Investing

[radjin]

One of my past entries mentioned investing and how it's been a very good year; that got me a number of private messages asking what I do. Well first off I won't tell you what you should do because your situation is likely far different from mine. But I can tell you what I do in general and you can decide what is the right path for you. Even better

Comments

[sabotlours]

It's so nice to read about someone who has their shit together. The furry community is just so full of "I have no money to attend a con!" (nor money for food or rent which are less important *lol*) I personally wit for the market to do something stupid. I remember when the market plunged due to a terrorist attack and I thought "Well, that was stupid." I quickly put in a bid on a stock, but unfortunately the Market came to its senses and bounced back above my bid. 2 other great investments are DRiPs and ETFs. I started a dividend re-investment program with a few stocks early on and they have done quite well. I figured out that a stock I bought 20 years ago is now paying me 8% a year due to constantly increasing dividend yield over the years. That's above and beyond the price of the stock which has more than quadrupled over that timeframe. My advisor told me to avoid mutual funds if you can find an equivalent ETF. It's all about the fees.

[radjin]

I have always been a saver, even my son was that way but not my daughter. The problem is I save to buy everything cash and when I am ready to buy I think, do I really want to spend all this hard saved cash on that?

You broker is right assuming you are limited to the MF's you can buy. MF loads are all over the place. I have no access to ETF's within my 401K so have not played with them that much.

[allaboutweather]

I see a parallel with storm chasing here. Some storm chasers (not naming names lol) complain about not having enough money but have no problem spending a week or two in the Plains storm chasing, which costs quite a lot actually. A few even buy a second house or apartment out in OKC or Wichita to save on lodging and gas!

[radjin]

We all make our choices, some less wise than others or made my body parts other then the brain.

[allaboutweather]

I do a lot of Step 1 (a little too much sometimes as I rarely spend money) but I'll be sure to follow those other steps too BUT I might most likely stick to Rule 1 and 7. XD

[radjin]

As long as you do something. Most people do nothing.

[allaboutweather]

Indeed. Too many people don't save enough for retirement and some spend more than they make.

[whitetail]

This is what bad investing looks like.

[radjin]

We all can and will make mistakes. There's nothing I need to say they can improve upon the wisdom you learned that day.

In encouragement, I once lost a substantial some when I didn't realize a company was going to file for bankruptcy. The good news is after 10 years I was able to recover it and have since gone on to do even better. It wasn't easy and it does set you back but it's not impossible.

I hope you have not given up and plan to fight for every cent back through research and planning. You only lose when you jump out of the game when you're down. At that point you might as well ride the storm.