CountryBoys's Account Talk

[nnuut]

Gang,

I’m not a big conspiracy believer, but that Bond insurers downgrade at 3:15 pm sure seemed to come at just the right time to jam the .5% reduction back down the throat of the Fed and the market run up down the little guys throat.

I sure smell some behind the door action by the big boys. I don’t like to lose money, but if it’s a level playing field, then that’s just part of the game, but we got screwed today.

Yeah, I'm real pi$$ed off at the timing of that bond rating agency rating downgrade,they could have just as easily put it off until tomorrow.

I had to get that off my chest.

CB

I think you're right CB, nothing happens by accident in the Market. They are making the little guy take the hit. They use us like we are their BOYS, full of money for them to take! Crooks! I'm really PISSED Off too! Where's my gun?

 

[CountryBoy]

Well back to the F Fund for a little excitement.

CB

 

[CountryBoy]

Well Guys and Gals,

I'm pretty much a bull, but I sure don't like what is going on now with BS (which I think is just the opening salvo), interfund transfer limits and even if the Fed drops 1 point tomorrow, the bump is going to be short lived in my opinion and inflation will just increase and the dollar will weaken further. The press is going to drive us into a recession come hell or high water.

I'm ahead just a little for the year, mainly from the F fund and am thrilled to be even the slightest bit green. Personally, I think we're between that proverbial rock and hard place and it's going to be painful to extradite ourselves from it.

I think we should've taken our medicine last Oct.2007? when the subprime mess first raised it's ugly head and let it all play out. Now I believe it's only going to get worse, than if we would've let it run it's course back then. BS was the first domino in the subprime mess last year and I worry they are just the first domino in this latest fiasco. I'm afraid there is more to come.

I'm a year ahead, financially of where my retirement plans would have me and I sure don't want to loose it now, so I can afford to sit on the sidelines for awhile until this mess shakes out. I might wait one more day before pulling the plug and going all G Fund, it just depends on how things go this morning.

Now as for my Roth, I'm going to keep buying some selective stocks, cause they are getting cheap and have historically either paid a good divvies and/or are hopefully socialist proof GE, T, JNJ, BP, KMR, PG, BP and UTX just to name a few.

This is just one man's opinion, but I've based it on what I've learned on this site, from folks a lot smarter about this stuff than me (Grif I sure miss your analyses), plus my studying the past year and a half.

Boy, that's the most I've said since I've been here.:laugh:

Good luck to ya'll,
CB

 

[CountryBoy]

Well I got my “I’ve been a bad boy and can’t play on the internet after March 31” letter. I wished I’d have gotten before noon and I would’ve put 50% in the S fund, but I wasn’t sure about what would happen or if I’d get stuck there, until snail mail hit.

I don’t know about ya’ll and how you were raised, but where I’m from anytime a man reneges on a deal or does something to hurt you or yours, well that guy would get a good a$$ whoppin at the least. I guess it’s a good thing these folks can hide behind the phone and anonymity.

A pox on them. I hope what goes around comes around on some of these folks. Well I'd better stop here before I say anything else, cause I'm real PO'd about the entire thing.

I had already sent my letter via mail and fax to the address Paladin gave us.

And now I'm sitting here watching the BS employees leaving their offices with there belongings. I feel for them but I feel more for the folks who had retirement funds tied to BS stock.

Someone needs to pay for this and I mean jail time, I'm still PO'd about this IFT thing. I'll shut up. I'm a big believer in good old fashion western judgement.


CB

 

[Steadygain]

Well I got my “I’ve been a bad boy and can’t play on the internet after March 31” letter. I wished I’d have gotten before noon and I would’ve put 50% in the S fund, but I wasn’t sure about what would happen or if I’d get stuck there, until snail mail hit.

CB - What really burns me about this - is how they can selectively burn part of the group and leave the others alone. I never got a letter and so I make my moves as I feel the Markets most solidly indicate a good entry and exit. Thus when I was in G and the Markets went up almost 4% - I went F for 1 day and took a decent gain. Went 100% High Risk on Friday for this week - expecting today to start Bad and end in a good direction. But mainly thought tomorrow and the following day would bring excellent gains - then back to G.

Anyway - whatever the Board decides is "fair" if it's across the board.

Limiting your ITFs - while letting me do whatever I want places me at a much bigger advantage. Somehow this should be reflected in the end of year tally.

 

[CountryBoy]

CB - What really burns me about this - is how they can selectively burn part of the group and leave the others alone. I never got a letter and so I make my moves as I feel the Markets most solidly indicate a good entry and exit. Thus when I was in G and the Markets went up almost 4% - I went F for 1 day and took a decent gain. Went 100% High Risk on Friday for this week - expecting today to start Bad and end in a good direction. But mainly thought tomorrow and the following day would bring excellent gains - then back to G.

Anyway - whatever the Board decides is "fair" if it's across the board.

Limiting your ITFs - while letting me do whatever I want places me at a much bigger advantage. Somehow this should be reflected in the end of year tally.

Hey Steady,

Go for it man and more power to ya. I wish ya all the luck that they never catch up with ya. Who ever can slide by these bloodless morons on the TSP board deserves all the good luck they can get.

