Steel_Magnolia's Account Talk

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Steel_Magnolia

Steel_Magnolia

Member
Hi, I’m Maggie and welcome to my home. The couches are overstuffed and comfortable. The refrigerator is stocked with sodas and beer. And if you need something stronger, that’s in the bar disguised as a world globe over there in the corner. There’s a six-layer coconut cake on the counter. Glasses and plates are in the cupboard above the cake, and forks and napkins are in the drawer right below that.

Oh, and the bathroom is at the end of the hall. Please leave the ficus alone because it has finally got new shoots again.

When I was thinking about what MB name to choose, I wanted something that sounded soft and fluffy on the outside but with a tough inner core that has been tempered by fire. That’s why I chose Steel Magnolia. And besides, burro can attest that I live in Dixie!

A bit about myself: My favorite things are my spouse of many years, grandchildren, and loyal friends. I also like good books and quality chocolate, preferably together, with John Lee Hooker or Johann Sebastian Bach playing in the background.

And last but not least, the reason why we’re all here, our TSP accounts. I am invested 35% in the G Fund Garage, because I’m a FERS retiree and I can’t eat my seed corn. I’m invested 45% in the F Fund, because it has been above its 50 day moving average since May 20, and has been at or above its 20 DMA that whole time as well. I also have 8% in C Fund, 7% in S Fund and 5% in I Fund.

Because I don’t have a higher percentage in equities, Birch will say I’m a chicklett. (The fluffy little chick that runs to its mama at the least occurrence, not the little white squares of gum.) And Birch will be right. Because shares are cheap right now. But there is nothing to say that they won’t get cheaper. I’m reading the blogs each day and watching the trend lines carefully. I’ll probably buy more equities this fall, but it’s not time yet.

I look forward to learning more from each of you and to having many fruitful dialogues on the MB. And if I sound familiar to some of you, there is a good reason for that. Thank you again to all my friends who made this fresh start possible.

[FONT=&quot]I'd like to be the sort of friend [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]that you have been to me;[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I'd like to be the help that you've[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]been always glad to be;[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'd like to mean as much to you[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]each minute of the day[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As you have meant, good friends of mine,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]to me along the way.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'd like to do the big things and[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]the splendid things for you,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]To brush the gray from out your skies[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]and leave them only blue;[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'd like to say the kindly things[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]That I so oft have heard,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]And feel that I could rouse your soul[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]the way that mine you've stirred.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'd like to give you back the joy[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]that you have given me,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yet that were wishing you a need[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I hope will never be;[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'd like to make you feel as rich[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As I, who travel on[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Undaunted in the darkest hours [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]With you to lean upon.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'm wishing at this time that I[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]could but start to repay[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A portion of the gladness that[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]you've strewn along my way;[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]And could I have one wish this year,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]this only would it be:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I'd like to be the sort of friend[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]that you have been to me.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]- Edgar A Guest - [/FONT]


Mi casa es su casa.
Maggie
 
Good to have you here, Maggie. This market calls for nerves of steel, suspect you've got those in spades-but when the clouds gather, its time to head for cover-I agree w/chicken little there, myself.
 
welcome home.

p.s. the sky ain't falling, it never does, noone who has predicted that has ever been right, yet.
 
Thank you for your visits to my MB home, kar_crazy, alevin, burro and nasa! And nasa, how cold do you want the beer to be? I'll keep it an ice bath if you prefer. :D

I'm not going to be around a whole lot at first. But if I'm not home when you knock just come on in. The door won't ever be locked. Y'all just make yourselves at home. :)

Maggie
 
Maggie,
It's wonderful to have you as part of the MB.

I've done a lot of crazy things and will be super careful ~ or try to be ~ so if I'm rarely around please don't take it personally.

My spouse of 28 years is the only person that could ever have given me the 3 most precious girls that ever lived. We have been through many hard and trying times over the years -- but somehow every change was a change for the best and in the end we are very fotunate to have the lives we have and all we do.

We moved to our present home to 'be there' for my inlaws and it's the longest time we've been in one place. After moving here they bought 80 acres and built their home a 5 minute drive from us. They are as close and meaningful as my own parents.

Your music sounds wonderful and I spend an hour driving to work and back home listening to a wide variety of music. I go to symphonies occasionally and to special events - like world class violenist or pianist - as the center near me is famous for its perfect acoustics and beauty.

My favorite music by far is what Nature itself offers -- a waterfall is probably my favorite - but rivers and streams and the wind and birds and the splashing of fish in a pond and all other forms of Nature do wonders for me.

TSP is something I'm striving with everything to handle more appropriately and make changes for months at a time - rest with that and leave it. For the past few months I've been 70% S and 30% C - and I had 'no problem' with the deep drop and subsequent pop that occured. I went 100% G today because I cannot justify 'consolidation' in light of the current conditions and for me it's better to 'preserve capital' when it appears a downward trend is inevitable.

