Neil Macneale III

Comments:

• At 78 years, I have solved the "to work or not work" after "retirement" in the following way. I have been in the construction field for all my working years. The stock market and the California real estate market have been very good to me. I don't need to work but I have a lot of skills and many of my friends and neighbors need help with various projects. They pay for materials and I keep track of my time. We set an hourly rate and when done, I ask that they send a contribution to my favorite non-profit based on the hours expended. They get a cut rate on my labor and a tax deduction and I get to use my tools and have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It's a win-win-win. I feel very lucky.

  Post: Buying Freedom

  Link to comment from June 1, 2024

• My wife and I have bought, fixed up, and sold six houses over the last 20 years or so. We've made money on all of them. The increase in value was primarily because of added square footage. Check out what houses in the neighborhood are selling for as cost per square foot. You can almost always add additional living space for less $ per square foot than you will eventually get for it when you sell.

  Post: Our Money Pit

  Link to comment from January 21, 2024

• Marjorie, Bird watching may not be for everyone but it certainly worked for my parents. My Mom was always a birder. When Dad retired after 38 years at P&G he was planning on doing some consulting. Within 6 months he had pitched out all his neckties and business cards and joined Mom on a 15 year odyssey, traveling the US and the world in search of one more entry on their life list. Friends are important but, for them, their best friend (and fellow birder) was also their spouse.

  Post: Care Money Can’t Buy

  Link to comment from September 28, 2023

• Good article! I love telling the story of my Mom and Dad and their retirement. Dad was a mechanical engineer working on packaging machinery for Proctor & Gamble for his entire career. He thought he'd like to be a consultant after his retirement and had business cards printed and let all his contacts know he was available. While he waited for the phone to ring, he joined Mom on several bird-watching weekends and, within a few months, had tossed out all his neck-ties and business cards and embarked on an adventure of many years, traveling the country and abroad, to add another bird to his life list. The joke was that Mom and Dad were on their way to California to see the elusive Clapper Rail and, by the way, would it be OK to stop in to see the grandchildren. For them, the key was finding something they both enjoyed doing together.

  Post: Ask Before Quitting

  Link to comment from June 17, 2023

• See my reply to Philip Stein below

  Post: Skill or Luck?

  Link to comment from May 26, 2023

• Philip, I agree that market beating "systems" usually lose their advantage as they become known and widely followed. The interesting thing I've learned over 27 years, is that both retail investors and "experts" poo-poo the idea that stock splits are a meaningful signal of outperformance. However, academic studies (look up David Ikenberry) and my own track record (see 2-for-1.com) prove otherwise. Even the Stock Split Index Fund following my Index (TOFR - NYSE 2014 through 2017), sponsored by USCF found it hard to attract investors because folks thought it was just a gimmick. My point is that the market is not always a perfect "random walk" and the anomalies can be exploited.

  Post: Skill or Luck?

  Link to comment from May 26, 2023

• It's obvious that luck plays a big part in investing success or failure, just as it has a role in so many of life's endeavors. Luck in finding the right partner, luck in being hired by a great company or boss, luck in having your children stay alive and thrive in a dangerous world. This being said, an investor can improve his /her odds by exploiting certain anomalies in the markets. The one that has worked for me is the "stock split advantage". By maintaining a portfolio of 30 companies bought shortly after a stock split announcement I have achieved an annualized market beating return of +/-11.5% over the last almost 27 years. It can be done.

  Post: Skill or Luck?

  Link to comment from May 26, 2023

• We choose to live in a capitalist society/economy. To be a fully participating member of the community, you have to have some capital. Loaning or investing that capital is necessary to keep the wheels turning, but HOW we choose to loan or invest our capital is a primary determinant of how well the economy and the community will function.

  Post: Independent Investor

  Link to comment from February 11, 2023

• As far as purpose goes, it has been my observation and experience that finding a purpose that you can share with a partner is much more important than the actual activity. When my parents retired, my dad thought he'd use his engineering expertise as a consultant. Within a few months, he'd ditched all of his neckties and business cards to join my mom in her hobby of bird watching. They spent the next many years traveling together adding to their "life lists" and enjoying each others company.

  Post: Retire Is a Verb

  Link to comment from January 28, 2023