Ho Ho Ho!

And that my friends is how a guy makes his "money for nothing"... <stolen fair and square from the song>

Yup! That was a 9% increase over last year (they actually raised it for the 9/12 Ex Div date - 10/10 pay date). Almost a 10% raise. NICE!

That made my Yeild on Cost 6.3% woohoo

I'm so proud of you guys. Shows me you're learning how to make money and what it's all about! The daily gyrations don't mean much once they start sending you cash!

The guy that wrote this piece for SeekingAlpha must be reading my "blog" here….. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Okay -- there's some gobledigook in the middle of this with some charts - I skipped over because my eyes started to lock up… then I jumped over that part and kept on reading..


The big take away --- INVEST in good companies and forget about all the noise…


LANCE -- THIS ONES FOR YOU. Because I think you fit in the permabear camp. Thus costing yourself a chance at getting rich over time.


http://seekingalpha.com/article/1891..._str_1_3&ifp=0

Perma-bear... lol... I love it. I read it, and I'm soaking it in...

Greg, I read your posts last weekend about MCD and SBUX and in particular how SBUX had a paltry dividend yet the total return was good because the stock price had grown.

I also read your posts back on 12/4 talking about year end market price fluctuations and what causes them.

Both of these scenarios in a way point to my feelings about the market pricing of stocks not really being tied to actual fundamentals or company performance, but more toward the line of supply and demand, what someone is willing to pay for said stock.

Sometimes market supply and demand affects a particular share price in a small way or for a short period, other times in a large way.

I think this is the major stumbling block for me. So many times over the years, I've done something a certain "right way" and been bit because of an outside element affecting a share price...and it has tainted my perspective.

I'm trying to deal with that now...that is why I'm participating in this thread. It's like therapy... ;)

Plus, I just received my $100 fee for each of our Roth IRA accounts. That pissed me off.

And I love hearing the other's success stories...please keep posting them up.

Your stumbling block is that you're trying to make sense of a MARKET over which you have ZERO control.


Once you understand that investing in BEST OF BREED companies --- and the dividends they pay - and that you can get - over time - the dividends and the growth…. and that market fluctuations are just that - fluctuations… you'll become a better investor. HOWEVER -- you can NOT use trader mentality and be an investor. A trader is constantly seeking confirmation for their belief in whether or not the market is going "their way" (because they're betting - they're not INVESTING).

That is a very astute observation Greg, I like the way you put that.

The whole thread is about trying to make sense, and to get people to focus less on the noise and more on the long run. Long run is different than buy it and forget it… be vigilant… but vigilant with a longer term view rather than today - or next month.

When you INVEST in the very best companies --- it starts to take the fear away. I'm not worried about WalMart going out of business… or HomeDepot.. or Coke… or McDonalds. I AM fearful of my investment in FaceBook or Twitter… I don't know what that market looks like next year or the year after that. So I might want to put some play money in something like that - but FIRST I need to have trust in my core investments. When I've established that core -- the Altria type investments --- and those are adding to my savings with their dividend payments -- then I can seek a little higher return from some other more risky assets… Not big risks - but with BALANCE… to raise my overall return. Personally - I place an amount in a British Petroleum Prudhoe Bay Trust (BPT) that pays almost 12% currently… but it's OIL being pumped out of the ground… and they say there's plenty of it… however… it's still risky in my mind - because what if the pipe breaks or the pumps quit or they run out sooner than thought…. But I'm pretty secure with it. If you get my point. An 11.71% dividend raises my cash flow up pretty nicely -- with still sleeping well at night.

Now --- the caveat here - is that this is NOT a stock picking thread -- for that we need to do our own research --- pick our own stocks --- so that we know what and WHY we own them. I'm just tossing out a mindset and a way of thinking about investing. Not showing you or anyone else WHAT they should own. You might love Verizon and I love AT&T…. if you buy AT&T because I do -- that's not good enough --- because the first time AT&T hiccups --- you'll be swearing and kicking the dog and looking for an excuse to dump that POS stock. That's why I say to pick your own -- but pick your own based on the basic premise that you're going to INVEST -- and invest in GREAT COMPANIES rather than trying to hit the jackpot by next week.

People tend to buy when the market is hot and the first time it goes down they're selling (buy high sell low) and THAT is how people loose their asses. They wouldn't do that if they'd just invest in stuff they can trust - good market or bad -- they know they'll be okay.

Well I started step 1 this week. I opened an IRA and a ROTH at Schwab. I have to wait until my 401ks are rolled to the new accounts before I can join you guys on the road to retirement not living in a cardboard box.