Mechanical Investing, balancing the checkbook, and trying to find change for the vending machine
God's mysteries of who he blesses and who he allows trials escape me. The Apostle Paul was beheaded. Steven was stoned. Certainly faithful service alone doesn't solicit blessings. I'm a sinner saved by grace with nothing to offer, yet in many ways, God has blessed me. Too numerous to mention. My friend and brother Trey … Continue reading The Struggles of a Godly Man
National debt: $13,872,907,209,101.48 according to the US National Debt Clock as of 21 Dec 2010 at 11:52:51 PM GMT. Number of people: 308,745,538 according to the US Census. Lessee... carry the one... and voila! Your share is $44,933.14.
The US Labor Department released unemployment figures this morning that beat expecations. The figures released, though, were just made up. Nine states, including California, did not report numbers due to the Labor Day holiday. From Bloomberg, For the latest reporting week, nine states didn’t file claims data to the Labor Department in Washington because of … Continue reading Making It Up
Would you like to know why the US economy is about to take a nosedive yet again? It's because people will have less to spend. A *lot* less. Check out MyTaxBurden.org. Plug in fictitious numbers if you want. Then press the "Calculate" button and see how much more in taxes you're about to spend next … Continue reading My Tax Burden
Fourth Quarter GDP Growth Soars 5.7 Percent. Or at least, that's what the news media and the government would have us believe. Yippee, the recession is over. Except I don't believe it. I see no evidence of it. I think I'm being lied to. Do you believe what you're being told?
Image via WikipediaA plague of frogs is coming, funded by the US Government: the Wyoming Toad Recovery Program. I'm hoping for a Locusts Recovery Program next.
Dear Obama, this is what we think of your fiscal policies so far since you've taken office. Perhaps you should pay attention. What you're doing now, we don't like.
Because they gave away billions... no wait, over a trillion dollars of taxpayer's money... ... because in order to approve %750 billion of it, they had to add $150 billion in pork... ... because they pressured banks to lend money to people to buy houses they couldn't afford... ... because the same people like Barney … Continue reading Congress Gives Themselves a Raise
Finally, a financial strategy that makes sense. FOUR extra ravens are being drafted into the Tower of London because of the financial crisis — to prevent a 350-year-old curse coming true. My suspicion, though I'm unable to confirm it, is that in order to reduce labor costs, either fewer ravens were used or an inferior … Continue reading Finally, A Cure for Financial Woes
As we all know by now, Congress failed to pass the Bailout Bill on Monday for $700 billion (a number, apparently, the US Treasury just made up). If they pass it, they saddle taxpayers with the debt and socialize the banking system. If they don't pass it, they tell us civilization will end as we … Continue reading Bailouts and Earmarks
Image via WikipediaI had been thinking this, but hadn't seen anybody writing about it. Sub-prime mortgages have led to a financial crisis. The blame for sub-prime mortgages generally get laid on the greed of the mortgage bankers, but is that all there is to it? Twenty years ago I remember the push to get banks … Continue reading Mortgage Meltdown
Hey! Finally caught up and passed the Dow Jones index! The overall portfolio went down over 8% and then back up 9% in just 2 weeks, so that was pretty volatile. Here are the numbers and changes - Last 4 weeks: -1.3% Last 3 months: 4.6% Last 12 months: +9.6% Year to date: +9.7% (Dow … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for December 2007
It's my normal Monday to trade stocks; again, there's been lots of volatility, and last Friday's plunge took a bite out of the portfolio. Dagnabbit, just can't quite catch up to that index though. Last 4 weeks: 0.8% Last 3 months: 5.2% Last 12 months: +6.8% Year to date: +6.5% (Dow is +8.8% ytd from … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for November 2007
The news says this last month, will all the credit crunch and housing speculation, was one of the most volatile on record. I tried not to look until today, but it appears this portfolio weathered the storm ok. In fact, things are looking good enough I plan on diversifying a little and buy more stocks … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for October 2007
Jesus and Money Recently in a comment, I was challenged regarding posting my stock selections; the concern from Chris was that such financial considerations were incongruous with the teachings of Jesus. Chris Says: September 18th, 2007 at 11:03 am I find it somewhat ironic and mildly amusing that your blog contains articles of spirituality along … Continue reading Jesus and Money
With all the volatility this month, I thought it would be bad... but the month was basically a wash, a little higher than before. The market, though, has started to pull away a bit. My goal continues to be to beat the market, but that's not currently happening. It's September, so I'm easing back into … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for September 2007
I was traveling this week on business, so I didn't get a chance to trade until today. Ouch, it bit me, too. I would have been better off investing in chocolate this month, at least I'd retain some of the capital. 🙂 Interestingly, some of the gurus over at the Mechanical Investing board have started … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for August 2007
