Lemur Journal!
Re: Lemur Journal!
I don't remember what compound it is, to explain I'd have to do a google search like the muggle I am. But I remember reading about there being one.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Average SS benefit in June 2019 was $1,470 a month or about $17,640 a year.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-se ... l-security
And many retirees don't even have savings behind them...they make it work. But I am going to take a guess that a good portion of these retirees also have a paid off home but I don't have those stats.
$441,000 in assets at 4%.
Not ground-breaking news here but as I am projecting myself to RE with $600,000 this is a reminder that it can be done with less.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-se ... l-security
And many retirees don't even have savings behind them...they make it work. But I am going to take a guess that a good portion of these retirees also have a paid off home but I don't have those stats.
$441,000 in assets at 4%.
Not ground-breaking news here but as I am projecting myself to RE with $600,000 this is a reminder that it can be done with less.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Planted Swiss Chard. I planted several directly in the garden and some in a seed-starter. Need to experiment and find what works best.
Re: Lemur Journal!
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MSFT200 ... 1C00200000
I put in for 1 call @ $0.42. Order may or may not execute depending on price movement over the next 2 weeks but looking to get my feet wet with call options. I will do a few of these as learning exercises.
My basic methodology that I think I'm going to go with:
1.) Pick a few companies that I think will go up in 6 months. Right now I'm going with SPCE, GE, FIZZ, and MSFT.
2.) Buy OTM call options about 6 months out. [Initially put in for a price 35-50% or so below the current BID and wait for execution to potentially capture a lower buy-in]. Edit [It may be prudent of me to be patient in this process as I'm learning some options can be very volatile as in...don't chase the bid and dollar-cost average on the way down to try to capture swings. Example - If you have $1,000 to buy calls, don't put all $1,000 in on the $0.50 bid....put maybe 1/3rd of that and only put in the next 1/3rd if the option swings down 25% or so].
3.) Sell enough to recoup my initial investment. For instance, if I buy 10 calls of MSFT @ 0.50, I will put in a limit sell order for 5 @ $1.00. Edit This is a bit more subjective then I thought....the debate is whether to let winners really take a ride or not considering that the success rate for long OTM call options is low...
4.) Let earnings ride until close to expiration.
5.) ^^^Still researching an exit strategy.
All-in-all. Keeping risk tolerance low...Trying to decide what % of my portfolio I want to allocate towards this. I'm thinking 1% max for now.
I put in for 1 call @ $0.42. Order may or may not execute depending on price movement over the next 2 weeks but looking to get my feet wet with call options. I will do a few of these as learning exercises.
My basic methodology that I think I'm going to go with:
1.) Pick a few companies that I think will go up in 6 months. Right now I'm going with SPCE, GE, FIZZ, and MSFT.
2.) Buy OTM call options about 6 months out. [Initially put in for a price 35-50% or so below the current BID and wait for execution to potentially capture a lower buy-in]. Edit [It may be prudent of me to be patient in this process as I'm learning some options can be very volatile as in...don't chase the bid and dollar-cost average on the way down to try to capture swings. Example - If you have $1,000 to buy calls, don't put all $1,000 in on the $0.50 bid....put maybe 1/3rd of that and only put in the next 1/3rd if the option swings down 25% or so].
3.) Sell enough to recoup my initial investment. For instance, if I buy 10 calls of MSFT @ 0.50, I will put in a limit sell order for 5 @ $1.00. Edit This is a bit more subjective then I thought....the debate is whether to let winners really take a ride or not considering that the success rate for long OTM call options is low...
4.) Let earnings ride until close to expiration.
5.) ^^^Still researching an exit strategy.
All-in-all. Keeping risk tolerance low...Trying to decide what % of my portfolio I want to allocate towards this. I'm thinking 1% max for now.
Re: Lemur Journal!
My order executed for my first call option this morning:
Transaction type: Buy to open
Order type: Limit
Option name: MSFT 02/21/2020 C $200.00
Quantity: 1 contract(s)
Price:* $0.42
A very small $43.00 investment lol. This is, of course, a part of the learning process....this one expires in about 9 days. In the future, I will not be speculating on 'weekly's. It doesn't make sense for my strategy. This order was executed just so I can get a feel for how the price swings...how to buy/sell in Vanguard, etc..
