Political & Elections

longprime · Guru

RE: INvesting

john doe · Guru

The threads are still there. I'm a bit surprised that you were attacked in that manner.

longprime · Guru

Sorry, DIYers= Do It Your Selfers

longprime · Guru

Diys, Have No idea what it means.

you're going to have to ask SLS for it means and help to look at archived material, if she is willing.

Mods may have deleted the thread.

These guys believe every annuity was sold and sold for commission and not willingly bought. They just could not believe anyone could be so stupid enough to buy 6 annuities. I encourage them to give me alternatives and reason to change. I had encourage them to go see a presentation so that they can make a better criticism. Called me troll and a annuity salesman. Got me mad. evileye

What is really irritating, I never got the chance to push Washlet Bidets. evileye

john doe · Guru

I went to the blog that you were writing - what are diys?

longprime · Guru

Just being me evileye

There is a group that are DIYers. Financial Planners are bad-fees, commission, bad product. Retail mutual funds are bad-loads. Dick Bogle/Vanguard -Good.

I brought up that I had the newer Guaranteed Income Withdrawal Variable Annuities and Fixed Index Annuities. Six of them, 5-2 years old. They kept saying that essentially that I was stupid and was SOLD by a slick advisor. They never asked WHY, I bought annuities. Anyway, I set a separate thread, hopefully to explain the reasonings and to solicit ideas and advice. I may have carried my own noose on this, but their repeated denigration of any type of product with high fees, FA, and annuities, kept them climbing the scaffold.

I didn't help when I kept track of the views on the thread for a variety of reasons. Five posters: me and 4 detractors. In 25 hours, I got 1100 views and accelerating by the hour.

FYI: It was portfolio insurance and this product type has some kickers. IMO these kickers are grabbing the insurance co by the b#lls and squeezing them- evileye

If you want to know more, I will go further but too long. I got to straighten house up for my caregiiver. evileye

john doe · Guru

How can you be banned from such an innocuous site?? I'm ~50% cash. I'm listening right now to cnbc. It is amusing to listen to the "pros" trying to make off like they know anything more than anybody else.

longprime · Guru

I was did a fast in/out of Z, last week 102/104. I had hoped to get it below 100 but it was trending up. Sometimes I wish I had more guts and more money to play this. Currently about 40% cash, most of NWN holdings has been sold. Laying low now, May is essential over. My mind is not focused, probably because Mom has skin problems - we are fighting bruises, abrasions and a pressure sore.

longprime · Guru

Got banned in www.Early-Retirement.org blankstare

Got baited from a bunch of bullies. I've come to the conclusion that bullies will walk the line and for the most part, moderators will give them considerable leeway-freedom of opinions/speech and all that... Oh well, I sorta baited them too, in that it was pretty easy to see that they were ganging up on me and eventually will get me killed. In 25 hours, I got 1100 views, 5 posters ( me and 4 bullies). I was able to call them bullies to me and to others who sincerely asked legitimate questions and experiences

Pretty good simulations for retirement planning. The forum side was pretty good too and I had hoped to participate more on threads that pertained to the family side of retirement (other than the financial aspects). The financial side was dominated by a few long timers, and of course these people determined the course of action-in this case, financial planning.

john doe · Guru

Decided to buy a small position in twtr today, along with xlk and qqq. We'll see what happens going forward.

longprime · Guru

Razorsharp wrote:
I fully expect the Chinese to overfish which is how they will make so much money. As the chinese get wealthier they will eat more expensive foods like fish. I don't plan on staying in the stock for 10 years. At some point it will be wise to find a company that runs a fish farm where they grow more and more fish but I don't know what company that will be.

RS, this is not how commodities work or how products with high capital and fixed costs works. In times of low prices-abundance, the farmers/producers will plant and produce more inorder to maintain cashflow. In times of high prices-scarcity, farmers/producers will plant and produce more inorder to capture additional cashflow. Something seems to be wrong with the economics when opposite effects gives the same outcomes. Which is why we have producer market orders, cartels, stocks-bonds, and options/futures.

For PME, with high fixed and sunk costs, PME must fish hard when the price is low, and fish even harder when the resources becomes depleted. And since fishing is catch to everything regardless of size and maturity, eventually the stock holders will be holding a bunch of useless and worn out boats and factories.

-- Edited by longprime on Monday 12th of May 2014 12:18:40 PM

longprime · Guru

New Pastures

Razorsharp · Guru

RE: INvesting

longprime · Guru

RS: are you not afraid the Chinese are over fishing the seas? The Pirates of Somalia is the result of Chinese fishing fleets. In the 80's, off Oregon Coast, the fleets caught "boat loads of rockfish" and rockfish could be had cheaply. Today, rockfish is limited and expensive.

