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Sunday, December 19, 2010
Driving while impared = DISASTER
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
What Do You Believe About God?
The Nature of God is the core and foundation of Christian belief. The way a person perceives the Almighty has a profound effect on every aspect of their life. But while a high percentage of Americans profess to believe in God, their ideas of a divine-being vary all over the map. A good knowledge of the scriptures regarding God is important to the believer who desires to have a deep relationship with his creator.
In a recent Facebook posting I listed a link to a Bible "question and answer" website, which very adequately lists scriptures regarding God, both from the Old Testament and New Testament. It seems that anyone studying the Word would have a fairly clear picture of what God has revealed of Himself.
But there is an increasing movement on the fringe of the Church that seeks to redefine God. A god that is all love but without any apparent moral authority seems to appeal to them. At first blush, some of the things they say make sense. After all, God is love, in fact the very essence of love. But to speak of God's holiness or his intolerance for sin crosses the line with these people.
Who are these people? It might surprise you to discover that they are theologians and professors in many of our seminaries. And all too frequently, they are pastors in our churches. Stating that they are at the fringe of the church is not totally correct, since you will find them in a number of our evangelical institutions and churches.
They are practitioners of what is known a Neo-Orthodoxy or Post-Modernism. In order to redefine God they have had to modify Scripture to fit their concepts. They start with questioning the godly inspiration of the Bible. They point to what they consider inconsistencies in the Word, as well as its human authorship. Biblical Inspiration, according to them, is no more than saying Mark Twain was inspired to write Tom Sawyer, a work of fiction. In the same way, they classify much of scripture as fiction rather than fact. While they admit that much of the Bible is the recorded history of Israel and the Church, is is written as a historic novel. The stories are inspirational, but have little basis in truth.
Jesus Christ is generally accepted as a historic person. But his relationship to God is questioned, as well as his virgin birth. Jesus is considered to be a good example of how one should live their life and their goal is to emulate him. But Jesus is not the only door to God. He is the Christian's example for living, but God has given mankind many different paths to follow to discover Him.
As a result, it is not necessary for Christians to evangelize the world. It is the Christian's duty to find common grounds for fellowship with people of other faiths. Although they have selectively edited scripture, they like the reference where God is not willing that any should perish. This fits their idea of universal salvation. Of course, if everyone is saved there is no need for Hell. And when everyone applies the attributes of Jesus to their lives, especially loving each other, society will gradually improve and earth will become Heaven.
Much of this radical thought and doctrine is coming into evangelical churches. Young pastors are being groomed in Neo-Orthodoxy while attending mainline Christian Universities and Seminaries. It is not always taught openly in the classrooms. But many institutions are bringing in professors with personal leanings toward these concepts.
I grew up attending an evangelical fundamental church. Our pastors continually warned us to be on guard against false teaching. In my mind, I envisioned finding those ideas being presented in the secular world. I took some courses at a public college and I heard anti-Christian/anti-God concepts promoted frequently. But Paul in his epistles warns us of a much more dangerous and close-to-home threat; that of false teachers in our churches. It is obvious that Paul was addressing specific issues in the early Church when he expressed these concerns.
I believe this danger is greater than ever before. But there are some ways we can be alert and on guard. The message of the Church should always be centered in seeking and saving the lost. While it is helpful to teach Christian living to new converts, we should never neglect the salvation of the lost and the reclaiming of the backslider.
Our faith is built on several basic principles. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, actually God in the flesh, who gave his life as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind. Jesus is the only gateway to God. There is no other name whereby we must be saved. The Bible is the Inspired and Infallible Word of God. Men wrote both the Old Testament and the New Testament as they were directed by the Spirit of God. The Church is the Body of Believers who have repented of their sin and accepted the gift of God, our salvation. Jesus Christ is going to return to take the Church, both dead and living, to be with Him in a place that He is preparing for that purpose.
There are other articles of faith that bind us together as Christian Believers. I have attempted to hit some of the high points. We need to be hearing these articles of faith being presented to our congregations by our pastors. If we are not hearing these things on a regular basis as well as invitations to repent and accept Christ, then we need to be asking why.
In a recent Facebook posting I listed a link to a Bible "question and answer" website, which very adequately lists scriptures regarding God, both from the Old Testament and New Testament. It seems that anyone studying the Word would have a fairly clear picture of what God has revealed of Himself.
But there is an increasing movement on the fringe of the Church that seeks to redefine God. A god that is all love but without any apparent moral authority seems to appeal to them. At first blush, some of the things they say make sense. After all, God is love, in fact the very essence of love. But to speak of God's holiness or his intolerance for sin crosses the line with these people.
Who are these people? It might surprise you to discover that they are theologians and professors in many of our seminaries. And all too frequently, they are pastors in our churches. Stating that they are at the fringe of the church is not totally correct, since you will find them in a number of our evangelical institutions and churches.
