Congrats!!!

Thanks!

it was only like 50 bucks, BUT its 50 bucks I didnt have before :thumbsup:

That's exactly the attitude to have.

Case in point, my shares in OXY. It's an oil stock so it's down. I unfortunately bought at a record high a couple years ago so I'm perpetually down for now. However, I go into my cost basis where it lists all transactions, and I just sit back and look at all the free money I was given for being invested with them. It's not a lot but it adds up. It has really helped soften the current down trend.

So besides the dividend you have earned over the last couple years. Seems like you can hold on and save your money and continue to purcahse more shares and consider them on sale? Correct me if I am wrong but that seems to be a main point I have taken from this discussion. Understand why you have the stock and when it go on sale purchase more?

Hi Greg / Others,

Sears announced it is going to offer 200 to 300 stores for sale to a REIT to raise cash, and lease them back. Any insights on what this can signal for a company that uses this strategy?

My thoughts are unchanged after the announcement: they cannot survive with the current business model. They raise one-time cash, so what...now their ongoing expenses are higher. Assets are to be bought and held, like we do... not sold.

thats what I gather, buy more for the long.

As soon as OPEC reduces output, prices should come back or if another war breaks out.

Correct. If you pull up the 10 year chart on OXY, you'll see it looks great. If you do research on OXY, you'll see they are a solid company with a great history of paying a dividend and being managed properly. They are very big too. They just aren't as well known as the others because they don't have gas stations. They are down right now because of industry wide issues not something they have done. Nothing at OXY has changed to cause the price drop. So over the long run, I have no doubt they will do just fine and I'll make money. Right now would be a great time for me to buy because shares are much cheaper, ie on sale, compared to what my average cost basis is for all the shares I currently own.

For my particular situation, my intent at this point though is to simply wait until the beginning of next year when I go to make my next Roth payment. OXY is in my Roth account, and I've already maxed my contribution for 2014. If I had it in my regular brokerage account, I would have been buying more already.

One other good thing about OXY being down, or any dividend stock you're in, is that your dividend payment buys more. Remember, it's on sale. So OXY pays me for owning them, I get a larger chunk of shares with each payment they give me since the stock is on sale, and when the price goes up I make that much more on the free money they gave me for owning them.

Did that answer your questions?

To me this is the same thing as someone taking out a home equity line of credit because they need money.

Couldn't agree more with this statement. The retail world has changed... and Sears didn't - hasn't - or couldn't. IDK and really don't care because to me the store ceased to exist about 25 years ago. I wouldn't bet against them - but I wouldn't invest in this name either because it has just about nothing a guy wants in an investment. A dying business... in an overcrowded retail space... with virtually no hope of regaining it's luster. Buy / invest in businesses that are solid and not on the cusp of having a bankruptcy auction.

Is anybody on here investing in 3D printing? Has this been talked about? I see lots of this being talked about in the news. I can't remember where or when but sometime this year I believe the first 3D car was printed. Whos leading the way in this technology?

believe it or not, I think (if I remember right) SpaceX and NASA (Marshall) have 3D printed rocket engine chambers.

they are very precise cross sections that normally take alot of welding/machining and many months to fabricate one, so 3D printing would be great here

Long term there will be huge winners here but its to early in the game to know who will come out on top. A year ago anything with the word 3D in it was just skyrocketing but they have all been on a steady decline since. I made a little money and sold when things started to fall back. Many have been really beat up over the last 6 months. I have re-purchased a little SSYS and I am currently a little down but I think long term it will pay out. DDD has really been killed but if it goes much lower I may buy a little again. Its a good company but HP announcing they are getting in the 3D game and them trying to incorporate all their companies they have bought is causing the stock to be really beat up. I have one more I own and am in the green on but it is a pure gamble so I won't even mention the name.

Ok sorry if it's been posted in here before but I'm a slow reader and have only made it to page 4 lol! But I'm 23, working 50+ hours in heavy equipment and not making $15.75 and I'm just not happy with my financial situation, I'm trying to start my own business and a family and just don't feel comfortable with money and the long weeks are taking their toll on me now so I gotta do something.

