Are you a Long or a Short? Stocks that is.

Long or short?  What do you mean, you ask?

When you buy stocks you have to figure if you are the type to make a quick profit (within a few days or a couple of months) or if you want a nice stable stock that pays you decent dividends and you hold them for years.

I figure I am both - in the past year of trading I see myself as more of a shorter term player.   I love choosing stocks like apple or financials to buy and make a few hundred dollars as they have such high trading volume.  But the problem with that is you have to have a good cash flow and we usually don't.

My husband tends to be the longer term - so I think we balance each other out well.  As he calms my "trigger" finger and I let him see how we can quickly make a few.  Granted that quick few can go to losses also.  So always see what the analysis say.  A great website is Americanbulls.com.  It is a great way to see where your stock is heading.

The larger questions is always - when to sell your stocks.   Decide on a price in your mind - be it $ or %.  Most people will tell you if you make between 7-15% return on a stock that is fantastic, but sometimes when you are in lower dollar stocks that only comes out to be a $100 or so.  Plus you have to remember to deduct your commission fees from that.  So sometimes it is better to hold a stock longer than you planned.

You have to think of what you are willing to lose.  Of course, none of us want to lose anything, but be wise.  If you are not comfortable with it... don't do it.  What works for some, may not work for you.

For now I am watching my apple stock (bought at $312.80).  It has hit a year high of $321.30 and with the dollar on par you can make a nice profit.

It has been an interesting week with all that has been going on the US.  The markets seem to be holding nicely.  Though today is more of a red day than late.

***I have a question to those that read... Are you more interested in the family life or financial life(more infor)? or both?

I have been indecisive on which direction I should be taking this blog.  That is why my posts seem to be inconsistent.  I am never sure what I should write about.

Anyways, I hope all of you have opened up your own Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) if you have taken anything from this blog.

Had a Blast!

We are back from Disney World!  It was awesome.  I am so thankful that we stayed the extra week.  The first week was so busy trying to fit in all the parks - it was go, go, go!  It was so HOT.  The temperature stayed around 26/86 and the last day we were at the water park and we hit a new record there of 33/92!  It was so nice.  Hard to come back to cold weather.  At least there was no snow.

Second week we rented a house and of course spent more than planned as we decided to go to the water parks and Universal (weather helped with the decision).  It was worth it but WOW, I never realized how expensive everything was.  But we figured we would probably never be back again anytime soon and didn't want to regret not doing some things.  We would make a sack full of sandwiches and snacks to bring with us so we didn't have to buy anything at the parks.  But the admission to these places are unbelievable - especially for a family of eight!

So this week I am having to sell off some stocks.  I hate having to do it but when we first opened up our TFSA one of the plans we had for it was so that we could save money in it (yes, and make MORE) so that when we did this holiday we would have to money to pay for it.  Still it is hard to sell off the stocks (one of them is my gold stocks GBG) that has finally been doing well.  But my attitude is "at least I have it to sell".

Of course when it rains it pours.  Hubby's car needed some expensive repairs and 3rd daughter found out she has some major issues with her teeth and ortho needs to be done ASAP.  *SIGH* tis life.  Just makes me so thankful that we have a plan in place.

So for now, I am searching for some new high dividend stocks for our RRSP account since we sold our SNC stock.  Will have to do some research this week/month.

For now playing catch up...on everything.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, its off to Disney World we go!!

Ok, I now see why we never travel.  Money, number one (which is on the road to change) but... WHAT A HASSEL!  I hear so many horror stories.. now I have my own.

Truth be told it is not really bad, just a big old pain in the butt.  It's never easy organizing six kids and two adults while traveling - we have only had to deal with it by car and that has gotten much easier since the kids are out of diapers.

Air travel.  Very different.  First off my hand has finally de-cramped from filling out eight passport forms, not to mention having to do 3 of them over again as the kids "signatures" went over the line.  I did find out later that I just needed to put a sticker over it rather than re-write the whole darn thing! ARRGG!

To the point, this morning at 8:25 am on the dot was 24hrs before we leave.  I jumped on the computer already shuffling the kids in my head as to who and how I would seat them.  After 20 min of typing ( having to enter in all the passport info) I was denied my on-line check in.

At first I thought the computer just timed out or something or maybe I entered in the wrong passport #.  I stayed calm while shooing the kids away from my intense task.  DENIED! DENIED! DENIED.

