Performance Update On My Rollover IRA
September 17, 2009 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Investing, Stocks
If you’ve been following my “experiment” with my Rollover IRA ETF funds, then you know it’s been doing pretty well. In fact, a friend of mine told me that he has a friend who actually followed suit and invested in the same ETF’s as me! While this scares me a little bit, I am sure he is pleased with the 46% gain on his money since March. Here is the breakdown:
(March 1st 2009 – Present)
BND: VANGUARD TOTAL BOND MARKET – (1.34 %) loss
Update On My IRA Account
July 27, 2009 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Investing, Stocks
If you haven’t noticed, the stock market has been doing very well lately. It has had a few ups and downs in the past 8 weeks, but overall, it has performed great in 2009. My IRA took a strong dive in 2008 like many others, mainly because I did not have it properly diversified. I had everything in very aggressive growth stock mutual funds in a 401(k) with my former company. Once I left that company, I rolled the money into an IRA, and since the amount was not too signficant, I decided to experiment with Exchange Traded Funds.
Take Advantage Of Values In the Stock Market
November 10, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Economy, Investing, Stocks
Last night I had trouble sleeping, and for some reason, I started thinking about industries that are tanking and will be a value for investors in the future. So many of us are scared by the media when they throw out words like recession and depression. We automatically think we’re going to lose our jobs and all of our life savings. It’s simply not true. Yes, there are industries that are lagging, but the bulk of the economy is doing just fine. Circuit City filed for bankruptcy, but in my opinion, it has nothing to do with the economy. They were always the bastard child to Best Buy. They’re prices couldn’t compete, and their customer service was horrible. Sometimes, companies fail because they suck, not because the economy sucks. Getting back to my theme for this post, let’s take a look at the industries to keep an eye on and start buying at a value in the market.
Buffet Encourages Investors To Buy Stocks and Trash the Cash!
October 17, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Economy, Investing, Stocks
Here’s the Op-Ed from Warren Buffet in today’s NY Times encouraging investors to buy American stocks and stock stashing your cash under the mattress. If you’re going to listen to anyone during tough economic times, you need to listen to WEALTHY people, not the media and not other poor people in tons of debt. Wealthy people became wealthy for a reason, and many of them become rich by taking advantage of opportunities during tough economic times. I have harped and harped about this over the past few months, but I am not sure if anyone is listening to it. So, don’t take my word for it, take Warren Buffet’s word for it, the second richest man in the country.
Dow Up 936 Points Yesterday
October 14, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Stocks
That was a nice little rebound from last week. Maybe my 401k will recover a little bit. What are you speculations for today? Do you think it will go up, do nothing, or go back down? I think it will continue to go up, but it will be about a 150 point gain, rather than an astronomical 936 point gain. We shall see.
Dow Continues To Drop; Government Buys Stake In U.S. Banks
October 10, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Economy, Stocks
::sigh::
Seriously, What Is The Deal With the Stock Market
September 4, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Economy, Stocks
Enlighten me, because I can’t figure it out. I’m young, and I haven’t been tracking the stock market for too long, but the stock market’s pattern MUST be historic. One day the Dow goes up 200 points, and another day it goes down 300 points. I’ve never seen or heard about a stock market that acts so volatile. You know my thoughts about investing. I don’t think you should invest in the stock market unless you’re in it for the long-term. If you’ve been trying to day-trade the past 6 months, you’re probably about to jump off of a bridge, because the market has had no rhyme or reason.
Investing Tip: Invest in Boring Companies When the Market is Down
April 23, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Stocks
Everyone keeps talking about how we’re going to start reducing our gasoline consumption because of the high gas prices. I disagree with this premise. I don’t think we’re going to reduce our consumption much, because we still need to bring our kids to soccer practice, drive to work, and run errands. You can dream about people going to the grocery store on their bike, but it’s not going to happen. What will suffer is luxury items and services.
What We Can Learn From the Bear Stearns Down Fall
March 26, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Economy, Stocks
If you keep up with current events and/or financial news, then you probably heard about the demise of Bear Stearns, a once large investment brokerage firm. Many were shocked when the news came out that JP Morgan would be buying Bear Stearns at $2 a share, when months ago the stock was trading at $85 dollars a share. Then, JP Morgan realized that others were trying to compete to buy Bear and offering a higher price, so JP Morgan increased the buy-out to $10 a share. So, let’s take a look at why Bear Stearns crumbled overnight.
Stock Market Rallies In The Afternoon To Post a 300 Point Gain
January 23, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Stocks
I wrote the article below in the midst of watching the market drop 300 points in the morning, then from about 12pm to 3pm, it rallied to post a gain of 300. I told you not to panic! So, is this enough proof to show you that you shouldn’t drink the doom and gloom Kool-Aid that the media wants you to believe? Check out the closing marks for the Dow.
For those of you that lived during the days of Jimmy Carter, you shouldn’t be worried right now. You saw the highest mortgage interest rates in history, high unemployment, and horrible stock market returns. I just don’t see the big signs that say we’re heading for two years of economic decline.
