TiCKed Account Talk

**TiCKed** · 12-08-2005, 02:12 AM

Hi!

Newbie coming through. Consider this my introduction. J

You can call me TiCKed, or TCK (initials), or Tomâ€¦.take your pick.

Just signed up since Iâ€™ve fairly recently become interested in following my TSP accountâ€¦after 18 years in government service. To show you my laid back history until now, I just checked. I was actually 100% G fund from inception to 1998. Then I went 50% G, 50% C from 1998 to early 2004. High flyer! I rode out the stock downturn in that condition.

But earlier this year, I went bullish, and G:8, C:50, S:20, and I:22. Funny how getting to within 15 years or so of retirement suddenly makes you CARE. My ASSUMPTION was that troops would begin coming home this year, and give a sunny outlook to the markets. Guess I guessed wrong there...and probably for a few years. Turned out reasonably well though, considering the S and I performance this year.

I just entered my current TSP allocations into the account tracking board. (G:9.2, F:0, C:47.8, S:21.1, I:21.9)â€¦.odd figures (again) because I donâ€™t make many moves, and theyâ€™ve drifted based on inflows of contributions, and varying returns. Too late in the year to make any noise on your running tally of performance, but I probably wouldnâ€™t have scored very high anyway. Iâ€™m more of a â€œbuy and holdâ€ kinda guy. Partly because I lack the time and knowledge to make daily â€œmovesâ€, and partly because Iâ€™m lazy. Maybe by watching you all, Iâ€™ll get some added insight, and make a fortuitous jump now and then.

As for plans, Iâ€™ll probably scale back a bit sometime early next year since Iâ€™m a bit too aggressive at the moment, but Iâ€™ll wait and see how the â€œChristmas Rallyâ€ plays out first. Iâ€™ll probably come down to a 80/20 stock to bond allocation. Thatâ€™s my preferred allocation and where my non-TSP funds are set. Iâ€™ve never been a fan of the F-Fund, however, so G will be getting my boost in bond money.

Keep up the good work, folks, and Iâ€™ll be watching. J

**Birchtree** · 12-08-2005, 02:31 AM

Gee, I hope you had the good fortune to be dollar cost averaging into the C fund from 1998 to 2004, if so, you gained some very efficient pricing and accumulated many shares. Welcome to the board - one big advantage of TSP is that you are presented with the capability of pushing around some strong dollars with actually minimal costs and risks. You will participate and learn in the process and grow accordingly, is my optimism showing? Good luck.

Dennis

**TiCKed** · 12-08-2005, 03:01 AM

Birchtree wrote:

Gee, I hope you had the good fortune to be dollar cost averaging into the C fund from 1998 to 2004, if so, you gained some very efficient pricing and accumulated many shares. Welcome to the board - one big advantage of TSP is that you are presented with the capability of pushing around some strong dollars with actually minimal costs and risks. You will participate and learn in the process and grow accordingly, is my optimism showing? Good luck.

Dennis

Unfortunately, I was contributing only to G fund until early this year. As I said, I was pretty damn passive. (Now contributing 25% to G, C, S, and I).

Still, it's a pretty nice chunk of change. I was at least smart enough to sock away a good percentage of my pay....mainly to make sure I didn't just spend it.

Thanks for the good wishes...and good luck to you as well!

**tsptalk** · 12-08-2005, 03:27 AM

Welcome TiCKed! Good luck.

Tom

**Oldcoin** · 12-08-2005, 04:15 AM

Don't feel like the lone stranger, quite a few of us are waking up to the potential of making a few moves during the year.

**TiCKed** · 12-09-2005, 07:30 PM

Not to start a fight or anything.....

But boy, I see alot of reactionary moves out there today. The more I see, the more I believe Buy and Hold for the long term is the way to go.

Staying with my allocations through the new year....

(Edited to correct my standard "Engineering Grammar".....twice.)

**TiCKed** · 12-12-2005, 11:16 AM

Close to the open (Monday, 12 December), S&P futures are over 1272, and is being touted as an indicator of a strong open.

Does anyone use futures as an indicator, or are they just wild bets placed by traders? Covers for other positions? Or, (more likely), they are too limited in time to be useful for TSP trades?

Just wondering.....

Sitting tight with my diversified, but Stock heavy allocations....

**Show-me** · 12-12-2005, 11:53 AM

I have watch them for over a year and found that they are completely unreliable in my opinion. I have seen them negative and then go positive when the markets open and visa versa to many times. They are interesting to watch but again in my opinion you would have better luck flipping your Morgan.

**TiCKed** · 12-12-2005, 03:55 PM

Thanks for the info. I suspected as much. A single point of reference does not a reliableindicator make. (Or something like that.)

And I wonder how many out there are confused by the "flip your Morgan" comment.

**Dogdaddy** · 12-12-2005, 04:14 PM

TiCKed wrote:

And I wonder how many out there are confused by the "flip your Morgan" comment.

Not me....been collecting Morgan Silver Dollars for years....and your avatar is a nice one:^

**Show-me** · 12-12-2005, 05:23 PM

Yes love the coins! Shiiiinnnnyyyyy!

**grandma** · 12-12-2005, 08:38 PM

TiCKed wrote:

And I wonder how many out there are confused by the "flip your Morgan" comment.

I wanted to look up when the Morgan dollar was first coined - so grabbed the dictionary to see if it was mentioned. Under Morgan, a small '95 Merrriam-Webster has:"any of an American breed of lightly built horses." ...which probably means a Morgan horse might be almost as easily flipped as the coin??? What say, Technician??:l