The Monthly Budget

[midlifecrisis 4,056]

  On 3/23/2017 at 1:22 PM, js007 said:

 

Some stocks have a decent dividend, if you're willing to invest for the long term and can handle the inevitable ups and downs of the market. Take a look at some of the utility or phone stocks. ED, PEG, T, VRZ, etc. Even Microsoft and Apple pay dividends these days. Any of these would beat what you get at the bank. There's just the risk of your capital.

 

Right now the markets are so crazy I don't know what's going to happen. So don't take anything I say as "advice."

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Thanks I will look into those as I like the idea of stable stocks that pay dividends as part of my portfolio.

 

If you invest, you risk. Investing in bonds or savings devices do not help you grow. In fact you can lose over time due to inflation.

 

Also, a recent editorial in the local paper blasted the stock market rapid rise as benefitting the rich. What the editorial failed to acknowledge is that unless you sell a security, all gains and losses are strictly paper gains and losses.

 

The only way to make big money on anything is to buy low and sell high. As the DJIA has had a bit of a selloff since it reached 21,000, it looks like some have taken advantage of that principle. However, when people are buying the markets go up. The markets are mostly up for a long while. It appears that the common man through 401K and IRA accounts is doing OK too.

Edited March 23, 2017 by midlifecrisis

[js007 795]

  On 3/23/2017 at 2:16 PM, midlifecrisis said:

 

Thanks I will look into those as I like the idea of stable stocks that pay dividends as part of my portfolio.

 

If you invest, you risk. Investing in bonds or savings devices do not help you grow. In fact you can lose over time due to inflation.

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You have to look into whether the current dividends can be sustained. Some companies think they have an obligation to pay and regularly increase dividends, and yet sometimes they borrow money to do so. So maybe you can count on the dividends and maybe you can't.

[midlifecrisis 4,056]

  On 3/23/2017 at 2:23 PM, js007 said:

 

You have to look into whether the current dividends can be sustained. Some companies think they have an obligation to pay and regularly increase dividends, and yet sometimes they borrow money to do so. So maybe you can count on the dividends and maybe you can't.

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I chart the long term history of investments. I also have an advisor to bounce these type of questions off of. A great point!

[js007 795]

  On 3/23/2017 at 2:27 PM, midlifecrisis said:

 

I chart the long term history of investments. I also have an advisor to bounce these type of questions off of. A great point!

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Long term. That's the secret. I have a good history of picking stocks. Unfortunately, I haven't always been patient and that has cost me dearly. For example, I bought a bunch of Apple Computer stock in the summer of 1985. Sold most of it after my initial investment had increased 15X. I thought that made sense at the time. If I still had that stock I'd have millions. Or more recently, I bought some stocks in the 2009-2010 period. I made money on just about all of them, but cashed out too early. Anyway, at this point for me, I'll be dead in the long term. I don't have another 30 years to play around.

[midlifecrisis 4,056]

  On 3/23/2017 at 3:30 PM, js007 said:

 

Long term. That's the secret. I have a good history of picking stocks. Unfortunately, I haven't always been patient and that has cost me dearly. For example, I bought a bunch of Apple Computer stock in the summer of 1985. Sold most of it after my initial investment had increased 15X. I thought that made sense at the time. If I still had that stock I'd have millions. Or more recently, I bought some stocks in the 2009-2010 period. I made money on just about all of them, but cashed out too early. Anyway, at this point for me, I'll be dead in the long term. I don't have another 30 years to play around.

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agreed. at this point it is about staying solvent in the difficult years ahead.

[cbrib 354]

Yeah living here ain't so cheap anymore. I seem to be bleeding money every month and i hardly go out. There comes all the little things not included in monthly expenses. Insurance, tax and registration and maintenance on vehicles, birthdays. For married guys like me there comes wifes birthday, anniversary, and mothers day for us having a kid.. Kids birthday and of course some medical expenses and school. For ex=pats it more often than not comes down to a lot more than just how much for food, rent, utilities and short times.

[jacko 8,907]

  On 3/23/2017 at 12:59 PM, wacmedia said:

Hi,

 

Most people were happy when they could get a decent amount of interest in the bank. These days seem to be over.

