Re: Avoiding The Data Abyss Crutch!
UncleMick
"Stay with the horse I road in on". Clever phrase, and hard to argue with what's working for you.
My own belief is that the biggest problem that you can have with investments is the belief that you have to do something to justify being able to live off your investments. (The biggest mistakes I have made in the past is with that reasoning).
What I have done in the last 17 years since I retired, to keep from the temptation of having to "fix" my portfolio, is to keep about 10 years of livable income in conservative investments. (CD's, hedge fund, short term corporates, and not too long ago, Tips.
I keep the balance, about 40% in diversified mutual funds.
What that does for me is take the short-term market up and downs with a certain amount of detachment. If at the end of the year, I find that a fund has gotten ahead of itself, I'll either sell off part, or all of it and add to my chicken pile. (If that is market timing, so be it).
My own personal opinion is that the main thing about being a successful investor is to know yourself. If you can figure that out, and get a track to run on, you are ahead of about 90% of the "how to" books.
What I know about myself is that I would rather spend the time left on this planet to fly-fishing and playing golf.
I spend about 4 or 5 hours a year on my investments.
Of course, I'll never get rich, but hopefully, I'll be able to continue our simple life-style.