401K...I did it again for the Third Year

[SUJagFan]

Not exactly.

With careful analysis, it's possible to distinguish between investments that have a high probability of success and investments that have a low probability of success. As I mentioned before, steps can also be taken to minimize your risk (like diversification).

Gambling is merely taking a chance.

I never gamble. I believe investments should be chosen carefully and every precaution taken to give you the highest chance of success. Maximize return. Minimize risk.

 

[pv_symbiotic]

These are the type of discussions we need. :nod:

Now I have to maximize my refund by the legal deductions.

You all just don't now how much I used to scream when I had to pay taxes when I was making much less. Now, I'm getting my kick backs.

For the one poster, the 401K money is diversified. F

or the only poster that said that it might be done tomorrow...All I can say is that I'm living for now i.e...the refund I'm getting now, makes the risk worth taking.

 

[JROCK]

It always amazes me when people attempt to give definitive formulas for success relating to securities. Also, knows a limited amount of tax law (usually what is applicable to their personal situation) but purport to have all answers. And if one's 401K portfolio consist of a myriad of mutual funds, some stock heavy, some bond heavy, some low risk others high risk, why can't it be considered diversified (you all slay me). :lol: :emlaugh:

 

[SUJagFan]

It always amazes me when people attempt to give definitive formulas for success relating to securities. Also, knows a limited amount of tax law (usually what is applicable to their personal situation) but purport to have all answers. And if one's 401K portfolio consist of a myriad of mutual funds, some stock heavy, some bond heavy, some low risk others high risk, why can't it be considered diversified (you all slay me). :lol: :emlaugh:

Don't be afraid to name names and dispute specific points.

Some folks are very secure with their knowledge, training, experience and ability. In tax preparation and financial sales/advising.

 

[pv_symbiotic]

It always amazes me when people attempt to give definitive formulas for success relating to securities. Also, knows a limited amount of tax law (usually what is applicable to their personal situation) but purport to have all answers. And if one's 401K portfolio consist of a myriad of mutual funds, some stock heavy, some bond heavy, some low risk others high risk, why can't it be considered diversified (you all slay me). :lol: :emlaugh:

At amazes me that I was paying through the shorts when I was making MUCH less. Now, I'm getting refunds (NOW) and maxing out my 401K contributions.

 

[Jaguar Diehard]

I learned a lot about stocks and bonds when I was in an investment club a few years back. Buying stocks and bonds is a JOB! Watching the market is another JOB! Henceforth, I chose mutual funds when I divested from the investment club. I used some money to place in my daughter's 529 fund and the rest of my "play money" went to my Roth.

Backtracking, I never said moving funds around in your 401k was the thing to do. Folks I work with here do that a lot and are constantly griping about how much they lost. The government decided to halt all that "short selling" and placed a limit on the number of times they can actually buy/sell within some periodicity. I NEVER condoned that action. Let me be clear.

My comment is that if your company only supplies Fidelity Funds as its 401k, then I would think again about investing more than they matched. My wife works for such a company and I thought that was a little short sighted. That's just me....

 

[HORNETSWARM]

One important note, the month of January is normally the best month to invest in stocks and Sept. is normally the worst month to invest. It's been that way for years. Normally, "Equities" are decent to invest in from Jan. through Sept.- Of course we all know that any and everything happens in the stock market, therefore changes are constantly made due to the economy as someone said earlier and sometimes you may have to change some of your portfolio over to bonds. However, the month of Sept. did better last year than many expected. (So, expect the unexpected)

 

[SUJagFan]

One important note, the month of January is normally the best month to invest in stocks and Sept. is normally the worst month to invest. It's been that way for years. Normally, "Equities" are decent to invest in from Jan. through Sept.- Of course we all know that any and everything happens in the stock market, therefore changes are constantly made due to the economy as someone said earlier and sometimes you may have to change some of your portfolio over to bonds. However, the month of Sept. did better last year than many expected. (So, expect the unexpected)

What do you mean when you say January is the best month to invest and September is the worst month to invest? Best and worst in what way?

 

[HORNETSWARM]

What do you mean when you say January is the best month to invest and September is the worst month to invest? Best and worst in what way?

Normally stocks perform best in Jan. and perform worst in Sept.---Usually based on "Christmas" sales those numbers show up in Jan.-That's one reason and that alone speaks volumes. (That's typically the best month) I didn't say we didn't have bad times, but based on professionals its been that way for more than (30) or more years. Sept. on the other hand comes at the end of the fiscal year and some "corrections" come into play. Weather (climate) also changes and the word that professionals use is "when energy goes up-wealth goes down."--And to leverage the two is to get into energy stocks to break even or possibly put yourself in a position to get the edge. Honestly, to me Sept. sounds like a strange month, but performance is usually lower in that month. Since most people vacation during the spring and summer, most people don't like the beach in Sept., therefore occupancy in commercial property goes down and affects the mortgage industry to a degree. There could be several indicators for Sept.

