You sound incredulous, Steve, that someone could buy a stock and hold it a l-o-n-g time. TraderEd is not alone. I and many other non-traders have stock in our accounts we've held 'forever.' My shares of SUNW go back to their original, dividend paying, convertible bond. I won't tell you my cost basis, but I've also been through every split of CSCO and CPQ since they went public. Sure, I could have possibly made more money if I had gotten in and out, but only in hind-sight.
What good does a paper profit do? It gives one financial security, something to fall back on if one needs it some day. It enables one to make generous contributions to charities from one's regular income and dividends.
Paper profits do _not_ enable one to make major life-style changes (yachts, expensive foreign cars cluttering the driveway), but many of us buy and hold investors are content owning a row boat and driving an older, *dependable* Ford, Chevy, or Olds and really don't want more, even though we could afford it.
Lynn |