They are practitioners of what is known a Neo-Orthodoxy or Post-Modernism. In order to redefine God they have had to modify Scripture to fit their concepts. They start with questioning the godly inspiration of the Bible. They point to what they consider inconsistencies in the Word, as well as its human authorship. Biblical Inspiration, according to them, is no more than saying Mark Twain was inspired to write Tom Sawyer, a work of fiction. In the same way, they classify much of scripture as fiction rather than fact. While they admit that much of the Bible is the recorded history of Israel and the Church, is is written as a historic novel. The stories are inspirational, but have little basis in truth.
Jesus Christ is generally accepted as a historic person. But his relationship to God is questioned, as well as his virgin birth. Jesus is considered to be a good example of how one should live their life and their goal is to emulate him. But Jesus is not the only door to God. He is the Christian's example for living, but God has given mankind many different paths to follow to discover Him.
As a result, it is not necessary for Christians to evangelize the world. It is the Christian's duty to find common grounds for fellowship with people of other faiths. Although they have selectively edited scripture, they like the reference where God is not willing that any should perish. This fits their idea of universal salvation. Of course, if everyone is saved there is no need for Hell. And when everyone applies the attributes of Jesus to their lives, especially loving each other, society will gradually improve and earth will become Heaven.
Much of this radical thought and doctrine is coming into evangelical churches. Young pastors are being groomed in Neo-Orthodoxy while attending mainline Christian Universities and Seminaries. It is not always taught openly in the classrooms. But many institutions are bringing in professors with personal leanings toward these concepts.
I grew up attending an evangelical fundamental church. Our pastors continually warned us to be on guard against false teaching. In my mind, I envisioned finding those ideas being presented in the secular world. I took some courses at a public college and I heard anti-Christian/anti-God concepts promoted frequently. But Paul in his epistles warns us of a much more dangerous and close-to-home threat; that of false teachers in our churches. It is obvious that Paul was addressing specific issues in the early Church when he expressed these concerns.
I believe this danger is greater than ever before. But there are some ways we can be alert and on guard. The message of the Church should always be centered in seeking and saving the lost. While it is helpful to teach Christian living to new converts, we should never neglect the salvation of the lost and the reclaiming of the backslider.
Our faith is built on several basic principles. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, actually God in the flesh, who gave his life as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind. Jesus is the only gateway to God. There is no other name whereby we must be saved. The Bible is the Inspired and Infallible Word of God. Men wrote both the Old Testament and the New Testament as they were directed by the Spirit of God. The Church is the Body of Believers who have repented of their sin and accepted the gift of God, our salvation. Jesus Christ is going to return to take the Church, both dead and living, to be with Him in a place that He is preparing for that purpose.
There are other articles of faith that bind us together as Christian Believers. I have attempted to hit some of the high points. We need to be hearing these articles of faith being presented to our congregations by our pastors. If we are not hearing these things on a regular basis as well as invitations to repent and accept Christ, then we need to be asking why.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Arguing With Liberals
As an older person living in today's society I am very upset about the drift toward Socialism, Social Engineering, Post-Modern thought and the turmoil into which our country is sliding. I recently had a Facebook discussion with a good friend, the young-adult son of folks from our former church. He is a real intelligent young man, doing very well in the real estate business and someone any parent would be proud of.
But he apparently has bought into the ideas of the Left. He is a product of our modern education system and a fan of National Public Radio and other liberal media outlets.
The following is the chain of a recent dialog between Buddy and Da Kona Guy:
But he apparently has bought into the ideas of the Left. He is a product of our modern education system and a fan of National Public Radio and other liberal media outlets.
The following is the chain of a recent dialog between Buddy and Da Kona Guy:
From him: Make government smaller, reduce spending, cut programs,...just make sure it doesn't effect me, my family or my special interest group.
From Me: If we are going to survive as a country, we are going to have to "bite the bullet" and take more responsibility for our own welfare. We can not keep expecting the government to continue to increase programs. And Buddy, EVERYONE is part of a "special interest group". Some of us belong to several special interest groups, some of which have contrasting objectives. We MUST reverse the trend that we are following.Friday, November 26, 2010
Does Charity REALLY Begin at Home?
This is the time of year we think about how thankful we are for the blessings God has given us, as well as being able to live in a country like the United States. It is very appropriate that following Thanksgiving we become very thoughtful about helping other people, giving to charities, sending packages to service men, volunteering at the Rescue Mission, giving a gift to The United Way or increasing our support of our church.
The fact is that the United States has the most generous citizenry in the world. Some critics will say that we give so much because we have a guilt complex. But in rebuttal I would say that we give so much for a number of other reason, with guilt not even making the list.
The first most obvious reason that we give so much because we have so much. I really believe that Americans feel more responsibility to share than many other cultures. It is part of our training and upbringing to reach out a hand where needed. I know this has changed in some of the larger cities in the country. I believe this comes from the mentality of people who live in large cities. Most of the crime in our country is committed in large cities. As a result, there is often a heightened sense of mistrust and fear. But to spite all of this, even in places like New York City and Washington DC you will find many people performing acts of kindness and generosity.
I believe the second reason Americans are generous is that we believe "What goes around comes around". This is just a clever way of restating the Golden Rule. Given a choice, we will usually treat others as we would want to be treated if we were in similar circumstances. Most of us can think back to some time when someone reached out a hand to us. Those of us who have children would like to think that maybe someone would help one of our loved ones if they were in need.