 

[SUJagFan]

Normally stocks perform best in Jan. and perform worst in Sept.---Usually based on "Christmas" sales those numbers show up in Jan.-That's one reason and that alone speaks volumes. (That's typically the best month) I didn't say we didn't have bad times, but based on professionals its been that way for more than (30) or more years. Sept. on the other hand comes at the end of the fiscal year and some "corrections" come into play. Weather also changes and the word that professionals use is "when energy goes up-wealth goes down."--And to leverage the two is to get into energy stocks to break even or possibly put yourself in a position to get the edge. Honestly, to me Sept. sounds like a strange month, but performance is usually lower in that month.

I figured that's what you meant. The January Effect. I'm not sure it has anything to do with Christmas sales, but that's another discussion.

Assuming that we want to sell high and buy low, if your assertion is true that stocks tend to perform well in January and poorly in September, wouldn't September be the better month to invest? Buy low. You know?

Using the same rationale, wouldn't January be an opportunity to divest if that's what we needed to do? Sell high. :noidea:

Completely the opposite of what you suggest are good and bad months to invest.

 

[HORNETSWARM]

I figured that's what you meant. The January Effect. I'm not sure it has anything to do with Christmas sales, but that's another discussion.

Assuming that we want to sell high and buy low, if your assertion is true that stocks tend to perform well in January and poorly in September, wouldn't September be the better month to invest? Buy low. You know?

Using the same rationale, wouldn't January be an opportunity to divest if that's what we needed to do? Sell high. :noidea:

Completely the opposite of what you suggest are good and bad months to invest.

I'll put it another way, performance is best in Jan. and worst in Sept.-put it in a fixed account in Sept. if you don't won't a loss or switch it "right back" out to a low as you suggest. I love "Dollar Cost Averaging", and play around on sharebuilders.com all the time. I understand the whole concept about buying low and selling high. I wouldn't have it any other way, but the "equities" market normally does well mostly between Jan.-Sept.-They may be a little riskier than bonds, but the average yield is better. That's why I mentioned the Iraqi Dinar on another topic, because when anything is below a penny, go and buy the hell out of it.

 

[HORNETSWARM]

I figured that's what you meant. The January Effect. I'm not sure it has anything to do with Christmas sales, but that's another discussion.

Assuming that we want to sell high and buy low, if your assertion is true that stocks tend to perform well in January and poorly in September, wouldn't September be the better month to invest? Buy low. You know?

Using the same rationale, wouldn't January be an opportunity to divest if that's what we needed to do? Sell high. :noidea:

Completely the opposite of what you suggest are good and bad months to invest.

Keep in mind that even after Christmas people take those gifts back, trade them out and wait until "New Years After Christmas Sales." (Jan.) That Santa Claus syndrome is a mutha. :nod: They start buying those new Apple Ipads all that volume will take those numbers over into Jan.

 

[SUJagFan]

I'll put it another way, performance is best in Jan. and worst in Sept.-put it in a fixed account in Sept. if you don't won't a loss or switch it "right back" out to a low as you suggest. I love "Dollar Cost Averaging", and play around on sharebuilders.com all the time. I understand the whole concept about buying low and selling high. I wouldn't have it any other way, but the "equities" market normally does well mostly between Jan.-Sept.-They may be a little riskier than bonds, but the average yield is better. That's why I mentioned the Iraqi Dinar on another topic, because when anything is below a penny, go and buy the hell out of it.

It's interesting that you say you understand Dollar Cost Averaging on one hand and you're suggesting good and bad months to invest on the other. Advising people that it's a good time to invest when the market is high and not a good time when the market is low, according to you. :noidea:

I think stuff like this is why a lot of Black people put their money in CDs or don't invest at all. Bad advice from well-intentioned people. Which is unfortunate because it's going to be very difficult for us to close the wealth gap by investing in CDs or not investing at all.

 

[HORNETSWARM]

It's interesting that you say you understand Dollar Cost Averaging on one hand and you're suggesting good and bad months to invest on the other. Advising people that it's a good time to invest when the market is high and not a good time when the market is low, according to you. :noidea:

I think stuff like this is why a lot of Black people put their money in CDs or don't invest at all. Bad advice from well-intentioned people. Which is unfortunate because it's going to be very difficult for us to close the wealth gap by investing in CDs or not investing at all.

