My Crappy Financial Blatherings

Well Good Evening Kittens !

How are you all? I have actually been cleaning ! Not much, but I did manage to sweep and mop the balcony and give the litter box a deep clean. I worked hard in getting it clean for my cat. I really did, and the first thing he did was leave me a nice present.

It is really easy for me to retreat and sit in my room and not do anything all weekend, so when I feel inspired to clean and actually do it, I run with it and do what I can. Next on my list is laundry :( I don't like hauling my laundry downstairs, and facing the possibility of running into the neighbor that hits on me, or making small talk with other neighbors when I just want to be reclusive.

And now I feel a little inspired to write. I've even lit a candle, and my cat is napping on the beach chair.

So a couple of years ago before moving to Florida, I enrolled in a financial class at the local community college, and I have never regretted it. The instructors worked at Morgan Stanley and surprisingly didn't peddle their investment services, and they had a dry sense of humor. I was entertained. They talked about how important time is, and when you are young, time on your side is one of your biggest assets, especially when you don't have money. I was one of the youngest people in the class, which was shocking, I was expecting young twenty somethings to fill the seats. Most people there had been working for years and had assets, and I had nothing. In fact I was about to lose my job the following week and didn't know it. But hey, time is on my side!

They also left me with this quote, which I haven't forgotten by Sir John Templeton: "Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria".

My grandmother has invested in the stock market and has done well for herself. She told me that it is better for me to take control of my money, instead of trusting a financial adviser. She told me I would get the same results, or better by taking a dart and throwing it at the Wall Street Journal. I agree with her. And I don't have to pay any fees.

I do invest a little in the market when I can so I can learn something and have a little fun. The instructors in my investment class said that one of their students invested his money and did really well, and when he asked about his strategy, the student said that he invested like he was planning to to invest to lose. I tend to agree with this statement, especially if you are are like me and plan to let your money sit for a long time and ride out the bumps on the road.

I have read a ton of investment advice: Get references and hire a good financial planner, analyze the financials and run through all the equations, really get to know the business you are investing in.

I think it's all bullshit for the most part if you are in my demographic, and this is probably a huge reason why I have no business telling people what to do with their money, and most people think I have lost my mind. 

Quite frankly, I think one of the few ways to make money in the stock market is to have some inside information which is ILLEGAL, so the other option left is to just speculate, which I think is useless most of the time. So if I am going to speculate, I am certainly not going to pay someone else to "speculate" based on what their boss wants, nor am I going to lose money to fees. Losing money when the stock price decreases should be the only "fee" I pay.

I remember my dad had an adviser years ago and said that he lost about half of his investment. I also remember about 16 years ago, I bought some Cisco stock on ETrade after listening to how well they were doing. My stepdad kept telling me it was the time to buy, and so I did, and of course I lost about half of my investment because soon after the dot com bubble burst, and I also sold out of fear. Now I try to do things differently.

First off, E-trade SUCKS, and they charge you too many useless fees. Now I use an app that doesn't charge any fees.

Now I also let my money sit, and I invest in companies when I see the stock taking a shit in the news. When I see people in the media freaking out, I will pay more attention to that stock. When online bloggers advise on what stock to sell, and what to avoid, I consider picking up a share or two. Hot stocks that we should all buy get steered clear of.

Recently I bought shares from a pharmaceutical company that was $2.00 a share. It has been steadily taking a dive, and I have steadily bought more shares. Not a lot, but a share or two hear and there. The company is waiting for some sort of approval, and there is some sort of hold up that they expect to resolve, so I felt like the gamble is worth it.

I think stock adviser bloggers are more full of shit than financial advisers that you pay to invest in the stock market. (I am not talking about mutual funds).

If you are a financial planner and feel that I have offended you, please know that I am probably as full of shit as you are. I just don't advise people and keep my financial thoughts to myself unless you are reading my blog.

I am kidding, I am discussing my opinions based on my demographic: Relatively young, very little assets, and no one depending on me. Obviously if you have a lot of assets, and own a lot of businesses you would probably be better off having an adviser in your corner. They would make a way more handsome commission than the financial advisers in my financial demographic. Trust me, there is no motivation for anyone to to anything for me with the income I earn. No one wants to be at my beck and call when their commission from me is less than twenty bucks. That's even if I buy or sell, which I don't do a lot of. So it makes more sense for me to do this myself.

So yeah, there is my .02. 

I encourage you to be on top of your finances. If you chose to hire someone that you trust, do trust, but verify.

If you are a married woman, I think it's especially important to be as involved in your finances as your husband.

Okay, now I am just starting to sound preachy and that is not my style.

Hugs and kisses.