Hello,
I've been reading the boards here voraciously for the last few days. I wasn't going to post because I have some views and opinions that are unconventional based on mainstream thought here, but you all seem like a kind, tolerant, welcoming bunch, so . . . .
DH (45) and I (50) aren't so much into ER as FI. I have sort of the ideal job, in that I work at home, or from anywhere I have a phone and a high speed internet connection, and most of my bosses live in other states. If they need me, they send me an email or IM. DH buys and sells antiques and collectibles, so he is self-employed, works from home, and makes his own schedule. I don't foresee him ever completely retiring, as the business is fun and challenging. As we collect and hoard things ourselves, going on buying calls and to auctions ranks as part work, part play. That said, we would like to become non-dependent on the business income, which would take a lot of pressure off him and give us more free time together. I might want to retire in 5 years, maybe 10, depending on whether my job stays as pleasant as it is currently.
The non-conventional part comes into our saving and investing style. Currently, a larger part than we would like of DH's income goes to living expenses. Our expenses, compared to many peoples' are modest, however, but the more income we can free up, the faster we can grow our savings. In his business it is not unusual to buy items and resell with a 25% profit, and sometimes several hundred percent profit. Turning items over quickly, and buying something else to resell creates volocity of money benefits, and creates very high returns. It is possible to grow profits exponentially (as long as you don't need to live on the profits and can reinvest them). As we pare back expenses and channel more income into reinvesting the gains, it should be a great step toward FI goals.
Part two is the more non-conventional. We have become greatly interested in economics, currencies, inter-market dynamics, etc., and through avid reading and discussion, we identified early on what we believed was the start of the commodities bull market. Market trends run in cycles, and the commodities cycle, particularly the precious metals, appeared to be at the bottom in about 1999 - 2000. These cycles typically run for at least 20 years, so getting in early was a great thing, and we firmly believe we have at least 10 - 15 more years to go before commodities and the precious metals peak. Rather than diversify, we focused our spare money completely on what we identified to be the emerging bull market to get the most mileage out of the meager funds we had to work with. Gold, copper, silver etc. have all more than doubled since we started.
When I changed jobs and got access to my 401K money, I put it all into precious metals. (I know what you are thinking. I know the lecture I'll get for this). I truly believe that as long as we are early in the bull market, there is no better place to be. When everyone and his brother is buying gold stocks as they did CISCO, we will be selling. We are years from that. Phase one of the bull market is complete derision and disbelief; the mainstream financial media scorns the idea of "X" being in a bull market. We have been in that phase now for 5 years at least, and now the big banks and the analysts on the financial shows are starting to recognize that gold and silver are likely to go higher from here, and it is wise to take a least a small position in them. Therefore, this marks the start of phase 2. When the public is falling over itself to buy every new gold stock, it will be phase 3. I do not advocate that anyone else put large percentages of their money into gold mutual funds or ETFs, but a small part could be a huge help to people struggling to make decent returns. The precious metals are extremely volatile so people need to make a long-term commitment, but every stock I own has doubled or tripled since last May when we came out of the last, lengthy correction. The money I have invested in these stocks over the last few years is growing exponentially.
I believe that the dollar has rallied, and now peaked, and that it is going lower. I don't forsee great gains in coming years for the stock market. Any gains may only keep pace with inflation. If anything, the indexes are likely to decline, as I don't see our economy being very healthy. It has steamed along since the dot.com boom based almost exclusively on debt-based consumer spending from zero percent interest car loans to multiple refinances and home equity loans in real estate.
After reading these boards for days, I carry a great feeling of concern for people who have worked and saved SO hard, and are now dependent on investments that will protect their life savings, and offer high enough returns for them to live on for perhaps decades. I see commodities in general, and the precious metals in particular, to be a lifeline to that end. Even a modest position in something that increases 50% or 150% per year should be a boost to the overall portfolio. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now. As I said, I know our approach to investing is not conventional, but it has worked very well for us.
Best wishes and greetings to everyone here. Your stories and successes are a great inspiration!