OK, panic.  Our travel agency was not open yet so I did the next best thing and called Delta direct.  Can you say useless?  (Sorry, Delta but this was pathetic).  All he said was, "Yep, looks like for some reason you all can't book in.  Don't know why."  Duh, yes, I know that, that is why I am calling you.

Travel agent was sympathetic but it was out of her hands.  I called Delta again.  She did help me by saying that I would have to check in tomorrow morning and it was nothing I did, but for some reason it was not working.  She made a note on our file that we could still pay the luggage fees ( yes, you have to pay for luggage) based on the on-line amount.  Which works out to be about $2-$3 less then if I pay at the counter.  Well, thanks.  But it still did not help me.

I decided the only way to do this without stressing out tomorrow morning was to drive out to the airport and do it myself.  First I tried their kiosk - not one but three of them all said that they did not recognize my confirmation #.????!!

I searched out the Delta counters and 2 gentlemen were busy talking amoung themselves - nobody was in line and so I quickly scooted up and explained my situation.  "Oh, well see that lady over their helping that "other" lady.... she can help you when she is finished."  Well, gee sorry to interrupt I thought.  I think I am getting a bit bitchy right about now.

The "working lady" was finishing up and I explained again my situation and the first thing she did was check her watch and let me know she only had 10 minutes to help me before she was due to go on her break!!!  Yikes.

I smiled and thanked her for all her time.  Remember honey works better then vinegar.

Well after 20 minutes, she finally got us set up and I was very thankful that she gave up her break or at least put it on hold to help me out.  Sarcasm aside - I really am thankful for her help.  I walked away with my tickets and tomorrow all we have to do is book in our luggage.

Positive note... I made it out of the airport without paying a dime in parking - one minute to spare.

See how easy it is to make me happy?

Girls/Womans Luncheon

It is not what it sounds like.  Well, it is a "slash" sort of lunch.   I just thought I would enter this post as it has nothing to do with finance but alot to do with life in general.

When I was 11 or 12 years old I loved the book Are You There God It is Me Margaret.  The reason I loved this book so much was that I couldn't WAIT to get my period.

I know, I know, many of you think I am nuts but I just thought it was the ultimate in maturity and womenhood.  I remember in grade 5 how all the girls would be shepherd out of their homerooms and brought into the teachers lounge to watch a video about what goes on in your body when you hit puberty.

I felt so wise and mature, thinking that I now knew a special secret and was about to join a very exclusive club of sorts.

This is why after having 5 girls I decided that I would celebrate that day.  I wanted to make getting your period not something to dread and despise but to celebrate.

So when my eldest daughter, got her period at 13 I immediately asked when she would like to go out to lunch to celebrate.  She was excited to be able to pick out the restaurant and have that all elusive one-on-one time with mom.  We had a fabulous time and she throughly enjoyed it.

Three years later my 2nd oldest got hers and the first thing she asked was when we would be going for our luncheon.  I jumped up and down, clapping my hands and gave her a big hug and kiss, "Congrats!"

We went this past Sunday and had such an amazing time.  I find I learn so much about them as their is nobody to interrupt our talks.  We ordered special drinks and shared some great spicy food, which we both love.

Daughter #3 is not to far behind as their is only 16 months between them and am thoroughly looking forward to our special luncheon together.  They go into it with a positive attitude, cramps, mood swings and all.

Two down, three more to go.  Happy luncheon ladies.

I have an addiction...

I've been warned, hand slapped and tsk,tsked.  No, it's not my utter free-for-all, lack-a-dazy attitude of letting my kids watch t.v whenever they want.  Or my perpetual believe that slicing cookies and baking them is the same as making them from scratch.

 It's my addiction to buying stocks.

This one little itty, bitty penny stock is driving me mad.  It's like a child that I see so much potential in but can't seem to convince it of the same.  My Golden Hope Mines Ltd. (GNH) stock had a bit of a growth spurt about 2 weeks ago and I was so proud.  But I let the ball drop too soon (I bought it at .66 and sold it at .73) and watched from the sidelines it rise to .97!  I cheered it along by sneaking back in at .77.  Ok, you think that is pretty good.  BUT I COULDNT STOP!  I see it steadily climbing and don't want to miss the peak, the mountain high of $1.00.

My finger itched, I bought and bought; .85 (stupid) .82 (dumb), .80 (stupider).  But I was reasoning with myself that it would stop the fall.  And it was a nasty fall.

