Investing 102

[toy71camaro]

Works for me!!! thats my 2nd increase with MO. First was 7% now 9%. I'm happy.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by toy71camaro

Works for me!!! thats my 2nd increase with MO. First was 7% now 9%. I'm happy.

Eventually you could be like Warren Buffet == where he gets in DIVIDEND what his initial investment was in Coke (KO). Wouldn't that be sweet! Now that's a return on investment!!

[WSSix]

Well, as I mentioned a couple posts back, I put some money from savings into another brokerage account I had. I put in my orders today. Since I am dealing with lower dollar amounts as I work on being diversified, I pay attention to the actual stock price and not just the dividend payout. I picked up a water utility, Verizon, General Mills, and Hasbro. They all pay a decent dividend and aren't expensive to purchase so I feel I actually bought a good amount and should get good dividend payments. I did buy some KMB. I only bought a few shares since they were "expensive". I need to count all my stocks and get them ordered by sector but I believe I'm about ready to start adding to them this next go around instead of buying different stocks. We will see but I'm positive I'll earn more than the 0.8% I was earning on that money that was in savings.

I will say one thing, pipeline and oil and gas MPLs pay a crap ton in dividends. I just didn't want to deal with the tax implications since this brokerage account is free standing and not under my Roth IRA umbrella.

[GregWeld]

Someone I know -- Mister Bobby B -- owns Sturm Ruger stock (yes folks - the gun maker) .... President Obama is the greatest gun salesman in the universe. Gun sales are off the charts - and like "terbacky" and liquor - you might as well make money off it!




Here's an article on Seeking Alpha about them.



http://seekingalpha.com/article/1655...g_income&ifp=0

[GregWeld]

Our very own Vegas69 seems to be smart and lucky at the same time! Having seemingly bought at the bottom of the real estate market! I just read that home prices in Las Vegas are up 24.9% (on an annual basis).

Way to go Todd!


I know that home sales in the greater Seattle area are just off the charts... multiple bids - homes selling for more than asking price - waivers of inspections and many all cash deals being done.

I had dinner last night with our broker here in Sun Valley who said sales had cooled here recently - and that they had "thought" things were going to really take off but that it had stalled. I would also say that the builders are begging for our business... all the while trying to post up a good front that they're "busy". They are "busy" but it's mostly because of a lack of qualified skilled craftsman which have moved from the area after such a long dry spell. Not necessarily because so many new homes are in the pipeline.

[sik68]

My friend is a RE agent here in San Francisco, and for the last 12-15 months, he has also seen the incredible trend of all-cash buyers. Specifically, Chinese all-cash buyers. After doing more research, he said the housing market in certain markets is being heavily driven by the new EB-5 Immigrant Investor program. It's a way to buy your Visa into the country so you can send your kids to college here, etc. etc.

Here is a good article on it. http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/08/real...html?hpt=hp_t5

The more I sit here and think about it, the more I stew...are we kidding ourselves into thinking housing is on the rebound, only because we are selling off our market to other countries? Or is there a healthier perspective out there?

(BTW this is not to negate kudos to Todd...Todd's smart and is doing it for positive cash flow and long term appreciation. I am talking about the rapid short-term appreciations we're seeing).

[GregWeld]

Real estate is a game of LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.... which means more than what street address you have... it's what STATE --- WHAT CITY --- What's the employment picture look like.

Here's the way I look at these things you mentioned. There's NOTHING you can do about the larger picture (selling to Chinese or Asians or Russians).... WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAKE MONEY FROM THE SITUATION?


Also -- Buying "CHEAP" property in a town or state because it's cheap --- will lead to poor return on investment. A house in a town that sells for 100K -- that was 90K 10 years ago... is a big ho hum. Buy a 1 million dollar house in a hot market that sells for 1.5 million 3 years later -- that's a win!

[GregWeld]

I read this article today -- thinking that there was going to be something of interest - something we could learn from - some lick of a hope that there was some light at the end of the tunnel for folks that have found themselves in a bad spot.