Well have a great day! and hope you're doing well.

Steady
 
*Burp* Bird is at the third layer of her slice of coconut cake yum. I'm starting the coffeemaker with low octane (decaf)
 
Zacks August 27, 2010, weekend article lays out some good reasons to be cautiously optimistic about equities. (For TSPers that means C, S and I Funds.) However, the article talks about being careful about investing much in the I Fund analogs.

The article also warns folks at or near retirement not to invest money on which you can't take a 20-30% hit, because that kind of drop can happen.

My favorite paragraph from the article:

"...What this all means is that economic news is mixed. The double dippers and fear mongers just want to cling on to the negative stuff and there is some out there...but not all. And a lot of what they are clinging to is not reports showing negative activity. Rather it is a stalling out of previous positive trends. Stalling and falling are two very different things. And right now the proof of a double dip is just not there for me. Nor is it there for the vast majority of economists who closely watch all these indicators. ..."

http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/39431/Russian+Roulette:+Stock+Market+Style

Maggie
 
Most interesting read of the morning:

Supply and Demand: A Detailed Analysis at Projected Home Prices

By Tyler Durden, August 30, 2010

"As everyone who has taken Introduction to Voodoo Bullshit, better known Econ 101, can attest the following chart is basically as ugly as it gets: in simple terms when you have a collapsing demand curve coupled with a surge in supply, the bottom line is that no matter how much intervention is involved, nothing can help to restore the pricing equilibrium to its old level (at least not for a long, long time)...."[more]

http://www.greenfaucet.com/node/18475

Maggie
 
You know, I think that home prices were so artificially high that the price actually needs to go down to more reflect true value and make it possible for more citizens to buy a home. 900 Sq Ft apartment $900,000 HA!!~ come on!:cool:
 
Yep Maggie, very very true. some articles I read say to expect housing price declines for another 7 years at national scale, maybe not all markets. Way way too many houses built for the number of people who could actually afford them using conservative assumptions about necessary downpayments, income, cashflow and expenses. Credit was too easy, drove housing prices way too high. Prices are coming back down to longterm affordable, but there is resistance. banks don't want to lose their shirts on all the bad extremely risky loans they made and are trying to keep the prices unrealistically high by keeping the interest rates too low.
 
Thanks for the link to the Durden article. Takeaways for me were that 2013 is the timeframe for the beginning of a turnaround and this final statement:
" Alas, we are already there, and yes, it is BofA's job to put a favorable spin on the data. Look for another 15-25% drop in home prices from here on out, and another wave of hundred billion+ charge offs at undercapitalized banks. "

Of course a market specific analyis would be helpful. I'm thinking that much of the DC area will remain insulated from the ravages on the rest of the nation.
 
Thank you, Norm, Alevin and Warren, for your excellent comments and for your visit to my home.

And it would be interesting to see a regional breakout on housing price movement in the last ,,, say ... three to four years. I know from my own experience that houses in my area are worth about 55-60% of what they were three years ago. Good news for people looking to buy now. Bad news for people who purchased homes 3 1/2 years ago, like me.

Good thing my mortgage is my only debt. And I still have a palm tree in my front yard. There's a bright side to everything, I guess.

Maggie
 
Jobs: 'Stopped firing, not yet hiring'

By Blake Ellis and Annalyn Censky, staff reporters, September 1, 2010: 9:58 AM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The jobs picture still looks sour, but there could be light at the end of the tunnel. The bad news: The private sector slashed more jobs than expected in August, reversing a sixth-month trend of job gains.The good news: Overall employers announced fewer planned job cuts.

"Private sector employers cut 10,000 jobs in August -- a drop from the downwardly revised 37,000 jobs they added the month before, according to a report by payroll processing firm Automatic Data Processing. Those cuts were worse than predicted. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected the report to show 13,000 jobs added in August....[emphasis added, more]"

http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/01/news/economy/job_cuts_challenger/index.htm


So what I'm reading is that the jobs report isn't nearly what was predicted. But the reaction I'm seeing in the stock market is that, as of this post, we're up about 2 1/2% in stocks across the board.

And up is down and black is white.... :blink:

Maggie
 
There is always a bright side - like being on the come back trail. Money is going to flow the rest of the week - coal is excellent today.
 
Birchtree said:
There is always a bright side - like being on the come back trail. Money is going to flow the rest of the week - coal is excellent today.
Click to expand...
And base metals are doing great too. My little IRA account is going great guns today. But my big TSP account is mostly in F fund because I'm a chicklet. So I won't be enjoying today's market news nearly as much as you will, Birch!

Maggie
 
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