Yup... And it's better than the special funds of an investment account I have too.

My biggest 2 gainers are bank stocks. 1 is up 59% the other is up 31%. They were of course the most volatile

I'm just waiting for the first of the year. Then I'll drop my annual Roth payment into the account and buy some more stocks. I'm thinking of either going with 4 or 5 stocks. It'll be a smaller amount in each stock than what I currently have per stock but I want some more diversification. I gotta do something to keep another OXY from killing me. Hopefully byt the end of January I'll have the money transferred and stocks purchased. Unless of course the Mayans are right.

Thus the magic "5%" rule -- that no single investment be more than 5% of your portfolio... that way it can go to ZERO and would only kick your sorry butt by 5%.

Hard to stick by - and makes you trim "winners" etc - but it's a very good rule 99% of the time.

The bad part of the rule -- there's always "something wrong", right? Is that stocks like the good old days - let's say Microsoft -- or Google -- or an Apple is going GANGBUSTERS and you follow the rule faithfully and sell every time they hit 10% of your portfolio. In hindsight - that can be very painful. As me how I know that! :D But it saves you on the downside... so is worth heeding. The old Pigs get fat hogs get slaughtered!

I was reminded today via CNBC about very good point to remember...


Regardless of the tax changes etc -- if any -- those of you with funds in retirement accounts are not affected. Since those funds grow Tax DEFERRED...
and those with ROTH IRAS will never pay tax on withdrawals so those accounts are looking better and better!


Mahalo! :woot:

How many of you have had retirement plans at other employers etc. Here's something I would have NEVER thought about. It's worth just giving a few minutes thought to.

With all the changes to electronic banking etc.... WOW!



http://www.bankrate.com/financing/re...ec_id=m1078090

Wow is correct. However, I'm surprised he wasn't able to have her charged with fraud and theft. Or maybe he did and that's just not part of this story. I can understand how the plan might not be liable based on the info we've been given but that doesn't excuse the exwife's outright theft. Guess he also got a clear indication of the type of person she is.

I'll have to keep all this in mind as I'm trying to change jobs and have company retirement accounts. I know I'll have to look into rolling things over etc or possibly leaving them where they are. I'll cross the bridge when the time comes.

Trey -- I think the real issue was that HE failed to notify of a simple address change, and that alone absolved the institution from safeguarding his money/account!! Ridiculous - but it's obviously legal. So make sure all your accounts have your current mailing address!


The thief - his ex wife - is a different issue and that's criminal... but my guess is it would be hard to prosecute particularly if she could show they were married during the savings period... she might be able to lay claim to some of it. She's still a thief -- but the law is usually on THEIR side.

Wow that's just plain f***ed up. Thank goodness I'm on top of my accounts.

It's a very important point. I know with all the moving I have done since I left Georgia 2.5 years ago now that it was just easier and safer for me to list my mom's address where I grew up as my billing address. I can trust dear ole mom :D

I know another point along the same lines is family names. I'm a third. Trey is my nickname. My credit report is not intertwined with my father's but some addresses have been mixed up. I've had to do some work on my part to make sure none of my accounts have been attached to his report and visa versa. We both have good credit but it's still too important to not stay on top of in my opinion.