Individual Stock Picking Results After 2.5 Years

[Singuy]

Another milestone hit. Today the individual stock portfolio turns 2 million...crazy times!

[disneysteve]

Holding this amount of money wasn't drama free during this downturn. Everyone was telling me to get out before my stocks go to zero. The day everyone was telling, or even screaming at me to get out while I was still up was literally the lowest day for these stocks. Warren Buffet Wins again. People are ridiculously good at selling low and buying high.

Yep. Be greedy when everyone is scared and scared when everyone is greedy.

[Singuy]

Back to 1 million dollars in gains.

Bought 15k worth of AMD during the dip, invested a tiny amount in FVRR. That's pretty much it, didn't really do anything else with my portfolio besides watching the drama from the sidelines. All my stocks ended up being coronavirus resistant except for Tesla due to shut downs. The rest I think will beat expectations thanks for Covid. Console sales are spiking more than expected, computers are flying off the shelves due to home schooling and working from home. Ecommerce according to Shopify's CTO is at Black Friday's levels, every day. SHOP blew past its all time high today. AMD is getting very close.

Holding this amount of money wasn't drama free during this downturn. Everyone was telling me to get out before my stocks go to zero. The day everyone was telling, or even screaming at me to get out while I was still up was literally the lowest day for these stocks. Warren Buffet Wins again. People are ridiculously good at selling low and buying high.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

how's the portfolio doing now?

[corn18]

I am guessing most people here have seen that TSLA is just going nuts. My portfolio of course is following suit. Another milestone reached today. 1 million dollars in gains, close to 3 years into trading. Haven't bought any stocks the past few months, just riding the wave. I will take profit in about 5 years.

That is awesome! I am always happy for folks that do this well.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I actually have TSLA stock from a while back. A long while. But not a lot. I threw in $5k. Oh well. It was just a boring play. I lost a lot in oil aroudn 2013-2015 and I haven't forgiven DH for playing commodities

[james.hendrickson]

Yeah, its because TSLA has earnings. Their cars look good, people buy them.

[Singuy]

I am guessing most people here have seen that TSLA is just going nuts. My portfolio of course is following suit. Another milestone reached today. 1 million dollars in gains, close to 3 years into trading. Haven't bought any stocks the past few months, just riding the wave. I will take profit in about 5 years.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Ah, I wondered if "Sing" stood for "Singapore" LOL ! Are your parents Singaporean Chinese?

My parents both worked from age 15 & 16, respectively. They never made a lot, either, but they both invested in real estate. Now retired, they made MILLIONS in the real estate booms over the decades, and made enough to put all their kids through college (including one of my brothers through medical school). They never invested in the stock market, though. Neither understood it, and to them it was a "gamble" and they referred to Wall Street as a "casino" where the "house always wins". So they didn't pump a dime into the market but bought land and houses and GOLD. They saved only to buy the next property on the market. They rarely had liquid cash - everything was tied up in real estate assets. What they made in rents, they spent in constantly improving their properties. It was crazy but it all worked. They came from utter poverty but they are multi-millionaires today.

Their siblings, however, lived paycheck to paycheck. They drank, gambled, had gaggles of children, and remained blue collar. Many of my cousins barely graduated high school, and some are the working poor to this day. Always amazes me how out of all the siblings they share between the two of them, my parents alone climbed out of grinding poverty to be where they are. Their success does not make them "better" human beings than my aunts & uncles, but it has given them opportunities denied their siblings & various nephews & nieces.

Savings... frugality... investing...and a solid work ethic -- these are the keys to success, no matter where & how you start.

Amazing. My family didn't make millions from being poor but they quickly stepped out of poverty into SOLID middle class. Homes paid for, solid retirement (some with pension), no millions in the bank but very secure. I think it's more than admirable because they've given each of their kids a solid leg up and it's paid dividends. Maybe I'll be the millionaire able to help my kids

[Singuy]

Nope we are mainland Chinese. But housing boom also happened in Beijing.

[Scallywag]

Everything can be snowballed. Sure someone making more starts with a larger snowball and can snowball faster, but compounding growth is just math, it doesn't discriminate.

