What I feared has come upon me… ~ Job
(JOB. Coincidence? I think not.)
| Target bal | Current/ | Portfolio | Gain/(loss) | YTD | Annual | ||
| Dec-11 | 209,769 | Invested | Actual | Gain | less inv | % | % |
| Jan | 217,292 | 217,288 | 7,519 | 7,519 | 3.6% | 43.0% | |
| Feb | 224,815 | 5,000 | 224,808 | 15,039 | 10,039 | 4.8% | 28.7% |
| Mar | 232,338 | 15,000 | 235,273 | 25,504 | 5,504 | 2.6% | 10.5% |
| Apr | 239,861 | 235,568 | 25,799 | 5,799 | 2.8% | 8.3% | |
| May | 247,384 | 5,000 | 227,578 | 17,809 | – 7,191 | -3.4% | -8.2% |
Potential blog titles for the next post:
- Stop investing on eggshells: Taking your money back when the market has borderline personality disorder
- Too good to leave, too bad to stay: A step by step guide to help you decide whether to stay in or get out of the market
- Codependent no more: How to stop thinking that you control the market and start doing… something else…?
- How to be an Adult in Investing: The 5 keys to mindful money when you feel like throwing a temper tantrum
- Rescue your retirement: Changing the 8 dumb attitudes and behaviors that will sink your portfolio
- Coming unglued: Why your portfolio stinks and and how to live through the ending of yours
- Why can’t you read my spreadsheet?: Overcoming the 9 toxic thought patterns that get in the way of a profitable relationship
I have to go listen to Al Pacino and Nick Vujicic now with that depressing druggie movie song playing in the background: Requiem for a Dream. How apropos.
Re-reading Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking: Fast and Slow” – particularly the part about myopic loss aversion would probably be a good use of time.
I’m just not looking at my retirement investments right now. That way I don’t get too worked up about these “market adjustments.” *sigh*
Linda recently posted..How I spent my tax refund
I’d never know when to buy if I didn’t look regularly though Linda. Missed some great shopping opportunities while I was traveling last summer that I still kick myself over. I got in at a great price on some natgas in March though that wasn’t hurt by this little dip so that was nice. Can’t hit every sale I guess.
Plus this isn’t my retirement money, it’s my pre-retirement pot. The retirement stuff is where I invest like a safe little old lady.
I’ve been meaning to buy more bonds in one of my retirement accounts and I’ve been putting it off for months. I don’t know why I don’t make it a priority.
I would love more on retirement planning avoidance and the psychology behind it. Yes, I save every paycheck but it’s totally passive. I really should be more active in what goes where.
First Gen American recently posted..Funks and Allowing yourself to Rest
Sandy, I find it to be very rare to see a woman involved in this kind of thing – most take the passive investment route. In fact, I’m not sure there’s a single regular female posting on seeking alpha and other sites I follow. I think it may be risk aversion – which obviously I don’t have. Well, a bit. OK, I will write about the psychology side of it, lord knows I’ve read copious amounts on the subject.
Heehee… not laughing at your pain, but the titles are entertaining.
Yeah, I only look at our investments when markets are going up! I definitely don’t compare month to month. Long-term investments should be looked at infrequently. Short-term more frequently. And there’s no way I have the patience (or lack of loss-aversion) to make stock market investing a short-term portfolio choice for me.
Nicoleandmaggie recently posted..Things we wonder about
Dysfunctional relationship book titles are funny things.
Too bad that I’ve actually read most of them…
I watch way more when things are going down. Gotta get a feel for the bottom after all!
I re-balance my investments every so often but I really should learn more about these. Alas, I don’t know anyone who has made any money only people that have lost.
Heather, I’m pretty regular on the re-balancing. I’ve made money overall the last number of years – but yeah, I did lose a bit until I started focusing more attention on it.
Fret not, looks like the market may be picking up despite Europe’s problems.
Things turned more positive by the end of the day today and I think that is a good sign!
Good title posts, looking forward to what your next title will actually be!
david recently posted..Update On My AAPL Stock Trade
Thanks David, I was so annoyed when things picked up again so quickly. It’s a good reminder to put a buy order in at a certain price on certain stocks. I snoozed and lost a bit of opportunity.
I have been less than thrilled by my portfolio as of late. Just as an aside, from a female perspective, I attend the free seminars put on by my local Scottrade branch (so far I’ve been to 4) and in those classes there are normally about 10 people, and of all those classes, I’ve seen about 2 other women. I’ve recommended the classes to friends who are clueless about retirement, but they’ve never attended.
MSS, I was ok with it going down because I was waiting for a “sale” but in general, it’s nice to see balances going up, that’s for sure!
I never got into investing really until the last few years – and have been spending a lot of time reading and nailing down my strategy in the last year or so. It’s become a fun hobby.
Seminars are good to attend. I’ve got quite a number of books that I might review and recommend as well. It would probably help *me* to write down my modus operandi in writing.
J- I would appreciate book recommendations and reviews. I just started investing on my own in 2010 and am definitely an investor rather than a trader. I really enjoy watching my portfolio grow but I do appreciate getting stocks ‘on sale’ too. I like dividend stocks, but I think I’ve gotten a little greedy with some of my choices and am not sure when to bite the bullet, dump them and take the loss.
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Ah yes, I know that dilemma of “know when to hold them, know when to fold them” only too well. I have a couple of dog stocks and tend to sell at a loss when I need to for tax purposes – to offset a gain.
That’s why I stick with the industry that I know anyway and am more conservative these days.
I’m not sure of the US tax laws, but for me, my marginal rate is 19.5% on capital gains. That makes “harvesting a loss” a little less painful. I try to offset the gains with the losses where I can.
Like I made a bet on a reverse gold stock a year or two ago. What a mistake that was! But I’m holding on to that one, although I may need to harvest it this year.
Stop investing on eggshells would be a very good post title. It just shows how “fragile” the market is.
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