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I bought my smallest share ever of a company ($387 worth) of Superconductor Technologies (SCON) a short while back as an experiment. The exeriment was to catch a short term gain after a large breakout in price. I caught a short gain, then it fell. I was going to sell but I liked the company, although the charts didn’t look good.

I roughed out a -40% loss for 2 months, and finally today the stock rose +33.72%. The headlines aren’t saying what caused this massive 3 hour increase in price, but it looks like I may actually get my money back and then some. The only reason I accepted such a high loss was because of my limited amount of exposure, unfortunately when the stock goes up, this small exposure doesn’t make me much $$$…but hey, at least I won’t be losing any!

To find out the percentage of your assets which should be exposed to risk, simply use the Rule of 100:

100 – (Your age) = Percentage of your assets which should be invested.

I am 22, so 78% of my savings should be exposed to some risk, and therefore a larger chance of gain. The other 22% should be tucked away in a fail-safe account such as a CD or other savings device. This is by no means the correct method for everyone, but for my needs it seems right. As a semi-active investor I’d like to see more of my net worth exposed to some potential gains. I think it is better to learn financial mistakes while you are young and can easily recover rather than when you are older and have bills to pay and a family to support.

To restructure my finances to meet this 78% mark, I am stopping my $5,000 CD which has earned only $36 after a year and a half. The current rate I am getting is 0.75% which is much lower than inflation. I will put half the money back into permanent savings and invest the other half. While I enjoy having money to invest, I also enjoy the security a pile of cold, hard cash can provide.

The thought of completely riding myself of having to pay rent often intrigues me. Most people in America put the largest proportion of their income towards housing costs, if we could get rid of this massive expense, imagine how much more $$$ we could dedicate to investing.

Viable ways to avoid rent:

1.) Buy and pay off your own house/apartment. You can thank yourself for this in a few decades when you pay off your loan (if you choose to finance) because you will have no rent/mortgage to pay. The drawbacks are houses age and require maintenance, all maintenance must be done by yourself, taxes and utility bills.

2.) Live in a van. Believe it or not, I am not completely adverse to this idea. I think living in such a cramped space will make me better appreciate what I have now. It would also save me a ton of money and allow me to be completely mobile. People would think you are poor, but you could be using the money saved for stock investing or a business venture till you start making loads of money. A young person who needs to save mass amounts of money may look into this, when you are young you can endure those types of hardships.

3.) Bum off of relatives or friends. This is an alternative to rent many people utilize. People with hospitable households will get free rent, free food and a clean house to live in. The drawbacks are: You may be inconveniencing someone, the stigma of living at home, the feeling you cannot support yourself.

Out of these three, I personally think #1 and #2 are not so bad.

A lesson for the future: Whenever you need something done requiring specialized knowledge or skill, go to a college campus. There are literally thousands of students, TA’s and professors who have the knowledge you seek (such as programming, web design or anything else) who will do the work for cheap.

I have told people before, “I will pay you $50.00 on the spot if you do (insert specialized task here) for me” and you will always find a taker.

One thing that helps me out yet gets in the way is college. Right now I have plans to carry out, businesses to start, websites to design, stocks to buy and research to do….and a full time course load.

I have always placed business priorities above school work, but that needs to change for the end of this semester. I am a borderline student because my heart has never been into school, and that border is dangerously close right now. I need to get my educational act together and start concentrating on school. I have enough hours in the day, but I need to study more efficiently.



Reminer to Self: Semester is almost over and you are borderline, rise above that line with some hard work…PLEASE!

The white-haired giant has proved himself right (again and again) in my trading strategies. Dynegy (DYN), a stock I bought for long term holding has exceeded all my expecations. It feels extremely good to sit back and let my extremely small investment of around $1,500 gain 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and as of now 25%. I am riding on $400 profit as I type.

I figured I would take a big loss at first and let it even out in the long run, but this stock has been charging ahead based on financials and not emotion, a situation I love.

In my community there is a very successful man by the name of Mr. Bhandara. I have had the good fortune of working closely with Mr. Bhandara and his son who is also on a sure path to great success. I have learned an incredible amount by working with them and learning new business tactics.

What I found a little unnerving was the way people summed up his greatest business deals to Luck. Mr. Bhandara has built up his business not through what some perceive as luck, but by doing his research and purchasing properties when no one else wants them. He happens to get lucky when his real estate value skyrockets because the area becomes better. This was done by taking risks and having the courage to buy when no one else would. He took all the risk, all the expense and all the time, and therefore is entitled to all the rewards.



I truly admire his ability to spot a diamond in the rough through constant observing, and going through with his plans despite criticism. I hope to learn even more than I already have from Mr. Bhandara and his son. I feel extremely lucky they have both allowed me to tag along and learn.

It seems a lot of people expect me to get a job right after I graduate college. Why must that be the norm? Does a company care about your family and income when you loose your job? NO. So why should you slave away your life working for somebody else? Why work for a company when you can own it?

I think if you are up to the challenge and willing to take the risk of not having a steady income, you can become a very successful person if you work hard and if you work right.

I plan on becoming an Investment Creator, or one who creates investment vehicles for himself. These include businesses, stock investments and real estate. These things can all be done while holding a job or working full time towards them. The trick is to treat it like a job, in other words if you treat investing like a part time thing then you will not get full results.

After college I plan to either jump right in, or work for people who know the knowledge I seek then apply it to my own investments.

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After several bad and good trades over the last few years, my portfolio is several hundred dollars in the green. My current holdings are:

DYN – Dynegy – Good Performer

SYNT – Syntel – Good Performer

SCON – Superconductor Technologies – Poor performer