They are blessed to have you and Connie in their life. No doubt you have been a significant influence in the struggles they have encountered. I suspect there are many stories like yours but I wonder how many have family members that make sacrifices to help, which no doubt you both have done.
Many years agoMoney magazine working with a group of forensics asked 7 or 8 folks what there 10-15 year average return was--they agreed to sit with a forensic once they submitted their % to be sure they were being accurate. As you can guess they had no real numbers to back up their very healthy return. Buying and selling was their downfall. One guy from Boca Raton met them at his front door and said he really had no firm idea of his average total return but he had assets to pay cash for their home--play golf daily--vacation just about anywhere--and basically do whatever they wanted. Like him I guess I give a rat's rear end whether I am "aligned" or not--do I care what the S&P did and whether I kept up or not--NO! After 55 years if investing I have financial control of our lives. Maybe twice a year I check the funds we have been investing with for decades, and still do, to see what the value is. Does brother Quinn actually check daily to see gain/loss? YIKES!!! I guess different strokes for different folks.
I think there is confusion between "risk" and "volatility"--volatility is the movements both up and down that can be severe. Of course when we look at volatility we probably attribute that to the downside, not the upside, and why not? . I have found that many investors when they mention risk are really talking volatility. To me risk is the chance the investment will be lost.
Excellent read. Successful Investors: Goal focused Plan driven Unsuccessful Investors: Market focused Performance driven. I believe the above is from Nick Murray.
If they asked for SS# you might have realized it was a scam right then and there--they have your # and and are telling you it was compromised. I get these scam calls all the time and like David just play with them. "you fixed my computer last week and now you want to do it again--if you were incompetent last week just think how incompetent you will be today."
Remember, when you pay down the mortgage by adding extra dollars, say monthly so you can pay it off early, you are in effect stuffing money in your walls. A house you live in is not an investment. It's a place to raise the family and place of comfort and serenity. Last time I looked I couldn't sell the bathroom for a Viking River Cruise or sell the basement for the granddaughter's education at SMU. I love running a hypothetical using the S&P 500, or a a few funds we have had for decades, with the $400 a month extra going to the prepayment of the 30-year mortgage. Rolling 30-year periods starting in 1937 shows what $400 initial and the same monthly for 30-years yields in total return. Investing in the greatest companies in the world has proven to be a fabulous place to create wealth. But, you time, patience, and discipline.
Warren Buffett: "I made my first investment in March of 1942 at the height of the war but not in gold. At that time $10,000 would buy 300 ounces of gold." Great time to own gold--what do you think? "Invest that $10,000 in the S&P 500 index and allow the dividends tocompound from March of 1942. Your gold goes to the safe deposit box earning nothing because gold produces nothing." "As of this date (June 2021) the Index is worth about $78 million. The value of 300 ounces of gold is currently about $540,000." "In other words for every dollar you could have made in American business, you'd have less than a penny of gain by buying into a store of value which people tell you to run to every time you get scared by the headlines." "While the businesses were reinvesting in more plants, and new inventions came along, you could look into your safe deposit box, and you would have your 300 ounces of gold. You could look at it, fondle it, and do whatever you wanted with it. It didn't produce anything. It was never going to produce anything." An excerpt from an annual Buffett meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.
I would come at this in another fashion and that is what great pleasure you must bring to the neighbors. They would have missed the noise and trash generated by the college students, although it looks like no cats just more noise and trash. We had that situation next door years ago and visited the owner (I am being generous with that word) and asked if he would enjoy living next to the students he was renting to. Within a year he sold the house to our super neighbors. What is the cost to the neighborhood and is it tax deductible? I don't do tenants and toilets only dividends. I assume one cannot sell a unit if one wants a Viking River cruise? I had cousins that owned 21 units in central MA and they were very open about court trips--eviction notices--and many repairs. Like you they did well but here was a cost. To each his own but for numerous reasons when I had the chance to rent I passed on it for a few good funds.
Lucien Hoper is a Wall Street legend. Born on a dairy farm in Biddeford, Maine in 1895--a Harvard graduate--a World War 1 veteran--and was on the floor of the NYSE in 1929 when the market crashed. I read his Forbesarticles for years and his book The Best of Times where I benefited from some common sense investment advice. (1) Discipline yourself to save $ each and every month--(2) Always reinvest dividends---(3) invest in quality securities rather than get rich schemes-- (4) sell stocks that go down and keep stocks that go up, so you share the loss with Uncle Sam--(5) measure success by 5 or 10-year performance, not by what happens in a month or a year. If you find yourself counting your money every day, week, or month you are on a slow ride to nowhere.
Comments
They are blessed to have you and Connie in their life. No doubt you have been a significant influence in the struggles they have encountered. I suspect there are many stories like yours but I wonder how many have family members that make sacrifices to help, which no doubt you both have done.
