Fearless Money » Investment http://fearlessmoney.com Just another Ecomsmith Blogs site Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:21:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 New feature, My Stocks http://fearlessmoney.com/2007/new-feature-my-stocks/ http://fearlessmoney.com/2007/new-feature-my-stocks/#comments Tue, 08 May 2007 16:57:54 +0000 Bruce Kroeze http://fearlessmoney.com/2007/new-feature-my-stocks.html In my third year of successful (25% or greater profit) stock-picking, I thought it was time to add a sidebar widget to show my current investments.

On the right you’ll see where I am currently invested. Most of them are International ETFs and all but one have been making double digit gains for years. . . . → Read More: New feature, My Stocks]]> financial chart New feature, My StocksIn my third year of successful (25% or greater profit) stock-picking, I thought it was time to add a sidebar widget to show my current investments.

On the right you’ll see where I am currently invested. Most of them are International ETFs and all but one have been making double digit gains for years. Please refer to my disclaimers before making any investment decision. I am not licensed as a financial professional, and your risk is your own, as it should be.

If I have a moment, I’ll write a better plugin to actually show my portfolio holdings and current returns. Oddly enough, such a plugin doesn’t seem to exist in the WordPress World just yet.

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]]> http://fearlessmoney.com/2007/new-feature-my-stocks/feed/ 0 Investment Performance May 2006 http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/investment-performance-may-2006/ http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/investment-performance-may-2006/#comments Mon, 15 May 2006 02:31:26 +0000 Bruce Kroeze http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/investment-performance-may-2006.html . . . → Read More: Investment Performance May 2006]]> money keys Investment Performance May 2006As a new feature, I’m going to begin tracking my investments "In the open." It is a good time to do so, since I’m about to rollover a 401K into an IRA, and I’m starting a new 401K at my new job.

I’ll skip the history for the 401K I am about to rollover, and note the cash and its investments in next month’s post. It should be great fun to spend all that money on new acquisitions. OK, I have a strange sense of fun. I admit it.

Investment/Speculation Account

  • ADBL – Audible.com. Value: $1067

    Purchased 100 shares at $11.38 last month. Performance to date: -7.14%.
    I purchased just before the shareholder meeting, sure that Audible would finally declare a profit. The company is solid, it has no debt, and it has the most popular podcast in the world. Where’s the money? Oh well, it isn’t going anywhere for a while, and I’ll just hold it, possibly buying another block if it dips to $9.

    • My IRA

  • PTIE – Pain Thereputics. Value: $843
    Purchased at an average price of $5.27 last year. Performance to date: +56.69%.
    I am a believer in this stock. They make abuse-resistant oxycodone, basically. Everything is still in FDA approval, and that is frustrating. Yet I believe. I expect it to be acquired by King sometime this year for $12-15 per share, making it a nice two or three-bagger.
  • VGTSX – Vanguard Total Stock International. Value: $1320
    Purchased $1000 last year. Performance to date: +29.65%
    I think the international sector will outperform the U.S. for the near future. So far my belief has really paid off.

    • My Wife’s IRA (which I manage)

    DODFX – Dodge & Cox International. Value: $1992.

    Purchased $1500 last year. Performance to date: +35.75

    Again, international is kicking butt for me.

    Upcoming

  • I’m going to buy 100 shares of the Vonage IPO.
  • I need to invest my rollover, and it will largely go to a better split of assets. 40% conservative, 40% growth, 20% speculation. More on this next month.
    ]]> http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/investment-performance-may-2006/feed/ 2 Paid myself first http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/paid-myself-first/ http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/paid-myself-first/#comments Mon, 24 Apr 2006 06:15:55 +0000 Bruce Kroeze http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/paid-myself-first.html . . . → Read More: Paid myself first]]> pay pump Paid myself firstLast year was the first year I’ve ever managed to pay myself first! Almost every book tells you to do that, to take a certain percent of your income and sock it away before you pay the rest of your bills. We all know we should, but it is so hard to actually do it!

    I’m incredibly pleased to report that I actually saved about 12% of my gross income last year. That is a true first for me. 38 Years old and I’ve finally started doing what I should have been doing since I was twenty. Oh well, that’s water under the bridge. The important thing is that I did it, and I didn’t really miss the money.

    OK, I did miss the money, but not as bad as I thought I would.