Be advised, that out of all the Mutual Funds out there period, there's only a hand full that continue to perform well based on their strategy. I never did say "put your money in everything". You and I both would be fools to do that. Look SU, You see that I said Jan. is the best performance month and Sept. is usually the worst month. What part of that you don't understand. If you know the performance is going to be bad in Sept.-just put it in a fixed account until you feel it gets low enough and just dayum buy it again before it shoots back up. Hell! just get into options trading if you so-call know what you are doing, but I'm not advocating "options trading" and getting that deep off into things people don't understand.

 

[HORNETSWARM]

It's interesting that you say you understand Dollar Cost Averaging on one hand and you're suggesting good and bad months to invest on the other. Advising people that it's a good time to invest when the market is high and not a good time when the market is low, according to you. :noidea:

I think stuff like this is why a lot of Black people put their money in CDs or don't invest at all. Bad advice from well-intentioned people. Which is unfortunate because it's going to be very difficult for us to close the wealth gap by investing in CDs or not investing at all.

There's no bad advice here bro, you misunderstanding what I'm saying. "Performance months" is what I'm talking about and if you have some savvy and I'm not talking about you in particular, but you know there's always ways to make money in the market and learn how to "hold them and fold" them. I guess you think I'm just making things up. Hell! we all learn something from the market everyday. With a book like "Secrets of the Federal Reserve" me and you both don't know on any given day in these United States what might happen. It's a risk with everything. Google in "The Monster of Jekyll Island" and see what some are talking about. You either understand it, ignore it or do something about it. Even read the book "Full of Bull" by Stephen McClellan-(Do what Wall Street Does, Not What it Says To Make Money In The Market). :nod:

 

[HORNETSWARM]

It's interesting that you say you understand Dollar Cost Averaging on one hand and you're suggesting good and bad months to invest on the other. Advising people that it's a good time to invest when the market is high and not a good time when the market is low, according to you. :noidea:

I think stuff like this is why a lot of Black people put their money in CDs or don't invest at all. Bad advice from well-intentioned people. Which is unfortunate because it's going to be very difficult for us to close the wealth gap by investing in CDs or not investing at all.

As a race anyway we are more cautious in where we put money and I think that trend will continue, but when dealing with the movement of money in the end you want to be a winner or at least strive for it. I'll say it again Jan. is the best performing month and Sept. is the least performing month. Do what you want to do in Jan. or Sept. cause it's your money. But remember this, on info taken several years ago, "the average white person retires around age (44) and the average black retires at "retirement age". I'm pretty much sure since the economy messed up a lot of folks those numbers will drastically change.

 

[SUJagFan]

As a race anyway we are more cautious in where we put money and I think that trend will continue, but when dealing with the movement of money in the end you want to be a winner or at least strive for it. I'll say it again Jan. is the best performing month and Sept. is the least performing month. Do what you want to do in Jan. or Sept. cause it's your money. But remember this, on info taken several years ago, "the average white person retires around age (44) and the average black retires at "retirement age". I'm pretty much sure since the economy messed up a lot of folks those numbers will drastically change.

So not true ....

While it is true that white people invest at a higher rate than black people invest, the average white person is not close to retirement at age 44.

 

[HORNETSWARM]

So not true ....

While it is true that white people invest at a higher rate than black people invest, the average white person is not close to retirement at age 44.

Did you look at my last sentence or put it in bold. I'll do it for you:

I'm pretty much sure since the economy messed up a lot of folks those numbers will drastically change.

And you did read where I said that info or study was done several years ago. As a matter of fact that info was out around 2005-2007. Don't correct me, correct the experts that put it out there. My debate with you isn't on highs and lows, because we both agree that you buy low and sell high. I just won't you to know that some months perform better than others.

 

[SUJagFan]

Did you look at my last sentence or put it in bold. I'll do it for you:

I'm pretty much sure since the economy messed up a lot of folks those numbers will drastically change.

And you did read where I said that info or study was done several years ago. As a matter of fact that info was out around 2005-2007. Don't correct me, correct the experts that put it out there. My debate with you isn't on highs and lows, because we both agree that you buy low and sell high. I just won't you to know that some months perform better than others.

Yeah, I read your disclaimer. It was irrelevant because white folks weren't retiring at 44 before economy went bad.

On informing me that some months perform better than others .... I have a finance degree and I've spent several years in the financial services industry. This is not the first time I've come across this bit of information.

However, you're missing a key point. The bottom line is you can't time the market. The average investor would be better off following a consistent investment strategy like Dollar Cost Averaging rather than trying to jump in and out of the market at the right time during "good" and "bad" months.

