series of chips. Sorry not a techie, to tell you what the difference is.
It was being pumped to death this morning on Bloomberg. Only reason I bought a bit, they just introduced their new series of chips. Sorry not a techie, to tell you what the difference is.
We currently have 200 shares of NVDA. We are honoring the 5% rule however, so if it were to go to zero, then we are still OK.
Nothing wrong with buying individual stocks.
There is a very great deal wrong with:
- Failure to plan for the future
- Failure to have an appropriate asset allocation
- Specific company risk/lack of diversification
- Improperly assessing your own risk tolerance
- Trying to get rich quick
- Timing the market
- Not understanding what you’re buying, or why
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2021
- Messages
- 336
Pablo,
Reading this is like you took over my investing mindset 40 years ago. Back in the early 1980’s when I started my forever job, I signed up on day 1 for taking the maximum legal amount out of my paycheck for the 401K. Back then, one actually had to go to the personnel office and fill out the paper forms and submit them to payroll. Signing up for the 401K was not encouraged or just a click away like it is now.
They had all sorts of percentages or a check box to fully fund up to the maximum allowed $ amount and that’s what I did. Maxed out my contributions every year I worked there plus fully maxing the 50+ catch up provision. I never missed the pay because I never saw it. Fortunately my company used Vanguards index funds so the costs and investing options were very reasonable. When my 401K balance hit $2million I took early retirement.
My company had a conventional pension plan and I took a lot of crap as management changed but stuck it out and am living very comfortably now just on the pension. First of the month I don’t owe anyone a cent. Last I looked at my credit score it was 838. Still haven’t touched the 401K balance and don’t really intend to until I’m forced to. The swing in my 401K was over $500,000 down and back in the last three years. Too much in bonds. I let it alone, stayed on the sidelines. I’m waiting to 70+ to start taking SS and I think I’ll have to start on the 401K balance at 72 (?).
The other thing I did aside from the 401K was I put 20% of each paycheck in the credit union. We lived on what was left over. And I was not what you would call a HCE. Regular Joe, brown lunch bagger and mostly staycations. When I needed cash for a car, home repairs or college funds the money was there (yea, I’m one of those dopes who saved up and burned through $200,000 paying for my 2 kids college tuition). I still have $200,000+ in cash so the market can do what it wants and I’m good. House has been paid off for years.
My one sibling just 1.5 years younger lived large all her life. She took out nearly a $300k / 30 year mortgage a few years ago when she was in her late 50’s for a beach house and has taken in boarders now to help with the payments. Last we talked she says she can never retire in her current situation and expenses.
She laughed at us for years, us driving our 8-10 year old cars and not vacationing in Europe and the Caribbean islands every winter. No spa visits, $200/mo on hair and nails or summer beach club for us. If I wanted something nice I paid cash for it and never looked back. The county park lake and tent campground was just fine in summer.
My dad was a product of the depression and his NYC stories about his family skipping out in the middle of the night on the last day of the month before the landlord could come to collect the rent always stuck with me. Times were harder for his family then but I never wanted to feel like I was living paycheck to paycheck or running from the loan sharks.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
Last year I made about $24xx on individual stocks. I have a free stock account at Merrill. My account started at $13,000. Now at $166xx in about 14 months total. It's a hobby not a job. A lot of that was profits on Brk.b and Spy. So far in 2024 I'm up $900. My 401K is up about 15% since Oct.1 mostly S&P 500 index. A lot more skin in the game there. I'm typically in and out of stocks quickly (months), also in my 401K. I might sell my SPY in my 401K today if the market continues to be up this afternoon.
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Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
My friend was literally printing money in 2021-2022. He was taking big oil for big bucks and was a complete novice
His know nothing wife which has zero experience in the stock market starting preaching dividends and not to flip.
She totally blew up his game as he is a lousy dividend trader..lol
I told him not to listen to her and in my mind she was a control freak.
If I had a wife bringing in money at that rate I'd set her up in her own trading room and take care of everything and she would have to do nothing...when the cash quit coming in then her party would be over..lol
Dumb is what dumb does....
His know nothing wife which has zero experience in the stock market starting preaching dividends and not to flip.
She totally blew up his game as he is a lousy dividend trader..lol
I told him not to listen to her and in my mind she was a control freak.
If I had a wife bringing in money at that rate I'd set her up in her own trading room and take care of everything and she would have to do nothing...when the cash quit coming in then her party would be over..lol
Dumb is what dumb does....
I'm hoping for that some day. Set up her account and direct towards index funds, maybe split between index and a target. Contribute the amount to get full company match, then have her fund a Roth, then the remainder into 401k.
Man could we retire nicely if we could somehow fully fund retirement accounts like that...
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
We all know when you get older money seems to disappear quickly..
You better be prepared.
Half the time your kids do you in unfortunately
I've seen it many times.No kidding. I was not happy when my son failed first semester of college, then wanted to switch to part time... but that meant a smaller bill, as I'm paying out of pocket for that. So far, that seems to be working better.We all know when you get older money seems to disappear quickly..
You better be prepared.
Half the time your kids do you in unfortunately
Daughter goes off in a year. Everything she is looking at is expensive. I keep telling her, go where they have the best deal, 'cuz I sure don't have the money. I should have set aside money when they were younger, but funding a pair of 529's and a 401k? not sure that is feasible for most.
Maybe I'll get lucky and my wife will start full time work, and find something with high pay. Then I won't mind paying for college (as much).
Still have to replace the car that got totaled at the start of winter. Bank of dad, indeed.
So, this $16+ thousand is play money? Not investment money? And the 401(k) is where you invest?
Or, are you in/out quickly in both?
This looks more like entertainment/hobby trading than serious investing. How old are you?
Let me ask you this: If I took your annual income, multiplied it by your age/10, would you say that your portfolio is larger or smaller than that?
In other words, a 40 year old should have about 4 times their income in their portfolio, or better.
Yeah, my wife and I have put six kids through college. Supporting the kids was the primary focus for over a decade. I drove a very used car/truck until that phase was complete. There was little left over for us.
But, through all that, we continued to invest. That was an imperative.
You can borrow/scholarship/live frugally to get through paying for college, but there is no other way to ensure a secure retirement than substantial investment throughout your working years.
Pablo,
As always, great advice.
Younger folks need to print this and follow your simple steps.
Every millionaire I’ve met over the past 30 years are very disciplined in everything they do…. especially investing their money.
Nice. That's a heck of an accomplishment, and I have heard of some of the things you have mentioned that your kids are doing. No small effort on the part of all, but there's no doubt as to where your kids draw their inspiration from.
