Bob...... Your Sturm Ruger stock reports earnings after the bell today... will be very interesting to see their sales numbers! My guess is they've sold every thing they had made at full price!

Well It had a pretty big sell off, but I held on to it. I don't think it will be a question of "are they going to beat the estimates" rather than " how much did they beat them by" Its up over 3% today I'm guessing they excpect things to be good.
I also bought OLN cause of the ammo. DHS buying ammo at an alarming rate, and consumers seeing a serious ammo shortage right now, this stock should do good also.

Same Song...."And your Chicks for Free"....Boy we all know they are not free..

Oh I am in Contract on three rental properties......I decided to Diversify even more ....I will know more this next week...Not expensive homes at all, Actually cheap ones, but Positive Cash flow if I get them....

yep they had a 53% jump!!

So.... with all the traveling lately --- and the "bringing home" the rig... I've been distracted to say the least. The beauty of income investing is that you can be distracted and the cash keeps flowing IN. The $18K from Annaly (NLY) I picked up on the 29th and the $9K from AT&T (T) posted yesterday - just about paid for the fuel burned last week. :D


With the distraction --- I'd completely forgotten about Bitcoin.... apparently the IRS HASN'T!


While the accounts are "digital" like a Swiss bank... in an audit... you'd have to disclose the transactions. You'd also likely be asked about the unexplained deposits in your checking account. Audits - if they smell fishy - can be especially nasty. Remember too... that trying to hide "income" is the crime. Filing false income taxes is not something that should be taken lightly. I'm not saying anyone is doing this - I'm saying it might be tempting given that Bitcoin is not going to 1099 you like your Schwab account is going to... so it might be "tempting" to just forget about this little extra dough.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwo...ut-of-bitcoin/




This reminds me of a guy that used to work for me. He owned lots of rental property - and had his hand in a restaurant/night club... etc. So he gets an audit - and he proudly takes all his receipts down etc showing that while he made great money - he also expensed nearly every dime. Weeks went by and he finally hears from Uncle Sam... he owed $18K!! Of course he immediately proclaimed that was impossible..... but -- said the IRS officer -- his check book showed NO checks written for cash -- or to a grocery store -- or to the dry cleaners etc.... so asks the agent "what did you live on"?? Thus Robert wrote them a check right then and there rather than risk an even more onerous audit!! He's still laughing about this little "exchange". He also learned a good lesson. Mind you --- this was around 1974 or so -- and 18K was a chunk of change!

Smart Mike! We all know that housing went UP too much and came DOWN too much. While you might have missed the very bottom - they are still relatively "cheap". Interest rates are cheap and won't stay that way forever. The key is positive cash flow!

I personally like to invest in LLC's that are professionally managed and own class A apartments. They typically pay a 7+% rate (taxable - but offset with depreciation). And in fact I'm now looking at a mixed use building with 48 units and a 30,000 square foot retail rental (long term leased)...


Rentals like houses and apartments are LONG TERM guys --- they tie up your cash -- and have relatively large buy and sell commissions --- so aren't something you can just flip out of. However, they have nice long term capital appreciation - come with some nice taxable incentives - and can spin off great cash flow that generally increases over time. Be prepared for a 7 plus year holding period.

Here's an excellent article that is the kind of stuff I read -- even though I know the rules of engagement etc -- stuff like this is a good reminder and can help keep you on track!



http://seekingalpha.com/article/1392...g_income&ifp=0

Thanks for jumping back on, Greg. I don't post much, but really appreciate and enjoy reading your posts. Thanks for taking the time with us here.

I was happy to see Costco raise their dividend ($0.275 to $0.31 = 12.7% raise) even though the yield is only 1% annually. However, from this thread, I know why I own it - for growth and yield combination. I bought at $101 and its trading north of $108 now. Purchased it completely with the dividends from my other holdings!

Thanks Greg.

Yes I am prepared to hold Long Term and these places are really Cheap...

But at those prices and the price I can rent them for, it is a no brainer...They are "cozy" a.k.a. small homes...