The latest bull market shows some signs of slowing, but it's mixed. Three month returns are positive but less than the previous month. But 1 week returns are high, and the market is up high this morning. But hey, I'm beating the market again. 🙂 Last 4 weeks: +1.4% Last 3 months: +9.0% Last 12 … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for July 2007
First day back from vacation and immediately jumped into trading this month's stocks. Still positive, though the Dow Jones index has caught up to me. Last 4 weeks: +3.2% Last 3 months: +12.2% Last 12 months: +5.2% Year to date: +7.5% (Dow is +9.4% ytd from 12,463) Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for June 2007
Stock trading day again; still positive, still beating the market. In fact, returns are looking pretty darn good. Last 4 weeks: +5.9% Last 3 months: +8.0% Last 12 months: +4.0% Year to date: +6.6% (Dow is +5.3% ytd from 12,463) Annualized Return: +82.8% (Someday I need to go find out what this number is. 🙂 … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for May 2007
Stock trading day again, and even with the whipsaws up and down, I'm still positive this month and beating the market. Yay! Last 4 weeks: +0.9% Last 3 months: +3.8% Last 12 months: +1.7% Year to date: +3.6% (Dow is -.47% ytd from 12,463) Annualized Return: +73.2% (This number looks really, really fish, but it's … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for April 2007
Stock trading day again; the market has continued to improve, and yay, I'm still beating the market - Last 4 weeks: +3.9% Last 3 months: +3.7% Last 12 months: +1.5% Year to date: +3.8% (Dow is +1.4% ytd from 12,463) Annualized Return: +73.6% (This number looks really, really fish, but it's what Moneycentral.msn.com is reporting) … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for March 2007
Yeah, I know I said the next trade would be February 5, but I had some time at lunch today. Monday is Monday, and it's close enough to the first of the month. A small tweak; I'm switching from the H52EarnPS to the H52EgPS for some of the stocks, but I don't expect it'll make … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for February 2007
Goodness. I never thought I'd see taxpayers win this one. One of my biggest complaints about promoting a cap on home appraisals was about my opposition, like the Texas Association of Counties or the Texas Municipal League. They use *my* tax dollars to keep *my* taxes high. It was absolutely unfair. A judge this week … Continue reading A Win for Texas Taxpayers
Well, I *was* going to trade yesterday, but the markets were closed. Flags are flying at half-mast, and I assume it's because we're mourning for former President Ford and not for Saddam Hussein. Let's check the numbers - Last 4 weeks: +0.5% Last 3 months: +3.7% Last 12 months: +1.1% (Dow was +16.3% for 2006 … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for January 2007
I was reading the fine print on the back of a credit card agreement. Don't ask me why that interested me, it's not exactly fun reading. I don't like to keep credit card balances; I really dislike to be in debt. But sometime I'll post something I've been studying, a way for the credit card … Continue reading Usury
This was a good month again for Mechanical Investing; I'm catching up to the market, though still lagging behind. Let's check the numbers - Last 4 weeks: +4.3% Last 3 months: +3.2% Year to date: +1.0% (Dow is +14.7% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:+0.9% Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for December 2006
The Michael Investing Club (number of members: 1) did OK in October. It's nice to see positive numbers again, though I'm still lagging the market. Last 4 weeks: +5.1% Last 3 months: +4.1% Year to date: +0.6% (Dow is +12.4% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:-0.2% Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for November 2006
Man, it's October already. Whoosh. Last 4 weeks: +1.1% Last 3 months: +1.5% Year to date: -0.2% (Dow is +9.3% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:-0.2% Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return CMA $55.03 $56.65 4 +2.9% Comerica, Inc. From the LPEYLD screen. EME $49.17 $55.72 3 +13.3% EMCOR Group, Inc. … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for October 2006
The old portfolio has stabilized and erased nearly all of the losses from July. I'm glad I dropped that YLDEARNYR screen; things would look far more rosy if I hadn't used it. THe Mechanical Investing forum is discussing the reliability of these screens with varied start dates, and it's probable I'll make some adjustments when … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for September 2006
It looks like July saw the bottom of the market for a while; things seem to have stabilized. Reading market pundits is amazing; half of them are expecting a boom, the other half are expecting a bust for the rest of this year. My prediction: one of them will be right, the other one wrong. … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for August 2006
June was another particular ugly month for investing, and there were significant losses by mid-June. I try to remember I have a longer time frame; I'm 20+ years from retirement and I'm certain this is my best investment vehicle. Sure, I'll have some losses, but I hope the wins are even bigger. Fortunately by the … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for July 2006
Don't look, Ethel! My portfolio lost 5% this month, fell behind the market as a whole, and was generally ugly to look at. So... I won't look at it anymore. 