Transaction type: Buy to open
Order type: Limit
Option name: MSFT 02/21/2020 C $200.00
Quantity: 1 contract(s)
Price:* $0.42
A very small $43.00 investment lol. This is, of course, a part of the learning process....this one expires in about 9 days. In the future, I will not be speculating on 'weekly's. It doesn't make sense for my strategy. This order was executed just so I can get a feel for how the price swings...how to buy/sell in Vanguard, etc..
-
jacob
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Re: Lemur Journal!
Just be sure to "sell to close" it before next Friday unless you have $20k in cash(*) in case it moves beyond $200. Keep in mind that spreads tend to open up on witching day as algorithms prey on those who waited until the last minute. This can get kinda hairy insofar you find it trading close to $200 next Friday.
(*) I suppose technically you have the right to buy but not the obligation. I don't know how the broker would handle this if the option expired ITM w/o the cash to acquire the position.
(*) I suppose technically you have the right to buy but not the obligation. I don't know how the broker would handle this if the option expired ITM w/o the cash to acquire the position.
Re: Lemur Journal!
@Jacob
Good point - I highly doubt MSFT will get to $200 by Feb 21 but you never know. The option I own is already down 49%. Interesting just looking at this...
Some brokers will exercise and sell for you the very next trading opening session if you do not have the cash...this comes with exercise and other fees though and from what I've read, and as you've alluded to, it is always best to close positions a day or two before the expiration date. There are rough swings on expiration day that one would want to avoid.
Also another good point - you don't have to let your calls expire worthless. Could always try to grab some recovery but I would imagine if before expiration that if Microsoft was no where near $200, demand would be extremely low.
Good point - I highly doubt MSFT will get to $200 by Feb 21 but you never know. The option I own is already down 49%. Interesting just looking at this...
Some brokers will exercise and sell for you the very next trading opening session if you do not have the cash...this comes with exercise and other fees though and from what I've read, and as you've alluded to, it is always best to close positions a day or two before the expiration date. There are rough swings on expiration day that one would want to avoid.
Also another good point - you don't have to let your calls expire worthless. Could always try to grab some recovery but I would imagine if before expiration that if Microsoft was no where near $200, demand would be extremely low.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Sold off the MSFT Call option and took a $30.00 loss. Great lesson learned - option prices swing widely. That was the takeaway. I will want to leave cash on the table to double-down or triple-down on a speculation should I need to. If the spread is wide best to just pick a mid-price. If the spread is contained, one could buy at the ask or sell at the bid if they want to get in / get out. Buy to open = purchasing calls. Sell to Close = selling those same positions. I'm familiar now navigating Vanguard Options this works...
Sold $11k worth of VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF). I took a $2,000 gain on that.
Bought $5k worth of VXUS (Vanguard International ETF).
Bught $3k worth of BND (Vanguard Bond ETF).
$3k leftover in cash....This is my option money for the year.
So I purchased two options on the MSFT July-17-2020 $200 CALL for $5.45 ($1,090). Originally I was going to wait for a dip but the spread was very small so no need to. I can always double down and want to avoid behavioral price 'anchoring' as I have been having my eye on MSFT the past couple of weeks.
The rest of the cash I will hold should I want to double down on these calls (for instance if the price drops to $2.73).
My thesis is that MSFT will reach $200 before July 17. I feel like a 32x multiple PE ratio is completely reasonable compared to the rest of the market and I believe earnings results will be very positive for MSFT come April that will shoot the stock up.
Sold $11k worth of VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF). I took a $2,000 gain on that.
Bought $5k worth of VXUS (Vanguard International ETF).
Bught $3k worth of BND (Vanguard Bond ETF).
$3k leftover in cash....This is my option money for the year.
So I purchased two options on the MSFT July-17-2020 $200 CALL for $5.45 ($1,090). Originally I was going to wait for a dip but the spread was very small so no need to. I can always double down and want to avoid behavioral price 'anchoring' as I have been having my eye on MSFT the past couple of weeks.
The rest of the cash I will hold should I want to double down on these calls (for instance if the price drops to $2.73).