We're talking human behavior here. Although there may be historical data showing general performance trends in certain months, teaching people that they can time the market is misleading and irresponsible in my opinion. While it may be generally true that stocks tended to perform a certain way in the past, it may not be true for that person's portfolio or in the future.

 

[HORNETSWARM]

Yeah, I read your disclaimer. It was irrelevant because white folks weren't retiring at 44 before economy went bad.

On informing me that some months perform better than others .... I have a finance degree and I've spent several years in the financial services industry. This is not the first time I've come across this bit of information.

However, you're missing a key point. The bottom line is you can't time the market. The average investor would be better off following a consistent investment strategy like Dollar Cost Averaging rather than trying to jump in and out of the market at the right time during "good" and "bad" months.

We're talking human behavior here. Although there may be historical data showing general performance trends in certain months, teaching people that they can time the market is misleading and irresponsible in my opinion. While it may be generally true that stocks tended to perform a certain way in the past, it may not be true for that person's portfolio or in the future.

Then, have you ever learned about "Stock Options Trading". I understand the market in what it does and what it doesn't do. I know there's volatility in the market, but an "Options Trader" would rather deal with Jan. than Sept. and if you know the reason why, inform me on that issue. I just want to know, maybe you have a answer for me, but the key for me is putting options on the "movement of money" and since there appears to be more activity in Jan. I would rather do "cover calls", "puts", "dips", butterflies and "side way's" under that month than Sept., because there's less activity to move me based on Sept.-even though "Options Trading" is risky I did learn some things about it. I don't won't to confuse anyone on this board if you feel that's what I'm doing. I certainly know one thing that there's no other way you can make money on the market the way you can under "Options Trading". Hell! let's don't get into "Hedge Funds", because we will go another 7-8 pages on this stuff and if you haven't been exposed to it, we can leave this conversation alone. As you said before, some things may not fit a persons Portfolio and we both agree that we would want the very best for any of our people's Portfolio, but I've personally dealt with people who have turned $300.00 into $300,000 in a matter of 3-4 months under "Options Trading". My Disclaimer-I'm not here to persuade anyone on this post to get into anything you care not to, because Options Trading is risky. "Even you" should know that a person being into Options have already made there money before anyone dealing with regular stocks even wake-up in the morning. I'm talking on a totally different language write now and have been contacted by the SEC-Security Exchange Commission just to see if Options has ever been taught to me by another individual in the past--I won't comment on that issue other than to tell you that I am a CNBC Junkey whether we believe the host on the show or not, but I have learned a wealth of knowledge by reading and I also know that some people in finance don't even understand there mortgage papers or don't even care to know including financial info. Even some doctors, lawyers and any other type of professional for that matter. I watch the markets all day long and have learned it through self-education as opposed to a financial degree. I honor your financial degree and wish you the very best, but there are a lot of things left out there that was also kept from us as a people. I am one that just happen to think outside the box on many issues and still understand that you can't believe what all people tell you. We wasn't supposed to know about Options Trading at least the majority of us. Some people this very day work right in the banks on a daily basis and can't tell you anything about the "Libor" (London Inter Banking Offered Rate)

 

[SUJagFan]

Options traders can make money whether a stock price goes up or down. It makes no difference to them. So, a period of generally rising prices is the same as a period of generally decreasing prices. An options trader who can only make money when prices are rising is a poor options trader. I don't think I'll be taking the advice of an options trader who said he preferred one month over another.

If you're interested in investing in stocks, options, futures and forex, here's a trading platform that will allow you to do that in one place - MB Trading. Just a heads up, if you decide to dive in you'll be swimming with the sharks. So, know what you're doing.

 

[Bane]

are there zero risk options available?

You don't need to invest bruh. :lol: Damn, a mutual fund. I'm a risk taker and I invest in individual stocks. I will put my returns on my Google and Apple stock up against any mutual fund. Also, Gold and Silver are setting records every day. And it's a great time to invest in real estate while prices are still low and foreclosure are plenty. That is how I diversify. Diversification is not just investing in mutual funds.

 

[pv_symbiotic]

I've done it again for the 4th year. The 401K max has been hit. I'm on easy street and my pockets will be swollen like they have the mumps.

Never hit it this early in the year before. Took great sacrifice but well worth it!!!

 

[Tony]

I've done it again for the 4th year. The 401K max has been hit. I'm on easy street and my pockets will be swollen like they have the mumps.

Never hit it this early in the year before. Took great sacrifice but well worth it!!!

wouldn't it suck if you died before withdrawal time? :lol:

 

[Shamocha]

wouldn't it suck if you died before withdrawal time? :lol:

Dang that's messed up Tony.