Well I will throw in my two cents again.

I am hooked on that show, "American Greed", where people get scammed out of their money. It just amazes me what people will do with their life savings...Sad.

One thing I would say is to get a subscription to Kiplinger's Magazine just as some more reading material. Also maybe Smart Money, or Money magazine.
It couldn't hurt to get more info on investing, How much you need for retirement, Long term care , ect...

Also IF you need help....And I say IF, you would be looking for a FIDUCIARY, who would only be a FEE-ONLY Planner..Someone in the NAPFA or Garrett Organization.

You never write the checks to them, you ALWAYS have a Custodian like Schwab or Fidelity, ect...

A Fiduciary has the obligation to have YOUR best interests at Heart, and they do not sell you products on Commission..They are not Brokers.

I know most of you do your own Investing, but for those who may need help, try the magazines first, and then try a FEE ONLY FIDUCIARY..

Just a thought for the day...:cheers:

Good info mike!!


Look up - Wesley C Rhodes if you want to read about what happens when you give the money to the "broker" without using a real brokerage! He might be in prison but my friends lost ALL their money!

Oh man, that really sucks... How people could sign over their money I will never understand..

I watched American Greed last night and this guy had hedge funds putting in 100 million into the scheme... It broke the ponzi scheme's back trying to pay 20% payments on 100 Million.

The moral is, IF you need help, you must do your research, and you ALWAYS have a custodian(Schwab,Fidelity,ect..), who hold the money in YOUR name..

Never sign your money over to someone because they will spend it..

A Fiduciary is the way to go...

I have family that use Chase....WTF.....1.4% fees plus all the other fees, and ALL the Investments are Chase...Chase stocks, Chase Bonds,ect...
I try to tell them, but I have finally given up...At least they won't lose it all, but they are getting screwed..

Part of Investing is studying, and IF you need help, no sweat, just get the right help. Some people without help will read all these pages and they still won't do much because they are not sure.. You must get skin in the game or Inflation will eat your savings.

But always have the money set up in a TRUST in You and your Wife's name.. One , it is your money, and two, the Trust saves your Heir's when you die...

If you're wondering what happened at Philip Morse (PM) today -- it rose 4% -- this is what happens when companies decide to increase their DIVIDEND BY 10% !! How many of you got a 10% raise this year??





The Board of Directors of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE Euronext Paris: PM) today increased the company's regular quarterly dividend by 10.4%, to an annualized rate of $3.40 per share.

The new quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, up from $0.77 per share, is payable on October 11, 2012, to stockholders of record as of September 27, 2012. The ex-dividend date is September 25, 2012.

Nice!

Looks like we might be in for a couple of months of the "death of a 1000 cuts" period.... where there is no "catalyst" for stocks to move UP.... People on the sidelines waiting for the election to firm up etc.


NOW is the period when I don't care what you argue about --- which stock -- blah blah blah --- but DIVIDENDS WIN! There's no growth in capital... but your capital grows because you're getting paid to hold! Here's 2 weeks of my Schwab account dividends received just this month only! I just finished a 4,000 mile road trip... and this pays for my gas. :rofl:


09/17/2012
as of
09/15/2012 ED CONSOLIDATED EDISON INC
type: QUALIFIED DIV
$3,630.00
09/12/2012 JNK SPDR BARCLAYS CAPITAL HIGH YIELD BOND ETF
type: ORD DIV - CASH
$6,682.32
09/10/2012 HYG ISHARES TRUST IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP
type: ORD DIV - CASH
$5,845.32
09/10/2012 PFF ISHARES S&P U S PFD FUNDS&P U S PFD STK INDEX FD
type: ORD DIV - CASH
$2,516.50

Pays for fuel for a few years, DB!

Hey now!


The month isn't even over yet!! I should get at least a couple more!


:rofl:

So it's been 10 months since this thread was started.... and where are we now?

We've talked about all kinds of stocks.... even though this is NOT a stock picking thread... but let's just see where some of the names tossed about here are.

Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP) UP 4.42%

Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP) DOWN 5.86%

Philip Morse (PM) UP 21.3%

Altria (MO) UP 14.9%

Chevron (CVX) UP 12.96%

Annaly Capital Management (NLY) UP 5.73%

AT & T (T) UP 29.7%

Verizon (VZ) UP 17.28%

Home Depot (HD) UP 48.7%

Lowes (LOW) UP 20.21%

McDonalds (MCD) DOWN 5.31%

Con Edison (ED) UP .56%

High Yield (HYG) UP 8%

Junk Bonds (JNK) UP 7.54%

Gold (GLD) UP 8.10%


THIS IS STOCK PRICE ONLY -- NOT TOTAL RETURN -- TOTAL RETURN WOULD BE HIGHER.

Total S&P 500 UP 9.19%


So if you're stock is up MORE than 9% you're beating "the market".