Post: One family, two very different life experiences
Link to comment from December 15, 2024
Many years ago Money magazine working with a group of forensics asked 7 or 8 folks what there 10-15 year average return was--they agreed to sit with a forensic once they submitted their % to be sure they were being accurate. As you can guess they had no real numbers to back up their very healthy return. Buying and selling was their downfall. One guy from Boca Raton met them at his front door and said he really had no firm idea of his average total return but he had assets to pay cash for their home--play golf daily--vacation just about anywhere--and basically do whatever they wanted. Like him I guess I give a rat's rear end whether I am "aligned" or not--do I care what the S&P did and whether I kept up or not--NO! After 55 years if investing I have financial control of our lives. Maybe twice a year I check the funds we have been investing with for decades, and still do, to see what the value is. Does brother Quinn actually check daily to see gain/loss? YIKES!!! I guess different strokes for different folks.
Post: Dart board investing. What, me worry? Quinn may not be a good example
Link to comment from September 3, 2024
I think there is confusion between "risk" and "volatility"--volatility is the movements both up and down that can be severe. Of course when we look at volatility we probably attribute that to the downside, not the upside, and why not? . I have found that many investors when they mention risk are really talking volatility. To me risk is the chance the investment will be lost.
Post: Almost True
Link to comment from April 17, 2024
I don't do tenants and toilets just dividends. I admire your hard work and family values.
Post: Handing Over the Keys
Link to comment from April 6, 2024
Excellent read. Successful Investors: Goal focused Plan driven Unsuccessful Investors: Market focused Performance driven. I believe the above is from Nick Murray.
Post: Give Peace a Chance
Link to comment from January 20, 2024
If they asked for SS# you might have realized it was a scam right then and there--they have your # and and are telling you it was compromised. I get these scam calls all the time and like David just play with them. "you fixed my computer last week and now you want to do it again--if you were incompetent last week just think how incompetent you will be today."
Post: Almost Had Me
Link to comment from October 7, 2023
Remember, when you pay down the mortgage by adding extra dollars, say monthly so you can pay it off early, you are in effect stuffing money in your walls. A house you live in is not an investment. It's a place to raise the family and place of comfort and serenity. Last time I looked I couldn't sell the bathroom for a Viking River Cruise or sell the basement for the granddaughter's education at SMU. I love running a hypothetical using the S&P 500, or a a few funds we have had for decades, with the $400 a month extra going to the prepayment of the 30-year mortgage. Rolling 30-year periods starting in 1937 shows what $400 initial and the same monthly for 30-years yields in total return. Investing in the greatest companies in the world has proven to be a fabulous place to create wealth. But, you time, patience, and discipline.
Post: That Elusive 1%
Link to comment from September 21, 2023
Warren Buffett: "I made my first investment in March of 1942 at the height of the war but not in gold. At that time $10,000 would buy 300 ounces of gold." Great time to own gold--what do you think? "Invest that $10,000 in the S&P 500 index and allow the dividends to compound from March of 1942. Your gold goes to the safe deposit box earning nothing because gold produces nothing." "As of this date (June 2021) the Index is worth about $78 million. The value of 300 ounces of gold is currently about $540,000." "In other words for every dollar you could have made in American business, you'd have less than a penny of gain by buying into a store of value which people tell you to run to every time you get scared by the headlines." "While the businesses were reinvesting in more plants, and new inventions came along, you could look into your safe deposit box, and you would have your 300 ounces of gold. You could look at it, fondle it, and do whatever you wanted with it. It didn't produce anything. It was never going to produce anything." An excerpt from an annual Buffett meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.
Post: Don’t Have a Cow
Link to comment from August 30, 2023
I would come at this in another fashion and that is what great pleasure you must bring to the neighbors. They would have missed the noise and trash generated by the college students, although it looks like no cats just more noise and trash. We had that situation next door years ago and visited the owner (I am being generous with that word) and asked if he would enjoy living next to the students he was renting to. Within a year he sold the house to our super neighbors. What is the cost to the neighborhood and is it tax deductible? I don't do tenants and toilets only dividends. I assume one cannot sell a unit if one wants a Viking River cruise? I had cousins that owned 21 units in central MA and they were very open about court trips--eviction notices--and many repairs. Like you they did well but here was a cost. To each his own but for numerous reasons when I had the chance to rent I passed on it for a few good funds.
Post: Don’t Get Catty
Link to comment from August 23, 2023
Lucien Hoper is a Wall Street legend. Born on a dairy farm in Biddeford, Maine in 1895--a Harvard graduate--a World War 1 veteran--and was on the floor of the NYSE in 1929 when the market crashed. I read his Forbes articles for years and his book The Best of Times where I benefited from some common sense investment advice. (1) Discipline yourself to save $ each and every month--(2) Always reinvest dividends---(3) invest in quality securities rather than get rich schemes-- (4) sell stocks that go down and keep stocks that go up, so you share the loss with Uncle Sam--(5) measure success by 5 or 10-year performance, not by what happens in a month or a year. If you find yourself counting your money every day, week, or month you are on a slow ride to nowhere.
Post: For Richer or Broker
Link to comment from August 16, 2023