    Now, I’m changing jobs May 1, so I have a bunch of financial moves to make. These are pretty interesting ones I think. Lots of options open up during a job change. I’m planning to open a new self-directed IRA for the 401K money from my current employer. I favor Roth IRAs for regular saving, but this is already tax-deferred and I’m going to leave it that way. I’ll invest it in a couple funds for this purpose. Unlike many, I do think individual investors can do very well hand-picking stocks (and I’ve done very well doing just that), but I like to buy and hold in my retirement accounts. Currently I plan to use UDPIX (Ultra DOW 30, leveraged for double-DOW returns … or losses) and DODFX (a stellar international fund) to grow this money.

    I’ll be making about 20% more at the new job, which I’m going to split 50/50, allocating 10% of the increase to max out my Roths and to get the max company match in the new 401K. The other 10% will go to accelerated pay-down of my remaining debt. In the last year I’ve paid-off five credit cards, and only have one remaining balance. I plan to retire that debt within six months.

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    ]]>     http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/paid-myself-first/feed/ 2     My Roth IRA gained 26.57% last year http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/roth-ira-2005-gains/ http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/roth-ira-2005-gains/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2006 17:20:44 +0000 Bruce Kroeze http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/my-roth-ira-gained-2657-last-year.html A few days ago I posted that I made a 21% after-tax profit from my investment/speculation account. I pay a lot of attention to that account, of course, and deliberately do not pay as much attention to my Roth IRA. I prefer a “buy-and-hold” approach in that account. Interestingly, that strategy paid off even . . . → Read More: My Roth IRA gained 26.57% last year]]> happy My Roth IRA gained 26.57% last yearA few days ago I posted that I made a 21% after-tax profit from my investment/speculation account. I pay a lot of attention to that account, of course, and deliberately do not pay as much attention to my Roth IRA. I prefer a “buy-and-hold” approach in that account. Interestingly, that strategy paid off even better last year. My Roth IRA increased in value by over 26%! Wow.

    Now, I just have to repeat that performance for a few years, and I’ll be the talk of Wall Street. Sure.

    My Roth investments last year:

    • April – 48 shares DODFX at $30.24. Now trading at $36.24. A 20% increase.
    • April – 80 shares VGTSX at $12.60. Now trading at $14.84. A 17.78% increase.
    • June – 100 shares PTIE at $5.27. Now trading at $8.51. A whopping 61.48% increase!

    Please note my site disclaimer. I am not offering investment advice, I am not a licensed financial advisor. Please make your own investment choices based on thorough research, instead of listening to some internet dude like myself.

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    ]]>     http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/roth-ira-2005-gains/feed/ 3     Mixed housing price forecast http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/mixed-housing-price-forecast/ http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/mixed-housing-price-forecast/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2006 20:22:31 +0000 Bruce Kroeze http://fearlessmoney.com/2006/mixed-housing-price-forecast.html The PMI Group has released its Q4 2005 report on the housing market, with some interesting statistics.

    First, despite all the talk of housing bubbles, the risk doesn’t seem that severe for most of the country. This is along the lines of what Greenspan was trying to say when he talked about there being . . . → Read More: Mixed housing price forecast]]> chairs Mixed housing price forecastThe PMI Group has released its Q4 2005 report on the housing market, with some interesting statistics.

    First, despite all the talk of housing bubbles, the risk doesn’t seem that severe for most of the country. This is along the lines of what Greenspan was trying to say when he talked about there being froth rather than one big bubble. Some areas are going to pop, almost certainly. And since those areas are ones where a lot of media and internet folks live, it will be covered in excruciating detail.

    For instance, PMI rates San Francisco as 50.7% likely to experience a decline in prices. Ouch. That will hurt a lot of people, throwing some over-leveraged people out into the street. Now would not be the time to be “flipping” properties in SF or San Diego.

    Some areas are still growing

    However, despite the fact that Portland Oregon has seen property prices go up more than 30% in the last two years, we are only rated at 10.2% likely to experience a correction. Seattle, 10.3%. I think that is partially due to simple numbers. We’re getting more expensive here, that’s for certain, but we still have homes that a middle-class person could conceivably purchase. Perhaps that is why Portland is still seeing sales accelerate (by 5.87%).

    In my view, it is when places get so ridiculously over-valued that only speculators and bank presidents can afford to own there, that the area is ripe for a fall. I’m looking at you San Diego, Boston and Las Vegas.

    The top 7 areas most likely to decrease in price:

    • San Diego
    • Santa Anna
    • Boston
    • Nassau
    • Oakland
    • Sacramento
    • Riverside

    The bottom 7 of the top fifty markets:

    • San Antonio
    • Nasheville
    • Cincinnati
    • Indianapolis
    • Memphis
    • Pittsburgh

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