A new beginning

[anm]

Agree. The young ones are quite smart. My 5 yr old always wanted to get toys every time we went shopping. When I tried to slow it down, saying we need to pay for those, she said, "No, we have to just swipe the card".

My daughter thought getting money from ATM is free. Then I had to explain to her that only the amount I earn can be withdrawn. If anyone could walk in to the ATM to get money, the shopkeeper can himself do it and then would not ask money from us. She seems to have understood that this resource is limited.

I have also explained that taking a home loan makes me a servant of the bank - she got really sad on hearing this.

So when we go to a mall and she asks for a toy, I have to put a quota. Sometimes one toy a month, refuse completely, or just get one out of 10 that she wants to buy.

I am hoping she doesn't start questioning about my hifi toys

 

[heliumflight]

anm you're a bad boy, spending so much money on hifi toys and putting a quota on your daughter's toys.

 

[anm]

If I am spoilt, I still should try to keep my kids on the right track.

 

[hemantwaghe]

My daughter thought getting money from ATM is free. Then I had to explain to her that only the amount I earn can be withdrawn. If anyone could walk in to the ATM to get money, the shopkeeper can himself do it and then would not ask money from us. She seems to have understood that this resource is limited.

I have also explained that taking a home loan makes me a servant of the bank - she got really sad on hearing this.

So when we go to a mall and she asks for a toy, I have to put a quota. Sometimes one toy a month, refuse completely, or just get one out of 10 that she wants to buy.

I am hoping she doesn't start questioning about my hifi toys

Same thing happens with my daughter ( age 5) liked ur analogy. BTW I am forced to reduce toys quota..like u!

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

anm you're a bad boy, spending so much money on hifi toys and putting a quota on your daughter's toys.

On the contrary, he should take her to all the auditions. A lesson in spending hard-earned cash thoughtfully. Also she would get to see all the stuff anm would like to buy but can't, thus realising that her lot is not so very different.

Of course, if it turns out that she then regularly visits the listening room, pauses thoughtfully for a few minutes, and then pronounces, "Daddy, I told you to buy the horn speakers and you wouldn't listen to me," then I suppose things might not work out so well for hifi harmony in the house

 

[Gerry_the_Merry]

I simply explain to my children that all my hi-fi toys are their toys also.

 

[ajay124]

The world is completely skewed in favor of men. We seem to take it for granted that we deserve more perks and privileges than the women and children in our family. I have spent a lot on hifi, music and photography in the last couple of years. The money I spent on buying things for my wife and daughter is peanuts in comparison to what I have spent on myself. I believe what I have done is completely wrong and selfish. So I am trying make amends. One of the reasons for parting with my tower speakers and pre power amps is to take some money out from my toys and spend it all on buying things which my wife and daughter desire.

 

[asliarun]

The world is completely skewed in favor of men. We seem to take it for granted that we deserve more perks and privileges than the women and children in our family. I have spent a lot on hifi, music and photography in the last couple of years. The money I spent on buying things for my wife and daughter is peanuts in comparison to what I have spent on myself. I believe what I have done is completely wrong and selfish. So I am trying make amends. One of the reasons for parting with my tower speakers and pre power amps is to take some money out from my toys and spend it all on buying things which my wife and daughter desire.

Wow, that was really insightful.

In my humble opinion, it is not the expenditure of the quantity of money that should matter but the care and thought that goes behind any such decision. I would only hope that my child would think through his purchase decisions carefully when he grows up, and even use that as an opportunity to learn something about something. I would be proud then

 

[vinay]

During boom period the market moves up, down, sideways, it is not one way like a rocket that it will just go only up. While many stocks remain stagnant and even if the scrip is in favor of fool, he will not book the profits because he will think that the market is going to rise a lot more and eventually his profits may fall or show a loss by which he will panic and book the loss or take lower profits therefore in no way a fool can profit from the boom.

V.

A few years of boom in India made this particularly bad. Any fool can profit in a boom, but few know how to handle the end of it.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

That is why the fool does not profit as the boom comes to an end, and why he fails spectacularly if it crashes. If he is a Bank Wealth-management MBA fool, he looses other people's money.

 

[vinay]

Anm,

I'll share with you my point of view.

I will never look at the investment if it is a year old or no at the time of selling, my goal is a X amount of profit, if that is being achieved then i will press the sell button even if there is 1 month to go for the 12 months to come through because what if the market slides or goes into a side ways mode? It is not only the tax factor, there are cases of penalty too if we exit before 1 & 2 years, needless to say this too i do not take into account while selling.

While if we are going for a SIP, all the more to exit in one year will not be fully possible to save taxes because each monthly investment will add another 12 more months to qualify for the tax benefit. Indeed if the money is invested in 1 shot then the 12 months factor comes in, but this is too a risky like being in a jungle with the wolf around as Ajay put's it.

Please be assured Anm, that there is no better scheme where you can get decent profit for sure as long as they are mutual funds in form of equity, commodity, Gold, Sector based and so on. Indeed the brokers will promise that profit will be made for sure and they will not hesitate to take a call and tell you precisely where the sensex will be after a year, these things are how true is anyone's guess. While that is a another story that if investment is for long term and well managed then there is no question of loss, so yes in such cases decent profits are for sure.

V.

Only benefit with MFs is saving via SIP. Also profit is tax free, IFF you make any profits, if you hold them for more than a year.
If there is a better scheme where I can invest in small steps every month, and gives decent profit after adjusting for income tax - please suggest.