Total S&P 500 WITH dividends reinvested - UP 10.504%


Using the period December 2011 to September 2012

I'm not doing that good, but from April 15 till today, I'm up 6.7% with dividends. I was doing a fraction of that with the 401k mutual funds.
Thanks for showing us how simple it is to make our money work for us.
I wish I had moved my money out of my 401k years ago to a self directed IRA.

Well.... as we've discussed here many times --- it's all about compounding. So 5% compounded over 20 years is just HUGE compared to 1% compounded...

The key is to take control and do just a smidgen of thinking and research -- and almost anyone could beat the performance of the average Mutual Fund. :cheers:

There looks to be more UP than down. Not bad at all

It's why I don't work for a living....:D :cheers: :woot:

I hate to say it but I have no idea how to find a percentage on the Vanguard site for how my stocks are doing. All I do know is that overall, I'm green. I'm happy. :D

You could use Google Finance. If you pull up a chart of a particular stock --- you'll see in the upper LEFT HAND of the chart -- right under where you can select a time frame (1 day - 5 days - 1 month etc) there is a beginning date and ending date -- if you mouse over those - you can change the dates.... so you can put the date you bought the stock.


Or you can use this math calculation:


(Price Sold - Purchase Price)/(Purchase Price)


So using Chevron (CVX)

If you bought on Jan 1 2012 @ 106.40 and todays price is 116.97

116.97 minus 106.40 = 10.57 divided by 106.40 = 9.93%

Hello all. I was doing some calculating and I am up about 15.7 % this year..

WOOT...:rofl: :thumbsup: That is some large coin..Not Greg Weld coin, but hey, I am working on it...My bucket is smaller...

Now I do think that we are in a very uncertain time with the election, the fiscal cliff, and Bernanke being an absolute fool, but I am in it to win it, and if things go south in early 2013, I may scale back like I did in 2008.

Just on certain assets, and then buy more of others. I still have friends who got out in 2009, at the bottom, and never got back in..Boy did they miss the party...

It has been a great run this year, but remember that things NEVER go in a straight line up....I call it shaking the tree like early in the year with 400 point swings...Only the strong hang on..The little man will test our balls...

But pay attention to the politics and the economics surrounding it..Just in case.

I wish i had as much passion for everything in life as I do for money..Making money just juices me up....Yes, it is an addiction.

One of the best one's I ever had. :cheers:

Hey now, we work...Just not as hard...:thumbsup: Retirement is a full time job...

And you darn sure play hard...:hail:

According to Fidelity,

"Personal Rate of Return from 01/01/2012 to 09/18/2012 is 17.6%"

Has definitely been a good year - and this does not include some dividends which are owed but not yet paid. Hoping for a smooth finish to 2012.

You're killin' it!!


Do that for 2 years in 3 and it has an amazing multiplying affect!

Well.... one of my fondest sayings is "I have 6 Saturdays and a Sunday.... I know it's Sunday when the big paper comes".



Yeah -- I tend to get around a bit. This last road trip was down to Oakland to see our buddy Dave G and Susan -- then to Phoenix to see my daughter - then to St George Utah to have dinner with Blake and Anita (SpeedTech) - then to Logan Utah to see about my trailer (Poulsen's Trailer Sales) - went back to Rocky Mountain Raceway to do a test and tune with his Dragster.... then to Sun Valley for a buddies 60th B'day and retirement bash... a little golf and a little food... Somebody has to buy all that high priced gas!! and keep those hotels full!!

:cheers:


I took this quicky video using my iPhone...

Here's Dave Poulsen's 732 cubic inch - 2 stage nitrous - 277" wheel base - just running easy - this was a test and tune not a race session.... He run's 6:50's

Thanks Greg. I didn't even think about changing the dates on Google finance to figure it out. I'll sit down this weekend if I have time and do some quick math.

Of Course I am watching American Greed again.

That show just amazes me. What people will do with their money. Basically give it away to fund a crook's lifestyle..No research at all. Just handing it over..:(

Dang Greg, You are on the move, well done. I know I need my I-Phone to tell me what day it is.. I love being free..:thumbsup:

Still working on getting healthy, but I am going to get healthy and get out and spend my earnings..I am not leaving it to the relatives... Although they wouldn't mind if I dropped dead, but I won't let it happen..

I have way too much to live for...And too much fun to still have..:woot:

good for you Mike. :thumbsup:

Last couple of pages, good stuff guys. Keep it coming for us newb's...Mike

Thank you.

It has been a long two years and a rough road back.

But I am a cup is half full kinda guy, and no complaints.
It could so much worse and I am lucky. Luckier than most.

Heart and Brain issues are something you do not plan for.

Thank God for my Investments or I would have been Financially screwed. I had planned to work several more years but that is not going to happen.

I will probably have a shorter lifespan than most, so retirement was the best option. Now i just have to enjoy what is left.:cheers:

Howard Schultz was on CNBC this morning --- pitching Starbucks (SBUX) new coffee machine. When guys like this come on and do the talking head thing - I often just go and see how well (or not) the stock has done... this one was interesting.


