Last quarter, almost all of my investments were experiencing positive performance. Three months can make a big difference. My investments tell a different story today.
One thing has not changed since last quarter: my company stock continues to do well, even when the broader stock market is in decline. This was not my best performing investment over the first half of the year, however. That acknowledgment belongs to a small investment I made several years ago in Akamai (AKAM) with free money earned from a bonus for opening an account with ShareBuilder. Overall, while the stock has seen good performance for the year, it has eked out only a $3 profit since the time I opened the investment.
Here are my investment account balances and performance numbers as of the end of March 2010. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments. Read the full article →
At the end of every month, I review my personal finances, including bank account balances, investment performance, income and expenses, and I share some of those details here. This was the original purpose of Consumerism Commentary: to track my own finances publicly and hold myself accountable for my financial decisions. I wasn’t aware at that time that within a few years Consumerism Commentary itself would become a large part of my financial development.
I ended 2009 with a “modified net worth” of over $300,000, an increase of more than $100,000 since the end of 2008. A recovery in the stock market helped raise the value of my investments, greatly contributing to that increase. This modified net worth doesn’t include things like tax liability. the value of my possessions other than my car, or the value of my business if I were to sell it. It does however represent a metric that is meaningful for me to track over time.
Like last year, I add some history to my financial report to show long-term progress. The data in Quicken go back to 2001. At the end of that year I had just recently left a low-paying job at a non-profit organization and, like many people today, was unemployed for a few months. As you can see in the chart I had no savings and a few thousands dollars of debt. Read the full article →
I do very little stock trading. In fact, the only individual stocks I hold are Microsoft (MSFT) and Akamai (AKAM), both of which I purchased with free money for opening a brokerage account. Naturally, I think free cash is a perfect candidate for experimentation with the stock market and I most likely would not have made these purchases without this particular incentive.
Zecco Trading is offering a different incentive for those who have funds for trading stocks but would like to avoid pesky transaction fees that eat into your returns. For a very limited time, Zecco is offering 20 free traders. This discount brokerage normally offers 20 free trades each month for customers who maintain a $25,000 bonus in their account or execute 25 trades each month. Otherwise, each trade costs $4.50, still one of the lowest transaction fees available.
Here is how to receive 20 free trades without meeting the minimum balance or minimum trade volume. First, be a new customer. Only new Zecco customers are eligible. Apply for your Zecco account here, and use the code bonus1 when signing up for your account. Your application must be complete and approved by September 13, 2009.
As long as you meet the above criteria, you will see 20 free trades available in your account by September 16, 2009.
For more options, see this summary of five true discount brokerages.
Although I post my financial reports each month to keep myself accountable for my financial decisions, I have moved to summarizing my investments rather than listing all the details. My reports now simply separate my investments between retirement and non-retirement accounts.
An important part of anyone’s finances is how investments are allocated among stocks, bonds, or other forms of investments like real estate. It’s also important to look at asset allocation at a deeper level, such as the size of the company invested (large-cap, small-cap, etc.) or the type of bonds (municipal, corporate, etc.).
Continue reading for my investment account balances by investment as of May 31, 2009. I will also explain why I have invested as I have. Read the full article →
