The Official M6G Investment thread

[Bull Run]

United Investors Life fixed annuity (not variable with fund options). The fixed portion in a variable doesn’t pay as much interest. Most life insurance companies will sell a fixed annuity (takes an insurance license only), but in order to offer variable annuities to a client, the agent must have both the series 6 and 66 license, and then they can set you up with either type. Most financial planners have the series 7 as well. Back in the day I maintained all three. This investment was made as to take minimal risk (protected by insurance groups if one folds, SPIC instead if FDIC) to start withdrawing an income 20 plus years after the investment.

Thanks, sounds like you did your due diligence in your research. I plugged in some numbers into various fixed annuity calculators and their returns now are around 4%.

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[Bull Run]

For the most of my working years I was in aggressive growth and speculation. DCA in my company plan for 25 years in addition to a pension, IRA, Roth IRA, 529, rent houses, etc... DCA bi-weekly for me was put in aggressive mutual funds when the market was low, some monies switched to fixed DCA when the market was high. When the market hit a really nice drop in value, I would transfer the money from fixed to the aggressive funds, DCA went back into the funds as well. It's like Buffett says, buy the market when nobody else wants it. When you see your co-workers going to fixed, invest in the funds.

After my retirement from that job it was a quick 180 degree turn to long term and as safe as possible investments with the bulk of my stuff.

There has been some growth and income investments made for the kids.

Awesome, sounds like you have multiple plans in place to manage your risk.

We had up to three rental properties but ended up selling them because we found out that we didn't like to be landlords. Sure, we made some profit on the sales but I'm sticking with REITs for the real estate portion (I don't consider my primary residence as an investment, but rather a hedge against rent increases).

My wife quit her job after my daughter was born so I stayed in the Army Reserve/National Guard as my "side hustle". For example, National Guard was looking for volunteers to come in on orders for COVID or civil disturbance missions, so I could've volunteered if I was laid off during the COVID crash.

I set aside about 10-15% of my non-retirement for speculation and it's been a wild ride. For example, I thought BGS as dirt cheap with extra high dividend yield pre-COVID (I think it was getting close to 20% at one time) so I bought a bunch and made a killing with it (up 65%, not counting the generous dividends). I thought XOM was a safer speculation bet but it got crushed (down 39%, not counting dividends) , but at least they didn't cut their dividend (yet). Fortunately, I bought BGS first and put far more funds into it.

Do you have any interesting speculation stories to tell?

 

[shogun32]

Do you have any interesting speculation stories to tell?

if you like REIT (like to live dangerously, eh?) try pipeline trusts.

 

[Bull Run]

if you like REIT (like to live dangerously, eh?) try pipeline trusts.

May be looking into them as they offer decent dividends, but need to pump up my non-speculation side first to keep the speculation side under 15% (that's my risk limit). I don't think all REITs are of speculation grade; for example, I consider O as non-speculation, whereas consider AGNC as speculation due to its high leverage (aside from being a mREIT).

 

[bjstang]

We had up to three rental properties but ended up selling them because we found out that we didn't like to be landlords. Sure, we made some profit on the sales but I'm sticking with REITs for the real estate portion (I don't consider my primary residence as an investment, but rather a hedge against rent increases).

We ended up going with a property management company for our houses and it's still working out great. They do the showings, background check on the renter, and we allow them to handle any repairs that’s under $250.00. They withhold the repair amount from our monthly pay and give us an itemized bill. We wouldn’t do the work ourselves for the price they can get it done for. Anything over $250.00 they give us a call first.

My wife quit her job after my daughter was born so I stayed in the Army Reserve/National Guard as my "side hustle". For example, National Guard was looking for volunteers to come in on orders for COVID or civil disturbance missions, so I could've volunteered if I was laid off during the COVID crash.

I've told you this before but it's worth repeating, thanks for your service!!!

Do you have any interesting speculation stories to tell?

Not sure if they are very interesting to anyone but me, 'cause I lost. More losers than winners for sure, lol, I can’t pick them. Puts, calls, spread, futures, etc... are not really my cup of tea either, won a few lost a few. I’ve lost many times on speculative stocks but only in small amounts I could afford to lose. I’ve gotten lucky a time or two. Chesapeake Energy has made me a few bucks over the years. Just about the time you think they have made a dead-cat bounce they struggle through the ashes to rise again.

I’ve only tried to time the market twice in my lifetime. The first one was a trivial amount that made a few bucks. The last time was after 9/11 when the market re-opened for trade. Some of my clients (the day of and the days following the disaster) were wearing my phone out. Many wanted out of their investments no matter the cost, couldn’t persuade them to do anything thing else but sell. We may, or may not see another event that brings the market down like that one. “Buy it when nobody wants it” the saying goes, and we did just that with every extra penny we could scrape up and invested in index funds.

My rise to financial freedom was from hard work mostly, nothing was given to me. Held a career for 25 years and worked part-time jobs the entire time as well. That allowed me to put away some money for retirement at an early age from my primary job. We were savers, in all types of investments but wanted assurance we were doing things the best way. After a debt free retirement from that career, my wife and I went to several financial planners from different companies for advice. We gave the companies (some provided the service for free) all the same information needed for a financial plan so we could diversify and protect our portfolio. We were amazed at the difference in plans from each advisor and we didn’t trust any of them. I then decided to better educate myself to help provide for my loved ones for the long term. So, I sought out the information working part-time for free with a company that provided financial planning, took the needed exams for 6, 66, and 7 licenses and was in the financial business for 5 years, (got tired of that job as well). When you learn the ins and outs of how all types of investments work and what they pay the agent or broker, you soon find out which agent was making recommendations to pad their back pocket instead of what was best for a client. After making investment recommendations to a client, I would always then tell them what I would make in commission for each investment decision they chose, not all planners will do that.

F.Y.I. - annuities don’t charge the client an upfront fee, but the agent makes a killing paid as a commission from the insurance company. I put myself in one for the advantages they offer for this piece of my portfolio. If you want to leave a loved one a payment for life in addition to other assets which includes a pension, annuitization is one way to do it. Other investments can be annuitized as well.

I’ve had many businesses and part-time jobs over the years to include mechanic, cabinets and trim, frame and cornice, roofing, home builder, welder, owned rent houses, owned a gym, financial planning, disaster response, etc.… I’ve quit every good job I’ve had, lol. We do nothing but play now, haven’t worked for a paycheck in many years.

 

[fatbillybob]

We ended up going with a property management company for our houses and it's still working out great. They do the showings, background check on the renter, and we allow them to handle any repairs that’s under $250.00. They withhold the repair amount from our monthly pay and give us an itemized bill. We wouldn’t do the work ourselves for the price they can get it done for. Anything over $250.00 they give us a call first.



I've told you this before but it's worth repeating, thanks for your service!!!



Not sure if they are very interesting to anyone but me, 'cause I lost. More losers than winners for sure, lol, I can’t pick them. Puts, calls, spread, futures, etc... are not really my cup of tea either, won a few lost a few. I’ve lost many times on speculative stocks but only in small amounts I could afford to lose. I’ve gotten lucky a time or two. Chesapeake Energy has made me a few bucks over the years. Just about the time you think they have made a dead-cat bounce they struggle through the ashes to rise again.

I’ve only tried to time the market twice in my lifetime. The first one was a trivial amount that made a few bucks. The last time was after 9/11 when the market re-opened for trade. Some of my clients (the day of and the days following the disaster) were wearing my phone out. Many wanted out of their investments no matter the cost, couldn’t persuade them to do anything thing else but sell. We may, or may not see another event that brings the market down like that one. “Buy it when nobody wants it” the saying goes, and we did just that with every extra penny we could scrape up and invested in index funds.

My rise to financial freedom was from hard work mostly, nothing was given to me. Held a career for 25 years and worked part-time jobs the entire time as well. That allowed me to put away some money for retirement at an early age from my primary job. We were savers, in all types of investments but wanted assurance we were doing things the best way. After a debt free retirement from that career, my wife and I went to several financial planners from different companies for advice. We gave the companies (some provided the service for free) all the same information needed for a financial plan so we could diversify and protect our portfolio. We were amazed at the difference in plans from each advisor and we didn’t trust any of them. I then decided to better educate myself to help provide for my loved ones for the long term. So, I sought out the information working part-time for free with a company that provided financial planning, took the needed exams for 6, 66, and 7 licenses and was in the financial business for 5 years, (got tired of that job as well). When you learn the ins and outs of how all types of investments work and what they pay the agent or broker, you soon find out which agent was making recommendations to pad their back pocket instead of what was best for a client. After making investment recommendations to a client, I would always then tell them what I would make in commission for each investment decision they chose, not all planners will do that.

F.Y.I. - annuities don’t charge the client an upfront fee, but the agent makes a killing paid as a commission from the insurance company. I put myself in one for the advantages they offer for this piece of my portfolio. If you want to leave a loved one a payment for life in addition to other assets which includes a pension, annuitization is one way to do it. Other investments can be annuitized as well.

I’ve had many businesses and part-time jobs over the years to include mechanic, cabinets and trim, frame and cornice, roofing, home builder, welder, owned rent houses, owned a gym, financial planning, disaster response, etc.… I’ve quit every good job I’ve had, lol. We do nothing but play now, haven’t worked for a paycheck in many years.

I love the story. I too ended up not trusting anyone and choose to go it alone. I have been successful but still work part-time because I feel guilty using savings and investments for frivilous things like buying my 2019GT making a racecar out of it then burning up $1600 sets of hoosiers in 1 race weekend.

I think "wealth taxes" are coming. I do not know what form a wealth tax would take. It could be $ on deposit, % of stock portfoilio value or some other metric. From what you know about annuities or insurance in general like maybe ILIT can an insurance product insulate from a potential wealth tax?

 

[bjstang]

I love the story. I too ended up not trusting anyone and choose to go it alone. I have been successful but still work part-time because I feel guilty using savings and investments for frivilous things like buying my 2019GT making a racecar out of it then burning up $1600 sets of hoosiers in 1 race weekend.

That's awesome! We used to race a bit but it does get expensive indeed. Enjoying a little of the monies you bring in and sharing it with family is great.

I'm happy that some of the local's (405 Street Outlaws) are making a little money doing what they love. A lot of them worked construction, as mechanics, and at part stores back in the day.

I think "wealth taxes" are coming. I do not know what form a wealth tax would take. It could be $ on deposit, % of stock portfoilio value or some other metric. From what you know about annuities or insurance in general like maybe ILIT can an insurance product insulate from a potential wealth tax?

Either the revocable or irrevocable trust can play a part in shielding against wealth taxes. The tax plan started by George W. Bush years ago worked its way up to leave 10 million plus to heirs without paying death taxes. ILIT’s kind of went out of favor due to his plan, and they take some work to maintain. Anything with a title has to be titled in the name of the trust, (vehicles, houses, etc..) Businesses, bank accounts, land, etc.… is best worked out with the attorney that draws up the trust. Marriage, divorce, re-marriage, and kids complicate things, but it’s one way to make sure everyone gets what you want them to have, death tax or not, and bypass probate.

You may be right; many are talking up more taxes on death, capital gains, and wealth.

Insurance products go directly to the benefactor and bypass the estate and probate. Money in a 529 plan is also outside of the estate, as long as you don’t list your wife or yourself as benefactor.

What’s true today may not be that way next week, the laws constantly change.

 

[Bull Run]

Thanks for your story, it was a great read and explains your level of financial knowledge and your crafting skills on your build thread. I always thought you'd be a great person to pick your brain over a drink and this affirms it.

We ended up going with a property management company for our houses and it's still working out great. They do the showings, background check on the renter, and we allow them to handle any repairs that’s under $250.00. They withhold the repair amount from our monthly pay and give us an itemized bill. We wouldn’t do the work ourselves for the price they can get it done for. Anything over $250.00 they give us a call first.

We also used a property management company that charged us 7% of the rent (normal rate in the Denver, CO area was around 10% but they gave us a multi-property discount). The main issue was that when we moved out of state, we had to depend on them for even simple repairs and cleaning, which started to add up. Also, my wife is more risk adverse than me, so we ended up selling the rest when I got called up for a second deployment. Property values shot up in the Denver metro area, so we booked a decent profit on the sale but we weren't able to avoid the depreciation recapture since moving into one of the rentals to make it a primary residence a few years before the sale wasn't an option, either. But the net profit was still decent, so I'm not complaining.

I've told you this before but it's worth repeating, thanks for your service!!!

And thank you for your continued support! I'm a first generation emigrant; my mother's family was already in the US when my father passed away so we moved here to be with her family. Not all may agree, but I still feel that America is still the land of opportunity and treated me well, so this is my way of paying back (other than high taxes). Other than a few very bad experiences, it's been a overall good experience and got to meet and visit many interesting folks and places.

Not sure if they are very interesting to anyone but me, 'cause I lost. More losers than winners for sure, lol, I can’t pick them. Puts, calls, spread, futures, etc... are not really my cup of tea either, won a few lost a few.

I read up on options, margin, etc but decided that they are beyond the risk tolerance for a hobbyist investor like me. Seems like even those gave a pro like you an issues so I'll continue to stay away and stick with high-yield stocks for the speculation portion. Heck, I'd recommend index funds/ETFs for others, but I'm only going with individual stocks for my non-retirement accounts because I find it fun to research companies and crunch numbers, and I can afford to take below-the-market rate of turn.

I even minored in accounting knowing that I was headed to IT field, just because I wanted to know how large company kept track of their massive funds via financial accounting. I actually ended up liking income tax accounting I & II courses more. I wish more people educate themselves on taxes before coming up with lame ideas on "making the rich pay". The ultra wealthy can afford the best tax lawyers and accountants money can buy and they can easily find loopholes on tax laws drafted by underpaid government lawyers. Even a wanna investor like me can utilize the backdoor Roth IRA because it's so simple to execute once I read an article about it.

My rise to financial freedom was from hard work mostly, nothing was given to me. Held a career for 25 years and worked part-time jobs the entire time as well. That allowed me to put away some money for retirement at an early age from my primary job.

Seems like I'm on a similar path as you. Only regret is that I was bad with money in the beginning and didn't save or invest much initially other than just enough to get the 401K match. Fortunately, I married someone with a good financial discipline and made up the lost years by supercharging my income via career advancements. In a way, my wife becoming a stay at home mom (her choice, I was ok either way) didn't end up being a net loss as it, while it was rough in the beginning, allowed me to focus more in my career and eventually ended up making much more than our previous salaries combined.

Additionally, many also state that having a kid makes achieving financial independence more difficult but it had an opposite effect on me as being a father motived me even more to succeed so my daughter doesn't have to endure growing up poor like me, and I will make sure that there's plenty in her 529 account to fully paid for her college or trade school.

 

[Bull Run]

I love the story. I too ended up not trusting anyone and choose to go it alone. I have been successful but still work part-time because I feel guilty using savings and investments for frivilous things like buying my 2019GT making a racecar out of it then burning up $1600 sets of hoosiers in 1 race weekend.

I think "wealth taxes" are coming. I do not know what form a wealth tax would take. It could be $ on deposit, % of stock portfoilio value or some other metric. From what you know about annuities or insurance in general like maybe ILIT can an insurance product insulate from a potential wealth tax?

Seems like most of the finally successful people have some sort of a "side hustle" in place, both articles I read online and people I know in person. One example article on side hustle.

I heard that Biden will try to tax capital gains as ordinary income but only to those earning over $1 million a year. That shouldn't impact most of us and those earning over $1 million a year can hire tax lawyers and accounts that can find plenty of loopholes in tax laws written by underpaid government lawyers.

 

[bjstang]

I'm a first generation emigrant; my mother's family was already in the US when my father passed away so we moved here to be with her family.

Kudos and accolades to you! I’ve seen so many in similar circumstances go the wrong way.

I read up on options, margin, etc

It takes up too much of my time to study up and then keep an eye on it, turns into a job. Many of the famers and ranchers in my area use the futures market as an insurance policy. They know exactly how much they will lose or gain before they make their position.

Roth IRA

Concerning the Roth IRA. You can put your young daughter in one if you choose, (unless the law has changed recently). The requirement for a Roth is earned income. I paid my boys for work at a young age. The amount was below the reportable 1099 requirements so there was not any tax consequence for them to deal with. Granted, it’s a small amount but it adds up. When she gets older it can be used for first time home, higher education, medical bills, or just add to it and watch it grow. “Time value of money.”

Additionally, many also state that having a kid makes achieving financial independence more difficult but it had an opposite effect on me as being a father motived me even more to succeed so my daughter doesn't have to endure growing up poor like me, and I will make sure that there's plenty in her 529 account to fully paid for her college or trade school.

Same for me as well.

 

[shogun32]

can find plenty of loopholes in tax laws written by underpaid government lawyers.

you're so cute. Wall Street wrote the damn laws. Congress critters can barely read and generally they don't bother to read any bill before voting on it anyway. They just read the title and the executive 1 page summary if that.

 

[fatbillybob]

I heard that Biden will try to tax capital gains as ordinary income but only to those earning over $1 million a year. That shouldn't impact most of us and those earning over $1 million a year can hire tax lawyers and accounts that can find plenty of loopholes in tax laws written by underpaid government lawyers.

He also had something about taxing over 400k/year some big number. When people analyzed his plan that 400k number sudenly trapped people only making $180k. Taxes always have a way of effecting the little guy in a negative way. IMO you have to vote against all taxes yet aspire to make enough so you have to pay lots of taxes.

 

[machsmith]

made some poor choices over last 6 months. I still made close to 500K but if I didn't pull out of a couple others a wee early, I'd be up several million.
Live and learn. Also owned 77btc early this year that I traded out of for a 10K gain when if I just held, would have been 1M easy. oh well. I move onto the next and hope for the best.
There are always new investments to get into before inflection points.

 

[machsmith]

Since this post im up 200K more and climbing. Next year is going to be a very good year, I believe. Out of the gate, for '21, may see some tax selling in my stocks.
I'm expecting a very big infection point in one of my holdings within a couple months. I'll either be Tap dancing with Danny Kays son or I'll be a little poorer as stock may decline on no JDAs.

 

[jtmat]

made some poor choices over last 6 months. I still made close to 500K but if I didn't pull out of a couple others a wee early, I'd be up several million.
Live and learn. Also owned 77btc early this year that I traded out of for a 10K gain when if I just held, would have been 1M easy. oh well. I move onto the next and hope for the best.
There are always new investments to get into before inflection points.

Good post... nice to not see the political comments in an investment thread.

2020 was definitely a banner year for me as well. I'm more of a monthly invest/buy and hold person, but I put a large chunk into the market in March. I figured I'd ride the bottom on down and then back up. Did not know I was investing at the bottom.

Wish I'd got into bitcoin when it first started but I did not understand it. At this point, I'm good so I don't necessarily see a need to own any. Although, I probably should put a thousand in and see what happens in 20 years...

Not sure what the future holds, but I'm good for now.