I am a small Fish so I need to stay with small rentals...But positive cash flow is the name of the game..

#1 -- Thanks for posting! I often wonder if I'm just talking to myself!



#2 -- Using your dividends from other stocks to diversify into another name is BRILLIANT and exactly how this can be done!

Sweet! I've been gone for a few days and didn't know this. I won a few shares as well and have been pleased so far.

Umm, got 46 units in San Antonio that I'm thinking of getting out of. Anyone?? Anyone??? :D

And here's another Bitcoin disaster......




http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/te...ices-6C9743685

Get an agent and list it.

I'm posting this because some of you may find this info "handy" either now or in the future.



So I'll spare you the details except to say that I recently moved some of the bonds I have with another brokerage into one of my Schwab accounts. I set up a PAL (Pledged Asset Line) with them (Schwab) so that I can fund the purchase of the land and build a new house in Sun Valley.... without borrowing or getting a construction loan etc. It's an open line of credit with a check book but I'm using securities (stocks and bonds) for the line to borrow against. This is REALLY REALLY cheap money and I don't have to pay it back for like 5 years - and can pay interest only against the money drawn against the line. It's 2.28% money.... and I can borrow 70% of the asset base. It allows me to trade - or change positions - still withdraw the dividends etc. It's basically an invisible line drawn around a portion of this account which must maintain a certain value.

For guys like me -- this was super simple to set up -- one phone call... discuss the options... BAM! Done.

Normally I'm debt adverse... but for this instance - this is going to work out really well. I only need to draw against it as needed and this little house project will play out over a 2+ year timeframe. I don't have to deal with any bankers (I hate them)... I don't have to sell any houses or assets - so there's no pressure to raise cash at a certain time etc. I'm really just borrowing my own money -- all the while it's still earning money.

Ordinarily these "PAL" accounts carry a 3 month LIBOR (London Inner Bank Overnight Rate) PLUS 3%..... With my asset base which is FAR higher than the assets put into the PAL -- I squawked like a hungry crow and they finally agreed to 2% over LIBOR. The 3 month LIBOR is about .28 right now.

When the construction is nearly completed -- we'll put the Bellevue place up for sale and move to our condo in SV -- then we can be there for the finish work on the house and all the little details that go into that.... once we move -- we already have a buyer for the condo (friends that want it). Then we'll get permanent financing on the new dump.

So I forgot the reason for mentioning the movement of the bonds....


Now that the bonds are in my Schwab account --- I can see their performance and sort them etc. There's some 85 different names!

What I wanted to say in the above post --- and got off subject --- was what horrible investments these have been!! OMG!! The best performing bond is up 7% (face value) and most are up a whopping 2 or 3%!! Versus an AVERAGE of about 11% on the stocks.

Mind you - they are purchased for a completely different reasoning. They provide steady TAX FREE income of around 4% --- doesn't sound like much until you do the math --- and compare that against the dividend you must earn on a stock and pay tax on it. Dividends are now taxed at 20% so you have to take that into consideration if you're using the money now vs holding them in a ROTH or IRA/401K account.

Nope, not at all. is your middle name "ef hutton" ? lol

The funny thing is about most forums is everybody has a comment or wants to play armchair quarterback, not this one.

Lateral-g, imo, has class and intelligence. Look, learn & listen. Funny too, cause i talk way too much....

Mike

Greg,

I can't wait to see the shop plans for the new digs. :trophy-1302: Congrats!

Jody -- I don't want to side track this thread... but the plans for the new "shed" will have 5,000 plus square foot shop in the "basement" -- which will also suck up the 65' long toter and trailer. It's very cold in SV -- I want this stored inside -- and washed inside etc. The house sits on the hillside rising up to a ridge... and the cul d sac is 110' diameter... The lot is 1.6 acres at the top of that cul d sac.. and will allow us to split the driveway leading to the shop and then continuing on up to the house...Truck parking with a view! LOL

Seeing some hits in Divvy stocks today.. down near 1% (averaged) for all mine.

