ifyouhavetoask said:richfish13 said:120k a year put you in the top 1% of income earners in the world. Yeah, 120k, man that guy has it rough.

It's not about income.

It's about control of your own life.

A successful doctor or lawyer, who runs their own practice, is in control of their own life, and is considered upper middle class.

Making $120,000/year by working at Apple Computer, is nothing more than agreeing to trade your life for X number of dollars per year. That's not freedom, and that's not independence.

A big part of your social class involves your ability to control your own destiny. If you're investing in a 401k plan, and your boss can fire you, you aren't free. You're trading your freedom for money. That's not "upper" anything.

You can't just say, "Oh, you work in a cubicle for Company X, so you don't enjoy your work, your life sucks, you are in a low social class."

Not everyone who works in a cubicle feels like they are "selling his life" for X amount of money; some of us actually enjoy our jobs. You don't have to own your own practice to be in control of your own life; I own a specific skill set that I can sell to the highest bidder and I feel very much in control .

Venturion said:MikeR397 said:Right now, I'm getting paid for my entertainment which is more than most can say .
Actually, I believe that's called defrauding your employer... no offense implied, I'm doing it now as well...
My entertainment is following these fun arguments on FW, also doing it at work , I plan on firing myself immediately

MikeR397 said: Yes scott, I am filing a formal complaint against you to your CEO
Please don't tell my mommy, She is one tough b!tch

czarandy said:MikeR397 said:ifyouhavetoask said:You're day trading your retirement fund?Ifyouhavetoask, not to argue over semantics, but it's not really day trading. I am buying and selling more about once every 2/3 weeks (whatever, you can call it day trading if you want ). The reason I am doing this now is because:

1)I have ZERO $ commissions
2)I pay ZERO $ in ANY capital gains I ever make.
3)I have that kind of time this summer at my job before I start law school.
4)The accounting for frequent trades in a Roth is much less of a headach.
5)I made 9.5% return on my principal in the month of June alone. How much did you make?

Next, keep in mind I am 22 years old, and just opened my Roth 4 months ago (so I have a starting principal of 4k). If I had a substantial Roth, I would likely not actively trade most my stocks like this. Furthermore, I am investing in indicies (actually ETF's of indicies so I can get the $0 commissions). The rules of my Roth game consist of the following:

1) Buy only ETF's based on broad indicies (foreign and domestic) or very well diversified mutual funds
2) Sell when I make a short term profit that looks abnormal to me (completely subjective, usually around 3%+)
3) Buy after a short term loss that looks abnormal to me (again, subjective, such as if it falls 3%+ in a day/week)
4) If I buy, and it drops, I will be patient until it rebounds and I profit. These are well diversified indicies/mutual fund ETF's and in the long run, I stand essentially no risk of not making a solid return.

I'm just trying to take advantage of the peaks and troughs during the eventual upward ride

Do you really think there is that much inefficiency in the market?Real answer: No, I am mostly a believer into the efficient market theory for the most part. This does not mean I do not think I cannot OCCASIONALLY "beat the market" or take advantage of a unique opportunity that others are/cannot.

However, if EMH really exists, then why is the AOR game still open and how am I (as a student) making more than the average american income from AOR profits alone? This is an opportunity in a niche market that is open for exploiting. If the markets were truely efficient, then everyone would be doing this and eventually the opportunity would shut itself out.

See "Arguments concerning the validy of the hypothesis" here

ifyouhavetoask said:Freno911 said:
You can't just say, "Oh, you work in a cubicle for Company X, so you don't enjoy your work, your life sucks, you are in a low social class."

Not everyone who works in a cubicle feels like they are "selling his life" for X amount of money; some of us actually enjoy our jobs. You don't have to own your own practice to be in control of your own life; I own a specific skill set that I can sell to the highest bidder and I feel very much in control .

And there's nothing wrong with that. However, it's not upper middle class, regardless of how much money you make doing it.

Some people are happy digging ditches or cleaning houses.So what about a successful doctor who works for a hospital, or a successful lawyer who works in a large company's corporate law department? Are they also excluded from the upper-middle class?

All I can say is, I hope this market continues to tank. I'm 100% short in my play portfolio, and have made a killing recently....it's nice to see triple digit declines. On the other hand, it was a great day for buying as well. Put money into all my ETF's and mutual funds for dollar-cost averaging purposes. Play both sides of the fence.

bump --- still going down --- Anyone worried yet?

germanpope said:bump --- still going down --- Anyone worried yet?I always worry. But I keep investing. Dollar cost averaging

germanpope said:not that anyone cares, and this was dumb luck
but I actually called the top and move my entire retirement plan
into cash at the peak before the correction

I need a re-entry point now

1. Will you be correct twice in timing the market? That is the question

2. Do you have an asset plan and strategy for your long-term investment like retirement investment?

del ( double post)