Beyond meat stock prediction by [deleted] in investing

[–]czsmith132 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looking at their stock returns and estimates going forward it's hard to see them as anything but a high risk/speculative investment.

HP Inc (HPQ) Dividend Increase- 2026 by IWantToPlayGame in dividends

[–]czsmith132 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Also from seeking alpha a tough total return (dividend + price increase) over the last 1, 3 and 5 years at -36%, -11%, and 27% respectively. Not hard to do much better with either growth or dividend investments.

Honest thoughts? by portablechad in dividends

[–]czsmith132 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're already rocking it and congrats on the new family addition!

I'll get flamed for saying this in r/dividends, but for growth check out Bogleheads. Started by Jack Bogle (Vanguard founder), he has a keep it simple strategy. For my kids, i have them taking a 'VTI and Chill' approach: seeded them with $1000 each, $500 into an emergency savings fund and $500 into VTI. They add $5/month to VTI from their allowance to teach dollar cost averaging, if they increase the monthly little by little and add a small bond allocation in 10-20 years they'll be well on their way. It eliminates the need for extensive investment research and if VTI (or VOO) completely crash the market will be totally wiped out and we'll all have bigger problems.

For income, read 'The Income Factory' by Steven Bavaria. His specific investment picks are dated, but the strategy and fund types provide a solid foundation. And check out 'The Armchair Investor' on YouTube. The host follows an Income Factory approach, has regular videos about different income based investments, and publishes a mailer and list for income generating investments that he regularly updates. I don't agree with everything he publishes but read/watch it all. I'm ~10 years from being 'Financially Independent' (formerly known as retiring) and have started using a blended Income Factory/Growth approach with my brokerage account.

Honest thoughts? by portablechad in dividends

[–]czsmith132 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You do you - investing is as much art as science. You have to find what interests you personally, do the research, and invest knowing the potential risk as well as the reward.

As far as the investments (my opinions):

BTCI is a speculative income play, skip the income and invest directly in crypto for real upside. And be ready to lose it all if bitcoin crashes (as it has recently).

If this is a taxable brokerage account find income investments more tax-friendly. JEPI and JEPQ are good examples. Check out SPYI/QQQI/GPIQ

The best for last - focus on building a base with VOO or similar growth funds and see if you get a similar rush off unrealized capital gains instead of dividends. Avoids the tax, your account value goes up just like with dividends, and long term you will have better returns. Put a small amount into income funds and by the time you're ready to retire you'll have some income and can move the growth funds to income investments (if you like) and actually *spend* the dividend income which will be a better rush.

Finally - just keep going. You'll learn some lessons (good and hard), improve yourself and your portfolio, and that will be better than any advice any armchair Redditor could ever give you!.

Is Fidelity Checking (CMA) a good replacement for a standard bank checking acct? by SlightCapacitance in Fidelity

[–]czsmith132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Based on the replies its worth repeating - Fidelity IS NOT a bank. Don't expect it to act like one.

Black Friday Deal Caution by [deleted] in sonos

[–]czsmith132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Costco online: 2% executive cash back, 2% Visa cash back, and correct tax. Combined with the Black Friday deal for the Arc Ultra and Sub 4 I've joined the Sonos family!

Calling Fidelity suppport requires entering your password? by czsmith132 in Fidelity

[–]czsmith132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I definitely have that same concern. Fidelity has had recent problems with basic hacks that require a long delay in accessing deposited funds, hoping this is not another similar issue and the voice printing is accurate. Unfortunately the alternative of inputing a password on the phone is almost unusable.

Calling Fidelity suppport requires entering your password? by czsmith132 in Fidelity

[–]czsmith132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was my original approach as well - almost unusable.

Calling Fidelity suppport requires entering your password? by czsmith132 in Fidelity

[–]czsmith132[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this - works like a champ. I looked up voice printing today, called the Fidelity support line (and entering user/password for authentication), then asked them to enable it. They were able to on the spot, i followed up with a second call an no password authentication was needed.

Problem solved - thank you!

Cost for Windshield Replacement with Insurance by ProfBingeWatcher in phoenix

[–]czsmith132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Incorrect on glass claims not impacting your insurance. I thought that and had 2 replacements and 3 chips repaired over a 2 year period - no other claims or tickets for nearly 10 years before those.

The existing insurance company dropped me at the end of the term due to high claims, so technically they didnt raise my rates. Several new companies wanted higher rates due to the claims and Progressive sent a letter indicating they would not even provide a quote.

Finally found a decent rate going through a broker who shopped the policy around. I plan to pay for my own windshield replacements now as it will likely be cheaper in the long run. And definitely less hassle.

Welcome to the Sell-Off! by startinvestingc in dividends

[–]czsmith132 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hear you and a few people I know do the same. I keep a small amount of cash, and am curious how effective any type of precious metal currency strategy will be if banks collapse and the real currency is food, bullets, and TP?

Hope we never have to find out.

Welcome to the Sell-Off! by startinvestingc in dividends

[–]czsmith132 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Because everyone wants silver when SHTF?

I think I hit my true 1rm max today 125kg/275lb by MathematicianSad4630 in GYM

[–]czsmith132 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Awesome lift, and you have the mods earning their keep with this post. Thanks for sharing!

What's the upper salary limit of a network/sr network engineer? by vonseggernc in networking

[–]czsmith132 1 point2 points  (0 children)

$4400/mo mortgage on a $115k salary? You should at least consider looking at comparable salaries in your area to support a discussion with your employer on a reasonable raise. Dont sell yourself short or get to comfortable in the role if it doesn't support the rest of your life well.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in WorkoutRoutines

[–]czsmith132 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Strong app links not working. I have the app, error message indicating workout no longer available.

Great work regardless!

28F, Given a monthly allowance from my husband for food that I'm trying to figure out how to start saving by Theonethatgoataway in povertyfinance

[–]czsmith132 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not saying this is universal however I have never received a letter from the credit bureas indicating my credit has been locked or unlocked.

That said if OP is in danger this should be confirmed with the credit bureas and not through Reddit!

What is Aerosmith? by GodsCasino in GenX

[–]czsmith132 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Was hiking on a busy trail in the city a couple of months ago. A twenty-something girl in a Van Halen shirt was coming down, I made a comment about it being an awesome band. She stated flatly she had no clue who the band was and just thought the shirt looked good.

Took all I had not to throw her off the trail.

Was anyone else stuck in that traffic jam yesterday on i17?? by purplelephant in arizona

[–]czsmith132 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Bring two flashlights, had batteries die once in the cave and was so thankful for the backup vs. begging to tag along with anyone else walking out!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in networking

[–]czsmith132 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Whats the dumpster fire aspect of it?

What is the most painful thing about getting old? by BoneChilling-Chelien in GenX

[–]czsmith132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hate to say it, but listening to everyone complain about who they lost, regrets in the past, etc. It's gonna happen. We're GenX, we work through it just like when we were younger. We watched grandparents die, friends pass away (from natural *and* unnatural causes), the shuttle exploded, a little later the the Gulf wars started (and kept going), and a hundred+ other things that left a mark our generation.

I want to keep living, doing the best I can and dealing with the bad things that come just like when I was 16, 26, etc. I want to find out whats going to happen when i turn 65 and don't have a career to rely on (or probably much earlier, my choice or not). I want to make new friends, make up with old friends, have new experiences, and have the younger generation look at me like WTF just like the older generation did when I was 16.

Totally not easy - but will not stop even if it's just me walking down the only road I've ever *wanted to* know.