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I chatted to a bank guy the other day and told him how ridiculous it was to give 0.5% pa (taxable) interest.

Not worth the administration effort I told him!

[wacmedia 277]

  On 3/24/2017 at 3:12 AM, jacko said:

I chatted to a bank guy the other day and told him how ridiculous it was to give 0.5% pa (taxable) interest.

Not worth the administration effort I told him!

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Hi,

 

Absolutely. An old boy I know told me someone had left him £15,000 in a will. He is used to leaving his money in a bank and getting interest. He is getting nothing now and it's hard for a guy in his 80's to start learning about other methods of investment. I feel sorry for him as he likes to spend money and it would be nice if he could get a little in interest to spend.

[nkped 1,208]

  On 3/23/2017 at 12:58 AM, TheFiend said:

You never know when you will die..... so I just enjoy each passing day

 

Someone I worked with retired 2 years ago with a very decent pension..... he only got to enjoy his retirement for 2 years as his funeral was 3 weeks ago....

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I had four friends from work across the US who died within a couple of years of each other without ever getting the opportunity to retire. One was a 39 year old mother of two.

[Bazle 1,629]

  On 3/24/2017 at 9:41 AM, wacmedia said:

An old boy I know told me someone had left him £15,000 in a will. He is used to leaving his money in a bank and getting interest. He is getting nothing now and it's hard for a guy in his 80's to start learning about other methods of investment. I feel sorry for him as he likes to spend money and it would be nice if he could get a little in interest to spend.

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If he's in his 80s, why wouldn't he simply spend the capital?

[js007 795]

  On 3/24/2017 at 7:09 PM, Bazle said:

If he's in his 80s, why wouldn't he simply spend the capital?

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People tend to think that they're going to live forever. I have a friend like that. He's far from broke, and yet he acts like he never has any money. He's 70 and has already had one heart attack. His cholesterol is out of control. My guess us that before too long he'll drop dead and other people are going to be having fun spending his money.

[jacko 8,907]

  On 3/24/2017 at 9:11 PM, js007 said:

People tend to think that they're going to live forever. I have a friend like that. He's far from broke, and yet he acts like he never has any money. He's 70 and has already had one heart attack. His cholesterol is out of control. My guess us that before too long he'll drop dead and other people are going to be having fun spending his money.

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No pockets in shrouds.......

[midlifecrisis 4,056]

  On 3/24/2017 at 11:20 PM, jacko said:

No pockets in shrouds.......

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I guess you really can't take it with you.

[TheFiend 1,189]

There's no point in being the richest man in the graveyard....

[midlifecrisis 4,056]

  On 3/24/2017 at 11:35 PM, TheFiend said:

There's no point in being the richest man in the graveyard....

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When I was in Manila, I went touring with a cabbie who had formerly lived a while in the USA. He took me to a Chinese cemetery, among other places.

 

The richest Chinese had air conditioned crypts. He explained it was so the relatives could come to spend time with their dead relatives in comfort.

 

Status, even in death.

[wacmedia 277]

  On 3/24/2017 at 7:09 PM, Bazle said:

 

If he's in his 80s, why wouldn't he simply spend the capital?

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Hi,

 

That's not the point. One deserves a return on ones money. I can see one of 2 outcomes to where we are today. A financial reset, or WW3. Things will never revert to what we believe to be "normal".

[Bazle 1,629]

  On 3/25/2017 at 10:55 AM, wacmedia said:

 

Hi,

 

That's not the point. One deserves a return on ones money. I can see one of 2 outcomes to where we are today. A financial reset, or WW3. Things will never revert to what we believe to be "normal".

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Why does anyone "deserve" a return on their money?

 

IMO a return on your savings account money is warranted only to counter the effects of inflation.

[TheFiend 1,189]

  On 3/24/2017 at 11:42 PM, midlifecrisis said:

 

When I was in Manila, I went touring with a cabbie who had formerly lived a while in the USA. He took me to a Chinese cemetery, among other places.

 

The richest Chinese had air conditioned crypts. He explained it was so the relatives could come to spend time with their dead relatives in comfort.

 

Status, even in death.

