I drove the 2 hours to Twin Falls - specifically to go to Costco to buy a Windows Laptop. ONE item - in and out. Done. LOL I'm a Mac guy - but needed an up to date Windows machine for the AiM SmartyCam I'm setting up in the Lotus (if it works I'll get one for the Mustang too). My point of all this ----- by the time I cruised the aisles I'd blown thru a grand... And that's where they get ya. Everyone that bothers to go there - runs thru all the aisles and finds all manor of stuff they didn't know they needed. I just ASSume that whatever I put on the cart is the best price I'm going to get on that item.

So I can sleep knowing you got enough stock of cheeseballs for said moderator?

I don't mind of you keep blowing through cash while in COSTCO at all, Greg. :D That one has been a sneaker for me. I got it as a steady eddy since the dividend was so low. Right now, it's going well with capital gains which I was not expecting. More proof that you just have to get in if you want to make money instead of waiting on the sidelines for the "right time".

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Those take a trip to WalMart..... Specifically - the one right there on I-5 and the 162 turnoff to Thunderhill. $4.99 for the giant plastic jar of artificial delights...










Good for you Trey!! And yes --- the key is just to forge ahead and get in whenever a guy is ready. Investing just isn't about todays price.... it's about getting invested in the proper KINDS of stocks - and then staying invested and plowing those dividends back in for the compounding affect. Next thing you know - you're happily retired floating in the pool in Maui sipping on a Pina Colada....

Failure to invest - timing the market - buying high and selling low - that will have you retired as a greeter at WalMart or wrapping breakfast sandwiches at McDonalds when you're 70...

The choices people make NOW -- will determine their "fate" later when they can do the least about it. I know which way I'd choose to go.

Here's why - IMHO - "P/E" ratios don't matter....

I don't invest in "growth" companies. I simply can't afford the acid stomach that comes with them - and being retired - don't want to be in a situation where the MARKET turns south for a couple years and I have money tied up in stocks with red (underwater investments) that don't pay me to own them. Having said that - you younger guys should be adding GROWTH to your portfolios. You can afford to wait for the market to turn higher after a downturn - you're NOT retired - and you're still earning a living to support yourselves.

I've missed out on a couple doozies this last couple years. Namely FaceBook (FB) and NetFlix (NFLX). The ONE YEAR chart shows FB with 85% growth and NFLX has 73%. Those are big numbers.

Here's the point.

Some folks get all hung up on certain metric such as P/E (Price to Earnings) ratios. And here are two prime examples (as that's all they are!) with huge P/E's - where the P/E just simply doesn't matter. Why? Because what you're investing in is "the future". Investors are betting that these companies have a LOT of growth left. That they're still infants as far as where there businesses are going. Whether that's right or not is another story and we really just don't know that, so any discussion is just guessing. And when you invest in this type of company (huge P/E big growth possibilities) that's all you're doing. You're putting on your thinking cap and asking yourself.... does this COMPANY - not the stock -- have legs? You'll have to separate the STOCK from the COMPANY... as the stock will follow the company. If there's big growth in customers and earnings and eyeballs or whatever it is that the company is measured by... then the stock will follow.

HERES the issue you'll eventually have to deal with as far as the STOCK goes....

IF they "miss" the whisper number - if they miss the projected growth numbers OR if the MARKET turns south --- the air comes out of these kinds of investments far faster than a dividend stock which is supported by the dividend payment percentage - which grows as a percentage as the price of the shares come down. What happens is that a LOT of people bought at far lower prices -- and they'll "lock in" their profits FIRST in these kinds of investments (which means they'll sell these to raise cash FIRST) --- more sellers than buyers and the price comes cascading down. That's the kind of thing someone like me looks for.... that's when I'd be a buyer.... I always have huge cash positions - I don't sell to raise cash - I already have it.... and I know where the price can go and assume they'll still have huge growth potential so if I missed it the first time around MAYBE (big if) I'll get a chance to buy some on sale.

In the meantime -- if you have a double -- so what if it goes down 30% -- it's down 30% from a double!! Good for you if you can stomach that... and if you're young - you should be able to. The hell with P/E's on this kind of stuff - what counts is making MONEY.... and nobody ever paid their bills with P/E...

P/E DOES count on big stable companies! Don't confuse the two types of investments -- one is GROWTH -- another is steady eddy or dividend paying etc. WE'RE talking about big growth type investments here. Monster Energy - NetFlix - FaceBook - Tesla.... NOT GE or MERCK

Greg,

Thanks again for your always insightful posts. I may not post regularly, but I certainly monitor this thread daily and am always learning.

To all who are on here, thank you as well. You're questions, comments, discussions etc have helped me learn a great deal of information in a relatively short period of time.

Me and my future thank you. :)

I do hope I get to meet some of you some day. If you're ever in the California Central Valley, please shoot me a PM and come say Hi.

Albert

So I have another $1000 to throw into the market. Do I put it into one of my curent Tesla, Apple or GoPro or go somewhere else?

If you already own Tesla --- I'd split it between Apple and GoPro.... maybe a 70/30 split or 60/40....


Or if you're a real gambler.... 50/50 Twitter and GoPro.

I picked some gopro up @ $46.4 then again on the dip @ $38.8. it had a good run today and is at $48.90

Interesting study of credit cards vs cash usage.

Personally - I'd be embarrassed that I had to use plastic to pay for something less than $100... LOL - obviously that shows my age group! My wife buys groceries on the Visa while I use the debit card. It all costs the same... I just look at people using plastic for that kind of stuff as people that have no money. Of course that isn't true... it's just the way I grew up. My son sees no need for cash for anything. Got card? Got money! LOL





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