Think of buying stocks as a set of stairs.... sometimes up -- sometimes flat... and they go up and down. :lol: :lol:

Well..... so much for sell in May and go away! <a very old truism/saying>


SO you newbs ---- this is something that I've talked about before, i.e., just when you THINK you know what's going to happen in the market.... it will do something else. Generally - against whatever you thought was going to happen.

The lesson from this is (should be).... quit trying to figure it out --- and just trust that you're going to have a lot more money down the road than you have right now. PERIOD. Stop stressing over all the news - the day to day - the world problems <of which few have any control>.... and just buy that good old company that you know and trust to do a good job... and PAYS YOU... for being an investor in them.

Yup.. I try not and worry about it. Not trying to time anything anyway.

I am workin with Dad to try and get his 401k moved over to a Trad IRA so we can get some more control over it. Just trying to make sure it doesnt have any negative impact on his disability/insurance, etc.

You might want to include a TAX professional in this discussion BEFORE actually taking any action. One slip up and you get killed. The IRS is not very forgiving.

I once had a check sent to me --- and deposited it into my account --- to transfer into the IRA..... BIG MISTAKE -- paid taxes and a PENALTY for that little slip. Even though it was an honest mistake --- they could care less.

This is why I love Peter Schiff! It's one of the more entertaining video's I've seen in a long time. Plus, I think Maria is drunk. Haha.

Tony -- Another old truism in the stock market --- DON'T FIGHT THE FED.


What does that mean? Well --- it means that the FED is in control... and as long as you can make money on it -- who cares what the reason is. Right or wrong really doesn't count. Making money counts. When the FED changes course -- then you don't fight the FED then either -- then you move to what's going to work in a rising interest rate market.


People get all caught up in trying to "pick sides" and decide who's right and who's wrong. What you'll learn is that it doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong -- just concern yourself with making money -- then that will make you right. It makes everything all right!

Those that have been saying the market is too high (for like the last 2 or 3 years) --- and that what the FED is doing is all wrong -- and on and on.... they've been losing money while grousing about their "ideas". To me.... they're wrong -- because they don't get how to make money... they only get how to grouse about what they think is wrong. Eventually if they grouse long enough - they'll be right... but in the meantime -- they've lost their ass. The market is UP 100%..... I don't care if that's right or wrong.... as long as I've been able to profit from it.


Put another way --- people can talk all they want about the "poor people" that have lost their houses due to this entire real estate mess..... and how they shouldn't loose their house - and it's all the banks fault (BS!) etc. ME? I just see an opportunity to buy low -- and sell higher... I might feel sorry for the people having to move etc -- but that won't stop me from striking a deal for the property (I bought a 600K building for 335K from the bank holding the construction loan). Not my fault someone borrowed and the value went down and they couldn't make their payments. I had nothing to do with that. Not my problem. Not my worry. My only concern is to see if the deal can make money for me... cause if I don't buy it - someone else will. Thus my point about - I can grouse about the lousy bank kicking out the owner and taking the building - and NOT buy it.... or I can make an offer and hopefully turn a profit. My job isn't to fight over what's right.... my job is to make money and take care of my family.

There's plenty of room at the top, it's the bottom that's crowded.

You can try all you like to try to change the way things are out there, good luck. Take the circumstances and play the game to the best of your ability. Listen, read, learn from your mistakes and take advantage if you have the means. If you don't, get yourself in position to take advantage next time around as it will come. It always does...

Success is the refined study of the obvious. It's not rocket science becoming wealthy in this country. There is plenty of opportunity if you have the desire and self discipline. Set some goals that make you stretch and grow as a person, work hard at it, manage your personal finances, manage your business finances, stay accountable, take advantage of the handful of Springs in your life, invest your money wisely, and don't fall for the get rich quick schemes. All good things come from labor. Most of all, take 100% responsibility for your own life. Nobody else gives a **** if you die sick and broke.

Just my opinion... :lol:

I'm not an expert on this but I do know this much. You can only convert a 401k to a traditional IRA if you no longer work at the company that you had the 401k with. In my case I didn't change jobs but I changed employers when we were bought out. This made me eligible to make the transfer. As long as you still work for the company that you have the 401k with you're stuck there.