I see my child trip and I can't get there fast enough to catch them.  But I tried...yes, I bought more shares at .79 in the belief that I was "averaging down"  but honestly, all I was doing was paying out of my "ying yang" in commission fees.  Remember those nasty $30 charges??  I know, I know.  Dumb, stupid and stupider.

So even though it went down to as low as .49 I kept my trigger finger firmly tucked away in my pocket. I had to stay away from the computer.

I still am banging my head against the proverbial wall but I know my baby will walk, no run soon.  It closed at .60 but went as high as .63 on Friday (Oct. 1) and new results are looking good.

If you want to join the time - welcome, I love having fellow cheerleaders to choreograph new dances with.  The stands is always a good place to be...but I prefer to be IN the game.

Getting the word out there.

I know I just started this blog experience, but I have discovered that I am a tiny fish in a very big pond.

I want to get the word out there and help other moms deal with fiances and learn that you can easily make some money by investing (stock trading made simple).

But if nobody is reading, how do I do this?  I searched google and now hopefully have joined some sites that will give me more exposure and hopefully help me learn how to be a better and more interesting blogger.

I have so much to learn and have decided that there is no way for me to NOT let my family life affect my blogging.  It is who I am and what I do and they are the ones who have inspired me to be more.

Heres to new experiences!!  Happy blogging and stock watching!

Keeping up with the Joneses?

I have this fascination of others.  I can sit for hours and just "people watch".

You can tell a lot about a person by how they present themselves to the world.  But, (and this is a big but) how accurate is it?

You see your neighbours purchasing new vehicles, bigger homes, motor homes and yearly trips to Mexico.  And you wonder...how do they afford that?

I wish I had the guts to go and ask them.  But the one thing I have learned is that - things are not always what they seem.

After 17 years of marriage I have seen my share of marriages/relationships fail because of financial matters.  It becomes a one-up-manship.  "If you can buy a new ATV, I'm going to buy new furniture".  Ok, those are pretty big purchases but you get the idea.  I know numerous friends that hide what they buy from their husbands and husbands hiding money from their wives.

I think you know what ends up eventually happening to those relationships.  They can only last so long before either debt is too high or someone just can't handle the strain any more.

I call this the "Joneses Syndrome".  Where if our others have it we MUST have it also to make ourselves feel better and feel worthy.  Or you deserve it... whatever.  If you can't pay cash for it you shouldn't be buying it.  Tough talk.  But take it to heart that sometimes we truly need to be more grateful for what we have already rather than always wanting more.

 I just watched this movie called The Joneses that shows you exactly (well in an exaggerated way) what happens when you think a family is one way (they are hired to make you want to buy what they have) and you try to be like them.  Interesting...watch it.

Don't get me wrong I would love to buy new vehicles, take the kids on trips...etc.  But their was no way we could do it.  (OK, having 6 kids in 9 years had a huge impact on this.  Yes, I know this was our choice).  We had a car that I had to be sure I parked to drive forward as their was no reverse
( we just had our third baby then) and I would always get stuck going up hills.

We promised our oldest that we would go to Disneyworld so many times that now that we are going - none of her friends believed her.  She is now 16 yrs btw.  But the trip will be fully paid for BEFORE we leave - nothing on credit.

It took us a long time to dig ourselves out of a financial hole and that was with just the day to cost of living.  But with things breaking down, kids needing braces, and husband in school it was tough.

But I figure man, if we could do it anyone could do it.  Have you made that bank appointment yet?

My "RED" Day

So I was all happy on Monday. La, la, la my stocks are going up...then BAM! Today sucks! It's a BEAR ( ha ha).

BTW, I always wondered how the stock market used the words "Bear" meaning down and "Bull" meaning up meant. How you remember is a bear swipes its claw DOWN and bulls rear their heads UP. Now don't you feel knowledgeable?

Bear today - at least for me and the stocks I hold. But that is the market. You can't panic and sell off as soon as things go down - you have to look at it as an opportunity to average down even more (buy more stocks at an even lesser price that you originally bought at).

On the brighter side (I hope you all did too) I sold off my Lululemon yesterday, since it is now down almost $2 from when I sold it at.

I have gotten into some gold stocks - that are cheap and up and coming. One of them I sold too quickly (GNH) then bought more back (thankfully) and almost missed the large rise. But now it has dropped almost to the start point - but I believe in it and will take this time to buy more at a cheaper price.