The third reason as I see it is that we live in a country where the government, our society, our tax laws and our churches all encourage giving to help others. This aspect even goes beyond personal charity and encompasses corporate and business charity. Due to tax deductions we are all encouraged to give away a portion of our income to charity. Although millions of individuals support charities of their choice, businesses are some of our largest givers. Every year many companies give away millions of dollars both in cash and products to a whole spectrum of causes.
There is a tendency as our country becomes more socialized to put more and more of our charitable responsibility in the hands of the government. We expect the government to take care of us in a number of situations where we no longer have personal resources to manage our lives. The government can't do these things without raising money, which it gets through taxation. So as programs and entitlements increase, so do taxes.
But by making some minor changes in the tax laws, much of this responsibility could be placed back into the private sector, where our charitable gifts could cover these expenses. By simply increasing the amount that businesses could deduct for donations, as well as carefully defining certain areas of charitable need and giving which would reward the giver with even higher tax deductions, many of the government entitlement programs could be eliminated.
The biggest benefit of this approach is efficiency. The cost of maintaining government programs is very high. A large portion of the tax dollar has to go to overhead. Private charities have very small overhead costs. And the government could regulate how much a charity could allow for overhead in case there were some organizations that were not really serving the purpose stated in their Articles of Incorporation.
We have many great charities that serve an important roll in our society. Many are willing to step up and assume more responsibility if only their available funds would allow. Lets look for ways to make our generous country even more generous by encouraging charitable giving.
The fact is that the United States has the most generous citizenry in the world. Some critics will say that we give so much because we have a guilt complex. But in rebuttal I would say that we give so much for a number of other reason, with guilt not even making the list.
The first most obvious reason that we give so much because we have so much. I really believe that Americans feel more responsibility to share than many other cultures. It is part of our training and upbringing to reach out a hand where needed. I know this has changed in some of the larger cities in the country. I believe this comes from the mentality of people who live in large cities. Most of the crime in our country is committed in large cities. As a result, there is often a heightened sense of mistrust and fear. But to spite all of this, even in places like New York City and Washington DC you will find many people performing acts of kindness and generosity.
I believe the second reason Americans are generous is that we believe "What goes around comes around". This is just a clever way of restating the Golden Rule. Given a choice, we will usually treat others as we would want to be treated if we were in similar circumstances. Most of us can think back to some time when someone reached out a hand to us. Those of us who have children would like to think that maybe someone would help one of our loved ones if they were in need.
The third reason as I see it is that we live in a country where the government, our society, our tax laws and our churches all encourage giving to help others. This aspect even goes beyond personal charity and encompasses corporate and business charity. Due to tax deductions we are all encouraged to give away a portion of our income to charity. Although millions of individuals support charities of their choice, businesses are some of our largest givers. Every year many companies give away millions of dollars both in cash and products to a whole spectrum of causes.
There is a tendency as our country becomes more socialized to put more and more of our charitable responsibility in the hands of the government. We expect the government to take care of us in a number of situations where we no longer have personal resources to manage our lives. The government can't do these things without raising money, which it gets through taxation. So as programs and entitlements increase, so do taxes.
But by making some minor changes in the tax laws, much of this responsibility could be placed back into the private sector, where our charitable gifts could cover these expenses. By simply increasing the amount that businesses could deduct for donations, as well as carefully defining certain areas of charitable need and giving which would reward the giver with even higher tax deductions, many of the government entitlement programs could be eliminated.
The biggest benefit of this approach is efficiency. The cost of maintaining government programs is very high. A large portion of the tax dollar has to go to overhead. Private charities have very small overhead costs. And the government could regulate how much a charity could allow for overhead in case there were some organizations that were not really serving the purpose stated in their Articles of Incorporation.
We have many great charities that serve an important roll in our society. Many are willing to step up and assume more responsibility if only their available funds would allow. Lets look for ways to make our generous country even more generous by encouraging charitable giving.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
How do you pick good companies?
There are literally thousands of publicly-traded companies in the United States. In addition to these, there are also many foreign companies in which Americans can invest. Among these companies are brand-new start-up businesses and old established names that are recognised world-wide. So the question one has to ask is what kind of business should you want to own?
Generally speaking, the newer businesses offer the possibility of rapid growth, along with greater risk. Old established businesses are safer, especially as long-term investments. But since many of these companies have matured, they are not growing as quickly as a start-up business. A lot of mature businesses pay dividends, which is just like receiving interest payments from your bank. This is a method they use to attract and reward their investors. However, the board of directors can increase, decrease or cancel their dividend payment at any time. But many companies boast of the number of consecutive years that they have paid dividends. A little research can show you which companies are the most reliable in this regard. Be careful when you find companies paying very high dividends, such as 8% or higher. Sometimes, a weak company needing to attract investors will offer high dividends. So be sure to look at balance sheets to find profitable, as well as dividend paying businesses.
New businesses can be the source of high gains, as well as big losses. These companies are more suitable for short-term trading than long-term investing. As with older businesses, the quality of new companies can vary from very risky to relatively safe. Again, research is the key to establishing your list of suitable investment-trading possibilities.
