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billryan
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April 9th, 2025 at 12:44:36 PM permalink
Quote: Dieter

Quote: 100xOdds

Quote: Dieter

Quote: 100xOdds

Quote: billryan

Quote: 100xOdds


Doesn't England have a govt social welfare program for old people for free?

in america, it's called Social Security but we put about 2% of our salaries in it. It's calculated on the 10 highest earning years.
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Self-employed people pay over 15% in SS and Medicare taxes. Most people pay half, and their employer picks up the other half. There are income maxes where you stop paying after about $200,000 income each year.
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Wait, I'm putting in 7.5% for ss + Medicare?!?
Glad it's taken from my paycheck before I get a chance to bring it home
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I think it's listed as "FICA".
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yes but i thought it was around 2%.
in all my decades working, i never actually looked at the actual amount deducted on my paystub.
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I just checked mine, around 6.3% between Social Security and Medicare. This seems about right.

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc751
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SS is 6.2% and Medicare is an additional 1.2% for a combined rate of 7.4%
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
DRich
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April 9th, 2025 at 2:20:05 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

Most civil service jobs come with pensions, although not nearly as good as they used to be. NYPD used to offer 50% pensions after 20 years. Now, you can still retire after 20, but it takes an extra two years to get the 50% pension. Almost all government plans are now tiered, so someone who was hired fifteen years ago has a much better plan than today's hires. The Military is still 20 years for a half pay retirement.
I'd guesstimate that 75% of Americans are underfunding their retirement and are going to be in for some unpleasant surprises.
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The place I am working at now offers 40% after 20 years.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
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April 9th, 2025 at 7:19:14 PM permalink
My Uncle retired as a low-level NYPD supervisor around 1973, on the 20th anniversary of his appointment. For a few years before that, he'd worked part-time for the New York Racing Authority as some sort of non-uniformed security. He continued to work for them occasionally until he turned 62 and started collecting SS.
To his surprise, he qualified for a NYRA pension of $150 a month It was found money and he was quite happy about it
A few years later, someone from NYRA died, and he attended the funeral. While there, he heard his coworkers mention the great pension they were receiving It turned out his coworkers were collecting several thousand dollars a month When he called NYRA, he found out they still had him listed as a part time employee, not a retired one His NYRA pension ended up being almost the same as his NYPD pension and he received several years of back pay When he died, he had a paid up life insurance policy from NYRA that he wasn't aware of
A few years later, the New York Racing Authority was stripped of its franchise, and the state attempted to claw back many of the bonuses the Authority awarded itself.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
lilredrooster
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April 10th, 2025 at 5:55:45 AM permalink
.
well, I'm glad I didn't sell anything
the past few days have been the most fearful I've ever been
and I was heavily invested thru 2008, 2009 when the s&p dropped 50% off of its 2007 high
in the past few days I felt like you could not be optimistic about anything
I still don't know how all of this will play out - I guess nobody does
but I don't feel as horrible as I did - losing big chunks in just a couple of days

.
the foolish sayings of a rich man often pass for words of wisdom by the fools around him
billryan
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April 10th, 2025 at 6:22:52 AM permalink
If you can keep your head, while those around you lose theirs and blame you.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
OnceDear
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April 10th, 2025 at 12:33:16 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

If you can keep your head, while those around you lose theirs and blame you.
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If You Can Keep Your Head When Everybody Round You Is Losing His, Then It Is Very Probable That You Don’t Understand the Situation
$:o)
Psalm 25:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Proverbs 18:2 A fool finds no satisfaction in trying to understand, for he would rather express his own opinion.
OnceDear
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April 10th, 2025 at 12:39:10 PM permalink
Quote: lilredrooster

.
well, I'm glad I didn't sell anything...
I don't feel as horrible as I did - losing big chunks in just a couple of days

.
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That was earlier in the day. Did it age badly, or what?

This situation has a lot further to run.
Psalm 25:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Proverbs 18:2 A fool finds no satisfaction in trying to understand, for he would rather express his own opinion.
lilredrooster
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April 10th, 2025 at 1:43:08 PM permalink
Quote: OnceDear

Quote: lilredrooster

.
well, I'm glad I didn't sell anything...
I don't feel as horrible as I did - losing big chunks in just a couple of days

.
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That was earlier in the day. Did it age badly, or what?