My thesis is that MSFT will reach $200 before July 17. I feel like a 32x multiple PE ratio is completely reasonable compared to the rest of the market and I believe earnings results will be very positive for MSFT come April that will shoot the stock up.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Executed my next option trade:
Transaction type: Buy to open
Order type: Limit
Option name: V 09/18/2020 C $265.00
Quantity: 29 contract(s)
Price:* $0.87
Transaction type: Buy to open
Order type: Limit
Option name: V 09/18/2020 C $265.00
Quantity: 29 contract(s)
Price:* $0.87
Re: Lemur Journal!
Methodology is changing as I am learning more about call options, theta decay, implied volatility, and the like. Also because I have been investing in index funds for so long, I have to brush up on some basic fundamentals because I have forgotten a few things. I picked up a book at the library...'The Motley Fool Investment Guide' by David Gardner.
A few quick checks I did before I picked up MSFT and VISA Call Options:
1.) Net income had to be positive TTM (Indicates good income statement).
2.) Cash Flow had to be positive TTM (Indicates a good cash flow statement).
3.) Current Assets > Current Liabilities Most Recent Quarter (Indicates a stable balance sheet).
4.) Stock price had to be trending upwards TTM (To avoid buying a call into a falling knife)
5.) Yahoo Finance had to state if the stock was a recommended buy and near fair value.
I'm still formulating a proper exit strategy.
A few quick checks I did before I picked up MSFT and VISA Call Options:
1.) Net income had to be positive TTM (Indicates good income statement).
2.) Cash Flow had to be positive TTM (Indicates a good cash flow statement).
3.) Current Assets > Current Liabilities Most Recent Quarter (Indicates a stable balance sheet).
4.) Stock price had to be trending upwards TTM (To avoid buying a call into a falling knife)
5.) Yahoo Finance had to state if the stock was a recommended buy and near fair value.
I'm still formulating a proper exit strategy.
-
Jason
Re: Lemur Journal!
I am a MF subscriber to one of their services so I have access to their boards. There is the famous "Saul's Board" where hard core investment analysis goes down. I personally don't dare to contribute as half my posts to the regular boards are deleted (they send me a standard email to explain. Apparently you can Fool On as long as you don't mention that Mark Zuckeburg face looks like a penis shaped lemon). I'm assuming you have to be a paid subscriber to access the boards. It was because of Saul's Board that I picked up Zoom which is one of the few stocks that has directly benefited from the Cornavirus. I mean its killing better than the virus itself. I pretty much throw my ethics out the window when it comes to investing. If my entire family was in Aushwitz I probably would have called my broker to buy the company that manufactured Zyklon-B. But I digress. My point is that they really go at it on that board.
Re: Lemur Journal!
@Jason
Standard American Diets kill far more then the flu, cornavirus, ebola, and bird flu could ever do put together. Makes me wonder why I just don't invest in health stocks....
Anywho...open order for some JPM Calls. After that, I think having just 3 option calls in the rotation is good enough to trade with before I start losing track of things. I strongly considered ROKU and ZOOM as well but I have a hunch about the bank sector right now.
Edit: Actually changed my mind and went with Disney Calls.
Standard American Diets kill far more then the flu, cornavirus, ebola, and bird flu could ever do put together. Makes me wonder why I just don't invest in health stocks....
Anywho...open order for some JPM Calls. After that, I think having just 3 option calls in the rotation is good enough to trade with before I start losing track of things. I strongly considered ROKU and ZOOM as well but I have a hunch about the bank sector right now.
Edit: Actually changed my mind and went with Disney Calls.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Executed
Transaction type: Buy to open
Order type: Limit
Option name: DIS 09/18/2020 C $170.00
Quantity: 15 contract(s)
Price:* $1.60
Transaction type: Buy to open
Order type: Limit
Option name: DIS 09/18/2020 C $170.00
Quantity: 15 contract(s)
Price:* $1.60
Re: Lemur Journal!
Chapter 22 of The Motley Fool Investment Guide (third edition) has some intriguing criteria for finding growth stocks. The 8 criteria:
1.) The Company recent annual sales figure is $500 million or less.
2.) Average Daily Dollar Volume: From $1 million to $25 million. (Note to self: Calculate by 'Avg.Volume * Stock Price)
3.) Minimum Share Price: At least $7
4.) Net Profit Margin: At least 7%
5.) Earnings and Sales Growth: 25% or greater when compared to the same period the year before.
6.) Insider Holdings: 10% or more
7.) Cash Flow from Operations is not negative.