You know as well as I do that life isn't fair, but all we're asking for is a fair shot. Hey I'd gladly pay for my moves. but these idiots at the TSP Board aren't even Fed employees, I asked them when I called, so they don't care how much screwing they give us.

I hope your luck holds up. Oh I'll adjust and as I mentioned earlier today, I'm halfway to my 2009 EOY target, so I got some flexibility. The bad thing will be this thing drags on all summer and those that are on the hit list will be limited to snail mail for a longer period of time than they think.

CB

CB

 

[Bullitt]

And now I'm sitting here watching the BS employees leaving their offices with there belongings. I feel for them but I feel more for the folks who had retirement funds tied to BS stock.

Someone needs to pay for this and I mean jail time, I'm still PO'd about this IFT thing.

It's a start. Definitely more to come.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...55BF-997E-4CDD-889B-53591EAFFA9B}&dist=hpmymw

 

[CountryBoy]

Well it looks like March 31, 2008 will be my last day for electronic IFT's, until they get the punitive system set up. Actually it may keep me outta trouble until the market shakes out. I'm still PO'd and would love to express my feelings such that they'll be remembered longer than some letters.

I'm leaning towards just staying in the G, but I wonder if the F may be better. There's no way I can even attempt to take advantage of any short term trends, via snail mail (probably a 3 to 5 day IFT process). So any recommendations whether G or F would be appreciated. Until they get the system set up, I'll probably stay in one of the 2 funds unless the market actually shows solid upward direction.

Keep up the great work guys.

CB

 

[hessian]

...idiots at the TSP Board aren't even Fed employees, I asked them when I called, so they don't care how much screwing they give us.

CB,
Be assured - they will care - once all the lawsuits start rolling in on them. Winning isn't as important as them to start getting "certified letters" - back at 'em!!! - it ought get the fear of God back into their cold-blooded souls.
- they'll also note their costs in making a defense!!

Simply hiring a lawyer to make the legal filing can't cost that much! - just make/file yours! Ask your lawyer what else might be tried/filed!
VR

 

[CountryBoy]

CB,
Be assured - they will care - once all the lawsuits start rolling in on them. Winning isn't as important as them to start getting "certified letters" - back at 'em!!! - it ought get the fear of God back into their cold-blooded souls.
- they'll also note their costs in making a defense!!

Simply hiring a lawyer to make the legal filing can't cost that much! - just make/file yours! Ask your lawyer what else might be tried/filed!
VR

I hope you're right, it'd be nice if some Fed lawyer, who's familiar with the TSP and all the history would take the bit in his mouth. I'm still in anger mode and it's best for me to work thru this stage before I do anything else.

CB

 

[CountryBoy]

Ok Guys,

What’s the plan for those of us forced to the sidelines by the Socialist Bullies at the TSP. I’m torn between just going to G for the next couple of months or doing something like Squalebear is going to do (40 G, 15 F, 20 C, 15 S 10 I).

Since we have been labeled by the Board as trouble makers, although we were IFT’ing according to published rules and would’ve adhered to the news rules when published, I feel that our snail mail IFT’s will languished on some punks desk in Birmingham, while the bottom drops outta the market. Since my letter said " ..expedited handling of a form will not be honored", any mailing, other than the snail mail, may even be persecuted further. I'd say by the way we've been strong armed, that they will even lose a few. So I don't look at being able to change my allotment for 5 days.

Yeah I’m stilled pissed off. The rules of IFT’ing haven’t been finalized and these Girly men don’t have the authority to unilaterally change the rules on their own. I feel so helpless about not having any control over my future that I’m reduced to name calling. (Childish rant over, since I can’t get my hands on them).

The letters, comments and faxes didn't do alot to ease my frustration, but thanks to all that offered up suggestions, cause I sure took advantage of all the examples. I bet I haven't hand written this much, in almost 25 years. :laugh:

Since I’ll be retiring in 7 years at the max, I’m leaning towards the G plan, since I feel that the trend for the next few months will be down, but my coin says it might go up as well.

Misery loves company.

Oh well,
CB

 

[Guest2]

Since I’ll be retiring in 7 years at the max,
I’m leaning towards the G plan, since I feel that the trend for the next
few months will be down, but my coin says it might go up as well.
Misery loves company.Oh well,CB

CB, I'm in the same boat with you concerning my decision. It took a Gosh
Darn miracle to end March +5.94%. I retire (mandatory) in 6.5 years too.
Nothing has changed concerning this Market being labeled a BEAR. Capital
Preservation is pressing me to keep my YTD +2.7%, but, my goals can not
be met if I'm on the sideline. I guess my allocations are based on all of the
above. In either case, may the Market treat you like Warren Buffet.

 

[hessian]

Hi CB, Not sure how much help this will be, especially since I'm not in your shoes - yet!. If I were though, I'd be looking at April, and maybe May, and ask where do I think they're headed. This would influence how I would allocate.

