smashweights

Welcome to getting older. Remember not to push yourself as quickly as you may have when you were younger as you won't adapt quite as fast. But keep at it!

I was wondering what that WW2 looking plane flying over the WPAFB area was today.

Haha, my ADD keeps me so distracted that I have to work longer...

better turn a good profit for all that work!

Not just non-professionals, but even the majority of professionals do not. CNN showing that 79% of people who pick and analyze stocks PROFESSIONALLY fail to beat the S&P 500. How much better then, would we think the non-professional who's trying to squeeze analyzing stocks around a 40+ hour work week would do? I think what the data is showing is that knowing more and being more judicious simply doesn't end up translating into better returns in the long haul and that, paradoxically, doing LESS work will net better results: IE pick your index funds, HOLD THEM, keep pumping money in regardless of market fluctuations, and occasionally adjust your asset allocation between those index funds as you come closer to retirement. This is especially when you consider transaction fees, expense ratios, taxes from inefficient managed funds in non-tax exempt accounts, etc is money that you'll never see gains on. Paying an advisor 1% of your portfolio value to, in all likelihood, not to perform better than you would have done buying, say, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index or Fidelity-Four-In-One Fund, by the time you retire (say, you've got a $1M saved) means you're shelling out thousands per year more than you otherwise would have. Heck, if you think about it, a 1% fee to an IRA adviser once you hit $500,000 in your account means your $5k yearly limit of IRA contributions is ALL going to a management fee, this is even worse if it's compounded by paying managers fees on top of the fund's he/she picks for you's expense ratios. http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/23/pf/fund_manager_performance.moneymag/index.htm http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204630904577056362881681018.html http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy

I think the point of some of these links is that past analysis shows being more hands ends up yielding worse results for the majority of people in the long haul than just keeping costs down and indexing the market. Also that the desire to be more hands on and more active in playing with funds/stocks/money is more psychologically driven than performance driven. Particularly when paying a financial adviser, as many don't end up beating the market anyway over time and tack on additional costs over just buying your own funds directly. Primarily because the vast majority of people can't actually predict the market right consistently enough over 20-30 years until they retire.

A few more articles that I've been directed to from other investment forums recently. I think, especially until you are much more knowledgeable, this total market indexing strategy is more the way to go and may even still be once you are more knowledgeable. http://20somethingfinance.com/index-funds-versus-mutual-funds/ http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/13/vanguard-founder-john-bogle-sees-no-good-alternatives-to-indexin/ http://investingroadmap.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/chapter-5-costs-are-a-big-deal/

You all missed it. He's pointing out that you keep spelling "Tiberon" wrong and did so by also spelling "Camero" wrong. (It's Tiburon and Camaro)

Why aren't you as tired as I always am NinjaDoc?

He is "white hispanic" haven't you read the NY Times? Or listen to the black panthers? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLiJ4k5QPNs&feature=related It's not about facts all the time, sometimes it's whatever best suits your objectives. News media benefits from racially charged stories, the Panthers do too.

Consider this option too: http://schatzistef.hubpages.com/hub/Scotch-Might-Be-a-Better-Investment-than-Gold

reinstall scanner?

Wouldn't it just be easier to get a job you love?

You could probably roll it over into a no-fee IRA with Fidelity or Vanguard. Also, for those looking at IRAs, don't forget to see if you're eligible for Roth IRA contributions instead of traditional IRAs.

That articles seems like it would take years to understand. At that point, might just be easier to pay someone else who does understand it.

The savings account thing is why I went ahead with investment plans (that and finally have a real income). While a savings account is guaranteed, it's such a waste to have money sitting there. Your purchasing power is probably going down every year. IMO, most of what you have in savings is just emergency money to pay bills, unforeseen emergencies, etc. to keep you from having to sell your other investments at an inopportune time.

Also, if you're planning on going the mutual fund route, rather than trying to pick individual companies, I've found this site to be a good starting point for getting some background on funds. http://fundmojo.com/

Check out the American Association of Individual Investors website www.aaii.com. It's a great resource for starting out and learning about investment strategies, how to evaluate mutual funds/stocks/bonds/etfs among other things. They have online "classes," basically articles that walk you through understanding investment terms and concepts from the bottom up. Membership is like $20/year, iirc. At the very least you'll know what your financial adviser is talking about, at best you'll be managing your own portfolio and saving money.

My wife and I just started our Roth IRAs this past tax year, so I'm just starting to learn all this stuff too.

If you're looking for an easy spray wash/wax, I've had great results with Motul Wash and Wax on the bike. Takes about 2 minutes. http://www.amazon.com/Motul-818940-Polish-Cleaner-Aerosol/dp/B0022ZJPHA

used this morning. thanks!

04 R6 = upper 40's

$0. 02 = motul 5100 + k&n. I wish every oil filter had the wrench off nut on them... I'd have a few hours of my life back over the various cars/bikes I've done changes on...

RSparky, you are my new hero! I went out and pulled the dust cover off to peek around to see if i could spot this giant-looking plastic plate of yours. Now, either yours is different than mine, or that picture has some of the metal housing removed cause I couldn't see any plastic looking like that. Either way, i could see both of the adjustment screws and it was clear it wiggled up and down only and that both screws were seated in the assembly. Then i spot this weird little 4-pronged ball socket looking thing just barely visible at the bottom of the assembly directly under the headlight bulb socket and it looked like there was a space between it and a rod or screw behind it. So i pulled the bulb out, tried to align the two, gripped it by the empty socket, and pulled it back and rotated it to put pressure on the "ball socket thing," remembering you said it took some force to reconnect, i went against my gut and pulled harder and SNAP! Popped right in! Did a few fist pumps. Projectors are solidly in place and aligned, after quite a substantial adjustment since all my messing with it threw it WAY off. I had someone at R6MN tell me to just get a whole new headlight housing, glad you chimed in and set me straight. I'll have to get you a beer sometime.