This situation has a lot further to run.
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you're right of course
but I won't be selling
I've never sold during a downturn and I won't start now
idk - it may take a long time to come back - or maybe not - it's definitely not a predictable thing

.
the foolish sayings of a rich man often pass for words of wisdom by the fools around him
billryan
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April 10th, 2025 at 1:54:48 PM permalink
I've got a bit more cash than usual,as I haven't been reinvesting, but nothing looks attractive right now. If China is going to get raked with tariffs, companies in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Indonesia may prosper.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
OnceDear
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April 10th, 2025 at 2:32:29 PM permalink
Quote: lilredrooster

...
but I won't be selling
I've never sold during a downturn and I won't start now
idk - it may take a long time to come back - or maybe not - it's definitely not a predictable thing

.
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I tend to agree about riding out downturns. By the time it's ripe to go short, it's usually too late. So I'll be watching for a deep enough bottom to think about bargain hunting.
Psalm 25:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Proverbs 18:2 A fool finds no satisfaction in trying to understand, for he would rather express his own opinion.
DrawingDead
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April 10th, 2025 at 4:31:43 PM permalink
Quote: OnceDear


...This situation has a lot further to run.

o/u: 9/10/25

Saving the date; as I think it can be a useful reminder to myself during a few interesting days, and not to say that's near what you'd have in mind by "a lot further."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Too long for some esteemed WoV forum member’s attention-span, don’t read:

At about noon today broad market (US) large-cap indices such as the S&P (I dunno ‘bout the FTSE since I don’t speak Brit much) were right where they were one year ago. At which time last year US equities were (and to just a little lesser degree still are) priced at a level that’s rather expensive by comparison to historical averages using common measures such as Price/Earnings, Price/Sales, Price/Growth, Price/Book, etc. Where my personal holdings stand, if this turns out to be anything like an enduring bottom, or a near neighbor to it, I can expect to be neither very pleased nor sad, and will not feel poor or filthy stinking rich because of it. But I will definitely be surprised.

I"m not in index funds, not against holding them at all but probably won't be doing so anytime soon, and evaluation of the securities of individual enterprises and their particular business environment is what will finally matter for me in deciding to buy them. But. I’m memorializing my wild-ass guess of when financial market metrics might begin tapping my shoulder to tell me I should probably begin (resume) generally looking to buy some new stuff & adding to some existing positions, in enterprises that I’d be comfortable holding for a significant period of time. I think doing that sort of thing can be a small check on invevitable temptations to act on how it "feels" during outsized high volatility swings.

Not trying to call The Bottom, but seeking to get comfortably in the range of my conception of good value. That might happen 3 months sooner than that, or it could be 6 months or more later. But it is definitely not today, tomorrow, or next week for me. Publicly saving the thought for myself to keep perspective. But with the extra bonus that y’all can also now feel free to use the open invitation for future ridicule. [And I've been on this board enough that I can actually kinda like knowing there’s one here who won’t even be able to wait that long for cooking up a gratuitous smugly snarky fragrant nugget, then unknowingly state the opposite a little later, as the usual suspect just did, and will again.]

Meantime, I’m holding equities with a total market value that comprises somewhat less than half of my brokerage account balances. That’s in comparison to usually being closer to 80%+ invested in securities that I think have some significant capital appreciation potential in addition to generating dividends & other income distributions. So, still ‘in the market’ to some some significant degree, and selling nothing here; but buying nothing, and also not shorting anything. (Except for one small single-stock short I made months ago, by purchasing some ultra ‘long-dated’ and ‘out-of-the-money’ put-options, with an expiration date out in January 2026. Mostly for entertainment value, hoping to have some enjoyment watching what I happen to regard as a bubble in one particular ridiculous financial fad type of outfit go deservedly broke, as some of the impulsive short attention-span kiddies of all ages get some of their money redistributed to the adults. That bowl of popcorn is now finally off the shelf, and waiting for another leg down to fire up the stove top.)
Last edited by: DrawingDead on Apr 10, 2025
Nothing to read here. Move along.
billryan
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April 15th, 2025 at 2:16:00 PM permalink
I'm not sure why this is hard to understand, but if you lose 20% on a stock one week and it goes up 20% the next week, you have not broken even.
A simple example- You have $1,000 worth of Blatz Beer stock It goes down 10% so you have $900 worth of stock
The following week your stock goes up 10%, from 900 to 990.

A more extreme example- Your $1000 stock loses 50% and is now worth $500. It rallies and goes up 50% but is only worth $750.

