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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 1/26

It snowed all morning, turned to rain, and will continue to snow all night - total accumulation four to eight inches. And the wind is supposed to gust to 30 mph tomorrow.
How's your retirement plan doing? Mine is mediocre, a little better than the interest on a bank account. I've always been a good saver but so-so investor. I began buying stocks outside my 401k circa 1990. One of my early purchases was Apple, 25 shares at $66. Soon, Steve Jobs left the company and the price kept falling - all the way to $10, where it languished for at least a year. Eventually it rebounded to $30 and Jobs returned. When it fell back to $25, I got out, thinking technology had hit a wall in how far it could go. About a year later the IPOD was introduced. The stock began an astronomical climb. Selling has cost me about $10,000 to date. And I was so spooked I could not pull the trigger on a buy of IBM when it was below $50. It has since split at least twice. We have such opportunity to gain wealth in this country. The politicians haven't ruined it entirely yet. All one needs is savvy, nerve and luck. I kick myself whenever I see an IPHONE. It was nobody's fault but mine. I was drinking Snapple and using Google long before they went public. I loved them - and yet I didn't take a shot. Even a small investment in each would have paid handsomely. I write this because the acquisition of wealth, to those not born into it, requires risk, unless of course you're a politician or government worker who can steal from the public with impunity or redistribute cash to cronies. If the chance presents itself, especially if you are young, take it.
Read Vic's stories, free: http://vicfortezza.homestead.com/

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