Let me preface also by saying -- I've been BROKE... dead broke... and I've been rich a couple of times... THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN BEING DEAD BROKE. No question about it... it's a terrible feeling. Money might not buy "everything" but it buys what you need -- and when you need things and can't buy the basics. LlFE SUCKS.

Okay....

So here's my take away from this story....

The family that I wanted to feel sorry for --- was nothing more than your typical American family -- they used their house as an ATM... refi over and over to pull money OUT to live the American dream. Buying stuff and living large. The dude makes 160K a year -- has a Mercedes -- a swimming pool -- an RV -- "bikes and quads for the kids".... all of which was on borrowed money (the house ATM).

Sorry guys -- I don't feel sorry for them one friggin' bit. What did they think they were going to need financially when their FOUR kids wanted to go to college? How about when the roof needed replacing... or any of the other basics of unexpected costs come up. Magically refi the house AGAIN....


The banks were and are most of the problem -- they ALLOWED for people to live the dream as if it would never end.... but you MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS! Period. They dangled the bait -- but you don't have to take it! You're supposed to have a brain! Just because there's coke out there on the street doesn't mean you have to do it!

BEFORE these folks blew thru their "savings" - they should have sold the quads and the RV -- then the Mercedes... and THEN dipped into the savings and in the meantime PRIDE probably kept them from doing any of that.... or getting that second job etc.


http://www.nbcnews.com/business/fami...ent-8C11036099

[WSSix]

That's basically why I have not spent much money on my TA. I just don't feel that I have enough of a savings cushion or retirement started. At times I believe I'm wrong and can easily afford to do what I want to the car. Maybe I'm a little scared too as I've never had the kind of money I have now to spend. When I was younger and just day dreaming, spending all this money on a car was nothing. Now that I'm working through the labor day weekend(I'll be up at 3am tomorrow) to earn the money I make, I'm not so interested in spending it quickly. I never want to find myself questioning if I'll be able to keep the house I'm living in. Hopefully, I'm not taking it too far and not living life at the same time but that's for a different thread.

[glassman]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

I read this article today -- thinking that there was going to be something of interest - something we could learn from - some lick of a hope that there was some light at the end of the tunnel for folks that have found themselves in a bad spot.

Let me preface also by saying -- I've been BROKE... dead broke... and I've been rich a couple of times... THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN BEING DEAD BROKE. No question about it... it's a terrible feeling. Money might not buy "everything" but it buys what you need -- and when you need things and can't buy the basics. LlFE SUCKS.

Okay....

So here's my take away from this story....

The family that I wanted to feel sorry for --- was nothing more than your typical American family -- they used their house as an ATM... refi over and over to pull money OUT to live the American dream. Buying stuff and living large. The dude makes 160K a year -- has a Mercedes -- a swimming pool -- an RV -- "bikes and quads for the kids".... all of which was on borrowed money (the house ATM).

Sorry guys -- I don't feel sorry for them one friggin' bit. What did they think they were going to need financially when their FOUR kids wanted to go to college? How about when the roof needed replacing... or any of the other basics of unexpected costs come up. Magically refi the house AGAIN....


The banks were and are most of the problem -- they ALLOWED for people to live the dream as if it would never end.... but you MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS! Period. They dangled the bait -- but you don't have to take it! You're supposed to have a brain! Just because there's coke out there on the street doesn't mean you have to do it!

BEFORE these folks blew thru their "savings" - they should have sold the quads and the RV -- then the Mercedes... and THEN dipped into the savings and in the meantime PRIDE probably kept them from doing any of that.... or getting that second job etc.


http://www.nbcnews.com/business/fami...ent-8C11036099

I especially love it when people have to sell their liquid assets (like their cars for example) and say 'I have over $$$$ invested" when it was never an investment to begin with,99% of the time it was a deprecatory item....common sense... but i too have made these mistakes in the past, some of us learn from the history we've made, some of us don't...