8.) Relative Strength - Strong Stock Price Appreciation (i.e. trading near 52 week higher or 5 year graph shows upward trend).
I couldn't plug this criteria exactly into https://finviz.com/screener.ashx so I used the following criteria to get a close mirror:
CG The Carlyle Group Inc.
JEF Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
PFSI PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.
SMSI Smith Micro Software, Inc.
PAYS PaySign, Inc.
ALGT Allegiant Travel Company
GMRE Global Medical REIT Inc.
SLP Simulations Plus, Inc.
XPEL XPEL, Inc.
MCY Mercury General Corporation
MEDP Medpace Holdings, Inc.
CSTL Castle Biosciences, Inc.
INS Intelligent Systems Corporation
LGL The LGL Group, Inc.
CFBK Central Federal Corporation
WLFC Willis Lease Finance Corporation
EMCF Emclaire Financial Corp
WVVI Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc.
JRSH Jerash Holdings (US), Inc.
I looked at a few of these....PaySign looks intriguing but will have to take time to pick one. Like the fools say...pick a stock that you can hold for at least 5 years - if you can't do that...you don't have a great justification. I like that criteria - it stops you from jumping in and you start thinking about competitors, what could disrupt the business model, how you see the future of the company...what is that company's mission/vision etc...
1.) The Company recent annual sales figure is $500 million or less.
2.) Average Daily Dollar Volume: From $1 million to $25 million. (Note to self: Calculate by 'Avg.Volume * Stock Price)
3.) Minimum Share Price: At least $7
4.) Net Profit Margin: At least 7%
5.) Earnings and Sales Growth: 25% or greater when compared to the same period the year before.
6.) Insider Holdings: 10% or more
7.) Cash Flow from Operations is not negative.
8.) Relative Strength - Strong Stock Price Appreciation (i.e. trading near 52 week higher or 5 year graph shows upward trend).
I couldn't plug this criteria exactly into https://finviz.com/screener.ashx so I used the following criteria to get a close mirror:
- Net Profit Margin Positive (>0%)
- Price: Over $5
- Insider Ownership: >10%
- Sales Growth Qtr over Qtr: >20%
- EPS Growth Qtr over Qtr: >20%
- Country: United States
CG The Carlyle Group Inc.
JEF Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
PFSI PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.
SMSI Smith Micro Software, Inc.
PAYS PaySign, Inc.
ALGT Allegiant Travel Company
GMRE Global Medical REIT Inc.
SLP Simulations Plus, Inc.
XPEL XPEL, Inc.
MCY Mercury General Corporation
MEDP Medpace Holdings, Inc.
CSTL Castle Biosciences, Inc.
INS Intelligent Systems Corporation
LGL The LGL Group, Inc.
CFBK Central Federal Corporation
WLFC Willis Lease Finance Corporation
EMCF Emclaire Financial Corp
WVVI Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc.
JRSH Jerash Holdings (US), Inc.
I looked at a few of these....PaySign looks intriguing but will have to take time to pick one. Like the fools say...pick a stock that you can hold for at least 5 years - if you can't do that...you don't have a great justification. I like that criteria - it stops you from jumping in and you start thinking about competitors, what could disrupt the business model, how you see the future of the company...what is that company's mission/vision etc...
Re: Lemur Journal!
Oof - When speculation goes wrong.
Disney needs to go up 30% by Sept. 18 just so that my call option is in the money...and VISA needs to go up more then 40%....not looking good. I went long on MSFT, DIS, and VISA right before the coronavirus market correction....I decided not to bail and cut losses. There is still much time...instead I want to get through each of the earnings for this trio (Apr / May) and see what happens then. Partly because I'm in the red so deep it favors me to just wait it out now.
This hurts but I knew going into this there was a chance of significant losses. Roughly 3-4% of my portfolio is gone in the worst case scenario.
Perhaps there will be strong lessons learned when this is all said and done.
Disney needs to go up 30% by Sept. 18 just so that my call option is in the money...and VISA needs to go up more then 40%....not looking good. I went long on MSFT, DIS, and VISA right before the coronavirus market correction....I decided not to bail and cut losses. There is still much time...instead I want to get through each of the earnings for this trio (Apr / May) and see what happens then. Partly because I'm in the red so deep it favors me to just wait it out now.