Last 4 weeks: -5.2% Last 3 months: -3.8% Year to date: -1.1% (Dow is +4.2% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:+0.5% Holding for another … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for June 2006
Today's a good example of why I invest mechanically. I don't read news resports to see whether the market is going up or down, I just stay invested because over the long haul the market goes up. The daily fluctuations, no matter how hard I try to understand them, only make sense if you are … Continue reading Market Influences
In case you wonder why I choose a Mechanical Investing method (no buying or selling based on "feelings," just a database sort,) here's what the market analysis have to say about today (dynamic link, will be out of date after today): 9:00am Still shaping up to be a modestly higher open for the indices as … Continue reading Stock Market Update
Bah. Some of the other investors in Mechanical Investing did much better than I did this month. I somehow think that's just the luck of the draw; which screens they've selected and when they trade. My benchmark is the market as a whole and I've fallen behind a little further this month. Last 4 weeks: … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for May 2006
Not enough of you called last night. Texas RINOs raised taxes last night. Not satisfied with squeezing out homeowners or the $8 billion or more surplus, RINOs wanted more. What's most disappointing is that Republicans said that it was a bipartisan bill. Yes, the RINOs needed the help of Democrats to raise taxes. Do we … Continue reading RINOs in Texas Raise Taxes
So, if the state has collected too much money, maybe as high as $10 billion, do you think those sneaky dogs in Austin ought to - a) refund the money because citizens are complaining about property taxes, or b) tax businesses too! Yeehaw! If you answered (b), you can be a Texas legislator, too! Those … Continue reading Sneaky Texas Legislature and Taxes
All you have to do is study this simple problem and offer your solution. 1. Citizens complain their property taxes are too high. 2. The Texas Comptroller announces that oops, way too much money has been collected. $8.2 billion so far and growing. Texas State Senator Question: Where did the money come from? Your answer: … Continue reading You Can Be a Texas State Senator
Today is the deadline; make sure your 2005 taxes are filed properly and you send in all the taxes that you legally owe. Remember, 12 million illegal aliens are depending on you.
No complaints this month on the Mechanical Investing side. Nothing spectacular, nothing traumatic, but I'm falling a little behind the market as a whole. Last 4 weeks: +1.5% Last 3 months: +1.3% Year to date: +1.3% (Dow is +4.7% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:+1.8% Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for April 2006
February was looking good until 3 stocks took a 15% nosedive within 2 days. Bah. Why don't they ever nosedive upwards? Still, things are looking good so far this year even with that bump. Last 4 weeks: -3.60% Last 3 months: +3.2% Year to date: +3.8% (Dow is +3.7% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:+1.3% … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for March 2006
The Mechanical Investing strategy I've been following since 1998 is in the news at the Motley Fool today. Here are some excerpts, part 1 of 2: Want 50% Annual Returns? By Jim Fink (TMF Hamp) January 30, 2006 In my years of reading The Motley Fool, I've been particularly interested in the Fool boards on … Continue reading Mechanical Investing News
January started with a bang, and I'm pleased with the stock selections Except for CAL; I even flew Continental to France this month and it didn't do a thing for the stock price. 😛 Also, apparently I showed that all the stocks I bought I paid $0.00. Free stocks! No really, I've corrected the list … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for February 2006
I wanted to do a year-end market wrap-up for the mechanical investing strategy, but I just won't have the time this year. I'll do a quick wrap-up as of today and call it the end of the year summary. Not my best year; after all those gyrations I only beat the market by a wee … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for January 2006
Yeah, yeah, I know I said I'd be trading next Monday, not today. Next week though I'll be busy in meetings through lunchtime and I won't have access, so I moved it up a week. So solly cholly. The Dow surged ahead this month and some problem stocks had the hiccups, so the Dow beat … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for December 2005
Apparently, the more you make, the more in debt you are. Statistics show that the highest 20 percent of Americans -- those with a pre-tax income of $110,000 and up -- have seen their liabilities skyrocket since 2001. The net change in that group's total liabilities increased by about $40,000 on average from 2001 to … Continue reading Living Beneath Your Means
