30 and quitting my job! Why wait any longer...?

[RunningBum]

Yeah, that's a pretty funny comment, Texas Proud.

It does sound like a few people are begging for the OP to give details, so they can cry out SPAMMER! A troll can liven things up quite a bit, and some people really like that. But the OP has played within the rules, give him credit for that. Maybe only that.

 

[rs0460a]

Judging by many of the comments, it sounds as though many of you (there do appear to be exceptions) are only trying to beat me down because you yourselves have not made it yet...

I'll speak for myself. If it seems that I personally "beat you down" it's because I/DW have made it, but not by presenting a barrage of platitudes, as you have done.

What I (and my DW) have today is because of long, drawn up "series of events" that started with a good plan, executed with a good foundation, and built with good materials to "weather the storm of life" (yes, just like a house). BTW, I/DW have lost/gained $30k not in a few, but just in one day, validating the comment made by Texas Proud (we like rollercoasters ).

We've built a house of brick. What I see with your proposed plan is a house built with sticks (another fairytale).

I believe that is why you have a lot of folks questioning you. Where many of us are here sharing our life's actual results, you are promoting your life's "proposed dream" (without results).

Not to say that there are those that are on this board still "building their house" (good for them). However, in most cases, if they are willing to talk about their plan/actions most (if built with a good, solid plan) will get positive input from the "old folks" on this forum.

Unfortunately, you are not in this camp (but please, keep trying - we'll tell you when you get it right )...

- Ron

 

[TromboneAl]

Ken, when I was your age, I wish that someone could have shown me how analyzing and investing in individual stocks is a loser's game. With that in mind, take a look at this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Winning...bs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217441662&sr=8-2

Also, pretend investing on paper is day-and-night different from investing with actual money.

 

[haha]

OH MY GOD!!!!

You didn't just say that

Someone with a whopping $30K in SAVINGS is going to insult a huge majority of the people on this board who can make or lose that amount in a few days with the stock market swings....

Or a day, or in some cases a morning. This guy had spam written all over him from day one. If it looks and smells like caca, it isn't chocolate pudding.

Ha

 

[TromboneAl]

Thsi guy had spam written all over him from day one.

My take is that Ken has just been bitten by the investment bug, and he's really into in and also breathtakingly naive.

 

[Nords]

On paper, I would invest $5000-$10000 at a time, and the most I ever lost on a trade was $100, because I wasn't paying attention to market indicators. Over the course of a year, I netted about $1800, which is, of course, an 18% return on the $10000 I had fictitiously set aside for trading.

So, how do you distinguish this synthetic short-term record from random chance or blind luck? Have you even backtested, let alone continued the strategy? How's it working out over the last six months? How's it working out after commissions & taxes?

It's interesting that you feel "beaten down" and can reassure yourself that many of us haven't made it, when you apparently have not made a discernable effort to learn about the board's members. You're quite happy to tell us what you're going to do (if not necessarily the details of how you're going to accomplish it) and yet you seem less than happy with the skepticism you're encountering.

If you're emulating the rich mentors like Buffett & Gates, and if you want to ER, would it make sense to observe or even ask questions of the members of this board who, in your opinion, have "made it"?

At this point I'm happy to settle back with a large tub of popcorn and enjoy the show. Can I bring any of you other spectators a frosty beverage while I'm getting one for myself?

 

[Marquette]

as an aside, he looks just like my buddy Jason. And, incidentally, Jason has the same last name as my username... so I'm a little freaked out here.

 

[rs0460a]

Can I bring any of you other spectators a frosty beverage while I'm getting one for myself?

As one of the other "other spectators", sure (drop it in the mail )...

- Ron

 

[Milton]

My take is that Ken has just been bitten by the investment bug, and he's really into in and also breathtakingly naive.

Yeah, that's my impression too.

Buy low, sell high. It's so simple, any child could do it!

 

[jclarksnakes]

OH MY GOD!!!!

You didn't just say that

Someone with a whopping $30K in SAVINGS is going to insult a huge majority of the people on this board who can make or lose that amount in a few days with the stock market swings....

Where is that ignore button again?

Well darned it all. Thanks for reminding me just how poor I am. It takes me a full week to lose $30K in the market.

