OnTarget's Account Talk

[OnTarget]

I have to say that I am really surprised by how much of a difference it can make by being active with your TSP account rather than letting it just sit there (buy and hold strategy). This year I had an aha moment so to speak. Here is what led me to joining you all here at TSP Talk. I was encouraged to check out the website by a coworker who had been following it for a few years. He had some success, a few failures and learned a whole bunch along the way. I finally decided to take charge and go for it around Thanksgiving. I have listed my trades for last year below.

OnTarget's IFT History 2011

First Trade: 11/21/11 moved from L2030 to C (70%) & S (30%)
Stayed in until 11/3011 and moved to G fund (100%).
Gain of 4.3% in C & 4.8% in S fund

Second Trade: 12/14/11 moved from G to S (100%)
Stayed in until 12/23/11 and moved to G (100%)
Gain of 5.1% in the S fund

According to TSP, my Personal Investment Performance (PIP) for the entire year in 2011 was 6.3%. This is compared with the L2030 fund which ended the year at -0.31%. I was amazed at the result of actively managing my TSP account (looking for times to get in and out of the market). Even though I only did two trades into the market, I earned more than 6% whereas the L2030 fund was flat. I am excited about being a part of TSP Talk and learning from everyone here.

Thanks to everyone for making this the best place to improve your knowledge and chances of growing your TSP account as quickly and as safely as possible.

Regards,

OnTarget

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

Congrats on some great trades!! I look forward to your input here.

Have a great day!

 

[crommie]

Welcome OnTarget! Glad to have you here contributing to the conversation. It's a crazy ride that we are all on and with a little help from our friends we will all make some money along the way.

 

[nasa1974]

OnTarget, welcome aboard. Unfortunately I turned into a BaH for most of last year. I didn't want to catch the falling knife and once it hit the floor I had to take the slow ride back to the top. Hope to do things different this year. Like your avatar.

 

[crommie]

Hey OnTarget, I just noticed that your in Maine too! Cool, we need more northern exposer around here...no offense nnut! I work at SUBMEPP located on PNSY.

 

[Birchtree]

Interesting, I lived in South Berwick, Me. for a year after my return from Vietnam. Got a job working in the PCH emergency room.

 

[crommie]

Interesting, I lived in South Berwick, Me. for a year after my return from Vietnam. Got a job working in the PCH emergency room.

WOW! I moved to the area in 1991 from further up the coast. I won't tell you how young I was when you lived here! :laugh: It is a mess here today with snow/rain and 34 degrees with a 20 mph wind! Thank you for serving.

 

[Striken7]

Hey crommie, I'm here enjoying the weather with you :toung:

Been a southern Mainer my whole life.

 

[OnTarget]

nasa1974,

I picked the angry bird avatar to represent me breaking through the wall of worry that too often stops folks from taking on risk. No risk, no reward! My goal this year is to make it into the top 100 on the autotracker. We will see how it goes.

 

[nnuut]

65 degrees and sunny here in GA:laugh:, holding 100% "S" fund, I have no problem taking risk.

 

[GUCHI]

65 degrees and sunny here in GA:laugh:, holding 100% "S" fund, I have no problem taking risk.

nnut
you are retired and taking risk (so called risk) ? thats what i plan to do when i retire. let that sucker keep rolling with calculated risk. i figure when you retire thats the most money one will ever have up till retirement. i hope i will not have to touch it right away anyway. keep on keepin on nnut!​

 

[OnTarget]

GUCHI,

I also plan on continuing to grow my TSP account (as best I can, anyway) into my retirement. Managing how the TSP funds are invested is very interesting to me. I hope to learn as much as I can along with the other TSP Talk members to increase my chances of a comfortable retirement. I have about fifteen years before I am eligible to retire. From what I have seen with many of the members here is that you can dramatically improve the returns with some careful study and calculated risks. I like that idea...dramatically improve my returns. Here's to shooting for the Top 100 on the autotracker this year!

OnTarget

 

[nnuut]

Being retired CSRS I with a small SSA I never really planned for my TSP to be a major part of my retirement fund. Now I think of it as an emergency fund and when you get older you WILL need an emergency fund. I will try and make it as big as I can, so far I'm not doing that well but as I said it's an extra to me. That's why I always say "newbie please don't follow me".

 

[crommie]

Hey crommie, I'm here enjoying the weather with you :toung:

Been a southern Mainer my whole life.

Hello and welcome to you Striken7! How 'bout that, three Mainiacs new to posting on this board. :laugh:
Sorry about hijacking your thread OnTarget with all of this non-money making chatter! I look forward to reading what you folks think of the markets and what you decide to do with your TSP accounts. I too have around 15 years to go...let's see if we can all retire to warmer climates like Nnuut and Birch!

 

[OnTarget]

The ship is sailing...

How long will this bullish push up in the market continue? That is what I keep asking myself, especially since I am out of IFTs and sitting in G. Hopefully a slow start this month won't matter much over the course of the year. Still shooting to make it into the top 100 in 2012 and still a long way off.

OnTarget

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

Re: The ship is sailing...

How long will this bullish push up in the market continue? That is what I keep asking myself, especially since I am out of IFTs and sitting in G. Hopefully a slow start this month won't matter much over the course of the year. Still shooting to make it into the top 100 in 2012 and still a long way off.

OnTarget

Maybe we have a little bit of a pull back as January closes out and we can hit the S-Fund with a fresh new low price to buy in February

 

[OnTarget]

Re: The ship is sailing...

Maybe we will have a little bit of a pull back as January closes out and we can hit the S-Fund with a fresh new low price to buy in February

RMI,
I am with you on that one. Next month should hold another opportunity. I will be looking for it...

 

[OnTarget]

Patiently waiting (with a bearish sentiment). So far this has been a slow start to the year for me, missing out on the extended upswing the past two months. I am sitting in the F-fund, which is okay for the time being. Will next month bring in the pull back that I have been waiting for? Or will the Bulls mantain their hegemony of the market?

he·gem·o·ny (h

-j

m

-n

) n. pl. he·gem·o·nies The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others.

 

[uscfanhawaii]

Patiently waiting (with a bearish sentiment). So far this has been a slow start to the year for me, missing out on the extended upswing the past two months. I am sitting in the F-fund, which is okay for the time being. Will next month bring in the pull back that I have been waiting for? Or will the Bulls mantain their hegemony of the market?

I too was waiting patiently (see my thread on Account Talk), but finally gave in to the trend. All In today. So I hope BT is right and we are about to see exponential growth! Reality is that I have to watch closely and pull the plug at the first sign of trouble :blink:. As Tom says, the market will want to prove the most wrong as possible...I just hope I am not getting in just in time to find that pull back you speak of :suspicious:.

 

[OnTarget]

uscfanhawaii,

Good luck with the move in today. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Right?

OnTarget