Hello all,

Welcome to 2021. It can't possibly be any worse than 2020.

Jim

 

Happy new year FTE friends

 

Welcome to ‘21 Everyone!

Here is to a new year full of potential and opportunity

I hope that everyone had a peaceful evening last night. Up here there were random fireworks from about 2000 hours to 0030 hours. Some of them sounded like the BIG commercial ones, but I didn’t go out to see.

 

Happy New year everyone.

 

Happy New Year!! Already got my $600 stimulus check. That was fast.

Jim

 

Hello Northern California, welcome to 2021, may it be a wonderful year for all.

 

Can I borrow $599?

I want to open a Robinhood account and buy cannibus stock.

 

Happy New Year!

off to a good start; we got some rain overnight.

 

No rain here yet, but I am sure it will get here if you had some.

Too late on the $599 loan, I already spent the $600 paying down one of my credit cards.

2021 can't be any worse than 2020 was....or can it?

Jim

 

We got the wet roads. Any little bit is better than nothing. I sleep better when it rains.

Does anyone know a good time of the year to buy tires? Or is tire pricing a scam all year long?

 

No rain in our forecast until Monday. No idea on tire pricing.

Jim

 

I read where a lot of people were spending stimulus money on Wall Street. No fee brokers like Robinhood even allow fractional purchases. So if you don't have $347,815.00 for 1 share of Berkshire Hathaway, you can still buy $600 worth. Your account will show the 0.17 share. When Warren Buffett gains, you gain. Apparently a lot of young people are treating the stock market like a casino. Literally buying stocks in online gambling companies, cannabis operations, movie theaters, cruise ships, and bankrupt car rental agencies.

Not that there's anything wrong with investing stimulus funds. Supposedly, owning stocks and bonds is what divides wealth. I am poor. Every penny I spend, becomes a wealthy person's profit. Every time I buy groceries at Safeway, Dan Quayle gets wealthier.

 

Can't help you on when to purchase tires except to maybe watch for sales. I buy tires when the old ones wear out. That may limit my ability to get a deal.

I thought trades were basically free all the time now. We have an account at TD Ameritrade, and they don't charge for trades any more.

 

Pretty sure most brokerages don't charge for basic buys and sells. Robinhood was recently in a little bit of hot water over how they actually executed the customer trade. $65 million civil penalty.

Most brokerages aren't totally free. There are things which they do charge for, like options. Free enough for someone simple who is putting away a little money every paycheck into equities. That levels the playing field for blue collar, retail investors. Someone on a fixed income could theoretically enter the world of owning stocks. I could buy 1 share of Ford at $8.77, with every weekly paycheck.

I remember when you actually had to have money to open an account and make trades. Exchange Traded Funds are now practically free, and you can buy them at fractional shares with some brokerages. Versus Mutual Funds that had $10,000 and $100,000 minimum investments. It allows common people with no experience to buy into an index fund, 1 share at a time. With savings accounts paying almost less than zero, even making $1 is better than nothing.

My hopes and dreams were hinged upon borrowing $599 to buy into a marijuana company. You can't go wrong dealing drugs. Right? Not as ridiculous as blowing it all on cocaine and hookers, or buying Bear Stearns.

 

And life goes on. Got my $16 increase in government disability this month, only to have the landlord raise my rent $50. So starting in April, I will be $33 poorer every month.

Jim