Freeus,
It was that capital preservation instinct that prompted me to cash in my chips earlier this year. I was wounded like most of us, but when my account value fell to about where it was when I left Florida, I called it quits. Had I waited longer, the damage would have been much greater, and I would have panicked, because I draw on this account for a goodly portion of my monthly living expenses.
But there's a downside to selling. As the NAZ dropped more and more, my mood grew darker and darker. When in April we saw Naz in the 16's, I was completely paralyzed. I knew those were great prices, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy. That cost me dearly as well, because I missed many stocks that have more than doubled since then, some of which I had owned. Still, for my comfort level, selling was right. If I'd set aside a cash cache when I had it in the account, I might have reacted differently. That's one asset allocation lesson I will remember...don't invest with cash you may need. I guess that explains my sell. Greed explains why I didn't do it earlier.
Earlier this week, I did buy in again. Mostly I bought names we know and love, but I also bought LU because I just can't accept the notion that this one's a gonner. I remember Chrsyler's history, and expect that when capex rebounds, so will LU. So far I'm about 15% ahead on the week, so no complaint.
Anybody interetes in my hunches? Nasdaq isn't safe yet. We're in for some volatile periods that will last at least until we see positive earnings growth reported. Meanwhile, I'm a trader, folks. And each month, I'm pulling out some cash to build a cushion, so I won't be forced to sell again.
uf, I think this is probably a great time to be using your covered call strategy. I need to learn more about it. That might be just where that cash is.
Chaz |