And snowballing doesn't start from the minute you make money, it can start for you as a child. Parents leading by example, teaching their kids the value of money, how compounding works, and how the savings rate % is very important no matter the income.

For example, my parent's saving rate was 50% making min wage in the early 1990s...lets just say none of my toys were new, all dumpster dived or garage sales, and I never felt air conditioner under their roof until I was 16 in Florida. They snowballed never seeing more than 10 dollars/hr in the early years. But the high savings rate gave them the opportunity to buy a business, quadrupling their income. Then the massive savings rate from that income lead them to invest in real estate, and now are worth 2.5 million. My parents barely knows how to speak English. Their education level equivalence due to their inability to manipulate the American language is no better than a 5 year old.

Parents also need to instill the lifetime of concern into the child. A high school student SHOULD have a path lined out, and execute towards that path as best to their abilities. This doesn't necessarily mean college. I had a crazy guide on how to reach a million by working at MCDs by 40yo on this forum which involves no college but must start in the teens and living lean.

So yes while it's true people with more money can take crazy risk and make more money..but anyone can get to that position in some way or another(perhaps not at that scale but any scale is better than zero hope).

Planning and execution is a life time endeavor. It's much harder to turn things around once you establish families in which people will usually have a difficult time keeping up vs turning things around. So setting an excellent foundation prior to this is key.

Ah, I wondered if "Sing" stood for "Singapore" LOL ! Are your parents Singaporean Chinese?

My parents both worked from age 15 & 16, respectively. They never made a lot, either, but they both invested in real estate. Now retired, they made MILLIONS in the real estate booms over the decades, and made enough to put all their kids through college (including one of my brothers through medical school). They never invested in the stock market, though. Neither understood it, and to them it was a "gamble" and they referred to Wall Street as a "casino" where the "house always wins". So they didn't pump a dime into the market but bought land and houses and GOLD. They saved only to buy the next property on the market. They rarely had liquid cash - everything was tied up in real estate assets. What they made in rents, they spent in constantly improving their properties. It was crazy but it all worked. They came from utter poverty but they are multi-millionaires today.

Their siblings, however, lived paycheck to paycheck. They drank, gambled, had gaggles of children, and remained blue collar. Many of my cousins barely graduated high school, and some are the working poor to this day. Always amazes me how out of all the siblings they share between the two of them, my parents alone climbed out of grinding poverty to be where they are. Their success does not make them "better" human beings than my aunts & uncles, but it has given them opportunities denied their siblings & various nephews & nieces.

Savings... frugality... investing...and a solid work ethic -- these are the keys to success, no matter where & how you start.

[Singuy]

That all makes perfect sense and sounds really good, but I was born in 1946 and my parents lived from paycheck to paycheck. My dad worked for GM for 42 years and my mother had small home businesses to help get by. They never had a checking account or a savings account. Their "extra" cash was kept in a Calumet baking powder tin in the upright freezer they had in the basement. I was never taught about money and how to make more money. It was the norm back when I (and my husband) grew up to not "worship" money but to be frugal with it so it went as far as it could.

You take all the wisdom you learned here and you pass it on. Maybe you can't turn it around this generation, but there's a good chance for the next.

The worst is to never break the cycle. The "well my parents left me with nothing so I'm going to leave my kids with nothing, once they are 18 they are out the door like I once was!" mentality because for some reason people here thinks everyone should just start from zero. We Asians believe in incremental improvements from one generation to the next. That is how people of disadvantage with language barriers and such ends up succeeding. No one ever starts at zero.

[MaryKay]

Everything can be snowballed. Sure someone making more starts with a larger snowball and can snowball faster, but compounding growth is just math, it doesn't discriminate.

And snowballing doesn't start from the minute you make money, it can start for you as a child. Parents leading by example, teaching their kids the value of money, how compounding works, and how the savings rate % is very important no matter the income.

