My Hands Are Tied

[tsptalk]

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zbwmy wrote:

I was not able to vote before the poll ended. I would probably pay. I keep thinking did this come up because of all the TSP Pilot talk?

Mark

SorryMark. I didn't mean to close the poll. It should be open again.

This didn't have to do with tsp pilot but rather that I am not allowed on the site during working hours and it has been difficult to get good, up to date info out. Since my suspension at work, I am considering leaving my job, or possibly going fulltime, so I can devote more time to maing this a better site. But I'd have to be sure I can still feed my family before I can d o that.

 

[tsptalk]

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LX280 wrote:

Tom,

Just food for thought. (remember.....I'm new to this)

When TSP went to daily valuations of accountsI don't think that they expected TSP investors to actively (or, almost "Day Trade") their acounts. You may find that sometime in the future thatthe board of directors (governing board)of the TSP may try and change the rules and limit the number (or, how offten) allocation changes can be made. Or, they may just try and make your life hard.If more and more people start to follow your advise you very well may "spot light" yourself via your website.

Hi LX -
That is a possibility but with 3,000 or even 25,000 membersthis site is a small drop in the bucket compared to the size of the gov't. I read that only a very small % even make transfers, although we may be changing that slightly.

My thinking is that it is just a little more data processing. I would suggest requestingelectronic rather than mailed confirmations. That makes it even more transparent.

 

[tsptalk]

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Greg R. wrote:

[align=center]Poll responses [/align]
Yes to #: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8.

Welcome Greg, and thanks!

 

[volman]

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It's fascinating to watch capitalism at its best. Looks like a hair raising venture w/ great prospects. I have been a daily viewer sinceFeb 04.

Tom, lot's of great advice coming from men and women I respect more than anyone on this earth (my fellow men and women in the service, both military and civil.) Tough decisions must be made by those of impeccable character.

Make your own decision, Tom. Looks like all will follow; At least to some extent....... ROLL ON!

Volman

 

[tsptalk]

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Wow, Feb 04? Excellent!

Thanks for your support!

Tom

 

[Wheels]

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A few thoughts on this subject, albeit as little late.

1. Tom, I am sure you have already considered this but if you leave your job you not only have to replace 30K, 40K, or 50K in salary but you need to consider health insurance, life insurance, loss of pension, etc, etc...

2. You might want to wait (as several above have suggested) for more people on the board AND for a little bit better proven track record. (In other words, crush the S&P for a year and then ask people to pay to follow you).

3. If you should decide to venture out, it was nice to see so many lurkers come out of the wood work in support of you.

4. Lastly, I probably wouldn't pay much (maybe $5) because I was already pretty actice with my TSP funds when I found your site but I do enjoy putting my ideas up against others. I am also finding the spreadsheet that you offered last year and the new and improved one this year very helpful so for those I will be firing off a PayPal donation right now.

Dave

 

[buybest]

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I recently posted a comment about the transfer time of day, see msg board: without the ability to "get a transfer done"up to themarket close greatly limits our ability to stop losses. Unfortunatelymost info posted on tsp talk is basedon a 4hr lead time. That leaves a wide gap for things to change.Granted there are quit a bit of other facts andinfo also posted but one of the best investment principals is knowing when to be out of equities in orderto limithuge dips.I believe if thischange is made to the tsp operation then tsptalk would merit some form of membership fee/charges for posting up to date market conditions.

 

[tsptalk]

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buybest wrote:

Granted there are quit a bit of other facts andinfo also posted but one of the best investment principals is knowing when to be out of equities in orderto limithuge dips.I believe if thischange is made to the tsp operation then tsptalk would merit some form of membership fee/charges for posting up to date market conditions.

That's it bestbuy. I either have to give you this 75% effort because of my job, or I can give 100% but I have that salary I'd have to make up. The site would definitely be better and more timely.

wheelswrote:

I probably wouldn't pay much (maybe $5) because I was already pretty actice with my TSP funds when I found your site but I do enjoy putting my ideas up against others. I am also finding the spreadsheet that you offered last year and the new and improved one this year very helpful so for those I will be firing off a PayPal donation right now.

Thanks wheels! I really appreciate that donation.I pay close to $200 a month just for all of the investment services I use. I take it all in (commentary, charts, graphs, sentiment figures, stats etc.) and pass it on to you in my daily comments and email alerts with my spin on things. I think the price I would be asking is quite reasonable for all that information that you can't get anywhere else for that price. Your donation sure helps keep that going right now.

Thanks again,
Tom

 

[Rod]

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tsptalk wrote:

buybest wrote:

Granted there are quit a bit of other facts andinfo also posted but one of the best investment principals is knowing when to be out of equities in orderto limithuge dips.I believe if thischange is made to the tsp operation then tsptalk would merit some form of membership fee/charges for posting up to date market conditions.