A stock that loses 50% of its value must go up 100% just to break even.

I don't know which way the next 1,000-point swing will go, but I know which way the next 100% market swing will be.

One of my spec stocks lost 37%, then rallied 20%, lost a few points, and is up 10% today. It will take a big rally to break even anytime soon.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
DRich
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April 15th, 2025 at 2:45:12 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

I'm not sure why this is hard to understand, but if you lose 20% on a stock one week and it goes up 20% the next week, you have not broken even.
A simple example- You have $1,000 worth of Blatz Beer stock It goes down 10% so you have $900 worth of stock
The following week your stock goes up 10%, from 900 to 990.

A more extreme example- Your $1000 stock loses 50% and is now worth $500. It rallies and goes up 50% but is only worth $750.

A stock that loses 50% of its value must go up 100% just to break even.

I don't know which way the next 1,000-point swing will go, but I know which way the next 100% market swing will be.

One of my spec stocks lost 37%, then rallied 20%, lost a few points, and is up 10% today. It will take a big rally to break even anytime soon.
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As a person that drank an unhealthy amount of Blatz beer when I was in college, I recommend that you check your stock certificates. Blatz, although currently brewed by Miller Brewing, was bought by Pabst which is owned by some investment guys and I don't think it is public.

SELL NOW AT ANY PRICE YOU CAN GET FOR IT.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
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April 15th, 2025 at 2:47:56 PM permalink
Blatz wasn't available in NY and I always thought it was a National Lampoon creation until I encountered it years later.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
Dieter
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April 15th, 2025 at 3:46:39 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

Blatz wasn't available in NY and I always thought it was a National Lampoon creation until I encountered it years later.
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The lore I heard was that the cheerleaders washed their hair with Blatz, to give it that certain sparkle.
To my knowledge, no better use for the product has been found.
May the cards fall in your favor.
DrawingDead
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April 15th, 2025 at 4:22:44 PM permalink
Quote: Dieter

Quote: billryan

Blatz wasn't available in NY and I always thought it was a National Lampoon creation until I encountered it years later.
link to original post



The lore I heard was that the cheerleaders washed their hair with Blatz, to give it that certain sparkle.
To my knowledge, no better use for the product has been found.
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Never heard of it (Blatz - not cheerleaders marinated in beer) so I invested several minutes to cure that cultural deficiency...

Quote: Wikipedia

In the 1953 cult-classic The Wild One starring Marlon Brando, Brando's character Johnny Strabler is the leader of a biker gang that terrorizes a small town in California. After one of the members of the gang injures himself in a motorcycle crash and is taken to the town doctor, Johnny orders a beer at the local bar and the love interest, Mary Murphy, serves him a bottle of Blatz. Johnny and his gang drink Blatz out of the bottle throughout most of the movie.



Nothing to read here. Move along.
odiousgambit
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April 16th, 2025 at 3:42:39 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

I'm not sure why this is hard to understand, but if you lose 20% on a stock one week and it goes up 20% the next week, you have not broken even.
link to original post

I swear I have seen this mentioned over and over again [esp by media] but I have no idea what it has to do with investing

do people lose money by thinking they are selling high and buying low when actually they got it all wrong? who the hell would go by percentages instead of the price?
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!”   She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
DRich
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April 16th, 2025 at 6:22:49 AM permalink
Quote: DrawingDead

Never heard of it (Blatz - not cheerleaders marinated in beer) so I invested several minutes to cure that cultural deficiency...



When I was in college 1984-1989 Blatz was the cheapest beer that you could get in bottles. It was $4 for a case of 24 bottles. That was probably the only period in my life where I had some muscle. Carrying those cases of Blatz three blocks to my house was quite a workout.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
DRich
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April 16th, 2025 at 6:25:37 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

Blatz wasn't available in NY and I always thought it was a National Lampoon creation until I encountered it years later.
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I wish it wasn't available in retrospect. I always enjoyed my rare trips back to Ohio so I could load the car up with my favorite beers. I loved Cream Ales so I would load the car up with Genesee Cream Ale and Little King's Cream Ale. Those were not available in Iowa.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
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April 16th, 2025 at 8:39:46 AM permalink
Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: billryan

I'm not sure why this is hard to understand, but if you lose 20% on a stock one week and it goes up 20% the next week, you have not broken even.
link to original post