Most of your research can be accomplished on-line. Many of the Internet service providers have financial pages. I have used Yahoo and MSN and find them to be very helpful. There are numerous investment services on-line. But be careful about where you look. Some sites are just traps to get your email address so it can be sold to spam-mail solicitors.
An on-line pay-subscription can be useful in doing research as well as providing a means to keep your investment records in a computer format. My favorite is The Wall Street Journal, (WSJ.com). You basically pay to receive the computer version of the newspaper, and with it you get a number of additional services, including a helpful format to record and track your investment portfolio.
I recommend before anyone actually spends money to buy stocks they do a period of "pretend trading", or what is known as paper trading. You can select one of the computer trading platforms and begin to trade with imaginary money. You may decide after a period of paper trading that you are very glad that you are not using real money. But if you discover that you have a bit of success, you might want to start spending a little real money. Paper trading is a great way to learn the stock market at no risk, and can also be fun.
I have often wished that high schools would have courses in stock trading where each student was given $100,000 in imaginary money and then taught how to select stocks and establish portfolios. The students may never become real stock traders, but at least they would understand a bit of what they see happening in the financial markets. Most of the population has no idea how Wall Street works. In the media it is often cast as a villain out to cheat "Main Street" out of its hard-earned dollars. People tend to fear what they don't understand. As adults, everything we do revolves around finances, yet we enter into the working-world with virtually no knowledge of how the system functions. As a result, many people make poor decisions and suffer serious financial losses because of their lack of expertise.
Again, I want to remind you that I am not in anyway a financial advisor. I speak only from my personal experience. There are as many different opinions on investing as there are people. Mine is just one of many. So be sure to do your research and homework.
Generally speaking, the newer businesses offer the possibility of rapid growth, along with greater risk. Old established businesses are safer, especially as long-term investments. But since many of these companies have matured, they are not growing as quickly as a start-up business. A lot of mature businesses pay dividends, which is just like receiving interest payments from your bank. This is a method they use to attract and reward their investors. However, the board of directors can increase, decrease or cancel their dividend payment at any time. But many companies boast of the number of consecutive years that they have paid dividends. A little research can show you which companies are the most reliable in this regard. Be careful when you find companies paying very high dividends, such as 8% or higher. Sometimes, a weak company needing to attract investors will offer high dividends. So be sure to look at balance sheets to find profitable, as well as dividend paying businesses.
New businesses can be the source of high gains, as well as big losses. These companies are more suitable for short-term trading than long-term investing. As with older businesses, the quality of new companies can vary from very risky to relatively safe. Again, research is the key to establishing your list of suitable investment-trading possibilities.
Most of your research can be accomplished on-line. Many of the Internet service providers have financial pages. I have used Yahoo and MSN and find them to be very helpful. There are numerous investment services on-line. But be careful about where you look. Some sites are just traps to get your email address so it can be sold to spam-mail solicitors.
An on-line pay-subscription can be useful in doing research as well as providing a means to keep your investment records in a computer format. My favorite is The Wall Street Journal, (WSJ.com). You basically pay to receive the computer version of the newspaper, and with it you get a number of additional services, including a helpful format to record and track your investment portfolio.
I recommend before anyone actually spends money to buy stocks they do a period of "pretend trading", or what is known as paper trading. You can select one of the computer trading platforms and begin to trade with imaginary money. You may decide after a period of paper trading that you are very glad that you are not using real money. But if you discover that you have a bit of success, you might want to start spending a little real money. Paper trading is a great way to learn the stock market at no risk, and can also be fun.
I have often wished that high schools would have courses in stock trading where each student was given $100,000 in imaginary money and then taught how to select stocks and establish portfolios. The students may never become real stock traders, but at least they would understand a bit of what they see happening in the financial markets. Most of the population has no idea how Wall Street works. In the media it is often cast as a villain out to cheat "Main Street" out of its hard-earned dollars. People tend to fear what they don't understand. As adults, everything we do revolves around finances, yet we enter into the working-world with virtually no knowledge of how the system functions. As a result, many people make poor decisions and suffer serious financial losses because of their lack of expertise.
Again, I want to remind you that I am not in anyway a financial advisor. I speak only from my personal experience. There are as many different opinions on investing as there are people. Mine is just one of many. So be sure to do your research and homework.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Greed and Fear
Yesterday I started a discussion concerning stock trading and how I became involved with Wall Street. I want to reiterate that I do not claim to be an expert on stock trading, nor do I have a degree in finance or business. The things I am sharing are strictly from my personal experience.
The motor that drives Wall Street and stock trading can be summed up in two words; greed and fear. This might be an over-simplification of a complex process. But the fact remains that when greed rules the market, the prices of stocks go up. When fear takes over, the market falls. I am not sure if I like the words "fear" and "greed" to express most human motives when dealing with investments. Instead of fear, I might use the word caution. In the place of greed, I might use the word "optimistic" to express that feeling.
However, fear and greed are not my words, but rather how the market experts themselves refer to the emotions that determine the rise and fall of stock prices. It makes sense when you consider that anything that causes the nation to enter a state of fear also causes a drop in the stock market. The events of 9/11/2001 struck a chord of fear into the hearts of every American. But also accompanying fear and the other negative emotions that emerged was a dramatic fall of the stock market.
