Stocks and Trading Thread - Channeling your inner Mono

[Ed Anger]

I agree with the general principle but the $1K thing seems totally arbitrarily and annoys me.  We have much, more more than that already put away in IRAs for retirement, all if which is sitting in what I would consider to be extremely safe investments.  I don't understand why I need an additional $1,000 sitting in a fund that's going to be flat.

Coffee cans buried in your yard.

The Ed Anger solution. 

[Caliga]

I think Dave Ramsey's target audience is poor people with compulsive borrowing/spending habits, which is why I don't understand her interest in him.

[Richard Hakluyt]

No subsidy in the UK anymore; but I take your point.

If there is one thing that I hope comes out of the budget crisis, it's the death of the mortgage interest deduction.  Unfortunately, not only does it make too much sense, but it also runs counter to the home-ownership fetish in America, and will hit too many voters directly in their pocketbooks, so this will never happen.

We used to have it over here, but they phased it out during a recent property boom...........the boom making withdrawal of the subsidy fairly painless. Given the shortage of housing in the UK the subsidy merely led to house prices being bid up even further, I'm glad it's gone.

[Ed Anger]

Don't let her watch Suze Orman.

[Richard Hakluyt]

I think Dave Ramsey's target audience is poor people with compulsive borrowing/spending habits, which is why I don't understand her interest in him.

Oh I know lots of people who should take up that advice. They are the sort of people who won't go to a restaurant with you because it's 5 days till payday. It's good advice for them.

[DGuller]

I think Dave Ramsey's target audience is poor people with compulsive borrowing/spending habits, which is why I don't understand her interest in him.

Oh I know lots of people who should take up that advice. They are the sort of people who won't go to a restaurant with you because it's 5 days till payday. It's good advice for them.

I have the same reaction when I see "Payday" reminders in my co-workers' calendars every 2 weeks.  How bad with finances do you have to be to live paycheck to paycheck on an actuary's salary?

[Caliga]

Yeah, I have no idea what days I get paid but alot of the grunts here go around shouting "yeehaw IT'S PAYDAY" to remind me.

[KRonn]

$1,000    ?

Probably 1k in case the banks, financial system goes screwy for a while, like if the govt devalues the dollar or some other outlier type event. So you have some cash for a while, until things calm down.

[DGuller]

$1,000    ?

Probably 1k in case the banks, financial system goes screwy for a while, like if the govt devalues the dollar or some other outlier type event. So you have some cash for a while, until things calm down.

If you want to insure against outlier events, $1000 in a money market account seems like a very sucky insurance policy.

[KRonn]

$1,000    ?

Probably 1k in case the banks, financial system goes screwy for a while, like if the govt devalues the dollar or some other outlier type event. So you have some cash for a while, until things calm down.

If you want to insure against outlier events, $1000 in a money market account seems like a very sucky insurance policy.

I thought this was about rationale for keeping 1k in cash at home; that's what I was referring to.

[The Minsky Moment]

For some dumb reason Princesca is bugging the crap out of me to put $1,000 into a "safe" money market fund.  Do any of you guys hold one and, if so, which?

My cash sweep goes into an Ameritrade money market, but the yield on it is only 0.03%.

If you want liquidity, an FDIC insured savings account is safer than money market funds and the yield differential is negligible on current conditions.

If you want a safe place to park some cash for the short term, a CD is probably a better option.

the main use for money market is exactly what you are using it for - a cash sweep in a securities account.

I don't get the rationale here.

[Ed Anger]

LOCKBOX

[MadImmortalMan]

Toni--I think you should get out of the PSLV before QE2 ends if you haven't already. IMO, silver doesn't have the demand support that oil has. You can always buy it back if QE2 ending doesn't knock the wind out of the commodities market (or better yet, if it does-then you buy it back lower). If I'm wrong, you lose nothing.

Trying to be my broker now? 

Hah, I was thinking of bringing that up in this thread...I still have it (just 100 shares), and have been getting a bit of an inclination to sell now that I'm at/past the "doubled my money" point.

Never take stock picks from some dude on the internet.   

But yeah, I think if we get QE3, it'll great for it, but QE2 ends in June, and that will make at least a temporary slump. Depends on how much bubble inflating Obi-Wan has a taste for. I think Obama will be pressuring him by then due to high gas prices. I made a nice profit on it too.

[Fate]

I think Dave Ramsey's target audience is poor people with compulsive borrowing/spending habits, which is why I don't understand her interest in him.

I don't doubt that's a big part of his audience, but if you listen to the call ins.. there are quite a lot middle to upper middle class white folks making 100k+, bragging they just paid off their mortgage and cars, or something along the lines like that. What bothers me is how much jesus crap he throws in there, but Ramsey's an entertaining guy to listen to.

[Caliga]

Well, it's probably that the poor religious people listen, but since they are all-around failures in life, would never be in a position to call in and celebrate their success.