Your estimate, ~5 days to make a snail-mail IFT, seems likely pretty close -but remember 2 points: 1) We'll hear very soon from others -if this is a bluff (personnally I doubt it); 2) If they have this capability, then maybe capability to electronically limit IFTs may be closer to being real too. On market, I'd say be careful for next couple weeks -one to note, is at this link below, see all each day's re: China being precarious (could bring alot down with it)! http://stocktiming.com/Thursday-DailyMarketUpdate.htm

Last, Remember, none of this is over yet, & there are groups starting to sit up and take notice!, all disussed at length here... TSP Talk Forums > Miscellaneous Stuff TSP Trading Limits
Especially see Paladin's post #850 here... http://www.tsptalk.com/mb/showthread.php?t=5162&page=3 - his last bullit seems to indicate DOL, may even as a result, run something of an audit on their a$$'s! (my post, #858, and others, more wiser provide subsequent reason to take heart!
VR

 

[Guest2]

Hi CB, Not sure how much help this will be, especially since I'm not in your shoes - yet!. If I were though, I'd be looking at April, and maybe May, and ask where do I think they're headed. This would influence how I would allocate.

You are one of the many reasons, why I love this board Hessian.
Your respected advice is most deeply appreciated. We "must" keep
our chins up, know that the snail-mail thing is temporary and keep
working hard to achieve our financial goals. Bravo. Kudo's to you
and so many other contributors which makes this website so unique.

 

[Reactive1]

Well, my difficulty with the proposed changes is more on principal. They set the rules, we played the game, and as James Baker said during the 2000 recount, "It simply isn't fair...to change the rules...after the game has been played." They have yet to give a substantial reason IMO to make the changes, it's seems to me an arbitrary decision by a small group of people with no oversight.

Another side of the coin is hard to argue to free people, nor is it the position of the powers-that-be at TSP. I think 2 IFT's is too few, and that's really what it is, two IFT's. A third only comes into play as being allowable if it's a move soley to the G fund. You could probably make the case that the limitation, however unwarranted, could serve to make "us" more disciplined in our effort, and to look at more useful time horizon. That's the way I've decided to view it for myself anyway. I just don't have the energy to become an activist on the issue. Still no matter what is said, nothing takes away the sting of being controlled, especially to be controlled so demonstrably. Five IFT's would be much more comfortable to work with and at least allow us to work week to week, but 2 IFT's is just too few.

Actually, even better, why not charge a person's account ten bucks for any transfer? Hell, make a profit on it!!! I know I would gladly pay 10 bucks if I felt strongly enough to make a move, and it IS understandable that there is some cost involved in processing and so forth...ok, so let us pay for it as individuals. Oh well, enough of that.

Ok Guys,

What’s the plan for those of us forced to the sidelines by the Socialist Bullies at the TSP.

 

[CountryBoy]

Well snail mail only took 7 days. It looks like I'm 60% F, 20% C and 20% S. The transfer didn't show up until this morning (it also wasn't there yesterday at 4 pm), so I'm assuming it takes effect at COB today. They must be sitting on them down there. This sucks. Lets see if my follow up transfer takes place 3 days from now. When that hits I'm sitting until I can transfer by internet.

CB

 

[EW_ret]

If it shows up in your account this morning, that means it was effective COB yesterday, 4-10-2008. TSP posts the prior days IFT by 6:00 am the following morning. How did you know "the transfer showed up" and that it took seven days? I received a PM from another member this morning that said it took seven days for the mailed IFT to be reflected in their account.

Well snail mail only took 7 days. It looks like I'm 60% F, 20% C and 20% S. The transfer didn't show up until this morning (it also wasn't there yesterday at 4 pm), so I'm assuming it takes effect at COB today. They must be sitting on them down there. This sucks. Lets see if my follow up transfer takes place 3 days from now. When that hits I'm sitting until I can transfer by internet.

CB

 

[CountryBoy]

If it shows up in your account this morning, that means it was effective COB yesterday, 4-10-2008. TSP posts the prior days IFT by 6:00 am the following morning. How did you know "the transfer showed up" and that it took seven days? I received a PM from another member this morning that said it took seven days for the mailed IFT to be reflected in their account.

Thanks for the info EW on when my transfer became effective. I mailed the request for transfer on April 4 and it was posted today. Based on what you said it was effective yesterday COB, so I guess it took 6 days to get delivered and entered. Either way, it's a pain and just in time for GE's market dropping news. :suspicious:

CB

 

[EW_ret]

I can change the date for your IFT to yesterday, if that would accurately reflect your IFT. I am starting to allow a one day grace for those members who must use the mail. Please send me a PM to identify yourself and that you are using mail for IFT. I will maintain a list. You must notify me the following day, by 2:00 pm ET, so I can modify the IFT date to the prior day's COB. I expect this to be temporary until the TSP.gov implements the new automated restrictions.

 

[CountryBoy]

I can change the date for your IFT to yesterday, if that would accurately reflect your IFT. I am starting to allow a one day grace for those members who must use the mail. Please send me a PM to identify yourself and that you are using mail for IFT. I will maintain a list. You must notify me the following day, by 2:00 pm ET, so I can modify the IFT date to the prior day's COB. I expect this to be temporary until the TSP.gov implements the new automated restrictions.

Thanks EW, please do change. I sent you a PM.

CB