 

[eridanus]

I first was introduced to these ideas by Phil Town, who idolizes Warren Buffett. He has a book, and now appears on a show on CNBC.

You really shouldn't get your investment advice from CNBC.

 

[Milton]

Oh, I don't know. CNBC is probably as good a source as any, if you think Warren Buffett's success is easily duplicated and believe in "the realm of fundamental investing, with a technical twist" (whatever that means).

 

[Nords]

Oh, I don't know. CNBC is probably as good a source as any, if you think Warren Buffett's success is easily duplicated and believe in "the realm of fundamental investing, with a technical twist" (whatever that means).

Hey, even Buffett spent eight years on technical analysis.

And even Ben Graham missed a few tricks.

 

[CybrMike]

kstronggt, some tips for your new venture:

Need to fix your website for safari. Mac users are more prolific than you think. Attached is a picture of what it looks like.

Also, change the fonts on it. Probably stick with Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Sans-serif or something similar. Looks like your using Times New Roman. That is very 1995.

Change the address of the web site to something related to building wealth and retiring early. Something like "build-wealth-retire-early.com". This is going to garner you much more search traffic than with kcsretirement.com.

This is just the beginning. Lots to learn. Check out digitalpoint.com forums and browse around for some SEO tricks.

Since the product you are selling though seems very saturated and "10 years ago", I wouldn't bank your future on it. Once you learn the skills though, you can apply it to another "real" business and actually make some money. I warn you though, hard work will be involved.

 

[laurence]

Well darned it all. Thanks for reminding me just how poor I am. It takes me a full week to lose $30K in the market.

If it makes you feel any better, it takes me a year! My NW is only ten times this guy's! I'm so bitter!

Nords, grab me a frosty one, too!

Oh man, too funny. And don't try to deny for a minute that some of you had your mouth start watering when you saw this thread. Sometimes it's fun to hit a pinata!

To the OP. If you aren't trolling or spamming, spend some time reading threads here, you'll find a ton of self made millionaires here and a lot of aspiring ones well on their way. What do you know about fund bloat and survivor bias? A book that gets a lot of respect here is "4 pillars of investing". Not everyone agrees with it completely, but it gives a good starting point to some of the prevailing thoughts on this board.

Investment seminars, Kiyosaki etc. are pretty much anathema here. This is a bunch of old fashioned earn the money types here.

 

[laurence]

I never got the "FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!!!!" thing. What, you are going to stop selling your product after ten days? "Sorry, I know you want to give me your money, but word is bond!"

EDIT: Oh goodness, from your blog:

"Several years ago, I fell in love with the philosphies of Robert Kiyosaki and the Rich Dad, Poor Dad
philosophies. Kiyosaki has allowed me to look at work and money with a completely different perspective than most. Since then, every book I have ever read about money has only confirmed the truths that Kiyosaki teaches about money."

Dude, this guy is the biggest pile of $@%#, really. Put down the glass pipe now before it's too late!

 

[kstronggt]

Thanks for all of your input. I am sorry if I offended some of you with my comments about not having made it yet. You have me figured out when you say I don't know it all yet. I want to be a good member of this ER community, so I will probably not be posting anymore in this thread, at least until I have my first success or failure to tell you about. It seems that my posts have a way of stirring the pot. Maybe that's why some call me the spoon. I will post occasionally in other forums, but I will mostly sit back for a while, and see what I can learn from you.

Although, I have a hard time avoiding conflict, so I have one more comment: I'm very sorry that so many of you are losing $30K a day in the market. That doesn't sound very fun. If I ever lost $30K a day in the market, I might consider looking at a different place to put my money. Afterall, if you suffer a 50% (or 10%, or whatever) loss in your portfolio, wouldn't you then have to realize a 100% (or double your loss) gain just to break even? Just a thought...

 

[laurence]

People here who saw a 30k loss in the market saw that loss because of their extremely high net worth. Warren Buffet loses 30k in a minute on any trading day.

 

[Leonidas]

Although, I have a hard time avoiding conflict, so I have one more comment: I'm very sorry that so many of you are losing $30K a day in the market. That doesn't sound very fun. If I ever lost $30K a day in the market, I might consider looking at a different place to put my money. Afterall, if you suffer a 50% (or 10%, or whatever) loss in your portfolio, wouldn't you then have to realize a 100% (or double your loss) gain just to break even? Just a thought...