If you'd bought Starbucks stock on the IPO in the summer of 1992 --- you'd now own their shares at .89 a share..... and you'd be collecting a 1.35 per year dividend..... so like Warren Buffett and Coke (KO)... where he gets his investment back each year in dividends.

Their stock has split 5 times -- each time 2 for 1 -- so for every one share you'd have bought - you'd now have 32.... AND for every share you'd have bought at the IPO price of $14 --- you'd now have 32 share with a cost of .89 that are now trading at $50. A mere 7395% gain.

Not bad for a 20 year hold. :cheers:

A little more "figuring" on Starbucks (SBUX)....


$2500 invested in the IPO -- would now be $285,000


You'd be getting $7700 in annual dividend


Drink up --- you're helping to pay someone that dividend! :lol:

Giving back.
 

Greg the numbers Guy,

Those are some Impressive numbers. My point today is about giving back.

Thanks for your info and your thoughts on making money. You are giving back.

I talked with my Fiduciary Advisor last week about our game plan for the last of 2012 and the first of 2013, and we talked about my health and near death.

He asked me if after this experience was I giving back. Well I said that I need to save for medical and my wife. He said, oh no, I am not talking about your money, I am talking about your knowledge. I answered yes , that I am doing.

I have when asked, shared my ideas on getting and being debt free, Investing, Home loans, ....

He said that is great to try to share what you know while you can.

I just wanted to thank you for doing what you are doing. You certainly don't have to, and it is a great service to all the guys here and in your life.

You are way smarter than me on this , and i am just trying to do my part for those that ask. For those that aren't interested , or never ask.....They are missing out on some great knowledge.:cheers: :lateral:

Thank you!


Others eat sleep and breathe cam numbers.... or track times and tire sizes.... For myself -- I figure I can get those numbers WHEN I need them... I eat sleep and breathe the investing side of things.

I L O V E sharing this wee bit of knowledge HOPING that someone is reading it and that it WILL make a difference in their lives. :cheers:

It will and is making a difference for me. I think about this stuff alot more now and have changed some of my investments(for the better) And I pay attention to whats going on in the stock market a ton more. I just need more money to invest, but i am getting there.

THANKS

Yes, thanks to Greg for starting this, and also to others for keeping it going.

Because of Greg I have stopped charging, pay cash for things, started saving a little, and my retirement money is making money, (a little).

Thanks for clearing my head, and keep the info coming.

I did a quick check just to get an idea of how things have been going for me. Here are the results:

Purchase date/stock/performance percentage + or -

February 4,2011 Apple 107.88%
February 9,2011 Disney 29.35%
October 12,2011 Caterpillar 14.73%
January 3,2012 Altria 13.36%
January 3,2012 Consolidated Edison -4.11%
January 3,2012 Pepsi 7.37%
January 30,2012 Kinder Morgan -3.49%
February 4,2012 Nike -6.55%
May 5,2012 Coke 1.26%

Based on this if I've done the math correctly, I have a positive return of 17.75%. I didn't factor in the dividends or the times I added to my positions so the numbers may be +/- a little. And I'm not sure I added correctly given the time frames of purchase but this is what I came up with. Feel free to correct me if I did this wrong.

Jose is our new INVESTMENT GOD!!

What a nice performance there buddy!


And to the others that have commented.... You make me happy! If this just touches a couple people we have success!

I wish Greg would of started this thread 2 years ago.
Then look where we might of been now.

Never too late to start.

Hey! I didn't start this thread! WSSix did!


I'm glad it wasn't started too early -- then you guys would be catching up to me!!



:lateral: :cheers: :woot:

Well we cannot go back, but I wish I had met you guys 5 years ago.

We could have helped some avoid the 2008 madness, and got you guys to buy in 2009..

My Wife thought I was crazy with the moves I made in 2006 to 2009, but she listens now.

She wanted to buy property in 2006 and 2007, and I stopped her..I sold it..

Then she did not want to Invest in 2009, and I talked her into it. I also got her family to buy in at that time. They are forever grateful and it makes me proud and happy that I could help.

Scary ? Hell yes... If I was wrong ? Oh man.

But we can all help each other from now on... I still have close friends who did not listen to me and are still "waiting "...

Waiting ? 4 years later ? For what ?

It was and still is an uncertain time, but you have to be in it to win it..Waiting just makes you not do anything..

I blew it BIG in the past, but I learned from that.

2013 will be crazy, so we will walk through it together. it will not be an easy ride...

Yeah true, but you did such a nice job of hi-jacking it!

Success leaves clues... Finding people that have done what you are trying to do shortens the learning curve and helps avoid the mistakes.

Your posts help everyone to accelerate their learning , and you know how we like to accelerate.:cheers:

I am also a King of High Jacking.

I am like a Cuban on an Airplane in the seventies...:lol: