@farmerman,
farmerman wrote:
you go girl.
Thanks farmer.
I respect chumley, but I get annoyed when someone says there is basically one way to do something, and if another way is practiced you're doomed to failure.
I got to thinking, and I know where my reaction came from.
Like I said, I grew up around people who invested in the market, but honestly, I just didn't pay attention.
When I was in college, I think I was a sophemore so it had to be 1980'ish and I was taking one of several ecomonics courses.
The prof was giving a lecture on an amazing new thing called and "IRA". Listening to him, it didn't seem like such a thing could be true. But talking to him later, he assured me it was, and said I needed to go to a brokerage firm to set one up. He seemed pleased that someone as young as me was taking an interest.
Anyway, not knowing the first thing about brokerages, I looked in the yellow pages and found Merrill Lynch.
This was a big deal to me, and I remember getting dressed in my most professional looking clothes (well, professional for a college student), and went down there.
I timidly asked at the desk if I could talk to someone about this IRA thing, and ended up talking to this guy who, thinking back, should have already been retired. White hair, suit and tie, giving me this grandfatherly scowl.
Since I really didn't know exactly how to go about this, I was terrified of looking foolish.
He starting asking me questions, like was I in school, and I relaxed a little, thinking I was being guided by someone who knew what to do.
His questions were...
You're in college? yes.
Well then, you don't work, do you? Well, yes I work part time.
Who pays for your school? Um...(wondering what that was about) well, my parents pay tuition and books, but I buy all my own stuff otherwise.
So your father is paying for school? Well, yeah, but this professor was saying I could put even just a little money into this...
Well then, why don't you just let your father take care of this for you. You don't have the money to do this Working a part time job while going to school isn't going to be enough, you'll spend it all. After you graduate and get married, your husband will know what to do.
I...****....you....not.
That was the conversation.
I walked out of there feeling as big as a gnat. I felt so ashamed for asking such stupid questions, and taking up someone's valuable time, thinking I could do something like this for myself.
I've always been a strong willed, independant person, so you know this guy really had to have put the whammy on me to make me feel that way.
When I graduated, I had all sorts of money saved just sitting around, that I could have been investing. I got a job that paid more than my simple needs. But, the most I would do is buy CD's, because it stuck in my head all those years that I wasn't capable of doing more.
I wonder if even one person reading this thread read chumley's remarks and thought "****, I shouldn't even try. Chumly's thrown all these names around of and all sorts of market stuff I don't even understand. It's too bad I could never have any influence on this stuff, where I could be in control. I better just let someone else who knows better do it for me."
****....that.....right up the ass.
It's not rocket science.
It's not la la la, this is such a cinch, but it's not rocket science.
I hope someone reads that!
If I can learn it, so can you.