Goodness, the market was a ride this month. The first two weeks of October showed great gains, then the last two weeks gave it all back and then some. Yuck. Here's the scorecard so far; looks like I would have done exactly as well if I had put the cash under a mattress: Last 4 … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for November 2005
The taxman cometh and the taxman taketh away. Property taxes have risen statewide in Texas 41% in 4 years. And compared to other state, Texas has no income tax, so property taxes are very high. On a $100,000 home, property taxes are $3,000 - $4,000 a year. And they're about to go up yet again. … Continue reading Rising Property Taxes Again
Much improved over last month, much improved. Nothing to complain about. 🙂 I know the market goes up and down - makes me seasick sometimes. But I'm in it for the long haul. So if I lose money occasionally, I still think the market over the next 20 years is the place to be. Last … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for October 2005
I'm ready for the market to improve and stay improved. So far, I'm merely treading water this year, and the last month was terrible. Last 4 weeks: -3.9% Last 3 months: +0.2% Year to date: -1.1% (Dow is -3.1% ytd) Last 12 months:+1.9% Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return KELYA $29.73 … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for September 2005
I'm a day late for trading. I started to review the mechanical trading stocks yesterday but my head wouldn't cooperate. 😛 Investments improve yet again this month. I'm up 7.9% for the last weeks and up 1.0% for the year. The Dow is down 1.0% this year. Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for August 2005
Dwayne Bohac, Texas state representative and Appraisalcap.com supporter is making progress in capping appraisals. He introduced Texas House Bill HB 1984 that will show each homeowner how their property taxes have risen in the last 5 years. It's the first step to making this "taxation creep" apparent to taxpayers. It's a good first step. By … Continue reading Appraisal Cap Progress, HB 1984
Investments still improving; would have looked real good this month except for the ABLE and NUE stinkers. Pfft. Ptui. So far, I'm only down -0.6% for the year compared to -4.0% for the Dow. I'm adjusting the mechanical screens a little since I'm disappointed in the YLDEARNYR screen. I dropped that one and substituted a … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for July 2005
Things have improved since last month, and I'm up 2.8% for the last 4 weeks. That still leaves me down 1.2% for the year, but since the Dow is down 3.1%, I'm not complaining. 🙂 Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return AC $47.05 $46.24 2 -1.7% Alliance Capital Management AET $75.60 … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for June 2005
I got one of these today in change. My first thought was that I'd gotten a fake nickel. I don't suppose many people have gotten rich by counterfeiting nickels though.
Yup, the market's giving me a beating. Lost another 4.3% for the month, now running a -1.6% year-to-date. Since the Dow is off -4.5% for the year, I'm still beating a standard index fund, so no complaints. Markets just do this. 😛 Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return AC $47.05 $44.53 … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for May
Fresh off killing any kind of appraisal cap reform, the Texas state senate is going to raise sales tax to offset any temporary cut in the property tax. If you haven't been paying attention to this blatant ripoff of Texas taxpayers with the help of the 36 Texas R.I.N.O.s led by Fred Hill, the Senate … Continue reading Texas Senate Squeezes More Turnips
I went to a free seminar at lunch today, called "Investing in Turbulent Times." This is the financial advice I gleaned: Don't invest in stuff that goes down in value. Try to invest in stuff that goes up instead. You should have started investing 20 years ago. We're professionals, give your money to us and … Continue reading Investing in Turbulent Times
Last month, I happily reported a 6.1% gain for the month. This month, I gave it all back and then some. Dang it. Total for the year I'm running a -0.6% loss. Not much, I know, but compared to the overall market, I'm still beating it. Barely. I also mentioned I felt I was a … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for April 2005
Closer and closer... step by step... HB 784 / HJR 35 is approaching the Texas House floor for a vote, possibly on Wednesday, according to Dwayne Bohac of Appraisalcap.com. If the vote fails, then taxes will continue going up 10% a year; my taxes already exceed my mortgage payment, in a dozen years or so, … Continue reading Appraisal Cap inTexas House
MSN Money Portfolio this morning listed CMCO at $127400 a share. For most of the morning, my portfolio was worth $163 million. I considered taking the rest of the day off. CMCO is back to $12.74 a share. I suppose I'll keep working.