I swear I have seen this mentioned over and over again [esp by media] but I have no idea what it has to do with investing

do people lose money by thinking they are selling high and buying low when actually they got it all wrong? who the hell would go by percentages instead of the price?
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I'm confused. When you look at your portfolio, aren't all your stocks' performance listed by percentage YTD or MTD?
When you look at the S&P 500, don't you measure success by the percentage of increase? Does anyone say the S&P is up $37 for the year, or do they say the S&P is up 8% for the year?
How do you compare stocks, if not by percentage?
Would you rather have a $500 stock go up $12 or a $100 stock go up 10%?
If I want to compare Tesla vs Pepsi, wouldn't the YTD percentage mean more than comparing prices?

Perhaps you simply weren't clear, but i'm not seeing a point Maybe you could clarify.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
billryan
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April 16th, 2025 at 8:44:33 AM permalink
Quote: DRich

Quote: billryan

Blatz wasn't available in NY and I always thought it was a National Lampoon creation until I encountered it years later.
link to original post



I wish it wasn't available in retrospect. I always enjoyed my rare trips back to Ohio so I could load the car up with my favorite beers. I loved Cream Ales so I would load the car up with Genesee Cream Ale and Little King's Cream Ale. Those were not available in Iowa.
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I drank Genny Cream Ale in high school because it was one of the cheapest beers around. When I moved to Rochester a few years later, it tasted much better. It's as if they keep the good stuff for locals and bottle the rest.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
odiousgambit
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April 16th, 2025 at 9:55:25 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: billryan

I'm not sure why this is hard to understand, but if you lose 20% on a stock one week and it goes up 20% the next week, you have not broken even.
link to original post

I swear I have seen this mentioned over and over again [esp by media] but I have no idea what it has to do with investing

do people lose money by thinking they are selling high and buying low when actually they got it all wrong? who the hell would go by percentages instead of the price?
link to original post



I'm confused. When you look at your portfolio, aren't all your stocks' performance listed by percentage YTD or MTD?
When you look at the S&P 500, don't you measure success by the percentage of increase? Does anyone say the S&P is up $37 for the year, or do they say the S&P is up 8% for the year?
How do you compare stocks, if not by percentage?
Would you rather have a $500 stock go up $12 or a $100 stock go up 10%?
If I want to compare Tesla vs Pepsi, wouldn't the YTD percentage mean more than comparing prices?

Perhaps you simply weren't clear, but i'm not seeing a point Maybe you could clarify.
link to original post

I just don't decide if a stock has recovered from a decline by looking at percentages

If you looked at Tesla and Pepsi, you might decide one is up or down more than the other by the percentage, sounds like curiosity more than anything. Generally I pull up a chart. If something goes down in a bear market, I might look at 6 months ago or 1 yr ago and decide if that pricepoint is worth considering. I really don't go by the percentages, maybe I have an instinct on that as to it being possibly misleading as you mentioned
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!”   She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
SOOPOO
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July 1st, 2025 at 4:30:56 AM permalink
Quote: SOOPOO

Well I finally looked at it. I had made it to +199%. As I type this it’s +161%.

In easy to understand terms, it’s down around 13% from its peak.

Rice and beans tonight.
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Finally made it to +200%! Since no money comes into or out of this portfolio it’s easy to track its performance. I’m hoping to make it to +300% before I have to start the Mandadtory Minimum Distributions.! I will have a greater ‘drag’ on performance during up market times as now around 12% of the portfolio is sitting in a Money Market fund paying 4.2%.
DRich
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July 1st, 2025 at 11:59:34 AM permalink
One of my stocks Hershey spiked today up $9 which is about 5%. This is a stock that has done nothing for me and is flat over three years, The weird part is that I can't seem to find any news to justify that move. Not complaining, I will gladly accept a $3k gain on a stock that usually only goes down.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
vegas
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July 1st, 2025 at 7:31:06 PM permalink
Investors are rotating out of the tech sector and putting money in non tech. Also Hershey announced they are going to phase out artificial dyes from their products. Removing dyes takes a lot of health risks away from Hershey and points to a less risk future.

Lots of money being taken from the big tech winners as investors lock up profits and invest in other sectors.
50-50-90 Rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there is a 90% probability you'll get it wrong
AutomaticMonkey
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July 1st, 2025 at 8:16:09 PM permalink
Quote: DRich

One of my stocks Hershey spiked today up $9 which is about 5%. This is a stock that has done nothing for me and is flat over three years, The weird part is that I can't seem to find any news to justify that move. Not complaining, I will gladly accept a $3k gain on a stock that usually only goes down.
link to original post



You didn't hear the news?