For example, my parent's saving rate was 50% making min wage in the early 1990s...lets just say none of my toys were new, all dumpster dived or garage sales, and I never felt air conditioner under their roof until I was 16 in Florida. They snowballed never seeing more than 10 dollars/hr in the early years. But the high savings rate gave them the opportunity to buy a business, quadrupling their income. Then the massive savings rate from that income lead them to invest in real estate, and now are worth 2.5 million. My parents barely knows how to speak English. Their education level equivalence due to their inability to manipulate the American language is no better than a 5 year old.

Parents also need to instill the lifetime of concern into the child. A high school student SHOULD have a path lined out, and execute towards that path as best to their abilities. This doesn't necessarily mean college. I had a crazy guide on how to reach a million by working at MCDs by 40yo on this forum which involves no college but must start in the teens and living lean.

So yes while it's true people with more money can take crazy risk and make more money..but anyone can get to that position in some way or another(perhaps not at that scale but any scale is better than zero hope).

Planning and execution is a life time endeavor. It's much harder to turn things around once you establish families in which people will usually have a difficult time keeping up vs turning things around. So setting an excellent foundation prior to this is key.

That all makes perfect sense and sounds really good, but I was born in 1946 and my parents lived from paycheck to paycheck. My dad worked for GM for 42 years and my mother had small home businesses to help get by. They never had a checking account or a savings account. Their "extra" cash was kept in a Calumet baking powder tin in the upright freezer they had in the basement. I was never taught about money and how to make more money. It was the norm back when I (and my husband) grew up to not "worship" money but to be frugal with it so it went as far as it could.

[Singuy]

This was an interesting and informative thread, but just let me say....like anything in this world, it takes money to make money and poor (average) people like me aren't able to rake in the dough....no matter what advice is given. I congratulate you, Singuy, on your accomplishments and hope you continue to do well.

As for your analysis on energy-saving, Singuy, that's great for you because you have the means to make that happen. Again...all it takes is money. These are all good ideas for energy efficiency, BUT, this country will never succumb to letting the oil and gas industry go by way of the dodo. This country is obsessed with ripping the little guy off while they make huge profits for their investors. Why do you think that's why Trump kisses Saudi's butt? It's always been about oil.

Everything can be snowballed. Sure someone making more starts with a larger snowball and can snowball faster, but compounding growth is just math, it doesn't discriminate.

And snowballing doesn't start from the minute you make money, it can start for you as a child. Parents leading by example, teaching their kids the value of money, how compounding works, and how the savings rate % is very important no matter the income.

For example, my parent's saving rate was 50% making min wage in the early 1990s...lets just say none of my toys were new, all dumpster dived or garage sales, and I never felt air conditioner under their roof until I was 16 in Florida. They snowballed never seeing more than 10 dollars/hr in the early years. But the high savings rate gave them the opportunity to buy a business, quadrupling their income. Then the massive savings rate from that income lead them to invest in real estate, and now are worth 2.5 million. My parents barely knows how to speak English. Their education level equivalence due to their inability to manipulate the American language is no better than a 5 year old.

Parents also need to instill the lifetime of concern into the child. A high school student SHOULD have a path lined out, and execute towards that path as best to their abilities. This doesn't necessarily mean college. I had a crazy guide on how to reach a million by working at MCDs by 40yo on this forum which involves no college but must start in the teens and living lean.

So yes while it's true people with more money can take crazy risk and make more money..but anyone can get to that position in some way or another(perhaps not at that scale but any scale is better than zero hope).

Planning and execution is a life time endeavor. It's much harder to turn things around once you establish families in which people will usually have a difficult time keeping up vs turning things around. So setting an excellent foundation prior to this is key.

[MaryKay]

This was an interesting and informative thread, but just let me say....like anything in this world, it takes money to make money and poor (average) people like me aren't able to rake in the dough....no matter what advice is given. I congratulate you, Singuy, on your accomplishments and hope you continue to do well.

As for your analysis on energy-saving, Singuy, that's great for you because you have the means to make that happen. Again...all it takes is money. These are all good ideas for energy efficiency, BUT, this country will never succumb to letting the oil and gas industry go by way of the dodo. This country is obsessed with ripping the little guy off while they make huge profits for their investors. Why do you think that's why Trump kisses Saudi's butt? It's always been about oil.