I don't make a lot so the thought of shelling money out without really knowing exactly whats gonna be returned or when scares me, but whats a good starting amount of money to put towards stocks for somebody in my position?

Thanks
Kody

It is a really difficult question to answer not knowing anything else about your financial situation. If you have any high interest rate credit card debt, I would pay that off before investing anything in the stock market. Also, not knowing if you have any savings set aside, I would advise you to have enough of an emergency fund for 9 to 12 months of living expenses. Home ownership is a goal many people have and if that is a desire of yours you may choose to make that a priority as well. Once those items are taken care of you can start to think about investing in the stock market and assuming you do not have a 401k at work, a Roth IRA may be your best option.

I learned to pay myself first when setting aside money for investing. I set up my budget to be able to save a minimum of 10% of my earnings for investment purposes. So if you make $787.50 a week (50 hours x 15.75), set aside $78.75 per week, once you save $1,000 or so, buy a stock that you like. Repeat the process until you have 10 to 20 stocks, then start adding more funds to your existing holdings. As you make more money, you will invest more by keeping the budget set to invest 10% of your earnings.

I have most all of my credit cards paid off and my auto loan I've managed to work down to 3.49% and I've also got a 401k going and have for a few years now.

What all do I need to start getting into stocks?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kody --- I'm on the road in my rig so will keep this short. Start reading this thread before you do anything. Sounds to me like you're very sensible. Reading this thread will help you understand "investing" at it's most basic form - THEN you'll know exactly how to get started.

Disregard, my phone sent the same post twice and I didn't realize it.

So I did a little number crunching this morning.

I tip toed back into the market for the first time since 2008 starting on Feb 07, 2014. I made a few more purchases of the same stocks in early March, and then again in early April. I sold one stock in August then bought the dip in the middle of October pretty hard across the board. Still only holding 11 equities total and still only about 25% of my total portfolio is invested in the market.

So far YTD, my total return is just over 15% on the invested portion. My biggest gainer on an individual purchase is up 40%, overall my purchases in that stock are up 27%. My smallest gainer is up 3.34%. I've also earned about 2.5% of my total current invested amount in actual dividend payments.

Mentally...I feel pretty good. While there is a little part of me that is hindsight wishing that I would have dove in head first back in February...the smart angel on the other shoulder is reminding me just how happy I've been all year long and how the dips have NOT bothered me at all. In fact, I look for them anxiously now as more opportunities to pick up my stocks on sale. One thing that I enjoy is how stable my group of stocks are...even on the wildest of days of the DOW going up and\or down...these stocks just rock on with little blips, not huge dips.

I want to thank the board for all the help along the way, I can honestly say I would have NEVER ventured back into the market had it not been for this thread. I have a whole new perspective on this now and am enjoying the ride so much more than I ever have in my investing history that goes back to 1997.

Here's to more of those dividends rolling in and the total return rising right along with them. :cheers:

Awesome news Lance!

That is awesome to hear and is not terribly far off from my stock journey.

Starting around June 2013 I came across this thread which has been nothing short of a huge wealth of information. It has really dumbed down the process and made me feel very comfortable investing.

I started off very small, just purchasing 5 shares. I waited several more months and added more to my original.

To date I have investments in 3 sectors. I invest a short amount each week into my brokerage account, then once I feel comfortable I will purchase more. My situation does not allow me to invest more frequently but this has given me the tools necessary to succeed.

To date I am up 1.14%. I have taken a big hit when stocks went down this October. But I have take advantage and purchased more stocks.

Rambling over, thanks again Greg and everyone else.

I plan on reading this thread and making sure I can wrap my head around the concept before jumping in.

I just want to make sure I can provide the best life possible for my fiancé and I and our future kids so I want to start now rather than later.

Greg and others, what a great read.

can anyone explain exactly what each line item is and how it works on the attached chart. Some are pretty self-explanatory but some i dont understand. Thanks Jesse

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/15/f...prior-spinoff/

Ferrari IPO coming soon?