The kids are happy!
They're drinking their milk!
The cows are going back home!

Hershey's Instant makes milk taste like a Hershey bar.
Hershey's Instant makes milk taste like a Hershey bar.

I should have listened, the stock was trading around a dollar when that came out.
DRich
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July 2nd, 2025 at 4:21:10 AM permalink
Quote: vegas

Also Hershey announced they are going to phase out artificial dyes from their products. Removing dyes takes a lot of health risks away from Hershey and points to a less risk future.



Thank you, I did not see that.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
SOOPOO
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July 23rd, 2025 at 2:44:21 PM permalink
Now up 205% from inception. Dividends/interest/etc.. being moved to MMA. I previously would buy a WoV member stock recommendation. So a decent portion of account only making 4.2%. The climb will be harder.
DRich
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July 31st, 2025 at 3:18:13 PM permalink
I have never shorted a stock but I am tempted now. I expect a huge loss for Ford over the next few quarters. This quarter their reported sales were good on paper but they have seriously overloaded their dealers. Ford wants to keep about a 50 day inventory on the dealerships but are now at about 100 days. They did announce they have cut their losses on EV's down to $22k per unit.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
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July 31st, 2025 at 4:41:16 PM permalink
If I understand the supposed deal with the European Union, a $60,000 European car will come with a $9,000 tariff bill while a $60,000 Ford or Chevy made in Canada will have a $15,000 bill. Giving the EU a 10% price advantage will undoubtedly help keep American jobs.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
DRich
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July 31st, 2025 at 6:38:07 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

If I understand the supposed deal with the European Union, a $60,000 European car will come with a $9,000 tariff bill while a $60,000 Ford or Chevy made in Canada will have a $15,000 bill. Giving the EU a 10% price advantage will undoubtedly help keep American jobs.
link to original post



Hopefully over the next few years more cars will be manufactured in the U.S. My Honda was built in Canada.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
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July 31st, 2025 at 7:25:24 PM permalink
Quote: DRich

Quote: billryan

If I understand the supposed deal with the European Union, a $60,000 European car will come with a $9,000 tariff bill while a $60,000 Ford or Chevy made in Canada will have a $15,000 bill. Giving the EU a 10% price advantage will undoubtedly help keep American jobs.
link to original post



Hopefully over the next few years more cars will be manufactured in the U.S. My Honda was built in Canada.
link to original post



My Honda Prologue is a clone of the Chevy Blazer. Honda is a Japanese company, Chevy is American, but both brands are assembled in Mexico. Chrysler is an American car, made in Canada and owned by an Italian company.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
DRich
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August 1st, 2025 at 11:10:25 AM permalink
Quote: billryan



My Honda Prologue is a clone of the Chevy Blazer. Honda is a Japanese company, Chevy is American, but both brands are assembled in Mexico. Chrysler is an American car, made in Canada and owned by an Italian company.
link to original post



Chrysler doesn't make cars anymore. The only vehicles they make are minivans.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
AutomaticMonkey
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August 1st, 2025 at 2:13:01 PM permalink
Nice sale on stocks today! It's been a while. I had been waiting to stock up.
SOOPOO
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August 8th, 2025 at 8:52:16 AM permalink
Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Nice sale on stocks today! It's been a while. I had been waiting to stock up.
link to original post



If you did, then BRAVO! New ATH for portfolio, up 206%. TSM still rocking. I keep selling off bits but my total stock value remains the same. It’s in my ‘regular’ account so I do get hit by capital gains taxes.
I’m getting to be an old scaredy cat. More and more $$ just being dumped into SWVXX. Around 4.2% return now.
billryan
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August 8th, 2025 at 9:35:51 AM permalink
Timing is everything.
In one account, one stock is among my poorer performers, down about 10% for the year.
Yet in another account, the same stock is among my better performers, up 20% since I bought it.
The first account was bought in small increments monthly. The second account was a one-time purchase after the stock was wrongfully hammered. It pays out about 25% a year and is distributed monthly.
Is there a lesson in this? Possibly.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
SOOPOO
SOOPOO
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August 8th, 2025 at 12:54:14 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

Timing is everything.
In one account, one stock is among my poorer performers, down about 10% for the year.
Yet in another account, the same stock is among my better performers, up 20% since I bought it.
The first account was bought in small increments monthly. The second account was a one-time purchase after the stock was wrongfully hammered. It pays out about 25% a year and is distributed monthly.
Is there a lesson in this? Possibly.
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You are giving an example, with your second purchase, of successfully timing the market. I don’t think there is a lesson in that. Just like there is no message in your initial poorly timed purchases of said stock.