This hurts but I knew going into this there was a chance of significant losses. Roughly 3-4% of my portfolio is gone in the worst case scenario.
Perhaps there will be strong lessons learned when this is all said and done.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Lemur wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 10:38 pmChapter 22 of The Motley Fool Investment Guide (third edition) has some intriguing criteria for finding growth stocks. The 8 criteria:
1.) The Company recent annual sales figure is $500 million or less.
2.) Average Daily Dollar Volume: From $1 million to $25 million. (Note to self: Calculate by 'Avg.Volume * Stock Price)
3.) Minimum Share Price: At least $7
4.) Net Profit Margin: At least 7%
5.) Earnings and Sales Growth: 25% or greater when compared to the same period the year before.
6.) Insider Holdings: 10% or more
7.) Cash Flow from Operations is not negative.
8.) Relative Strength - Strong Stock Price Appreciation (i.e. trading near 52 week higher or 5 year graph shows upward trend).
I couldn't plug this criteria exactly into https://finviz.com/screener.ashx so I used the following criteria to get a close mirror:
I then sorted by volume. Here were the results:
- Net Profit Margin Positive (>0%)
- Price: Over $5
- Insider Ownership: >10%
- Sales Growth Qtr over Qtr: >20%
- EPS Growth Qtr over Qtr: >20%
- Country: United States
CG The Carlyle Group Inc.
JEF Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
PFSI PennyMac Financial Services, Inc.
SMSI Smith Micro Software, Inc.
PAYS PaySign, Inc.
ALGT Allegiant Travel Company
GMRE Global Medical REIT Inc.
SLP Simulations Plus, Inc.
XPEL XPEL, Inc.
MCY Mercury General Corporation
MEDP Medpace Holdings, Inc.
CSTL Castle Biosciences, Inc.
INS Intelligent Systems Corporation
LGL The LGL Group, Inc.
CFBK Central Federal Corporation
WLFC Willis Lease Finance Corporation
EMCF Emclaire Financial Corp
WVVI Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc.
JRSH Jerash Holdings (US), Inc.
I looked at a few of these....PaySign looks intriguing but will have to take time to pick one. Like the fools say...pick a stock that you can hold for at least 5 years - if you can't do that...you don't have a great justification. I like that criteria - it stops you from jumping in and you start thinking about competitors, what could disrupt the business model, how you see the future of the company...what is that company's mission/vision etc...
Interesting, my investing strategy evolved to something very similar to Motley Fool: growth investing. Many of the stocks from my own picks end up being the same as MF recommendations. I did not look into MF before. I thought they are scammers. Their ads keep popping up. lol
I own this 3 stocks in my own portfolio:
SLP Simulations Plus, Inc.
XPEL XPEL, Inc.
WLFC Willis Lease Finance Corporation
Re: Lemur Journal!
February 28, 2020
Oh boy what a crazy month it is has been.
Investments: $143k. Down $14k! (Last time my networth was down to $143k...roughly beginning of November 2019...not too bad when looking at it from that perspective, the market has had a such massive run up). Well $6k of this was my own doing. I ventured into trading call options right before the coronavirus outbreak. I took a heavy loss, salvaged $1,400, and decided to just put the rest on March 27 DIS $100 PUTS. I'm hoping to recover some of my losses with more downward market spiral. I still like Disney long-term but I simply can't see any catalyst for the stock going up the next few months. They're being hurt heavy from the virus. Despite this sudden correction in the market, I learned a ton about my own risk tolerance, overall portfolio strategy, etc...My spouse is the smart one. She has 70% cash. I advised her to stick to the indexes and when we feel the market has bottomed out (which it very well could drop another 20-30%!) she should really consider investing then. My spouse, right or wrong, is not open to my investment advice at the moment lol.
I want to get into MSFT over a period of time and add to my brokerage account with the normal $500 I manage to save every 2 weeks. Once I built up 100 shares, I want to look into covered call writing. I think I should also have a small amount of money in a RobinHood account, away from my Vanguard accounts, just something to do for fun with option trading. Still contemplating. Lets see how that Disney Put goes.
Physical Health / Diet: Still Pescatarian. This is a way of life now. I am a pain in the ass now at my grandparents because they almost always serve chicken or beef for dinner and I usually either bring a meal or opt out. Oh well. My grandfather is purplexed. He says I'm an enigma because usually people in their late 20s are starting to be set in their ways lol.