Beta measures volatility. A stock with a 1.26 beta is 26% more volatile than the market.

Market cap is the size of the company. Apple's market cap is $677 billion which is calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding shares by the stock price. You may have heard of large cap stocks, small cap stocks,etc. It refers to the market cap of the stock.

P/E is the price earnings ratio which is calculated by dividing the annual earnings per share of the stock by the current stock price. It is used as a valuation tool. In theory, the higher the P/E the more over-valued the stock is. However, there are many things to consider when comparing P/E ratios.

EPS is earnings per share which is the net income divided by the number of outstanding shares.

Div & Yield is the dividend that the stock pays on a quarterly basis. To calculate the Yield you must multiply the quarterly dividend by four and then divide that by the stock price.

Two days ago on Monday I was looking at my dividend payouts and noticed a few of my holding had been listed at 100X what they are worth. I knew it was a listing error because nothing had changed except where the decimal had been placed.

I know this wouldnt work but if I had sold and they gave me the listed price and then noticed the error what would of happened? This is kinda off topic but it was fun to see my account jump up by many zeros at the end of the account balance for the day.

They would catch the error and fix it - and that's also why SETTLEMENT dates are not for several days after a transaction.

A couple things you'll take away from this thread --- being EARLY saver/investor -- and being a methodical investor, not a get rich overnight guy. The fact that you're willing to read this puts you way ahead of others that don't/won't take the time.

Okay "newbs" --- time to start to put on your YEAR END REBALANCING hats.

What is that? It's a review of your portfolio with an eye to tax efficient trades IF -- BIG IF - your accounts are taxable. Tax trades inside a IRA shouldn't be concerned as all those trades are tax deferred. This is about people that will pay taxes on their gains (or taking tax losses) for 2014.

#1 --- Assets should be looked at as a "whole". If you invested 10,000 and you now have 12,000 you are AHEAD. Don't be afraid to sell something at a "loss" when overall you're way ahead!

#2 --- It is nearly impossible to have "everything" working well. When you look there are probably a couple "employees" (stocks) pulling most of the wagon... and one or two that are sitting on their ass.

#3 --- Rebalancing in taxable accounts is merely a look to see where you have gains (and maybe want to pare that down) and offset those gains with sales of losers. That way you offset the gains with loses and then have no or minimal taxes due.

#4 --- Don't forget to check the dividend EX dates before selling anything. It's stupid to hold something for months only to sell it a few days or weeks before it pays it's dividend.

#5 --- Don't SELL anything just because you have a nice gain in it... or to offset a loss. DO examine every holding with the thought process of where it's going long term. Just because I have a 20% gain in Altria (MO) doesn't mean I'm looking to capture that. I have to really like the shares long term -- and if I sold to lock in a gain in this name -- where else would I invest that money to make an even better gain going forward.

#6 --- Year end rebalancing accounts (TAXABLE) can be a chance to prune gains - offset losses - and expand your diversification.

#7 --- BEWARE the long term cap gain vs the short term cap gain!!! Long term is ONE YEAR AND ONE DAY.... short term is anything less than that! The tax rate difference can be huge. In my case the difference is 40% vs 20% (on LTCG)

This is a pretty good article about 401k vs IRA

thought I would post it for any newbs that are lurking this thread but dont want to read it all (BUT YOU SHOULD)

http:// lifehacker.com/should-i-put-...t-o-1665628446

I haven't added to this thread -- because frankly - there's not much more to add to it.

This morning I got an email from a buddy asking about whether or not now is a good time to put more money to work - or was the market too high. I think I get this same style question hourly. I also respond to it the same way.

I.E.,


The longer you wait for just the right moment to invest - the longer you're out of collecting the dividends. The longer you wait - in an UP market - the more gain you loose out on. Will it go down from where you get in today or tomorrow. ABSOLUTELY. Are you investing for next Saturday, or for 10 - 15 - 30 years?

