I don’t talk about it much but I spend a great deal of time online watching my stocks.  I even got my nerve up and opened an account my broker doesn’t know about.  I inherited this portfolio in the divorce.  My husband was retired when I left so I got no alimony, just half the portfolio.  The first year I left it up to the broker, not feeling like I was qualified to have an opinion.  Boy was that dumb.  Like I’m his only client or something.

A year later, in 2002, I put it online so I could check it all the time.  I was shocked at some of my losses that could have been avoided if I’d been on it.  Stocks I was worried about I put on my tracker and started checking a couple times a day.  Then I began calling my broker with all kinds of questions.  I learned a lot that year and started playing with options.  That was dumb.

It’s been real interesting to watch how Bob does things over at bobsadviceforstocks.  You should listen to his podcast ( MY LATEST PODCAST: A Reader Asks: Could You Share some Mistakes?)  He’s a darling man who does a thorough job of educating his readers.  And now he’s entertaining us, too.  Even if you’re not ready to invest, he’s just a really nice man with a pleasant personality.  He’s got a great track record and shares everything he does, so if you like his strategy it would be a pretty painless way to get started.  I applaud the way he’s taken it upon himself to educate the public by opening up his personal accounts for inspection.  That’s really very generous and he’s humble about his successes.  Way to be, Bob.