But it does not take such a dramatic event to cause movement in the market. A one-quarter percent rise in interest rates can have a negative effect. The reports that the government issue every month about unemployment and the economy have an effect on the market. In fact, anything that makes people afraid or fear for the future can and will cause a drop in the stock market.
On the other hand, good news can push the prices up. On a given day if the employment news is good, the markets will be up. If we read that a national bank has paid back its TARP funds. stock prices will increase. In other words, the general investing public thinks they can make some money and their greed drives them to buy stock.
How does the market go up or down? It is as simple as this; when more people buy stocks than are selling, the market goes up. but when more people are selling stocks, then the market will be down. It is strictly a supply-and-demand phenomenon.
So how can the average amature investor make a profit when dealing with a system driven by greed and fear? The first thing is to acknowledge that these two emotions are in control of the market. The second thing is to not let these emotions CONTROL YOU. The fact of the matter is that probably 99% of the market is being driven by greed and fear. This includes the institutional investors that are controlling billions of dollars.
But how can you avoid being afraid when it seems all the news is bad? Or how can you resist wanting to get your money back when the news is good? It is absolutely essential that you have a proper spiritual perspective. Recognising that God is in control of your life and your finances is a good place to start. Being able to accept loss as well as gain without losing your faith in God is absolutely essential. Many people tend to blame God when things are bad and forget all about Him when things are good.
How will avoiding greed and fear work for you? Much of the time because everyone else seems to be selling does not mean that you need to sell. If you have picked good companies, your stock might be completely safe, even though its price may drop for a while. You do not have an actual loss until you sell, and if you sell at a loss, you cement the loss and cannot realise a profit. If you follow the herd and buy when everyone is buying, you may be paying too much, or buying into a "bubble", a condition where emotions have driven stocks to higher values that the underlying companies are worth.
Patience is the most important virtue to display when you are trading stocks. Knowing when to get in and get out is the most important issue, and should not be based on the "emotion of the day".
We will talk further about this and how to pick "safe" stocks and avoid "shaky" stocks in another session. I am going to be getting ready to travel and have planned a busy weekend and first part of next week. So I will try to make another posting before Thanksgiving. But if I don't get back here before then, I wish you a very wonderful Thanksgiving.
The motor that drives Wall Street and stock trading can be summed up in two words; greed and fear. This might be an over-simplification of a complex process. But the fact remains that when greed rules the market, the prices of stocks go up. When fear takes over, the market falls. I am not sure if I like the words "fear" and "greed" to express most human motives when dealing with investments. Instead of fear, I might use the word caution. In the place of greed, I might use the word "optimistic" to express that feeling.
However, fear and greed are not my words, but rather how the market experts themselves refer to the emotions that determine the rise and fall of stock prices. It makes sense when you consider that anything that causes the nation to enter a state of fear also causes a drop in the stock market. The events of 9/11/2001 struck a chord of fear into the hearts of every American. But also accompanying fear and the other negative emotions that emerged was a dramatic fall of the stock market.
But it does not take such a dramatic event to cause movement in the market. A one-quarter percent rise in interest rates can have a negative effect. The reports that the government issue every month about unemployment and the economy have an effect on the market. In fact, anything that makes people afraid or fear for the future can and will cause a drop in the stock market.
On the other hand, good news can push the prices up. On a given day if the employment news is good, the markets will be up. If we read that a national bank has paid back its TARP funds. stock prices will increase. In other words, the general investing public thinks they can make some money and their greed drives them to buy stock.
How does the market go up or down? It is as simple as this; when more people buy stocks than are selling, the market goes up. but when more people are selling stocks, then the market will be down. It is strictly a supply-and-demand phenomenon.
So how can the average amature investor make a profit when dealing with a system driven by greed and fear? The first thing is to acknowledge that these two emotions are in control of the market. The second thing is to not let these emotions CONTROL YOU. The fact of the matter is that probably 99% of the market is being driven by greed and fear. This includes the institutional investors that are controlling billions of dollars.
But how can you avoid being afraid when it seems all the news is bad? Or how can you resist wanting to get your money back when the news is good? It is absolutely essential that you have a proper spiritual perspective. Recognising that God is in control of your life and your finances is a good place to start. Being able to accept loss as well as gain without losing your faith in God is absolutely essential. Many people tend to blame God when things are bad and forget all about Him when things are good.
How will avoiding greed and fear work for you? Much of the time because everyone else seems to be selling does not mean that you need to sell. If you have picked good companies, your stock might be completely safe, even though its price may drop for a while. You do not have an actual loss until you sell, and if you sell at a loss, you cement the loss and cannot realise a profit. If you follow the herd and buy when everyone is buying, you may be paying too much, or buying into a "bubble", a condition where emotions have driven stocks to higher values that the underlying companies are worth.
Patience is the most important virtue to display when you are trading stocks. Knowing when to get in and get out is the most important issue, and should not be based on the "emotion of the day".