25% is a nice dividend.

Edit. Will hit +207% after TWCUX is revalued after market close.
billryan
billryan
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August 8th, 2025 at 8:11:43 PM permalink
If a stock is worth holding at X, it is usually worth buying when it falls to X-20%.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
SOOPOO
SOOPOO
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August 9th, 2025 at 4:17:54 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

If a stock is worth holding at X, it is usually worth buying when it falls to X-20%.
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It just means you mis-valued it when it was at X. It clearly should have been sold at X, then rebought at X-20 It clearly was better to keep that money in the MM account making 4.2% until it dropped to X-20%. Buy it then, and you now have 25% more stock for the same amount of dollars invested


Of course you can only do this by trying to time the market. Which most can’t do well.

Hindsight….
billryan
billryan
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August 9th, 2025 at 5:06:18 AM permalink
I think there is a vast difference between buying a stock you like when it is on sale and timing the market as a strategy. Buying good stocks when they are on sale is a no-brainer, while trying to time the market is for people with no brains.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
100xOdds
100xOdds
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August 9th, 2025 at 5:12:06 AM permalink
Sediment looks bad for the rest of the year.

also, Sweet Greens missed estimates yesterday. People aren't buying their $16 salads as much. Their stock tanked 23%.

One of my cd's will mature in Oct so i will have 5 figures to invest if there's a downturn.
Will invest 1/2 into VTI if market drops 10%. will invest other 1/2 if market drops another 10%.
Craps is paradise (Pair of dice). Lets hear it for the SpeedCount Mathletes :)
unJon
unJon
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August 9th, 2025 at 6:12:10 AM permalink
Quote: 100xOdds

Sediment looks bad for the rest of the year.

also, Sweet Greens missed estimates yesterday. People aren't buying their $16 salads as much. Their stock tanked 23%.

One of my cd's will mature in Oct so i will have 5 figures to invest if there's a downturn.
Will invest 1/2 into VTI if market drops 10%. will invest other 1/2 if market drops another 10%.
link to original post



I was looking at out of the money SPY options the other day. The price discrepancy between the puts and calls was incredible. Definite negative sentiment at the moment.
The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but that is the way to bet.
SOOPOO
SOOPOO
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August 13th, 2025 at 4:48:28 PM permalink
Quote: unJon

Quote: 100xOdds

Sediment looks bad for the rest of the year.

also, Sweet Greens missed estimates yesterday. People aren't buying their $16 salads as much. Their stock tanked 23%.

One of my cd's will mature in Oct so i will have 5 figures to invest if there's a downturn.
Will invest 1/2 into VTI if market drops 10%. will invest other 1/2 if market drops another 10%.
link to original post



I was looking at out of the money SPY options the other day. The price discrepancy between the puts and calls was incredible. Definite negative sentiment at the moment.
link to original post



As often happens…. It might make no sense…. But market up a bunch since this post…. WoV portfolio hits new ATH at +211%. Still putting all dividends and bond interest into money market presently earning 4.16%. I noticed that if I had $1,000,000 basically the same fund would be paying me 4.36%.

Donations accepted….
lilredrooster
lilredrooster
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August 14th, 2025 at 1:29:09 PM permalink
.
crypto is gaining respectability as it's being pumped up in DC

bitcoin has been around since 2009 - that's 16 years

you can now invest in some IRAs with crypto and there is speculation that it will be coming to traditional banks

the 2 biggest things in crypto - bitcoin and ethereum, have gone up way, way more than the S&P

I bought some bitcoin and some ethereum many years ago that has done phenomenally well - bought and held - the only way I play the game - usually buying only high quality - I made an exception here - (I thought at the time)

can't brag much since I didn't buy a great amount

crypto is too speculative for me to take a major position in - - - - when there is high risk - - - -homey don't play that tune - - - not with big bucks anyway

still, the whole thing, how it's evolved is quite surprising

I never could have predicted it

when I bought it I kinna thought the whole thing was foolish and myself foolish for jumping in - but I said what the hell - and I threw a few thou at it -


https://401kspecialistmag.com/fidelity-rolls-out-new-crypto-ira/


https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/briefing/how-cryptocurrency-could-be-coming-for-your-bank-account.html

