Birchtree's Account Talk

[wv-girl]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Have to look. Give me a few minutes.

Jewelsapphire Gems
maintained by suroori

 

[justbizness45]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Thanks, I'll check it out. I've got some garnet rough from here in the Pacific Northwest that I am trying to find someone to cut. I want them to do it for a percentage of the stones.

 

[wv-girl]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Thanks, I'll check it out. I've got some garnet rough from here in the Pacific Northwest that I am trying to find someone to cut. I want them to do it for a percentage of the stones.

I'm just a collector. I have tried my hand at some designing of jewelry, but am better at id-ing them than anything else. My long term plan (when I started collecting 30 years ago) was to supplement my retirement. But as it gets closer, I am finding it hard to think about letting some of my pieces go.

What kind of garnet rough?

 

[justbizness45]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

I'm just a collector. I have tried my hand at some designing of jewelry, but am better at id-ing them than anything else. My long term plan (when I started collecting 30 years ago) was to supplement my retirement. But as it gets closer, I am finding it hard to think about letting some of my pieces go.

What kind of garnet rough?

It's probably grossular garnet. That's what is prevalent around here. It was given to me so I'm not real sure. They are all worn round from being collected in a stream bed. I have about half a mason jar of them. Most the size of a marble or a little larger.

 

[wv-girl]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

It's probably grossular garnet. That's what is prevalent around here. It was given to me so I'm not real sure. They are all worn round from being collected in a stream bed. I have about half a mason jar of them. Most the size of a marble or a little larger.

I hope you find a cutter than can help you out. Sorry i couldn't be of help. I think I have every type of garnet there is since it is my birthstone. I just recently got a Imperial Hessonite that is stunning. A 9 mm round that I had set into a ring. Its color is yellow with a hint of orange.

I noticed you said you had a store or such at a mall. What is that you sell?

Looks like we lost Birch. Hope he won't mind us being in his thread. It's getting late here on the east coast and 6am is getting closer. So, nite for now. Nice to know others share our interest.

 

[justbizness45]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

I hope you find a cutter than can help you out. Sorry i couldn't be of help. I think I have every type of garnet there is since it is my birthstone. I just recently got a Imperial Hessonite that is stunning. A 9 mm round that I had set into a ring. Its color is yellow with a hint of orange.

I noticed you said you had a store or such at a mall. What is that you sell?

Looks like we lost Birch. Hope he won't mind us being in his thread. It's getting late here on the east coast and 6am is getting closer. So, nite for now. Nice to know others share our interest.

I'll drop by your thread sometime and we can talk gemstones.

 

[Steadygain]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Birch,
This is a follow up to yesterday's post.

The difference in pay is pathetic

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0809/gallery.women_men_highest_pay.fortune/index.html

Note #8 - in light of what's happened (and what's happening)

 

[Birchtree]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Just added to my GE position at $24.26 - following Buffett. The dividend is solid and I really like dividend reinvestments to buy more shares at lower prices.

 

[wv-girl]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

wv-girl,

My pigeon blood came from the old Ceylon of the coast of India - they are now called SriLanka. I really don't think I could afford to replace it - my daughter will end up with it eventually. I bought my pearls from Na Hoku in Oahu, Hawaii.

You can still purchase gems from Sri Lanka, but doubtful you will find a quality pigeon blood. Most are probably in the hands of investors/collectors.
Na Hoku has some really nice stuff. Yes, I looked. The Tatitians and southseas are the most expensive but you could probably find a good strand of Akoyas for a reasonable price. Na Hoku doesn't show strands on their site. Probably a special order. I must say you do have "class" when giving your better half presents. Lucky girl.

 

[Corepuncher]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Birch, it seems that whenever I am fully invested in the market, I suddenly agree with you.

Record short interest!
90% up day!
Flush out the weaker hands!
Can you smell the rocket fuel!
Be right sit tight!

"SHOW ME THE MONEY"

 

[Steadygain]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Birch, it seems that whenever I am fully invested in the market, I suddenly agree with you.

"SHOW ME THE MONEY"

Good Morning Birch,

He's coming around; we should at least consider him a first cousin.

But, he'll get to brother status with thoughts like this.

 

[Birchtree]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

I'm just dragging my butt on the bottom here - but I did collect 21 dividend reinvestments yesterday so not all is lost. I'm wondering if now would be a good time to seek a home equity line of credit to buy more stock. I'll have to check and see if my in home banker still loves me. What's mine is also hers and she did ask me the other day if I needed any money when the market was laid out flat - she has seen me go through this many times over the years. But for now I'm just going to keep pulling those diovidends. It costs money to buy assets and it costs money to sell assets - but dividend reinvestments are free. I'm really glad now that I did unload those agriculture stocks earlier - they're getting killed today.