We will talk further about this and how to pick "safe" stocks and avoid "shaky" stocks in another session. I am going to be getting ready to travel and have planned a busy weekend and first part of next week. So I will try to make another posting before Thanksgiving. But if I don't get back here before then, I wish you a very wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Stock Trading for Seniors
When we sold the business, we put all of the money into mutual funds which were designed to provide an income for life. But after a few years we discovered that the funds, while providing an income, were providing it for the fund managers and not us!
So six years ago I decided to take over management of our money. And since the fund managers and poor market conditions had worked together to reduce our money to about one-third of what it had been, I was in a difficult position; I had never traded stocks on the stock market. I was in my 60's, a time when I was supposed to be able to sit back, enjoy life and clip coupons. Now it was obvious that I would have to throw caution to the wind and invest like I was 30 years old with a life-time ahead of me, rather than a senior in the autumn years of life.
I opened two trading accounts; one with an online brokerage, Scottrade, and another with a full-service broker connected to Wedbush Securities. I closed the mutual funds and had the major portion of our remaining funds placed with Wedbush, while I opened a small online account "to play with".
At this point I also started my education process. What was a security? What was a bond? What was an option? These were all questions that required answers, as well as many others. In other words, I was totally ignorant. (It is at this point that I feel I must warn you - Do not try this at home!) I started reading everything I could find available, including the history of the market and and why it functioned. I also took investing seminars, many of which are designed to sell the participant some "investing system". I soon discovered that expert stock market concepts were like belly buttons; everybody has one!
And the confusing thing is that every expert opinion has merit, even though it might run completely counter to some other expert opinion. In the investing world there are two general schools of thought. Once concept is positive, hoping for the market to go up. The opposing concept are those negative investors who are betting that the market will go down. We call the positive investors Bulls while the negative investors are Bears. The people who feel that the country and world is headed for a general financial break-down are in the Bear camp. If you are optimistic about the future you are probably a Bull.
Among professional investors there are those that play both sides, Bears and Bulls. But generally they have a prevailing Bull or Bear philosophy. When you are listening to experts present their positions, it is good to know what is their basic philosophy. If you read their blogs or follow their TV interviews, it usually does not take too long before you know where they are coming from.
My personal philosophy tends to be Bull-ish. But even I have made a few Bear movements. An example of this was the BP oil company shortly after the oil-spill disaster occurred. I bet that their stock would go down, which seemed obvious. And it did, rewarding me with several thousand dollars for my effort. But generally I look for stocks that will be going up in value.
I probably should explain some market terminology. The term that is frequently tossed around is security. We all want to be secure, right? But in market jargon security means a "share of stock". So if someone says they are buying a certain security, they are buy a cetain stock. Another pair of terms that you hear frequently is long and short. You will hear these words used in this context - An investor will say he is long or short a particular stock. To be long means he is betting on the stock going up in value while being short mean he is betting on it going down in value.
Another terminology issue that needs to be understood is the difference between investing and trading. Investing is what happens when you make long-term purchases of secutities. The term can also refer to bonds, real estate, gold, or wheat, etc. But for our purposes we will be using the term in regard to buying stocks. Trading, on the other hand, is short term buying of stocks with the purpose to make a quick profit and get out. You have probably all head the term day-trader. A day-trader is a person who purchases stocks in the morning and sells them before the market closes the same day. The ability to trade stocks on the internet has made this practice very popular. The low transaction costs online help to increase the potential profit. But I do not recomend day-trading except in emergency situations. An example would be when during the day the particular company you have purchased has a disaster of some sort that will drastically impact the company. Get out of that stock ASAP, because it will only get worse as the days go by. It is better to take a two-dollar loss than to wait a week and have the stock down 50%.
My stock purchasing practices tend to fall into the trading catagory. While not day-trading, I look at windows of one month, plus or minus, depending on how the company progresses. My goal is to make 5% a month profit. This may seem to you to be a huge amount when considered over a year. But I have been able to accomplish this, even during the economic disaster of the past two years. This success did not happen right away when I first started. In fact, the price of "tuition" in the "school of hard-knocks" could have probably purchased a doctorate degree from Harvard.
In the coming days and weeks I will be telling you more about my experiences, successes and failures. I want make a caviot here, and that is this: I do not recomend that anyone copy my methods or begin to trade stocks! My circumstances are unique to me, my life is different than yours. What works for one may not work for another.
I want to close today's blog with this thought. Without God's help and guidance, none of us can be "All that we can be". I don't mean that God guarantees financial success or security. But in all areas of life, God has a plan for each individual that He has custom-tailored just for you. Regardless of what God has planned for you, when you are in step with His will, you will discover the real joy of life that He wants for all of His children.
So six years ago I decided to take over management of our money. And since the fund managers and poor market conditions had worked together to reduce our money to about one-third of what it had been, I was in a difficult position; I had never traded stocks on the stock market. I was in my 60's, a time when I was supposed to be able to sit back, enjoy life and clip coupons. Now it was obvious that I would have to throw caution to the wind and invest like I was 30 years old with a life-time ahead of me, rather than a senior in the autumn years of life.
