Keeping My Own Counsel

Occasionally I like to read my own articles weeks and months after I’ve written them to see if they’re as valid today as they were when I wrote them. Not surprisingly a lot of them could have been written today because the advice remains as solid today as when they were written. This is because my investing strategy really doesn’t change much over time, regardless of the day to day fluctuations in the markets. It’s a relatively simple strategy that’s been developed over a number of years and continues to be appropriate today. In fact I expect I’ll still be implementing these same strategies years from now because the markets really don’t change. The markets are made up of individuals and people don’t change much over time. That’s why markets often repeat themselves over and over again.

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"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
-- Walt Disney, Animator, Producer, Director.

I’m a conservative investor who believes in investing primarily in companies that use their earnings to both grow the company and distribute dividends that are increased over time. These companies are often referred to as Dividend Growth Companies. They’re easy to find and I have two links to take me to the Dividend Kings and the Dividend Aristocrats. I also believe in investing part of my funds in companies that distribute all of their profits to their shareholders in the form of dividends. These are often referred to as MLPs, BDCs and REITs. Finally I like to enhance those returns by selling both covered calls and cash secured puts. Information on each of these strategies can be found all throughout my articles, and my articles can be found by clicking on the link “Investing Articles” found at the top of this page or on the right hand side column under Categories.

"It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see."
-- Henry David Thoreau, Author and Poet.

I feel fortunate that I am able to consult with myself through these articles. Whenever I have a question about an investing strategy, I can usually find sage advice in earlier articles I’ve written. If not, I’ll write a new article which I can use in the future whenever the current problem presents itself again. Writing these articles has been an interesting and beneficial exercise and I recommend everyone create something similar for themselves. It forces an investor to flush out their thoughts on investing and to create a comprehensive investing strategy. This usually is a major step in becoming a successful investor.

The end product of all of this is having an organized plan of attack which simplifies my daily investment decisions and reduces the number of investing mistakes. It’s those small mistakes that wreck such tremendous havoc on your portfolio.

My best wishes to all the struggling investors out there. You are not alone.