My Investment Journey- Since the Beginning

[born2invest]

I won't have access to the internet over the next 2.5 weeks so am going to put my net worth investment figures in here to compare year on year. These are all converted to NZD using a rough daily exchange rate. This is as at 23/12/2013

Shares:
Credit Corp Group- $6,862 ($8.85)
Supply Network Limited- $14,680 ($1.91)

Cash on hand:
Australian cash- $513
New Zealand Dollars- $543

Student Loan- $6,687

Total Assets- $22,598
Total Net Worth Investments- $15,911

[born2invest]

Want to see what a portfolio return using TA looks like?

My Growth portfolio, 17 stocks, purchased over the last three years from 2010, current return is 123% (excluding dividends and the profits I just took on FXL, SGN and MNY).

Trading portfolio, return on the 11 stocks currently owned which were purchased within the last six months is 34%. If I include all shares in that portfolio bought and sold over the last 12 months, my return is actually 310%. That's across dozens of stocks bought and sold.

Returns like that don't come from buying single stocks and waiting years for the market to rerate it. TA is about timing, telling you when to be in and when to be out, when to buy low and sell high, so that your money is always working the hardest for you, rather than stuck in a stock that is going to take years to go anywhere, or worse, is in a downtrend. For me, trading without TA now would be like trying to run a sprint with my ankles tied together!

Well done. Congratulations.

Feel free to write your own journal on Share Trader also so we can learn from you.

[born2invest]

Goals for year end 2014 are to:

- Pay off student loan completely
- Have net worth of $35k
- Hold minimum 3 stocks to increase diversification

I will review this in the end of December 2014.

[toast2success]

Student Loan- $6,687

Out of interest, what made you invest when you still had a student loan to pay ? I was always under the impression (well I have bought into the idea anyway) not to invest until debt such as students loans, credit cards etc were cleared.

[Harvey Specter]

Out of interest, what made you invest when you still had a student loan to pay ? I was always under the impression (well I have bought into the idea anyway) not to invest until debt such as students loans, credit cards etc were cleared.

student loans are interest free so why accelerate payments unless you plan to go overseas (ie. Interest will be charged).

[PartyPooper]

Just echoing the previous 2 posts best way to pay of a student loan is as slow as possible. If Minimum wage and inflation goes up that's great because your student loan stays the same and you pay it off faster.
Every year I studied I used the optional 1000 dollars in course related costs to add to my capital and lock in a term deposit or high interest savings account depending of what was better at the time.
In the end though with all the 60 hour weeks, I'm working I'm looking at paying off my student loan in about 16 weeks. Paying about 130-150 depending on my hours a week will be great having that available.

I'll probably start Kiwi saver when its paid of and increase my savings account payments per week from 50 to 70. Should still leave an extra 50 or so for some extra shares in SUM =D

[Stranger_Danger]

born2invest - for what it is worth, and to show you that it takes all types to make a market, I'm currently easing out of my CCP, although I haven't sold any CLH yet and I think there is plenty left in FSA.

Taking CCP as an example, I started buying at 40 cents - although I believe the pre-bust high was something like $14! It does tend to back up the people who say you shouldn't buy and hold forever.

The reasons I'm starting to sell are

(a) I just like to sell things eventually. Selling is the hard part of investing.
(b) Debt collectors tend to blow up eventually. The numbers change incredibly quick when you've valued your ledgers on the basis of achieving one outcome, then you get a very different outcome.
(c) I believe a lot of debt collectors time has been spent collecting from people who could pay, but chose not to, knowing they'd get "a deal" by going through the process. A falling interest rate environment has helped such people.
(d) Debt collecting is way tougher when people simply can't pay, say, because they've lost their 250k mining job in the outback and are now driving a bread truck in the city because the miners aren't hiring.
(e) Debt collecting gets way tougher if we do get a period of housing prices falling, which I do see as a possibility in AU in the next 2 years.
(f) I've made my money and try not to be greedy.

I get why you're buying CCP. Everything looks ok. Balance sheet great, good track record from 2008 onwards etc.

I'm a funny dude. When things look good and everyone is happy, I worry. That is sort of where I'm at with CCP, but I don't feel it is overvalued - I just think we might get some outcomes a bit different to the 2008-2013 period, at some stage in the next year or two.

So there you go - each to their own. There is no one "right" answer when it comes to investing.

[GTM 3442]

. . . I'll probably start Kiwi saver when its paid of and increase my savings account payments per week from 50 to 70. Should still leave an extra 50 or so for some extra shares in SUM =D

I am a little wary of Kiwisaver.

I see it becoming a political football over the next decade or so.

Initially a retirement savings vehicle, it has already been subverted into a mechanism to help raise the deposit for a (first) house. Who knows what the next "tweak" will be? And who by ? And when ?

The tax credit has already been halved. When we start getting Kiwisaver millionaires, expect it to be cut again.

We then come to the "exit" scenario. There has been some discussion over the past year about what to do on retirement, when member's Kiwisaver funds become available.

I suspect that a few horror stories of people blowing their nest-eggs will be used as evidence of the "need to protect people from using their own money for their own purposes".

I suspect that the fund management industry will lobby hard for withdrawals to be taken as an annuity. The past year has seen the UK print media full of annuity horror stories. Be warned.

I suspect that suggestions of a "withdrawal" tax will appear.

I suspect that politicians will listen to the suggestions, and that over time, Kiwisaver will become ever more restrictive.

Good luck with it.

[cyclist]

GTM. While those risks are certainly credible, they need to be weighed against the employer matching of contributions (except for company's where they have opted out via the employment contract). The employer contribution gives an immediate return on investment that outweighs the risks in my mind.

Having said that, it would be dangerous to use Kiwisaver as your only savings vehicle. Certainly only contribute the minimum required, and save a significant chunk external to Kiwsaver as well (which B2I already seems to be doing).

B2I. A great idea (and somewhat brave) posting your journey here. I am enjoying reading it.

[fungus pudding]

Just echoing the previous 2 posts best way to pay of a student loan is as slow as possible.

But Michael Cullen assured us removing interest would mean students would be able to pay off the capital faster, and that is what they would do. Weren't you listening?