I opened two trading accounts; one with an online brokerage, Scottrade, and another with a full-service broker connected to Wedbush Securities. I closed the mutual funds and had the major portion of our remaining funds placed with Wedbush, while I opened a small online account "to play with".
At this point I also started my education process. What was a security? What was a bond? What was an option? These were all questions that required answers, as well as many others. In other words, I was totally ignorant. (It is at this point that I feel I must warn you - Do not try this at home!) I started reading everything I could find available, including the history of the market and and why it functioned. I also took investing seminars, many of which are designed to sell the participant some "investing system". I soon discovered that expert stock market concepts were like belly buttons; everybody has one!
And the confusing thing is that every expert opinion has merit, even though it might run completely counter to some other expert opinion. In the investing world there are two general schools of thought. Once concept is positive, hoping for the market to go up. The opposing concept are those negative investors who are betting that the market will go down. We call the positive investors Bulls while the negative investors are Bears. The people who feel that the country and world is headed for a general financial break-down are in the Bear camp. If you are optimistic about the future you are probably a Bull.
Among professional investors there are those that play both sides, Bears and Bulls. But generally they have a prevailing Bull or Bear philosophy. When you are listening to experts present their positions, it is good to know what is their basic philosophy. If you read their blogs or follow their TV interviews, it usually does not take too long before you know where they are coming from.
My personal philosophy tends to be Bull-ish. But even I have made a few Bear movements. An example of this was the BP oil company shortly after the oil-spill disaster occurred. I bet that their stock would go down, which seemed obvious. And it did, rewarding me with several thousand dollars for my effort. But generally I look for stocks that will be going up in value.
I probably should explain some market terminology. The term that is frequently tossed around is security. We all want to be secure, right? But in market jargon security means a "share of stock". So if someone says they are buying a certain security, they are buy a cetain stock. Another pair of terms that you hear frequently is long and short. You will hear these words used in this context - An investor will say he is long or short a particular stock. To be long means he is betting on the stock going up in value while being short mean he is betting on it going down in value.
Another terminology issue that needs to be understood is the difference between investing and trading. Investing is what happens when you make long-term purchases of secutities. The term can also refer to bonds, real estate, gold, or wheat, etc. But for our purposes we will be using the term in regard to buying stocks. Trading, on the other hand, is short term buying of stocks with the purpose to make a quick profit and get out. You have probably all head the term day-trader. A day-trader is a person who purchases stocks in the morning and sells them before the market closes the same day. The ability to trade stocks on the internet has made this practice very popular. The low transaction costs online help to increase the potential profit. But I do not recomend day-trading except in emergency situations. An example would be when during the day the particular company you have purchased has a disaster of some sort that will drastically impact the company. Get out of that stock ASAP, because it will only get worse as the days go by. It is better to take a two-dollar loss than to wait a week and have the stock down 50%.
My stock purchasing practices tend to fall into the trading catagory. While not day-trading, I look at windows of one month, plus or minus, depending on how the company progresses. My goal is to make 5% a month profit. This may seem to you to be a huge amount when considered over a year. But I have been able to accomplish this, even during the economic disaster of the past two years. This success did not happen right away when I first started. In fact, the price of "tuition" in the "school of hard-knocks" could have probably purchased a doctorate degree from Harvard.
In the coming days and weeks I will be telling you more about my experiences, successes and failures. I want make a caviot here, and that is this: I do not recomend that anyone copy my methods or begin to trade stocks! My circumstances are unique to me, my life is different than yours. What works for one may not work for another.
I want to close today's blog with this thought. Without God's help and guidance, none of us can be "All that we can be". I don't mean that God guarantees financial success or security. But in all areas of life, God has a plan for each individual that He has custom-tailored just for you. Regardless of what God has planned for you, when you are in step with His will, you will discover the real joy of life that He wants for all of His children.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Things about me
I decided to start a blog because I get tired of talking to myself. Not that anyone is going to read this, but it might help me maintain my sanity. That being said, I will tell you that I am retired and live in Kona Hawaii a good part of the year. Prior to retirement, I owned my own construction-related business for twenty-five years. I have experienced a lot, both being in business and being retired for ten years.
So the subject of my blogging will vary from day to day depending on my mood. No subject is off limits, but I will be civil and respectful and I expect others to be the same. I know in this day and age the tendency is for "shout-down" sessions in almost every venue of life. Personally, I believe we have lost something in our country when we no longer listen to one another.
Some things about me - I am married for almost 50 year, have four children and 10 grandchildren. My wife and I worked together in our business, so we were together almost 24-7 for much of our married life. An interesting fact of my career was that I worked for my wife. She had worked for the man that started the business and was able to buy him out. After a year or so of her running the business by herself, I quit what I was doing and came to work for her.
The fact that we are going on 50 years of marriage indicates this arrangement worked for us. I am not saying it is for everyone. But I respected my wife's ability and she respected mine. So we made a good team. We are also both musicians. So we have played music together from shortly after we first met.
Several things that I do in retirement keep me busy. I have a fairly complete wood and metal shop. My interest in music and woodwork has directed me to making guitars. So far, I am mainly working on solid-body electric guitars, but I have some acoustic instrument sin the planning stages. I am not a great guitarist. But I like to hear great guitarists play my instruments.
