taxman, I think that you've hit on a critical point that your detractors are not considering. When you say that "if you want income, buy a bond" I think that you have hit the nail on the head.
There's a lot of discussion about income being derived from trading options as if it's a given that the income is going to be there, come hell or high water. THIS IS DEAD WRONG, IMHO.
When someone makes short term trades for the express purpose of deriving an income, they are relying on quite a few more variables than I would care to do in order to be successful year-over-year-over-year. Not to say that it isn't possible to derive a consistent income doing this, but for the bulk of investors this is not a realistic scenario.
I think my thinking (and I'm pretty sure I can say our thinking) I do not own these stocks and options for the primary purpose of providing income. It is a sideline at best, and quite an involved game for those of us with other things on our plate taking up our time.
I BUILD CAPITAL THROUGH COMPOUND RETURN. Pure and simple. I guess I could sell as needed for cash, but that is self-defeating in my estimation. I would venture to say that if you need to sit at your computer all day long to provide enough income to live off of, you probably have a very short term view on what it really takes to build wealth. I very infrequently remove capital from my portfolio to provide funds, and only for capital expenses and pay taxes due on the portfolio (never to just get by).
I'm speaking in very general terms, and I'm sure that someone will take something I have said out of context and attack it. Oh well...
My advice to everyone is buy for the long term and hold if you can.
Ready for the slams,
LoF |