Mental Health: Very stressed. Market going down. I'm reading too much news. Failed on options trading. Work is building up now as well.
Job: Very stressful at the moment. Work is piling up, we're resource depleted. I have golden handcuffs so I can't bail obviously and now I'm getting involved in 'firm contributions' (i.e. work that is not billable). FML. OTH, I have a very good relationship with my co-workers...and I'm even opening up more lately where I've been a quiet introvert for a year now. Come to find my co-workers and I have a lot of similar hobbies...trading, market talk, vegetarianism, political leanings, etc. IDK I need a weekend.
Gardening: Still too cold to plant. My swiss chard never sprouted. Not surprised.
Family: My sister getting more serious with the 'boyfriend' now. My spouse expressing maybe its time to start looking for our own place. Oh boy I thought I would be able to get this split rent deal at least for another year. This deal may end sooner. Its been a good run for 3 years. Time to start thinking about a new location....I'll try not to think about it. It would certainly mean our current 45% savings rate would drop down to ~20% or so (if we kept renting) or if we choose to buy (which I am still deathly scared of) maybe 30%. I ponder why I include a section on family in my journal, but I think its important to include because family matters do effect everyone differently on the FIRE/ERE path. For some its a nice boon, for others a big bust.
Oh boy what a crazy month it is has been.
Investments: $143k. Down $14k! (Last time my networth was down to $143k...roughly beginning of November 2019...not too bad when looking at it from that perspective, the market has had a such massive run up). Well $6k of this was my own doing. I ventured into trading call options right before the coronavirus outbreak. I took a heavy loss, salvaged $1,400, and decided to just put the rest on March 27 DIS $100 PUTS. I'm hoping to recover some of my losses with more downward market spiral. I still like Disney long-term but I simply can't see any catalyst for the stock going up the next few months. They're being hurt heavy from the virus. Despite this sudden correction in the market, I learned a ton about my own risk tolerance, overall portfolio strategy, etc...My spouse is the smart one. She has 70% cash. I advised her to stick to the indexes and when we feel the market has bottomed out (which it very well could drop another 20-30%!) she should really consider investing then. My spouse, right or wrong, is not open to my investment advice at the moment lol.
I want to get into MSFT over a period of time and add to my brokerage account with the normal $500 I manage to save every 2 weeks. Once I built up 100 shares, I want to look into covered call writing. I think I should also have a small amount of money in a RobinHood account, away from my Vanguard accounts, just something to do for fun with option trading. Still contemplating. Lets see how that Disney Put goes.
Physical Health / Diet: Still Pescatarian. This is a way of life now. I am a pain in the ass now at my grandparents because they almost always serve chicken or beef for dinner and I usually either bring a meal or opt out. Oh well. My grandfather is purplexed. He says I'm an enigma because usually people in their late 20s are starting to be set in their ways lol.
Mental Health: Very stressed. Market going down. I'm reading too much news. Failed on options trading. Work is building up now as well.
Job: Very stressful at the moment. Work is piling up, we're resource depleted. I have golden handcuffs so I can't bail obviously and now I'm getting involved in 'firm contributions' (i.e. work that is not billable). FML. OTH, I have a very good relationship with my co-workers...and I'm even opening up more lately where I've been a quiet introvert for a year now. Come to find my co-workers and I have a lot of similar hobbies...trading, market talk, vegetarianism, political leanings, etc. IDK I need a weekend.
Gardening: Still too cold to plant. My swiss chard never sprouted. Not surprised.
Family: My sister getting more serious with the 'boyfriend' now. My spouse expressing maybe its time to start looking for our own place. Oh boy I thought I would be able to get this split rent deal at least for another year. This deal may end sooner. Its been a good run for 3 years. Time to start thinking about a new location....I'll try not to think about it. It would certainly mean our current 45% savings rate would drop down to ~20% or so (if we kept renting) or if we choose to buy (which I am still deathly scared of) maybe 30%. I ponder why I include a section on family in my journal, but I think its important to include because family matters do effect everyone differently on the FIRE/ERE path. For some its a nice boon, for others a big bust.
Re: Lemur Journal!
