Investing 102

[GregWeld]

Sorry -- I forgot to include some info….


I had bought Starbucks (SBUX) because I like the place… and frequent their stores and buy their coffee for home brewing. Their Total Return for one year - 50.8%

I don't hold much of this - simply because of it's paltry 1.3% dividend… but remember that we have to look at TOTAL RETURN over just the dividend payout === because it's the total return that makes your money grow!!

[Sieg]

Altria Group, Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, or $1.92 annualized. The dividend will be payable on January 10, 2014, to stockholders of record on December 23, 2013, with an ex-dividend date of December 19, 2013. The annual yield on the dividend is 5.1 percent.

Ho Ho Ho!

[GregWeld]

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

[toy71camaro]

Originally Posted by Sieg

Ho Ho Ho!

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

[GregWeld]

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!

[GregWeld]

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

[SSLance]

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.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by SSLance

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.

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).