 

[vinay]

Ajay,

As you had mentioned to me that you have made some losses and fortunately nearly half of it you have already recovered in form of profits, so all you have to do is have patience + continuance of more planning and you will win therefore you do not have to look elsewhere, you can easily be a inspiration to others who think money can not be made.

V.

One morning, many moons ago, I went looking for someone who had actually made money on the stock market. I'm still looking.

 

[ajay124]

One morning, many moons ago, I went looking for someone who had actually made money on the stock market. I'm still looking.

I finally found someone. Me!

vinay

I am impulsive and impatient. I prefer to jump into things rather than follow a plan. I don't have faith in safety nets. I am going long on Suzlon with all the funds I have at my disposal.

 

[avidyarthy]

@ajay ..... beware, patience and sector knowledge is the key ... additionally, you need to be unemotional too! Suzlon is primarily into wind-energy .. and that ain't going places in the part of the world where Suzlon is based ie. India. Same is the scenario in China.

Non-conventional energy is showing signs of major shake-outs. Solar energy through photovoltaic route for one ... just too many teething issues are present solely at the mercy of nature. Solar thru the solar-thermal route is a lot better in that respect. If you study (the net) you would find numerous European MNCs setting up shop in India, some even going for tie-ups with Indian outfits like BHEL for joint manufacture of low/medium tech portions of the system in India. Thats the sunrise industry ... in the long term, IMO.

The local market potential for any company has to be strong enough to see a sustenance in growth and profits!

 

[vinay]

Further for how much ever knowledge someone may have it is always great to buy in phases backed with profits for the earlier purchase/s made and most importantly there has to be a stop loss. It is also extremely crucial to not put your capital by over 10% in a individual scrip or mutual fund.

V.

@ajay ..... beware, patience and sector knowledge is the key ... additionally, you need to be unemotional too!

 

[ajay124]

I will be turning 50 in 2013. I consider every turn of the decade a milestone. A milestone where one has to reinvent himself or rust away. A couple of years ago I was down in the dumps wondering where my life was heading and getting no answers. But 2012 is closing on a good note. I have discovered a new passion in photography. A passion which will sustain me in the years to come. I have discovered a truly great speaker in Dynaudio Focus 110. I know that a lot of audiophiles consider hifi a journey where one has to keep climbing higher and higher. But for me Esoteric+Bryston+Dynaudio is closing time. My present system is perfect for me. I am not interested in auditioning or acquiring any other system. I am expecting the Esoteric amp soon. I am looking forward to comparing it with the Bryston pre power combo. I may wind up keeping both!

A song for the new year. A song which epitomizes everything I believe in:

"There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't feel the flowing of the time when I'm gone
All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I'm gone
My pen won't pour out a lyric line when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't breathe the bracing air when I'm gone
And I can't even worry 'bout my cares when I'm gone
Won't be asked to do my share when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't be running from the rain when I'm gone
And I can't even suffer from the pain when I'm gone
Can't say who's to praise and who's to blame when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

Won't see the golden of the sun when I'm gone
And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I'm gone
Can't be singing louder than the guns when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

All my days won't be dances of delight when I'm gone
And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I'm gone
Can't add my name into the fight while I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone
Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here"
-Phil Ochs

Phil Ochs When I'm Gone - YouTube

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND A NEW BEGINNING TO EVERYONE ON HIFIVISION.

 

[vinay]

Ajay,

There are scores of people around the world who have made tons of money by going through the long term investment route with due planning backed by risk management etc.
V.

I find it kind of funny when septuagenarians and even octogenarians talk about making 'long term' investments. The happiest and most productive lives are led by those who 'invest' their time wisely rather than those who spend (waste) their time worrying about long term investments even when they are within sniffing distance of the point of no return.

 

[ajay124]

Neeraj

Suzlon was up until Feb end but has been falling ever since. I was expecting it to move up (once the scrip was removed from the futures market after the Feb expiry) but it is going down instead. I am invested for the long term because essentially I feel that the downside is limited (max 15 rupees ) but the upside when (if) it happens is unlimited. Such stocks are definitely not meant for casual or faint hearted investors.

Your post offers sensible and realistic advise for potential investors. Everybody seems to have made money from real estate but only big banks and hedge funds seem to be profiting from stock, commodity and currency markets.

I know that Vinay has a different take on it but personally I feel that Mutual Funds are the biggest losing game out there. At least with stocks you have the satisfaction of having lost your money yourself. But in a mutual fund your money is being lost by a faceless stranger

 

[thevortex]

Its just that we in India are not following the true spirit of the stock markets which is to provide capital for entrepreneurs and after that to provide liquidity to people who are invested. It should be for the people who have long term view and not for those who wants to make fast buck in day trades.

Wow! I could read this a 1000 times and still walk away shaking my head both in agreement with this statement and in dismay at the typical attitude of the average investor here. (although I am sure, this is only as valid as any generalizations of any other kind).

 

[vinay]

In every bull or bear run, be it the property or stocks or whatever may be the product, one generates ample reasons for the prices to rise or fall based on their vested interest etc. We hear many a times people loosing either way. The point is to use risk management for better returns backed with zero emotions and not to hold on strongly to their views and so on.

The people who loose money big time in stock market is often because of their own blunders and not otherwise.

V.

it is best to invest in property that too in good locations like in cities if one prefer safety over returns. India is a huge and under developed country and so property is not going to be in any prolonged recession for some foreseeable decades. there may be some bubble bursts or the like but general direction will be up.
I have only invested in prime location in Delhi only and I think I have got better returns compared to the people who have invested in stocks(all the people I know who have invested in stocks have lost their money and that too by a huge percentage). I have got comparable returns to the people who have invested in Delhi suburbs(but my investment was risk free).