It sounds like a lot of work but as I had mentioned the other day you can put a LIMIT on an order. Meaning you pick a price that you want to buy or sell your stock at and let it go. This way you don't have to worry about missing a low or high. Takes a lot of the stress off of things. This is what I did with my lulu I have set a LIMIT at $45.80 all week and it finally hit (though it did go .10 cents higher). I lucked out.

Be aware that it may go lower or higher than what you expected - which is part of stock trading that you have to learn to LET GO! Don't dwell on what you missed. It won't do any good and you will drive yourself nuts.

After I sell a stock (unless I plan on buying it back lower) I take it off my watch list, cause other wise I will go crazy watching it go higher and kicking myself in the butt for not hanging onto it longer.

Trading is all about confidence. Be content on your moves and choices and know that there is now way for us to see into that crystal ball. I don't care how much you research a stock there are too many variables in life/market to see what is coming.

If people feel threaten, they will sell off - no matter what someone else will tell them.

HOLD long and strong.

I love the color green!

What a great start to Monday. Kids are off to school happy and healthy and my stocks are in the green!

As I mentioned on Friday, there are a lot of great sites to get your stock quotes from and to set up a portfolio.

I started off with simple Google Finance. I made it my home page so that it is the first thing I see when I open up my browser. You can see your recent quotes on the left hand side up to ten (which for now works great since that is all that I have).

I follow my portfolio on Stockhouse.com. I can see how much I have made (or hopefully not - loss) on a trade and it is a great way to keep track of stocks that pay a divided.

If you can find a divided stock that pays 7% or higher that is great. One such one that I just bought was COS.UN (Canadian Oil Sands Trust). It is a great stock that is at its low for the year and hey, you can't beat getting a nice divided payment.

I'm considered a LONG trader. I don't flip stocks quickly to make a profit. For one, I don't have the funds and I can't stand those commission fees! (OK, I do flip Lululemon, but it has been worth it).

You have to decided what kind of trader you wish to be.

Your age can play a large part in what kind of trader you are. I wish we had started earlier but life (with six kids) /money made it pretty hard. So in investment terms we are "slightly" older (ok we just entered the "40") but it just shows you it is never too late - or if your smart too early.

First Things First

BUILD IT, AND IT WILL COME. I have to say I was very impatient to learn how to do my own trades. But unless you can put away a couple of thousand in your account right away or manage to buy some penny stocks, you will have to wait and build it up first.

The first thing I bought was 100 shares of Lululemon Athletic Inc. (TSE:LLL). It was a very expensive first purchase - at the time the stock was at 28.60 (100 shares x 28.60 = $2,800.60) so it was a pretty big chunk of change. Plus the commission fee at the time was $28.90.

Always be aware of the commission fee, as you will be charged this buying and selling. So you have to take $60 (or what ever your fee is) off of your profits right from the top. So before you sell make sure you accounted for that difference. We were lucky in the first few months as our bank was giving a super low rate for $6.95 for trades (I realize now how cheap that was).

So back to my lulu - the reason I picked this stock is strictly personal. Which they say is the last reason why you should purchase a stock. But I look around me and EVERYONE (male and female) wears this brand. I have never gone into a Lululemon store and not seen numerous people in line holding at least 2 - 3 items. Don't even mention Christmas or sales. It's a mad house! I bet everyone of you reading this post as AT LEAST one item of Lululemon.

We can all admit those pants make your butt look awesome!

So this alone - no matter what the consensus says or how low it drops, to me it's always a good buy. I know it will go up eventually. Who doesn't want a nice looking butt?

Honestly, it is the one stock that currently I have made over $3000 on just using the old saying of "buying low and selling high". I currently am holding it and so far I am up over $800 - Hmm, yes, it is time to sell.

If there is a company out there that you truly believe in - go for it. Nothing beats a gut feeling sometimes. But the key is to not hold on too long and miss the money train.

Thats when a "stop limit" comes into play.

Monday, I will put this amazing button into action ( I wish I knew about it sooner). Send the kids off to school and put the babies down for their nap. We are going to have some fun!

What is an asset? What is a liability?

Last week I was in the search for a birthday present for hubby. Which in itself is an art. He is impossible to buy for and I know that a dress shirt for work would not do.

I love browsing the financial isle of the book store. I get inspired by all these books about how to make your money work for you - but I must admit, some of them are just too darn hard to read.

All the financial jargon that I am still trying to get a handle on drives me nuts! Can't they just spell it out in normal english? It's like some of them don't want you to know how to get rich without paying out your nose for advice.