The other key factor is to do a trustee to trustee exchange, i.e. from your 401k administrator directly to say Schwab or other brokerage. LIke The Master said, the money must not touch your hands or any of your personal accounts in any way. Schwab is REALLY good, if you call them they can explain to you just how to do it without any penalty

EXACTLY!

This news article was posted on NBC news.com today....

The real points of posting this kind of stuff is more just to say -- the minute you think you know what's going to happen... it won't happen that way. Thus -- market timing does not work. It's only useful information in a hindsight kind of way.

The part I like about everyone hollering about a "new record high" --- is that -- when you think about it -- there's zillions of new market record highs - otherwise we couldn't have gotten to this latest one! So really - a new record high is nothing more than just another day. I pay NO ATTENTION to the talking heads that pronounce that because we're in record territory -- that something must happen to knock us out of it. Maybe... maybe not... when? Who knows.... but if you go back and do a chart of the DOW --- it's not a straight line higher -- but it is (obviously) higher over a long period of time. Are there periods when it SUCKED --- oh yeah... but the chart is far higher on the right than it is on the left -- including the Great Depression which is a horrible dip down.


http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/hi.../djia1900.html






Stocks: 'Sell in May and go away?' Not this year


REUTERS


A street sign for Wall Street hangs in front of the New York Stock Exchange.
NEW YORK -- With the Dow and the S&P 500 setting another string of record closing highs this week, the old Wall Street adage "Sell in May and Go Away" is starting to look weak.

Closing out the second week of May, the Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 2.3 percent for the month.

For the year, the benchmark S&P 500 is up a stunning 14.6 percent.

Some analysts say that when the market starts off this strong, it tends to keep the upward momentum going until the end of the year.

"Instead of 'Sell in May and Go Away,' we may be setting up for a surprise May rally," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.

"What's encouraging is that small-cap stocks have been outperforming the market recently. It's a sign that the market is going for even the riskiest sectors."

Both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 topped major milestones for the first time in early May, with the Dow Jones industrial average surpassing 15,000 and the S&P 500 breaking through the 1,600 mark. Since then, the indexes have been steadily holding above the landmark levels. The Nasdaq Composite Index has climbed to the highest closing levels in 12-1/2 years.

In a sign of the rally's breadth, the Russell 2000 index of mid- and small-cap stocks also hit all-time highs recently.

Technical analysts say the next level to watch would be 1,660 on the S&P 500.

"The main question is whether the bulls can maintain the 1,600 level on the S&P 500 for another week," said Ari Wald, technical analyst at PrinceRidge Group, a New York-based investment bank.

"If it does, the next level is 1,660. But with markets already this high, it won't be easy."

Despite lingering concerns about a technical pullback, the market's strong performance so far this year has also increased the chances of equities rallying throughout the year, according to some analysts.

"With the market up so much, can it continue to make gains over the next seven months through year end? At least based on history, it has a better chance of continuing higher during strong years than when it is not up significantly," Bespoke Investment Group analysts wrote in a note to clients.

Bespoke noted that this year is only the 11th-best start to a year since 1991, when the index gained another 9.7 percent for the rest of the year.

If 2013 plays out like that -- with another 9.7 percent gain in store for the S&P 500 -- the broad index would finish the year up a whopping 24.3 percent.

Laggards play catch-up
Among recent gainers, sectors closely tied to economic growth such as technology and financial stocks have been catching up after lagging for most of the year.

"We are seeing the once beaten-down stocks making a comeback," Wald said. "It's been sort of a rotation of leadership that has been taking place for a month or so. It will be interesting to see if this can last" into next week.

The S&P financial sector index is up about 2 percent for the month, while the S&P information technology sector is up about 3 percent.

For some perspective, the tech sector has a way to go, when compared with defensive sectors like utilities. The S&P utility sector index is up more than 13 percent for the year, while the S&P info tech sector index is up less than 8 percent.