If you ever take a chart apart and look at the daily trading you will see that what appears as a neat line curving up to the right over the long term is made up of a lot of little (and some not so little) jumps up and down. It is the nature of the beast, investments don't just go up forever without taking a break every now and again. Until you cash out, all your profits and losses are just numbers on the monitor.

If you take a hit on one day because Mr. Market decided that was the day to do something silly, yanking your dough and heading for the hills is a good way to lock in a potential loss. It's how big piles of money become little piles of money. You just have to know the difference between when Mr. Market is playing with you and when you're holding a bad hand that's not getting any better.

People here who saw a 30k loss in the market saw that loss because of their extremely high net worth. Warren Buffet loses 30k in a minute on any trading day.

Heck, I figure Warren can lose $3 Million before lunch and his biggest worry is if he's going to have Salisbury Steak or the Chef Salad for lunch.

Oh, btw Kstronggt, the whole "you're just bitter because you guys haven't made it yet" thing? Well, you might want to check yourself before you toot on that horn some more and do a little reading on the other posters. At least two of those who have commented here so far might have about $30K just in loose change in their sofa cushions.

 

[rs0460a]

People here who saw a 30k loss in the market saw that loss because of their extremely high net worth.

Confirmed (although I won't speak specific "numbers" on a public forum )...

BTW - as long as the "up" days exceed the "down" days, it really dosen't matter. I only refill my annual income "cash bucket" once a year (assuming the current year shows a gain). If I don't see that gain for 3-5 years, I don't worry about it. That's why I keep a large cash position - so the "market flux" dosen't mean much year to year.

Of course, being retired (and already having achieving financial security - for my/DW's lifestyle), I can afford to be more conserative. I understand the "young folks" who need to be a bit "more creative" to make their money work in order to achieve their financial goals. Hey - even I was "young" at one time and took more risks. Of course, during those early days, I had much less to lose.

- Ron

 

[rs0460a]

Well darned it all. Thanks for reminding me just how poor I am. It takes me a full week to lose $30K in the market.

It all depends how old you are, and how far you are in your "financial plan". You can't look at "X" dollars. You have to look at the percentage gain/loss, regardless of dollar amount of retirement investment/assets.

For some, $30k may represent 10% (or more) of their portfolio. For others, $30k may be a fraction of 1%.

Percentage (plus/minus) count. Dollar amounts (while entertaining) don't.

- Ron

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Although, I have a hard time avoiding conflict, so I have one more comment: I'm very sorry that so many of you are losing $30K a day in the market. That doesn't sound very fun. If I ever lost $30K a day in the market, I might consider looking at a different place to put my money. Afterall, if you suffer a 50% (or 10%, or whatever) loss in your portfolio, wouldn't you then have to realize a 100% (or double your loss) gain just to break even? Just a thought...

Ken, you realize of course that the point people are making about losing $30k in a day is that they have a lot of money as their denominator, right? A $2mm nest egg that loses (along with the entire market) 1.5% in a day will lose $30k that day. Almost qualifies as background noise.

 

[Texas Proud]

Although, I have a hard time avoiding conflict, so I have one more comment: I'm very sorry that so many of you are losing $30K a day in the market. That doesn't sound very fun. If I ever lost $30K a day in the market, I might consider looking at a different place to put my money. Afterall, if you suffer a 50% (or 10%, or whatever) loss in your portfolio, wouldn't you then have to realize a 100% (or double your loss) gain just to break even? Just a thought...

Man.... it is amazing the [-]stupidity [/-] inexperience of some....

Go do some research... Sam Walton was the first person to ever lose $1 BILLION dollars in one day... (at least in the US stock market)... It was during the '87 crash... IIRC, someone asked him how if felt to lose a billion.... he said something like... "I didn't lose a thing... I still have my store, I still have my truck..." and he drove an old beat up pickup..

 

[Milton]

Although, I have a hard time avoiding conflict, so I have one more comment: I'm very sorry that so many of you are losing $30K a day in the market. That doesn't sound very fun. If I ever lost $30K a day in the market, I might consider looking at a different place to put my money.

I smell a troll (he can't be that ignorant!). Enough is enough.

 

[RunningBum]

Nords, I'm ready for that cold one now!