I hate this question because it shows me the "asker" isn't really committed to INVESTING -- they're only committed to instant gratification. They'll be the first people to sell when the market goes down - losing money - and throwing in the towel. The minute they're "out" the market will go on a 10 year tear upward - leaving them behind - when everyday they once again think the market is "too high". If it wasn't going UP for the last 40+ years.... nobody would have ever invested in it. LOL

Anyone here invested in KMP. Have you received your payout and swap to KMI already?
I haven't received it yet, but I know someone who has already.
I even had more shares than they did. I wonder how they determine who gets switched over first.

Smart traders took their profits (in my case a quarter million bucks) in KMP right after they made the announcement.... and bought the KMI shares.

It's just book keeping and think of the MILLIONS of shares to be handled and payments made. They'll get to you.

So, I'm sort of in the middle of a dilemma and am unsure what to do. Since I used to work for Halliburton and they had a fantastic ESPP set up, I took full advantage of it and now have a very lopsided portfolio. I'm not at all worried about that honestly. I took advantage of an opportunity that was only available to me because I was an employee at the time and it has paid off greatly.

Until this current and unforeseen drop in oil prices, my attitude was to simply let the shares sit there and make money. I no longer get the discount as an employee, and I'm very lopsided so I don't need to invest any more in that position were my thoughts. I'm now questioning those thoughts because the stock has dropped so much in value. My dilemma is do I take advantage of what is, I believe, a great buying opportunity and continue to make my portfolio lopsided, or do I just stay patient, let my shares ride, and continue to work towards a more balanced portfolio? My cost basis is such that I'm still sitting pretty with great returns right now even with the price down so much.

Thoughts? Opinions?

DIVERSIFY. ALWAYS.


Nothing wrong with keeping and holding what you have - but try to broaden your positions until you have 10 or 15 or 20 great names.

I have read every post in this thread over the past couple years and it has been very helpful to me, so thanks to all the contributors and specifically Greg. We have talked a lot about mindset and how to view your investments and the market with some discussions about the how.

I would like some opinions about which online brokerage firms people are using and why. I have been doing most of my investing within Vanguard and some real estate, but I would like to have access to more information and specifically be able to closely track my investments and returns (I'm an engineer and love data). I don't buy or sell very often, as this is investing and not trading...so the difference between $7 and $9 trades is secondary to how well their website works for me, but some thoughts on what drove you to a firm would be helpful.

Thanks
Doug

I use Sharebuilder (soon to be Capital One Investing).

Reason why? I got a free $100 signing up because I'm a Costco member. And they do a "auto investment" feature, where you can buy a stock on Tuesdays for $2 (as long as the auto investment was setup by monday). They also have i think $6.95 normal trade rates. And every once in a while, have coupon/special codes to get a free trade.

But I've been happy with them.

Doug -- Personally I like SCHWAB best for overall research and being able to find the info I want. I have several brokerage accounts and I always end up doing research on Schwab. I have a brokerage account at Wells Fargo - and find it one of the worst... but they do other things for me that only large banks can do...

Make certain that you are SIPC insured -- which covers CASH on deposit up to $250K - and the securities held in the brokerage.

If it was me I would definitely diversify for the exact reason you are discussing. An unforeseen event has significantly impacted your major holding. I had a friend that worked at WorldCom several years ago. He used to brag to me how much money he was accumulating in his retirement account. I don't know if you were following the market when WorldCom went bankrupt, but his entire account evaporated because he had all of his money in one stock. The same thing happened to people at Enron.

I second the vote for Schwab. I have accounts at Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Etrade and Interactive Brokers. I generally prefer Schwab for research and the general lay-out of the website. However, I like the Think or Swim Trading Platform at TD Ameritrade the best for the charting and monitoring my positions. Interactive Brokers is more of a trader's brokerage. It has a good platform and very low commissions at $1 or $.005 per share, but there are additional fees if you don't trade much.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Schwab, TD Ameritrade and Etrade have dividend reinvestment programs. Scottrade has a modified reinvestment program, but it is not the same. If you would like to automatically reinvest your dividends, do some research into the brokerage you select.

Thanks Woody and Greg. I'm diversified in how many different companies I'm invested in but dollar wise I'm very heavy in HAL in that account.