Monday, April 14, 2008

Free At Last

Compulsive buyer and compulsive seller in the same cranium. I wonder if the New England Journal of Medicine would be interested in my case. Probably not.

But that's OK. Today, I cured myself. I sold everything for cash. I understand that I have done this before. It's true, but I always held something back. This time, I sold everything, including GOOG. I got a margin call on my sanity. I had no choice.

But it worked. In the past, when I went to cash, I was thinking all the time about when I would be going back in at a great advantage. Hence, the twin obsessions. Early anticipation, followed by early disappointment and eventual panic.

I'm different now. Like most people, I would like to have a lot of money. Great wealth has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I'm going to grow my wealth the old-fashioned way, by saving it. And collecting my 2 percent. The predictable result will be to increase my coffers by 8% per annum over the next few years. That projection compares favorably with my not too shabby performance over the past three difficult years, of 6% per annum. From what I'm reading these days, the next few years will be even more difficult.

But I don't worry about that, now. I am at peace with myself. I can hear the birdies singing. And I can smell the bees.

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