I enjoyed your post Ray. We all realize this is a financial site and we should be prudent sharing personal info, but I don't see a problem with sharing a bit of our lives, hardships and triumphs, hobbies and such. I didn't come here to converse with robots. I enjoy the posts from guys and gals who trouble themselves to put a person behind the name. I'm very pleased to hear you are cancer free. Some things are worth a lot more than money. Sorry to hear you can't have children. I know what that feels like.
Here is just a little about me. I have been married for about 34 years. We couldn't have children and adopted an infant from South Korea. She is 23 now. Absolutely wore me out during her teenage years. I had to ride her hard to get through high school. I have an old lifted Jeep Cherokee with bulletproof offroad winch bumpers and such. Did I ever tell you guys she drove it right through the front of the elementary school when she was 14? Yes THROUGH the brick wall. Messed up the 3rd grade classroom pretty bad. She was famous in this little town (notorious is a better word). I was away on military duty when she called in a panic. Repair costs were well over $11K. She worked PT at Subway for over a year for that crime as I made her pay half the damages. She surely isn't perfect but she has a very strong work ethic. College didn't work out after squandering high school but I gave her a few semesters. A couple years working as a waitress and she found a little direction. She asked for one more shot and I paid for some medic training. She graduated at the top of her class of a 15. Her first academic success since she was 10 years old. Now she works crazy long hours in a hospital ER, medic for the fire department and drives the ambulance sometimes. A few months ago she called me emotionally distraught because she just lost a motorcycle accident victim her age. 30 minutes of CPR on a kid that was already dead, but she showed up when it mattered. Somebody has to do that job for low wages and I know just couldn't. We all have a calling in this life and I am proud of her. Maybe I couldn't have children so this little girl would have parents? She doesn't have much financial sense. One of my 2020 goals is to start a $10K port in her name and let her pick a few of the stocks. If she shows some interest, I'll make it a joint account in a year or two. If not, I guess I'll just will her some money with a trustee when I leave this world.
As far as investment styles, we are polar opposites Ray, and that is OK. As I've shared before, I balked on the GOV 3% annuity plan and moved my retirement account to a self directed IRA in 2018 so I could be in charge. Just in time for a 20% correction. I was nervous the big one was coming three years from true retirement age. I was too cashy so I luckily only lost about 8%. 2020 S&P up 28% but I am only up about 17%. Risk adjusted I guess that is OK because I will never take a full beating if the market crashes. To me those numbers say I pretty much matched the market. The goal is never less than 4% and my needs are met but I am clearly doing it the hard way. I sold about 325 option contracts this year. I purchased zero options I believe that is gambling and I want to be the house always. My successful option trade percentage makes me believe I am on the right side. I pocketed a ton of put and call premiums. The downside is I picked some great 2019 stocks and got called out of my position way too early and often. I would have been way better off skipping the covered calls this year. But my inclination is stick to the plan for now. It's my belief my strategy will outperform when the S&P up over 15% annually. I think that will include most years over time but I can't know what the next five years bring us. I do know I will never get burned like a pure long DGI investor if it goes completely south. I am very protected from that outcome. Our age matters no matter how we choose to attack this market. Stay tuned for 2020 results
Here is just a little about me. I have been married for about 34 years. We couldn't have children and adopted an infant from South Korea. She is 23 now. Absolutely wore me out during her teenage years. I had to ride her hard to get through high school. I have an old lifted Jeep Cherokee with bulletproof offroad winch bumpers and such. Did I ever tell you guys she drove it right through the front of the elementary school when she was 14? Yes THROUGH the brick wall. Messed up the 3rd grade classroom pretty bad. She was famous in this little town (notorious is a better word). I was away on military duty when she called in a panic. Repair costs were well over $11K. She worked PT at Subway for over a year for that crime as I made her pay half the damages. She surely isn't perfect but she has a very strong work ethic. College didn't work out after squandering high school but I gave her a few semesters. A couple years working as a waitress and she found a little direction. She asked for one more shot and I paid for some medic training. She graduated at the top of her class of a 15. Her first academic success since she was 10 years old. Now she works crazy long hours in a hospital ER, medic for the fire department and drives the ambulance sometimes. A few months ago she called me emotionally distraught because she just lost a motorcycle accident victim her age. 30 minutes of CPR on a kid that was already dead, but she showed up when it mattered. Somebody has to do that job for low wages and I know just couldn't. We all have a calling in this life and I am proud of her. Maybe I couldn't have children so this little girl would have parents? She doesn't have much financial sense. One of my 2020 goals is to start a $10K port in her name and let her pick a few of the stocks. If she shows some interest, I'll make it a joint account in a year or two. If not, I guess I'll just will her some money with a trustee when I leave this world.
As far as investment styles, we are polar opposites Ray, and that is OK. As I've shared before, I balked on the GOV 3% annuity plan and moved my retirement account to a self directed IRA in 2018 so I could be in charge. Just in time for a 20% correction. I was nervous the big one was coming three years from true retirement age. I was too cashy so I luckily only lost about 8%. 2020 S&P up 28% but I am only up about 17%. Risk adjusted I guess that is OK because I will never take a full beating if the market crashes. To me those numbers say I pretty much matched the market. The goal is never less than 4% and my needs are met but I am clearly doing it the hard way. I sold about 325 option contracts this year. I purchased zero options I believe that is gambling and I want to be the house always. My successful option trade percentage makes me believe I am on the right side. I pocketed a ton of put and call premiums. The downside is I picked some great 2019 stocks and got called out of my position way too early and often. I would have been way better off skipping the covered calls this year. But my inclination is stick to the plan for now. It's my belief my strategy will outperform when the S&P up over 15% annually. I think that will include most years over time but I can't know what the next five years bring us. I do know I will never get burned like a pure long DGI investor if it goes completely south. I am very protected from that outcome. Our age matters no matter how we choose to attack this market. Stay tuned for 2020 results