I told my financial guy to start investing last week, and he put about 25% of our money into closed-end dividend income funds, whatever those are. Of course, the stock market immediately dropped like a....well....a knife. Ouch. Still trying to pull the blades out of my hands....
I knew that would probably happen; I figure I have a minimum of ten years before I intend to pull it out. I did change at the last moment, and put this year's first contribution into Linda's IRA instead of mine, since she can actually pull it out without penalty.
Despite the risk, I think I'll be more engaged in the stock market shenanigans from here on out. What's life but an engagement? I don't play video poker. I don't buy lottery tickets. Now.....I get to be a stock ticker watcher. Kind of fun.
Besides, it's a pretty small amount of money that I think had earned about...oh, maybe .25 cents in interest over the last couple of years. You guys would laugh.
Meanwhile, in order to make my contribution, I lifted half of our emergency back up money. I forgot that the other half of the money isn't readily available, and that I always have a cash-flow bulge in the first week of the month (Auto bills, rents, mortgages....) So I immediately put my accounts into a bind.
Stupid. It didn't need to be that way. I had until the middle of April to make my contribution. But I had a meeting with the financial guy, and wanted to hand him a check. (When I called his assistant, changing over to Linda's account, and inquired as to what he'd done so far, and whether it would be a problem, and so on...she finally just sort of laughed. And I realized that my little check was probably the least transaction they were dealing with that day.)
Yet for me, it may have been an overreach. By the end of the month, it will all be fine, but this week is scramble time.
By the way, does anyone else get the sense that a 'big bad' is coming? Something in the air. Just saying, since it's been on my mind for a couple of days. Of course, the really big bad's come when you aren't looking.
P.S. Looked up the two funds the money was put into. Looks like they had a real low a week ago, when the money was invested, followed by a big spike upward, and now it's down to where it was a week ago. Bookmarked the two sites, and will keep a running total, for awhile, just for fun....
I could see how this could get obsessive.
I knew that would probably happen; I figure I have a minimum of ten years before I intend to pull it out. I did change at the last moment, and put this year's first contribution into Linda's IRA instead of mine, since she can actually pull it out without penalty.
Despite the risk, I think I'll be more engaged in the stock market shenanigans from here on out. What's life but an engagement? I don't play video poker. I don't buy lottery tickets. Now.....I get to be a stock ticker watcher. Kind of fun.
Besides, it's a pretty small amount of money that I think had earned about...oh, maybe .25 cents in interest over the last couple of years. You guys would laugh.
Meanwhile, in order to make my contribution, I lifted half of our emergency back up money. I forgot that the other half of the money isn't readily available, and that I always have a cash-flow bulge in the first week of the month (Auto bills, rents, mortgages....) So I immediately put my accounts into a bind.
Stupid. It didn't need to be that way. I had until the middle of April to make my contribution. But I had a meeting with the financial guy, and wanted to hand him a check. (When I called his assistant, changing over to Linda's account, and inquired as to what he'd done so far, and whether it would be a problem, and so on...she finally just sort of laughed. And I realized that my little check was probably the least transaction they were dealing with that day.)
Yet for me, it may have been an overreach. By the end of the month, it will all be fine, but this week is scramble time.
By the way, does anyone else get the sense that a 'big bad' is coming? Something in the air. Just saying, since it's been on my mind for a couple of days. Of course, the really big bad's come when you aren't looking.
P.S. Looked up the two funds the money was put into. Looks like they had a real low a week ago, when the money was invested, followed by a big spike upward, and now it's down to where it was a week ago. Bookmarked the two sites, and will keep a running total, for awhile, just for fun....
I could see how this could get obsessive.