I've been reading the boards here voraciously for the last few days. I wasn't going to post because I have some views and opinions that are unconventional based on mainstream thought here, but you all seem like a kind, tolerant, welcoming bunch, so . . . .
DH (45) and I (50) aren't so much into ER as FI. I have sort of the ideal job, in that I work at home, or from anywhere I have a phone and a high speed internet connection, and most of my bosses live in other states. If they need me, they send me an email or IM. DH buys and sells antiques and collectibles, so he is self-employed, works from home, and makes his own schedule. I don't foresee him ever completely retiring, as the business is fun and challenging. As we collect and hoard things ourselves, going on buying calls and to auctions ranks as part work, part play. That said, we would like to become non-dependent on the business income, which would take a lot of pressure off him and give us more free time together. I might want to retire in 5 years, maybe 10, depending on whether my job stays as pleasant as it is currently.
The non-conventional part comes into our saving and investing style. Currently, a larger part than we would like of DH's income goes to living expenses. Our expenses, compared to many peoples' are modest, however, but the more income we can free up, the faster we can grow our savings. In his business it is not unusual to buy items and resell with a 25% profit, and sometimes several hundred percent profit. Turning items over quickly, and buying something else to resell creates volocity of money benefits, and creates very high returns. It is possible to grow profits exponentially (as long as you don't need to live on the profits and can reinvest them). As we pare back expenses and channel more income into reinvesting the gains, it should be a great step toward FI goals.
Part two is the more non-conventional. We have become greatly interested in economics, currencies, inter-market dynamics, etc., and through avid reading and discussion, we identified early on what we believed was the start of the commodities bull market. Market trends run in cycles, and the commodities cycle, particularly the precious metals, appeared to be at the bottom in about 1999 - 2000. These cycles typically run for at least 20 years, so getting in early was a great thing, and we firmly believe we have at least 10 - 15 more years to go before commodities and the precious metals peak. Rather than diversify, we focused our spare money completely on what we identified to be the emerging bull market to get the most mileage out of the meager funds we had to work with. Gold, copper, silver etc. have all more than doubled since we started.
When I changed jobs and got access to my 401K money, I put it all into precious metals. (I know what you are thinking. I know the lecture I'll get for this). I truly believe that as long as we are early in the bull market, there is no better place to be. When everyone and his brother is buying gold stocks as they did CISCO, we will be selling. We are years from that. Phase one of the bull market is complete derision and disbelief; the mainstream financial media scorns the idea of "X" being in a bull market. We have been in that phase now for 5 years at least, and now the big banks and the analysts on the financial shows are starting to recognize that gold and silver are likely to go higher from here, and it is wise to take a least a small position in them. Therefore, this marks the start of phase 2. When the public is falling over itself to buy every new gold stock, it will be phase 3. I do not advocate that anyone else put large percentages of their money into gold mutual funds or ETFs, but a small part could be a huge help to people struggling to make decent returns. The precious metals are extremely volatile so people need to make a long-term commitment, but every stock I own has doubled or tripled since last May when we came out of the last, lengthy correction. The money I have invested in these stocks over the last few years is growing exponentially.
I believe that the dollar has rallied, and now peaked, and that it is going lower. I don't forsee great gains in coming years for the stock market. Any gains may only keep pace with inflation. If anything, the indexes are likely to decline, as I don't see our economy being very healthy. It has steamed along since the dot.com boom based almost exclusively on debt-based consumer spending from zero percent interest car loans to multiple refinances and home equity loans in real estate.
After reading these boards for days, I carry a great feeling of concern for people who have worked and saved SO hard, and are now dependent on investments that will protect their life savings, and offer high enough returns for them to live on for perhaps decades. I see commodities in general, and the precious metals in particular, to be a lifeline to that end. Even a modest position in something that increases 50% or 150% per year should be a boost to the overall portfolio. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now. As I said, I know our approach to investing is not conventional, but it has worked very well for us.
Best wishes and greetings to everyone here. Your stories and successes are a great inspiration!