Then I picked up Rich Dad Poor Dad. Aha! This is a book I could get into. I quickly flipped to the middle and was instantly hooked. I not only found Dave's birthday present but it opened my eyes to another way of thinking.

That night I sat on the couch and read the whole book out loud (in between kids showers and bedtime stories) to Dave. My gift to him will hopefully be financial freedom and early retirement. Wouldn't that be awesome?!

So what was the "grab"? A simple sentence.... "What is an asset? What is a liability?"

I seriously thought I knew this. Just the other day, Dave and I were going through how much we thought we owned. We counted of course our investments, how much we thought our house was worth, cars and household "stuff" and added it together and thought - ok not bad.

But herein lies the catch!...ASSETS are something that makes you money - generates income.

Does your house generate income? We all know our cars sure don't. We've all heard the old saying that your car depreciates 20% as soon as you drive it off the lot.

But our pride and joy home is not an asset?

Stop right there! I know you are thinking - well once it is paid for (no mortgage, the ultimate goal in life) it turns into an asset. BUT IT DOESN'T. It will ALWAYS cost you something.

You will always have to pay tax, heat, water and maintenance. The only way I will let you say your home is an asset is if you have a renter that pays enough to you that it covers all of that plus some.

Hmmm, makes you think doesn't it? You may scream and yell at the computer all you wish and tell me that you will sell your home for double the amount you paid! Good for you. If you get that amount and downsize (which most people don't - they always super size) and you take that extra cash and invest it and make 10% on your money to cover and pay for those yearly expenses.

I love that sentence. To me that is the key. It sucked to discover that we basically have no assets but it sure kicked me in the butt to get me some of that "asset stuff".

He really focused on purchasing real estate. Now I don't understand how to go about doing that with limited cash flow, plus he is from the States, which does make it harder to convert over to Canadian rules of real estate. Either way, great book. I recommend picking it up for $10 bucks.

So this is my new task - to find a way to bring in more assets - one of course we have started - Investing.

It is time to "Mind my own Business". ( I love that he calls it that).

Lets Make Some MULA (aka MONEY)!

I'M A MOM ON A MISSION! To make money - not by clipping coupons (though we do this also) but on the stock market.

I know what you're thinking...what does a stay-at-home-mom to six kids know about trading? Well a year ago, nothing.

One year ago, we were like, I think, every other middle income family - trying to pay off credit card bills/personal line of credit/mortgage/car loans...etc. We thought we had a good plan in place. Being avid junkies of the show Till Debt do Us Part, we followed her advice and made a budget (her website has great budget sheets you can fill out) taking our net income and subtracting our fixed expenses and figuring out what our cash flow was to be.

Thinking we were doing pretty well, paying off one bill and taking that payment and adding it onto the next highest (highest interest first) and so on.

But it just wasn't working. We would get so far ahead and then something would come up - like car repairs or kids dental work (stupid braces!). We just couldn't get ahead.

As luck would have it, I got a call from our new Financial Adviser. (I'm a true believer in things happening for a reason). Figuring we had nothing to lose. We made an appointment - which has forever changed our lives.

We consolidated our loans which freed up $1700 a month to invest and he introduced us to TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account) and showed us how we could trade stocks and purchase options on our own.

I STRONGLY recommend this. You can save $5000 a year in these accounts and ANYTHING you make above and beyond is TAX FREE! How cool is that? Dave (hubby) and I both opened accounts to the maximum of $10,000 each (started in 2009). Of course, we didn't have that kind of money so we set up an automatic withdrawal every month of $250 each. You have the option to change this amount any time - but just be aware of hitting your maximum contribution.

Fast forward to present time, I have come to realize after talking (more like pulling teeth) with friends and family how little we are willing to talk about finances.

I was desperate to find information about what stocks to buy, how others were successfull with their money but nobody wanted to talk about it.

Either they too were in the dark about it as I was or they just were not willing to discuss it.

So I purchased lots of books (more great info to come) and searched online (some great websites to visit) regarding stocks/bonds/equities and options and thanks to our new best friend (Financial Adviser) we have made over $4000 in profit.

We have made it our mission to share this new found knowledge. We are welcoming you into our financial lives. With me we can go step by step into financial freedom. Which in the end is what we hope for.

Everyday, I will let you know what stocks I am playing. Talk about making money not just getting out of debt. No more secrets. Let's put it all on the table and learn together.

LETS MAKE SOME MULA!!....

**(The trades I make are in no way a guarantee. Please DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE! If you wish to add opinions on stocks or have some great information or ideas - please share!!)