 

[Corepuncher]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

I'm just dragging my butt on the bottom here - but I did collect 21 dividend reinvestments yesterday so not all is lost. I'm wondering if now would be a good time to seek a home equity line of credit to buy more stock. I'll have to check and see if my in home banker still loves me. What's mine is also hers and she did ask me the other day if I needed any money when the market was laid out flat - she has seen me go through this many times over the years. But for now I'm just going to keep pulling those diovidends. It costs money to buy assets and it costs money to sell assets - but dividend reinvestments are free. I'm really glad now that I did unload those agriculture stocks earlier - they're getting killed today.

So you think you can make up the cost of borrowing by investing in something? Aren't rates over 7% for HELOC? Even after tax deductions, you still have to beat a 5-6% annual rate of return, AND pay it back. I don't understand how you can not have enough money to buy stocks, but instead take out a loan in which you would have to scrounge up money to pay it back anyway. You must have a money tree!

 

[dannyboy]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Birch, it seems that whenever I am fully invested in the market, I suddenly agree with you.

Record short interest!
90% up day!
Flush out the weaker hands!
Can you smell the rocket fuel!
Be right sit tight!

"SHOW ME THE MONEY"

I believe it was a CP thread that said this has the looks of a great run?
I hope that's true for now I'm in most of the way, and I ain't going back to all G for at least 2 more weeks. I got one IFT left and it's going to take a lot of loss before armagedon.

 

[Birchtree]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Oh, I have money to buy stocks, I just don't want to make the sacrifice of selling something at this point to raise the cash. It all comes down to making the sacrifice and at this point I'm not ready. Now it's not to say that I won't reach that point but for right now I'm going to sit tight. So I'd rather borrow rather than sell - perhaps we'll get another interest rate cut soon. I've done my buying and now I'll rest in my portfolio and absorb the pain that I have brought upon myself and see how much I can tolerate. With a widely diversified portfolio some stocks will climb and that provides the opportunity to take a profit to reinvest the gains in more dullards. There is also the possibility to sell some stocks that currently would register a loss and use the excess cash to rotate to other sectors. Now if they decide to suspend the 15% capital gains tax this will really bring on the bull. They could also offer to suspend any tax on dividends that are reinvested in bank stocks - this happened back in the late 1970s to utility dividend reinvestment - at that time I was dollar cost averaging into 30 different utility stocks and only had one looser which was the holding company for Three Mile Island and that eventually worked out fine. I still have some of those original utility companies in my portfolio. Not a time to panic.

 

[Warrenlm]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

I'm still trying to figure out how, with a federal annuity, and presumably other income, you are going to keep your tax rate low enough to have the zero capital gains rate in retirement you posted.

 

[Birchtree]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Right now the lowest caspital gains tax is 5% and that will require permanizing the current Bush tax cuts. If Obama gets elected I'll just wait until he moves on. My wife has chosen a defined contribution plan for her retirement and is not required to take her funds until 70. All we have to do is stay in the 15% bracket and be careful how one takes stock profits - there is no tax until a sale is made and dividends are currently taxed at 15%. At some point I'm going to shift some TSP funds to a Roth and that income will become tax free. The best time to do that is when you have a low AGI like living off of savings for a few years while the shifting is taking place. Prolong social security payments until later years so it doesn't count as income. I won't take the annuity until required and even then it won't push me past the 15% bracket for a married couple. Does that muddy up the water for you. You don't have to take TSP money until 70 also. I'll die and leave all my capital gains to my daughter using the step up in basis and she won't owe any taxes until there are further gains and then she has to sell. Anyway that's the plan I've been working on.

 

[KevinD]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Or maybe the FairTax will become law...

 

[Birchtree]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Someone nice just gave me reputation points for a post from 5/8/05 #7 - now who is reading history today. I reread the post and a few more forward and they all still sound like the Birchtree I know. What goes around usually comes back around. Deja Vu so to speak. I'm so ready for another contrarian trip. I didn't buy anything for myself today but I did spend money that belongs to a client - buying the lows.

 

[ATCJeff]

Re: Birchtree's account talk

Someone nice just gave me reputation points for a post from 5/8/05 #7 - now who is reading history today. I reread the post and a few more forward and they all still sound like the Birchtree I know. What goes around usually comes back around. Deja Vu so to speak. I'm so ready for another contrarian trip. I didn't buy anything for myself today but I did spend money that belongs to a client - buying the lows.

That would be Fabijo. He's on a trip today!