Urgent news from C.L.O.U.T. - the long-awaited appraisal cap bill is coming to the Texas house floor tomorrow. Call your representative now. The schedule has changed! HJR 35 comes to a floor vote Wednesday - March 22nd. So you have to call Austin today! Make your voice heard! Here's the bottom line: If we can … Continue reading Appraisal Cap for Texans
All in all, a 6.1% gain for the month, happily beating the market. Would have done a lot better, too, except for ALOY. True story - I'm at the movies, I stop at the restroom. I'm standing in front of the urinal that has an advertisement for Immodium AD diarrhea medicine. And on the frame … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for March 2005
The Houston Chronicle did a terrible job discussing the appraisal cap issue which came up on the Texas Senate floor yesterday: Cities and counties would be the hardest hit by a lower appraisal cap because it would hamper their ability to raise revenues to pay for local services. This is absolutely false. Revenue can go … Continue reading Stealth Tax
OpinionJournal today asks, "What do the Democrats stand for?" Then proceeds to eloquently trash the heart of liberalism and what is stands for. Excellent reading today; while applauding the heart behind liberalism, once you recognize that liberalism has a cost, you next have to ask, "how much cost is too much?" And as soon as … Continue reading What Do the Democrats Stand For?
Let's say you and your family made $75,000 a year. And you never got a raise, but you made $75,000 every year. And let's say you made these assumptions so that it would be easier for me to do the math. And instead of Social Security, you put the money into some sort of cheesy … Continue reading Be a Millionaire
All in all, a -2.9% loss for the month. Not bad considering the market's performance so far this year. Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Return AAPL $52.69 $77.33 +46.8% Apple Computer. I sold a little of this to pay for my Lasik this month. 🙂 ALOY $7.71 $6.96 -9.7% Media and Marketing … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for February '05
Mr. Dow and Ms. Nasdaq have run off with my money. R-U-N-N-O-F-T.
For 2004, Mechanical Investing yielded a 37.2% return for 2004 for me. I'm going to continue following the SOS_Ancer screen primarily. Stock picks for Dec 31, 2004 can be found on the Motley Fool Mechanical Investing board, but I'm pretty sure it's subscription only to read it. Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Return … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for January '05
I'll post the Mechanical Investing results after lunch, but in the meantime I thought I'd recap the Four Mistakes Investors Make: Buying stocks Not buying stocks Selling stocks Not selling stocks I hope that's clear enough. Feel free to ask any questions. 😛
Two news stories today make it clear how the economy is fairing today. First, the economy is in the doldrums. Consumers aren't spending, businesses are losing money, the world is coming to an end: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Discount retailer Dollar General Corp. on Wednesday posted an unexpected profit fall with customers hurt by high … Continue reading The Economy Today
Mechanical Investing was good this month; in fact, I'm holding almost everything for another month, so turnover is light. I'm still following the SOS_Ancer and H52 screens primarily, and they're working out well this year. I'm going to try to change the format a little; the software I was using to calculate returns is a … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for December
Mechanical Investing was turbulent this month; there were some big losers, but some equally big winners. Overall I was up 1.5% for the month, so I'm not going to complain. Holding for another month: Ticker Return CCK +10.2% Crown Holdings Inc. +18.6% in 2 months; I'll keep holding it. LDG -3.5% Long Drug Stores … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for November
What a wonderful month for Mechanical Investing - for the first time since sometime in 1999, no losers at all! If I could make 15.8% every month, I'd be able to retire in a couple of years. 🙂 Holding for another month: Ticker Return ADSK +15.7% Autodesk Inc. APA +14.4% Apache Corp. oil & … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for October
By the hair of my chinny chin chin, mechanical investing did ok this month. The overall market took a beating and most stocks (including mine) were down, but one big winner made it a positive month for me. Six winners and seven losers this month. Holding for another month: Ticker Return PBR +3.8% Petroleo … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for August
Another good month for mechanical investing; only up 1% for the month, but that's good for this time of year. Out of 12 stocks, 7 were winners and 5 were losers, but the losers only overaged a 1.1% loss, while the winners averaged almost a 10% gain. Here's the breakdown: Holding for another month: Ticker … Continue reading August Stocks
Stock Trading Day today - usually it's on Monday but the markets were closed yesterday. Still doing Mechanical Investing, mostly from the Ancer Screen of Screens. It's a high return, high risk screen selection, but since I expect to be in the market for 20+ more years, it's a good screen selection for me. It … Continue reading Mechanical Investing – June Returns Were Great
Once GoDaddy stops mucking about with my web hosting (I'm supposed to call back after 5pm; they won't look at it until then), then I'll start my conversion to WordPress. WordPress allows "categories", and this will be my first entry in the "Financial" section.It was my Stock Trading Day today. One Monday a month I … Continue reading Mechanical Investing
I had poorly cooked vegetables for lunch and surfed for odd things on the web. I want to refinance my townhome but the dweebs at Countrywide aren't any help. See, I have a prepayment penalty for the 1st 5 years of my mortgage (currently about $3900) if I refinance early, and that 5 years ends … Continue reading Lunch is over
Chasing the Wind 