Razorsharp · Guru

I bought PME. The stock went up big with earnings but has pulled back. It's a chinese fishing company. If the earnings are real, this is a monster good pick.

john doe · Guru

I'm pretty convinced the market is going lower. I don't know how much however. Fortunately there are ways of playing it with very low risk. As an example: yesterday I bought the 5/9 IWM 110.5 - 110 put spread and sold a 108.5 - 103 put spread. I was paid $.08 a share with the potential of making another $.50 a share. The probability of hitting the 108.5 put which is where I need to either roll out the put spread that I sold or get assigned was only 24%.

longprime · Guru

50% in cash. Captured NWN dividend and at sold at high. Interesting note on NWN, in 2013, they hooked up 9000 new retail customers, most within their existing service area/not expanding service area.

longprime · Guru

wednesday, May7, 1230ET. Dow +103. Nasdaq-32. The momentums, techs, are have been rotated out-hard for valuation and risk. SCTY is killing me even though I've sold most of my shares. BX, I would think would have good IVY management is bad. Maybe it is May and people are selling in prep for the uncertain summer?

john doe · Guru

Although I'm roughly market weighted, I think this market wants to go down so I've been buying and selling weekly puts to take advantage of this. It paid off the last few weeks and I'm pretty sure it will pay off again this week. What do you think about the direction of the market in the near term?

john doe · Guru

I bought the aapl 500 - 530 call spread when aapl was 590 just a few days ago

longprime · Guru

Notice that zillow is a sponser of NPR and CNBC. Google.com/trends indicates Z is uptrending.

Missed the Apple low, I was thinking about it at 520 couple of weeks ago, but SCTY was hurting me then and breaking me now.

john doe · Guru

I'm starting to play things more long term. I bought the Jan aapl 500 - 530 call spread for 22.83 with a potential 31% gain if aapl stays above 530 at expiration, FB 50 - 55 call spread for 2.73 with a potential gain of 83% if it stays at 55 or above next January.

longprime · Guru

Out of Z 04/29/14 @99.68, for 5pts gain for 24 hrs of holding. Darn thing keeps running to 103+. April 30, Z takes off again in first 30 minutes to 110. I have no idea what is happening ???????

john doe · Guru

I'm actually doing better this year than last up to this point.

longprime · Guru

My tradiing IRA account is bad. It's down to where it was in May 2013.

My wife's account is only slightly down due to more conservative positions and profitable in/out trades on Zillow. I think I will do more of them .

The annuities are fine and have solid mutual funds, only very small amount in aggressive growths.

-- Edited by longprime on Monday 28th of April 2014 08:25:15 PM

john doe · Guru

The market is getting pretty bumpy these days. How are you handling the volatility?

john doe · Guru

I was waiting to buy aapl tomorrow after earnings expecting the typical decline in the share price. I guess I was wrong. At least I have a lot of qqq which is heavily weighted with aapl. SPY could be getting pretty close to resistance tomorrow - difficult to figure out what to do at this stage.

longprime · Guru

I've some luck with Zillow. Buying mid 80's depending on momentum and placing a low bid in extended hours. Then selling high on the rising momentum. Disclaimer, son works for Z.

Sold too soon-10:35am, Monday. +2

-- Edited by longprime on Monday 21st of April 2014 07:42:55 AM

john doe · Guru

I'm looking for things to buy. Most of my options expired last Thursday. I did buy googl options on Thursday and will probably be looking at aapl and fb later this week. I got to get back to market weighted with combinations of call and put spreads for protection. It's not clear whether I will be buying qqq, spy or iwm - maybe all of them.

longprime · Guru

So, Easter is done. Is the current mini-correction done, too? My main trading account is down -10% from highs, and about -5% since Jan 01. The variable annuities are down -4% from highs, as recently as mid March.

busdriver11 · Guru

Cavaliers are very sweet. Though mine obviously have absolutely no morals. They'll sleep with anyone who is on the couch.

busdriver11 · Guru

Nah, can't lobby anyone for that, lp. It's all union negotiation, and I don't want any of those items. Our jumpseats are fine, the hotels are great, can't improve on the healthcare, I can take all the baggage I need. Sure, I would like stock options, but all I really want is more money. And if it's taxed away, it's practically futile. Maybe less work for the same or more money, that would be good. At least they haven't figured out a way to tax our time off. Yet.

longprime · Guru

BD11, you could lobby for other benefits: Better jump seats. Unlimited baggage. Better rooms. Better healthcare benefits. confuse Stock options furious

Out walking the dog yesterday. Mom's dog (Shih Tzu) made friends with a Cavalier Spaniel-very handsome dog.