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Status for the living relatives, but worthless for the dead....

[js007 795]

  On 3/25/2017 at 11:10 AM, Bazle said:

Why does anyone "deserve" a return on their money?

 

IMO a return on your savings account money is warranted only to counter the effects of inflation.

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Historically, interest rates have been 1% to 2% or so above inflation. Today, not only is that not the case, they also lie about the inflation rate. In other words, if you put money in the bank, you lose, at least a little bit. Maybe that's the best case scenario, though, as we have bubbles in stocks, bonds, and real estate. Gold?

[nkped 1,208]

  On 3/24/2017 at 9:41 AM, wacmedia said:

Hi,

 

Absolutely. An old boy I know told me someone had left him £15,000 in a will. He is used to leaving his money in a bank and getting interest. He is getting nothing now and it's hard for a guy in his 80's to start learning about other methods of investment. I feel sorry for him as he likes to spend money and it would be nice if he could get a little in interest to spend.

Read more  

  On 3/25/2017 at 10:55 AM, wacmedia said:

Hi,

 

That's not the point. One deserves a return on ones money. I can see one of 2 outcomes to where we are today. A financial reset, or WW3. Things will never revert to what we believe to be "normal".

Read more  

If the interest rate was 10%, which we are not going to see anytime soon, that would be 1,500£ in one year. What are you going to do with that? And if interest on savings was 10%, there would be far higher inflation than we have now. Also, new home buyers and people with adjustable rate mortgages, including some senior citizens, would be facing even higher interest rates on their home loans.

[wacmedia 277]

  On 3/26/2017 at 7:15 AM, nkped said:

If the interest rate was 10%, which we are not going to see anytime soon, that would be 1,500£ in one year. What are you going to do with that? And if interest on savings was 10%, there would be far higher inflation than we have now. Also, new home buyers and people with adjustable rate mortgages, including some senior citizens, would be facing even higher interest rates on their home loans.

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Hi,

 

Well, I believe if a person has spent all their life working/saving they deserve an income when they are no longer able to generate an income through work. Retail banking was about lending money to business from the savings of such people. Bazle seems to disagree.

[js007 795]

That's the whole purpose of Capitalism, right? You make money off your capital. Unfortunately, we're now in a time when the markets are distorted by the central banks and their shenanigans. And so we have zero interest rates and people are forced into risky investments and into assets that are priced at bubble levels. Imagine the poor person with a pile of money. Even with a few million in the bank, you get nothing or less than nothing, after inflation. It's hard to live on nothing.

[Gary 4,147]

  On 3/23/2017 at 2:16 PM, midlifecrisis said:

 

Thanks I will look into those as I like the idea of stable stocks that pay dividends as part of my portfolio.

 

If you invest, you risk. Investing in bonds or savings devices do not help you grow. In fact you can lose over time due to inflation.

 

Also, a recent editorial in the local paper blasted the stock market rapid rise as benefitting the rich. What the editorial failed to acknowledge is that unless you sell a security, all gains and losses are strictly paper gains and losses.

 

The only way to make big money on anything is to buy low and sell high. As the DJIA has had a bit of a selloff since it reached 21,000, it looks like some have taken advantage of that principle. However, when people are buying the markets go up. The markets are mostly up for a long while. It appears that the common man through 401K and IRA accounts is doing OK too.

Read more  

 

Hmmm, that's where I went wrong. I bought high and sold low.

[wacmedia 277]

  On 3/26/2017 at 2:12 PM, Gary said:

 

Hmmm, that's where I went wrong. I bought high and sold low.

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Hi,

 

Try doing it the other way round.

[wacmedia 277]

  On 3/26/2017 at 1:25 PM, js007 said:

That's the whole purpose of Capitalism, right? You make money off your capital. Unfortunately, we're now in a time when the markets are distorted by the central banks and their shenanigans. And so we have zero interest rates and people are forced into risky investments and into assets that are priced at bubble levels. Imagine the poor person with a pile of money. Even with a few million in the bank, you get nothing or less than nothing, after inflation. It's hard to live on nothing.

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Hi,

 

Yeah, Capitalism is dead. Bubbles in property and shares because the people have to put their money somewhere.