Consumer in the driver's seat
The American consumer will get Wall Street's attention next week when a raft of economic data and retailers' earnings could shed some light on whether they shopped for more than just the bare necessities.

Retail sales for April will be released on Monday by the U.S. Commerce Department.

"It (retail sales) will be a chance to look at the real picture after weak numbers last month on sequestration and other (external) factors," said Karyn Cavanaugh, market strategist at ING U.S. Investment Management in New York.

"The market is driven by good fundamentals from corporate earnings, but it's really the consumers that take up 70 percent of our economy. They are a real game changer."

Other economic data on tap includes April import and export prices on Tuesday, followed on Wednesday by the U.S. Producer Price Index for April, the Empire State Index for May, industrial production and capacity utilization for April, and the National Association of Home Builders Index for May.

On Thursday, the economic agenda includes the U.S. Consumer Price index for April, housing starts for April, weekly jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed's survey for May.

Wall Street will get a look at consumer sentiment on Friday, when the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers will release its preliminary reading for May.

On the earnings front, a number of retailers are scheduled to report results, including Macy's on Wednesday. Results from J.C. Penney, Nordstrom, Kohl's and Wal-Mart are expected on Thursday.

With 89 percent of the S&P 500 companies having reported earnings so far, 66.7 percent have topped profit expectations, above the average of 63 percent since 1994. However, only 46.4 percent have beaten revenue expectations, well under the average of 62 percent since 2002.

My OXY stock is at a record high too! It's only down $400 now. It was much lower. :trophy-1302:

I do wonder though, how much all this talk about what's supposedly going to happen, even though no one really knows, affects the market. While I'm in this for the long run and don't care about record highs either, I can't help but think if people would just chill and let it ride, the ups and downs might not be so bad. Maybe I'm too much of a cynic or just don't bother to count my chickens until they hatch though.

Regardless, my choices aren't doing bad and I'm happy to see the NYSE up. I'll update soon as it's been a year since I started all this and I'd like to see how I'm doing compared to my other accounts that are controlled by the pros.

Trey ---


If you own 10 stocks -- 5 can be doing well -- 2 are doing fantastic -- 2 are break even -- and ONE can ruin your performance!


About the time you sell the loser.... it takes off straight for the moon and runs 10 points. Then something else sucks -- and something else goes even. It's just that way. We can never have 10 out of 10 going gangbusters.

I hope that at the end of the year period - you're up 11% or so in capital -- and have gotten a pretty good 4 or 5% cash return in dividends.


That doesn't seem like much -- but the 10 year treasury is still at 1.66% !

Greg's last post just exploded my head...LOL

That was pretty easily done..... :catfight:

:yes: :yes: :yes:

This market has just been fantastic ---- and every time I look at some name to check relative performance -- I'm blown away.


Coke (KO) a certain "steady eddy" -- is UP 17% Year to date...


Altria -- (MO) -- is up 18%


Con Ed -- (ED) -- is up 11%


I'm just tossing these out there because they're the "BORING" low paying dividend names we've talked about many times. Folks! Hello! That is some amazing capital growth given we're only 5 months into the year!


Something else I've tried to get folks to understand - or at least be aware of -- is that let's say we have a "healthy" pullback... 10% or so.... if we do? We're still going to be UP. Gotta love that kind of market.

Are you spying on my portfolio?? lol. I have all 3 of those.. I'm not complainin one bit. :)

:popcorn2:

You're the main event Albert!!!





How about Kinder Morgan Parners (KMP) ---- PAYS $1.30 dividend today --- and on top of that is UP a buck today as well!!!


Amazing market folks! Just amazing! Enjoy it while it lasts.... 'cause this is one of the best I've seen and I've been doing this (investing) for 30 years.

The "big one" for me has been KMB... up 23.96 YTD. Plus their 3.08% Divvy (which is actually 4.09% YOC for me)...

Although, its all paper gains right now. its neat. I am waiting for a pullback, so my divvy payments can buy more shares on sale. LOL. But, pushing ahead like this isnt bad either. :)

I've got 30+ years before i need to (or can) touch it. :)