As we travel about from the mainland Northwest to Hawaii I keep my eyes open for good guitar wood. Having access to both tropical and North American wood is a real advantage in this hobby. So I will talk about my projects from time to time.
My wife and I are Christians and are active participating in church. I enjoy good discussions concerning faith and its place in my life. I believe I occasionally have something to say that might be of help to someone if they are having difficulty with life's struggles.
Politically, I am probably a Libertarian in most of my leanings. I want smaller government with less entitlements and believe our country's founders had a pretty good idea when they set up everything.
I am also an auto enthusiast and enjoy fine and fast cars. I own several nice cars that are not used for daily transportation.
This brings my first posting to a close. I hope a few people will see this and get in touch.
Regards to all,
Da Kona Guy
So the subject of my blogging will vary from day to day depending on my mood. No subject is off limits, but I will be civil and respectful and I expect others to be the same. I know in this day and age the tendency is for "shout-down" sessions in almost every venue of life. Personally, I believe we have lost something in our country when we no longer listen to one another.
Some things about me - I am married for almost 50 year, have four children and 10 grandchildren. My wife and I worked together in our business, so we were together almost 24-7 for much of our married life. An interesting fact of my career was that I worked for my wife. She had worked for the man that started the business and was able to buy him out. After a year or so of her running the business by herself, I quit what I was doing and came to work for her.
The fact that we are going on 50 years of marriage indicates this arrangement worked for us. I am not saying it is for everyone. But I respected my wife's ability and she respected mine. So we made a good team. We are also both musicians. So we have played music together from shortly after we first met.
Several things that I do in retirement keep me busy. I have a fairly complete wood and metal shop. My interest in music and woodwork has directed me to making guitars. So far, I am mainly working on solid-body electric guitars, but I have some acoustic instrument sin the planning stages. I am not a great guitarist. But I like to hear great guitarists play my instruments.
As we travel about from the mainland Northwest to Hawaii I keep my eyes open for good guitar wood. Having access to both tropical and North American wood is a real advantage in this hobby. So I will talk about my projects from time to time.
My wife and I are Christians and are active participating in church. I enjoy good discussions concerning faith and its place in my life. I believe I occasionally have something to say that might be of help to someone if they are having difficulty with life's struggles.
Politically, I am probably a Libertarian in most of my leanings. I want smaller government with less entitlements and believe our country's founders had a pretty good idea when they set up everything.
I am also an auto enthusiast and enjoy fine and fast cars. I own several nice cars that are not used for daily transportation.
This brings my first posting to a close. I hope a few people will see this and get in touch.
Regards to all,
Da Kona Guy
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But then it just struck me...cuts need to be made - no question. And sometimes it's going to impact us personally. We need to be okay with that. Adjust...and move on. I think we need to think as a "whole" rather than just as individuals.
If we say "no" to everything that effects me and "yes" that effects other people...then just the loudest voices or voices with the most money win.
So lets THINK for a minute here.
Since everyone has to live somewhere, it is a good thing to stimulate home ownership.
significant amount of money.
Now it is your turn. Give me your reasons why you think it is a good idea.
(Numbers corresponding with your item numbers)
1. "Since everyone has to live somewhere..." Exactly. People want and need to buy homes. You don't need a "tax ...deduction" to incentivize people to buy homes. Owning a home is better than renting. No tax benefit needed. I talk with people every day - every single day...very, very few of them buy because of the tax credit. It's an afterthought. It's a bonus, but not commonly a driving factor. Maybe more so at higher income brackets, but not middle America for whom the deduction is said to benefit most.
2. I don't disagree with you here. But again, the benefit from the retiree is the equity that is built in their house over 30+ years - that is the benefit. A retiree would gain from this without a tax deduction. I would add however, nobody should ever rely on their home equity as their retirement plans. That's poor planning. A lot of people in the past 40 years got lucky. Not smart to count on luck for retirement.
3. The housing industry is very significant to our economy - I agree with you. And many analysts say the housing market will be the driver that gets us out of our current crisis. But again, me being in the business, I don't think it’s needed. It's not going to be a make or break in the industry.
5. Flat out, cuts need to be made and revenue need to increase. We can't balance the US budget without doing both. We need to choose ways to increase revenue, I would choose this one. At worse case, this would allow us to give deductions elsewhere that might benefit the whole more - mostly surround sustainable practices.
I'm open to challenges and thoughts here.
You say that tax incentives do not encourage people to buy houses. If that is the case, why do you think tax incentives will work to encourage people to pratice better behavior? And whose definition should we use to determine good behavior? Should we use my definition, your definition, the churchs'?
While I agree that our society is evolving, it needs to evolve within a constitutional framework. And I am not sure everyone would agree that it is evolving in a positive direction. Buddy, I have come to realize that the only thing that can effectively change human behavior is a change of heart. While I hate to play the "Religion Card" when dealing with political issues, I know that when people get right with God, they get right with other people and their environment. They also make better senators, representatives, voters, etc. There are good people on all sides of the issues. But apparently many others are motivated by greed, fear, self-interest and hate.
I think we would both agree on this. So I will stop here.;-)