That's it bestbuy.

Hey Tom... been shopping at BestBuy lately???

I have! I just purchased a new laptop!:^

BTW, his name is buybest!!!

 

[tsptalk]

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:' Thanks Rod.

So did you buy the best laptop?

 

[rodneywa2002]

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I have been to this site quite a few times, but only logged on today. Great site

I made a REALLY SMALL donation today, then I came across these posts

I would only pay with Paypal

I'm only pay grade WG-1 step one, $10 would cut into other important stuff like beer

how about a small flat flee for occasional use then more up to 10$ for a lot of use?

$120a year iscurrently 10% of my TSP account

 

[Rod]

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tsptalk wrote:

:' Thanks Rod.

So did you buy the best laptop?

The best I could afford!!!

Compaq V2000:^

 

[tsptalk]

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rodneywa2002 wrote:

I have been to this site quite a few times, but only logged on today. Great site

I made a REALLY SMALL donation today, then I came across these posts

I would only pay with Paypal

I'm only pay grade WG-1 step one, $10 would cut into other important stuff like beer

how about a small flat flee for occasional use then more up to 10$ for a lot of use?

$120a year iscurrently 10% of my TSP account

Welcome rodney!

Point taken. I will take everything into consideration if I change things.

Thanks for the donation!
Tom

 

[Guest]

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Tom,

You want to keep the # of members growing since it would likely help you re: advertising dollars. So, charging for access to the entire site...at least at first, might not be the best idea. My recommendation is to, at first, charge for special or extra research services (charts/analysis et al) and see how it goes...

Hey, I have another idea. How about keeping records of how well the different members do in TSP and give awards to the top trader for a given period (quarterly? monthly?) You charge people who want to enter the contest and give awards to the winners. The difference helps to keep the site up.

(Hope that helps!)

 

[tsptalk]

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Thanks saraho. We think alike. I started the membership accounts with the intention of doing something like that. I just haven't had time to get it started and I don't want Fundsurfer taking the responsibility for tracking it. I doubt I willcharge to get in though. But one day I will do that.

Tom

 

[Guest]

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tsptalk wrote:

Thanks saraho. We think alike. I started the membership accounts with the intention of doing something like that. I just haven't had time to get it started and I don't want Fundsurfer taking the responsibility for tracking it. I doubt I willcharge to get in though. But one day I will do that.

Tom

How about "free" membership" for the next month, quarter, or what ever time frame you use?

 

[tsptalk]

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tsptorture wrote:

How about "free" membership" for the next month, quarter, or what ever time frame you use?

For the winner? Good idea.

 

[Mike]

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The winner of such competition would need this site the least though...

If I beat the mean return of the accounts here, I'll be happy - I definitely haven't been a top performer thus far. :shock:

If you want to win, do the opposite of me - you'll probably be a millionaire within 3 years.:^

 

[azanon]

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My 2 cents is you'd have to start consistently beating the trained monkey to justify it first. I mean that as gently as I can say it. (trained monkey = 20% to all).

The trained monkey takes no effort at all (well, except for rebalancing every year or quarter, or whatever you prefer), and is always going to produce quite respectible results (simply because if you "rebalance" a balanced fund, you cant help but buylow and sell high).

It takes time and energy to "daytrade" or weektrade, to characterize more what's going on here, and so far, the monkey is winning.... at least measured from the tenure of this website.

Now I use 100% stocks (40I, 30C, 30S). Not even I would expect you to beat that over the long term, cause I'm all but confident that isnt going to happen ;-). Granted, i'll reevaluate that approach~ 5 years from now when we enter the so called, potential baby boom deflation/depression several are predicting.

 

[tsptalk]

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azanon wrote:

My 2 cents is you'd have to start consistently beating the trained monkey to justify it first. I mean that as gently as I can say it. (trained monkey = 20% to all).

I would certainly need to perform over the long term. Makes me hope we get another extended bear market so the buy and hold 100% stock folks will remember why it's important to keep an eye on things.

If you look at this site as just a percentage gain or loss, then you don't fullyget it. If I started to post the thank you emails I get everyday from people who not long ago knew virtually nothing about savings and investing, and are now taking charge of their retirements and TSPaccounts whether by putting in the max %, getting out of hiding in the G fund when appropriate, oreven just knowing they can move their money around, you'd see that none of them say "you only gained 10% last year?"

Not everyone might agree with my allocations orappreciate mydaily market comments, but this site is a place where everyone can share ideas, ask questions and learn. And I'm here everyday!