.
Last edited by: lilredrooster on Aug 14, 2025
the foolish sayings of a rich man often pass for words of wisdom by the fools around him
DRich
DRich
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August 15th, 2025 at 7:35:44 AM permalink
Quote: unJon

Quote: 100xOdds

Sediment looks bad for the rest of the year.

also, Sweet Greens missed estimates yesterday. People aren't buying their $16 salads as much. Their stock tanked 23%.

One of my cd's will mature in Oct so i will have 5 figures to invest if there's a downturn.
Will invest 1/2 into VTI if market drops 10%. will invest other 1/2 if market drops another 10%.
link to original post



I was looking at out of the money SPY options the other day. The price discrepancy between the puts and calls was incredible. Definite negative sentiment at the moment.
link to original post



To me it looks like a bubble may be getting ready to burst. I rarely sell anything so I will probably just ride it out. If it is a burst hopefully the NASDAQ will not be as bad as 2008. If I remember correctly, it took almost 7 years for the NASDAQ to get back to where it was before the burst.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
billryan
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August 15th, 2025 at 8:18:23 AM permalink
2008 was a great buying opportunity. I remember picking up Ford for under $2 and Sunrise for about a buck. Almost all my stocks fully recovered in less than two years and a bunch of new buys were four baggers.
I don't believe AI will allow the market to crash. Onward and upward. They aren't programmed to fail.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
odiousgambit
odiousgambit
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August 15th, 2025 at 12:09:54 PM permalink
I was checking directions to go to a restaurant and a 'bitcoin ATM' popped up on the map, it was along the way ... they paid google to get that attention

apparently you can use cash there to buy bitcoin. The FAQ doesn't mention doing the reverse

https://bitcoindepot.com/faq/
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!”   She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
unJon
unJon
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August 15th, 2025 at 1:04:23 PM permalink
Quote: SOOPOO

Quote: unJon

Quote: 100xOdds

Sediment looks bad for the rest of the year.

also, Sweet Greens missed estimates yesterday. People aren't buying their $16 salads as much. Their stock tanked 23%.

One of my cd's will mature in Oct so i will have 5 figures to invest if there's a downturn.
Will invest 1/2 into VTI if market drops 10%. will invest other 1/2 if market drops another 10%.
link to original post



I was looking at out of the money SPY options the other day. The price discrepancy between the puts and calls was incredible. Definite negative sentiment at the moment.
link to original post



As often happens…. It might make no sense…. But market up a bunch since this post…. WoV portfolio hits new ATH at +211%. Still putting all dividends and bond interest into money market presently earning 4.16%. I noticed that if I had $1,000,000 basically the same fund would be paying me 4.36%.

Donations accepted….
link to original post



Agree. I wasn’t trying to make a market prediction with my post, was just flummoxed by the spread on out of the money calls vs puts. Assume folk are hedging portfolio exposure with SPY put chains. Or just gambling. In any event I can’t remember the last time investment news coverage sentiment was so negative in an up market environment.

I’m really interested to see where this goes and whether I decide to make a bearish bet at some point.
The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but that is the way to bet.
DRich
DRich
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August 15th, 2025 at 2:20:49 PM permalink
Quote: odiousgambit

I was checking directions to go to a restaurant and a 'bitcoin ATM' popped up on the map, it was along the way ... they paid google to get that attention

apparently you can use cash there to buy bitcoin. The FAQ doesn't mention doing the reverse

https://bitcoindepot.com/faq/
link to original post



Most Bitcoin machines either dispense cash or a ticket you take to the counter to get cash. Most require ID and a photo to redeem. They usually have steep transaction fees.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
billryan
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August 19th, 2025 at 11:50:39 AM permalink
I was reading about an "investor" who deposited $123,000 into a cryptocurrency account, made a series of increasingly crazy bets, and turned it into $43 million in four months. Sadly, his improbable streak ended, and he lost most of it, but did cash out with just under seven million
On one hand, he had an incredible run, converting less than two hundred thousand into multiple millions. On the other hand, he is a cautionary tale, having lost over thirty million dollars on just a few wrong guesses.
I hope he takes the money and puts it to good use.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
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