-- Edited by longprime on Thursday 17th of April 2014 10:10:34 AM

longprime · Guru

Yesterday met with a annuity salesman with the pitch that the number one mistake that people make with annuities, is the high fees. I told him that I pay the high fees because I wanted to transfer risk and someone to curse. He shows me a list of 200+ insurance companies that he represents and that some have annuities that return a guaranteed 7-10%. confuse He didn't offer me coffee either. evileye

longprime · Guru

Have a baby? When ds was small, I traded under his TIN but mostly to juice the UGMA.

longprime · Guru

I am sure that we did talk about trading within IRA. Could you trade within annuity-Fidelity/TDAmer/Vanguard ? This only defers taxes and significant tax disadv on losses.

john doe · Guru

My tax issues have nothing to do with working a job but rather my market gains for which I have to send a bigger check to the IRS each succeeding year.

busdriver11 · Guru

The only way I can figure how to reduce taxes is to work less. For those of us who get our income from an employer, that's about all there is.

john doe · Guru

Thanks for the info . I'll have to give it more thought after I file my taxes on Tuesday

longprime · Guru

Two avenues for current income modification using Life Insurance: Company buys a high cash value- life insurance amount, as a benefit. On your exit with company, the company allow you to buy out their interest in the life insurance-you of course get the cash value with the life insurance

The second is the, " Life Insurance Corridor" which defines life insurance and differentiates it from annuity/ investments.

Both strategies are not without substantial risk and possible high upfront costs and high surrender charges.

longprime · Guru

JD. IRA's Required Minimum Annual withdrawal is 2% of all of the trad IRA accounts. I don't know what the amount is for 401k. Roths 401k and IRA-Roths are have no minimums. Annuities typically have no minimum requirement if Not annuitized or non-IRA annuities.

If the cause of your income taxes are due to earned income + retirement plans + Social Security; 1) you Could use this strategy, if you want to retire in 2016. Prepay in 2015 all recurring accounts in advance for 2016 in 2015. Buy a preloaded "gift" cards for groceries, department stores, gas, etc. Delay SS. Have adequate savings in your bank for cash use. You will not have any income other than trading and interest/dividend or need for income for 2016 since everything has been paid in advance. You then convert trad IRAs and 401k to Roths upto the amount you are comfortable at your effective tax (not marginal rate). [for $100000 the marginal would be 25% but the effective rate would be closer to ~20%)

CORRECTION, MARGINAL TAX ON $100,000 is 28

-- Edited by longprime on Friday 11th of April 2014 09:18:35 PM

-- Edited by longprime on Saturday 12th of April 2014 09:27:29 AM

longprime · Guru

jd: Never buy life insurance for its savings or perceived tax advantage-No such thing, it is life insurance and by law it is life insurance not a savings or investment plan. And if this guy said it is a investment plan, you can have his license at the state level and SEC-FINRA at the federal level.

I have the opposite problem-I want to pay taxes. Some ides that I have thought about are: Solar installation. Buying tax credits from those with excess credits ( I can afford solar but my taxes are negligible to make it worthwhile, at this time). Converting IRA-401 to Roths-if you have substantial income then it is best to wait or cause a condition where you will have little earned or unearned income. Defer income by noncash assets (rentals, precious metals, jewelry, create a business).

hope · Guru

Looking quickly online...lots of predictions for a stock market crash in 2014. Worse than '87 some say.

This fake bubble we're living in, propagated by the Obama-loving media in which everything in the good ol' USA is just hunky-dory (except for income inequality and racial and gender and sexual orientation inequality, of course) just has to come crashing down around us at some point.

i can't help you, John Doe. We still got a substantial refund this year...we could claim our youngest son as a dependent since he didn't move out til October, which helped.

john doe · Guru

Although I have a lot of short positions, the s&p which is down 4.3% is getting near to the 5% where I start putting in some percentage of my cash reserves into the s&p.

john doe · Guru

I'm in my early 60's not yet retired and am in the confusion zone in regards to how to handle finances in retirement. I'm sending Uncle Sam a huge check on Tuesday and would like to reduce my taxes. We had gone to see a retirement planner who had all kinds of wacky ideas about how to reduce my taxes or at least wacky from my point of view. Besides annuities, he was telling me to get life insurance, pay more than the premium for which I can shelter income that I don't need. Also apparently there are ways of investing in this type of account. Anybody know anything about this or any other ways for me to reduce my taxes. He claims when I stop working, which I plan on doing in 1.5 years, I will be paying more in taxes than now because of reduced deductions.

hope · Guru

We have everything in cash other than 401k and this account. We are extremely risk-adverse. Children of depression-era parents. I just don't feel like sinking what little we've finally made on this account back into the Obama economy at this point...if that makes any sense (probably not!).

longprime · Guru

Having something in cash or equivalents is always good-however how much is another question. I always advocate having at least 2 advisers to get a different prospective. I understand your concern since 2008- 2009 we lost a bundle and we were early 60's then. Good Hunting.

hope · Guru

My husband and I are investment illiterate. The money we put in our Ameriprise account in the late 90's, which we just let sit there, watching it go up and down, seems to have grown quite a bit lately. I feel like we should remove $20 or $30,000 from it and just convert it to cash. I haven't read this thread (sorry!), but something tells me the market is likely going to go down soon. We're in our early '60's...I say, make a little profit. Am I wrong? All comments appreciated!

-- Edited by hope on Thursday 10th of April 2014 08:52:02 PM

john doe · Guru

I guess I'm lucky that I didn't buy yesterday or today. What is everybody else doing with this market?

longprime · Guru

Friday is capitulation day?