<<what the *&$#! am I supposed to shed??? "The margin exposure.">>
yeah, yeah, thanks, I know that. But like so much in life, it's easier said than done.
I was just fine until people kept pushing their various forms of crack (CREE, ITWO, NTAP, etc.). "Try it... just one hit... once won't hurt you..." Ok, so you resist--and the stock doubles in a month. So they come back next month with a new candidate: "great stuff, just in from Miami, incredibly cheap, you gotta try it..." So this time you take a little position--on margin, because god forbid you sell your Q--and wham, this one doubles in a month. So you think about selling, but the pusher says, "hey, this is nothing, look at the potential for next quarter-year-decade, the revolution is in its early phases, X is perfectly positioned," yadda yadda yadda. And you know what? the guy makes sense. So what's a hapless schmuck like me to do, except get lured out onto more margin than is good for him? :0(
tekboy/Ares@Iknow,Iknow,weshouldallhavesuchproblems.com
PS Martin, professor tekgirl is heavy into Q, with solid positions in CSCO, GMST, and JDSU as well, and lesser positions in NOK, SEBL, and CTXS. She also has some WMT and perhaps 40% index funds. But since her portfolio is much bigger than mine, her absolute positions are larger, so if I want to make up some ground on her I have to turbocharge mine a bit. Hence the willingness to explore leverage... Also, lest it be thought that I'm totally irresponsible, I'm using my account to teach myself about investing, so trying various things (even somewhat irresponsible ones<GGG>) can be justified under the heading of "experiential learning." :0) |
