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To: David who wrote (479)	4/15/2000 7:32:00 PM
From: Patrick Slevin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 797

I'm doing fine. I imagine my stock portfolio is hemorrhaging, but the way the issues were purchased puts the average Cost somewhere around DJIA 3500. Perhaps lower. The bulk of the equities were purchased in the 1980s, and stocks purchased since then have been purchased 1> with an eye to remove 1/2 when the stock doubles or 1/3 when it triples so there is no actual investment any longer. 2> reduced in position due to size if necessary, because I prefer that no one issue dominates the portfolio. For example, if the portfolio was $1,000,000 and I had a thousand shares of General Electric I would sell off half of the GE only to balance it a bit. So damage to my stocks is inconsequential. I have a lot of Intermediate term US Treasuries anyway, I think I'll live. < Should I quit my day job?> Nope. If I had to consciously make this decision, instead of having it thrown on me the way it was, I would never do it. It's one thing for someone who is single or is a partner in a family with two wage earners. For me, the question was similar to yours. I had a mortgage, properties in NY State to maintain, an 8, 6, and 1 year-old, and my wife did not work. At work I was a manager with Major Medical and a solid income. ------- Take all of what you have away. Then add up your annual expenses. Your annual expenses now also include Insurance (I did not buy Insurance at all until a year or two ago, I had this probably foolhardy belief that my immigrant genes rendered me invulnerable to sickness....knock on wood, so far that was an accurate guess but I'm no longer risking it). Now that you have a handle on those expenses, bank enough to live on for 18 months. Don't put it in the market, if you want put it into Short Term Treasuries. Now presume you will lose money like a stuck pig losing blood for 3, 6 months. So bank enough cash for that. If you are still with me on this, then reconsider it anyway. I'll be honest with you, when I left work I had a year's severance pay and over ten years of lucky investing and trading from part-time activity to smooth the transition. Without that I might not have been able to survive. You don't say how old or young your family is; I presume it's a young family and so I have to tell you that there could be a lot of stress involved and it won't be worth it. My opinion, of course.