This is a little grim, but you may be able to persuade spouse to hold off on own place by arguing that (1) corona deaths among older people, if indeed in the 1m range, might increase supply of property while (2) an economic downturn depresses prices further and causes some people who have lost their jobs to default on their mortgages.
Idk how strong this effect will be, but unless they open up the $$ spigots and real assets are needed to preserve wealth in the face of inflation, I don't think real estate is going up any time soon, even if it's not necessarily going down either. I still think in the immediate term we're more likely to see deflation than inflation and so you guys are better off waiting.
Idk how strong this effect will be, but unless they open up the $$ spigots and real assets are needed to preserve wealth in the face of inflation, I don't think real estate is going up any time soon, even if it's not necessarily going down either. I still think in the immediate term we're more likely to see deflation than inflation and so you guys are better off waiting.
Re: Lemur Journal!
@ertyu
Good Point. We will see how these discussions go.
I lucked out hard today: I sold off my BND and VXUS from my brokerage at a gain....and invested into MSFT at its bottom today (immediately seeing a 7% gain) and WMT and GE before short-rally. I immediately made $4500 in unrealized gains. Doesn't make up for my recent speculation stupidity but it was nice to get into some long holding positions. I want to build up to a nice portfolio of 8-10 stocks to hold for many years.
Anyhow, today in continued options learning....I will be executing this so called wheel strategy I learned about to build up my portfolio over-time. It works as such:
1.) Find a stock you don't mind owning long-term that you could buy 100 shares worth.
2.) Sell a cash covered put option (Collect Premium).
3.) Do whatever you want with said premium. Buy shares, contribute to IRA, hold cash, etc.
4.) If not exercised, repeat step 2.
5.) If exercised, and if you choose to do so, sell a covered call option above the recent put strike price (Collect Premium) unless you want to hold the stock of course.
6.) If exercised, game over. If not exercised, continue on.
7.) The idea here is to stay in the wheel as long as possible and collect premiums to build up other positions.
Good Point. We will see how these discussions go.
I lucked out hard today: I sold off my BND and VXUS from my brokerage at a gain....and invested into MSFT at its bottom today (immediately seeing a 7% gain) and WMT and GE before short-rally. I immediately made $4500 in unrealized gains. Doesn't make up for my recent speculation stupidity but it was nice to get into some long holding positions. I want to build up to a nice portfolio of 8-10 stocks to hold for many years.
Anyhow, today in continued options learning....I will be executing this so called wheel strategy I learned about to build up my portfolio over-time. It works as such:
1.) Find a stock you don't mind owning long-term that you could buy 100 shares worth.
2.) Sell a cash covered put option (Collect Premium).
3.) Do whatever you want with said premium. Buy shares, contribute to IRA, hold cash, etc.
4.) If not exercised, repeat step 2.
5.) If exercised, and if you choose to do so, sell a covered call option above the recent put strike price (Collect Premium) unless you want to hold the stock of course.
6.) If exercised, game over. If not exercised, continue on.
7.) The idea here is to stay in the wheel as long as possible and collect premiums to build up other positions.
Re: Lemur Journal!
My first foray into covered calls. Picked one that should be 'easy money.'
Option name: VTI 03/20/2020 C $165.00
Collected a premium of $34.00. I'm confident the market won't rise 7% or so by that date and if it does, I would be selling at a profit anyway compared to my original cost basis and I will just buy back in with a cash-covered put. Because I intend to hold this index indefinitely, I could do this repeatedly for a while. This is being done in a tIRA so I'm not being taxed either.
Doesn't seem like much but consider that minimum wage in my state is $10.10. So I did 3 hours worth of minimum wage work in less then 2 minutes it took me to log in and execute this order. I used the money to buy 3 shares of GE.
Option name: VTI 03/20/2020 C $165.00
Collected a premium of $34.00. I'm confident the market won't rise 7% or so by that date and if it does, I would be selling at a profit anyway compared to my original cost basis and I will just buy back in with a cash-covered put. Because I intend to hold this index indefinitely, I could do this repeatedly for a while. This is being done in a tIRA so I'm not being taxed either.
Doesn't seem like much but consider that minimum wage in my state is $10.10. So I did 3 hours worth of minimum wage work in less then 2 minutes it took me to log in and execute this order. I used the money to buy 3 shares of GE.