Where in Florida are you from? I'm heading home to Cape Coral next week and my girlfriend and I are going on a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.
Im on the Treasure Coast (Vero Beach to Jupiter)...podunk little town called Port St. Lucie. Not so small anymore though.
I came back to my post to thank everyone for the help and advice given to me. -speaking of, wheres poolman been? I've dearly missed the videos he used to post to his account. I'll have to peruse to find those links.
So, with the help of all of you, I've learned. I'm in a diferent mindset than before being exposed to investing. I went through my old posts looking for advice given to me (by boghie I believe) to look into financial planning or the like. -Where you enter income earned, who knows what else, and it spewed out your net worth, and the monthly or annual amounts you should invest. It talked about the need to have three months of income saved for preperation to a financial disaster, and other things. Well, honestly It appears I was going through alot at the time (by reading my old posts), nor was I in a position or have the discipline to consider what that website was suggesting. Saving money is difficult. Saving three months of income is harder. Saving, planning, then investing? Wow. My mind just blew up.
I guess Im bumping my own thread again for no other reason that to reflect...and explain where I sit today. I understand this isnt a therapy forum. I then apologize to Tom for using it as such, but hey, my bad...but good did come from it. I've since clearly realized I had PTSD then, but didnt see it.
Moving along...I also took the advice from that "financial planning" site given to me, and benefited from it. No, I still dont have 3 months of income saved lol. But, when given poop, you make a poop pie. Not only did I stop contributuins, but I cashed in the TSP...totally against Birchtree's advice. I respect ya though Birch, and learned from you too. I've realized your system makes sense to me -up or down, just buy.
This whole time I've gone against the grain. I will buy & hold. TSP wasn't good for me...except to use it as a temporary savings account. Against my own logic, I wanted to cash it in & buy stocks. Instead however, I ended up paying off my harley. No sense paying interest in one hand, while making (or losing) interest in the other. Hense, I have learned something (my truck is next on the list to pay off).
Before I bump my own thread again tomorrow just to explain other financial decisions I've made since 2010, I'll put it out there now.
Going through my Sharebuilder account history, man I blew some dough on transaction fee's ($10 a pop). But I've learned so much. Technicals, graphs, reasearch before buying, forsight etc. I dont go to casino's nor do I buy lotto tickets. 2012 I lacked a little on the investing, but in reality this has become somewhat of a hobby I enjoy. It's something for me to spend my time analyzing & researching, with the thrill similar to gambling....except with better odds. I believe in the buy & hold theory because i believe in capitolism and everything else that is American.
So now, I see my mistakes, and I see my beneficials. I'm up on blue chips, and down on most others, but....I'm still investing. Thanks again Birch for your uplifting bullness even in a bear market. Thanks to Tom for putting up with...well, lets just say for helping me in an important point in my life. Thanks for Boghie for your advice in general, thanks for nnut for being "that guy" that responds to my unimportant posts - Lets me know it's being read by someone. Thanks to SteadyGain for being there, and relating. You too Birch. Without fellow vets to talk to, we'd all be in a mess.
Most importantly, thanks to everyone that takes their time to post here daily, reads & replies. Advice given doesnt always fall on deaf ears...even for a groundhog like me who dissappears at times. Thanks mostly to the moderators who run this show. I dont write this to get some lengthy response from any of you. I just needed to tell you all that I appreciate what you've done here, and even though some new members may not become regulars, your influence to me at least has become invaluable. This resource, the ability to just talk & learn. I couldnt get this with a bank, or an investment firm. Thanks.
From here on, I'll attemt to reply to others threads to ask my questions since I dont have much to contribute to the collective really. My interest now seems to be to learn further from others buying decisions.
