73 Reds

Having been through all this, one of my priorities was to provide my children with opportunities that I didn't have. Naive? Maybe, but they turned out well. The problem with trying to come up with a specific number is that everyone's priorities and lifestyle choices are different. I never had a paying "job" that paid me even six figures a year. Yet by the time my kids were in school, I needed $100k (2x/year!) just to pay tuitions, an equal amount or more for taxes and a good chunk for charitable gifting that became important to me. All before the first dime that was needed for "necessities". Again, its all about priorities. The numbers discussed in this thread for FU money or just to be comfortable would not have lasted us even a school year and we've always lived a very modest lifestyle, focusing more on travel and experiences rather than material items. Investments comprise most of my material items and always will because as I was able to afford something pricey or extravagant, I stopped wanting it.

Thanks for sharing. Wasn't trying to pry into your personal life; just wondering what occupation would prohibit most equity investments, and why. In my experience, most people's net worths are derived from gains generated from investments rather than direct compensation, which would make prohibition against such investments quite costly in the long run. Hence my question as to whether it is worth it.

Mind if I ask why you are not permitted to invest in nearly any industry? Or if it is worth it?

Yep. Most wealthy people don't want to own sports franchises and advertise their wealth to the world. In fact, most are exactly opposite, preferring to enjoy life in relative autonomy. For those who start young and build wealth consistently with proper habits, drawdowns should be nothing more than a temporary inconvenience. Just be confident in what you own, and why.

Hopefully more people than not on this forum reach the point where they have more money than they really need. After all, isn't that the point of investing? After that, it is more a question of what you want to do with your money rather than what you need to do. As I said before, discipline and personal responsibility while building wealth are as important, if not more important than how you build your wealth. And as this forum demonstrates, there are a lot of ways to build wealth.

That's a good point. Looking back, I've always lived within the same % +/- beneath my means. As means rose, so did lifestyle but always well below means, allowing for lots of disposable capital to be used for investment. The hardest part is simply adopting the habit.

There is a difference between being bothered by drawdowns as opposed to simply recognizing them as a part of investing life and taking advantage of them. The former probably requires a change in the way you invest. Acknowledging that the latest stock price is just that, a fleeting number subject to continual change also puts everything into perspective.

If politics doesn't get in the way of the US pursuing energy independence, this entire hoopla will be a mere footnote in history - at least as far as we are concerned. It is quite interesting to contemplate a World dependent on North American oil and gas. Equally interesting to think about what comes of many Middle Eastern countries whose entire subsistence as been oil. Forced changes could have a beneficial effect for all involved.

Nah, the problem is you are smarter than most and can glean fact from fiction. Most readers can't, which is what these rags are counting on. Their intent is to influence people, not report the news. The result is what we we've got now - a society of click-bait people whose patience to read anything is measured in seconds.

Blake, now that you have some wealthier friends on this Board, perhaps it is worth listening and paying attention to some of them.

You're so right about Davos and Ivy League types. They want to spend your money to pursue their agendas. They have -0- effect on my life or way of thinking. Probably posted this before but have a Son who (likely) would have gotten into Harvard. I told him he could go - on his own nickel. He chose wisely.

John, to further expound, while I don't agree with everything the political party I currently support stands for, the other party has gone completely off the rails and there is virtually nothing agreeable to me in what they stand for. In fact, it is difficult to find anything they stand for at all other than "get Trump". This is a destructive motive that further widens the divide. They have abandoned longstanding, centrist values that appeal to most people and now run a "hate" campaign because they have little in the way of objective positive approaches to the issues of the day. IMO, they are trying to fundamentally change the foundation upon which the United States was built and upon which I and many of my friends, family and colleagues have made better lives for us and those around us. Their only real objective seems to be a desire to regain, and then retain power to further tear down the fabric of this Country. Not on my watch if I can help it.

John, if anything important requires the consent of both political parties in the US nothing important would get done. There are deep, fundamental divides that are not going away anytime soon. Wish it weren't so.

As you clearly understand, the investment thesis for Berkshire transcends current math. Current math reflects a rather unexciting stock. The issue is, whether and to what extent Berkshire remains status quo, i.e., stockpiling cash. If/when it puts hundreds of billions of dollars to work, all bets are off.

@Saluki Congrats to you and your wife/partner. The best thing you can do as a dad is be there for your child. Nothing in life is as rewarding as your children.

LOL, why even bother? While I respect everyone's right not to vote, for me it is important to vote in elections in which there is a clear-cut policy favorite. People who stereotype or generically classify certain voters in any way are intellectually lazy and not worth the time or effort. Same goes for those who do the same for Trump.

John, choking and starving a rogue regime seems like a pretty good strategy to me. No lives lost on our side and the other side eventually dies. This conflict has nothing to do with WWII or Viet Nam. We didn't start this "war", they did, many decades ago. We didn't provoke them; they provoked us. Their ideology has no place in a civilized World. The vast majority of Iranians support us yet remain fearful. Most Middle East countries support us. Greg is entirely correct, anyone who looks at this conflict as yet another excuse to pile on Trump and has no solution of their own is suffering from brain rot.

Well, no one could figure it out for 47 years so if there was another viable option either everyone from the past was supremely unaware or the time had come for military action. Me thinks the latter.

I agree, yet the more material question is who would even care about the price of oil if Iran was permitted to get its hands on a nuclear weapon?

I know. He does a standup job administering a bunch of bickering children.

Sorry you took it that way, Sanjeev. Don't think too many here would argue that what's posted here on the politics thread has almost nothing to do with any individual stock or investment yet this thread garners most of the attention on an investment board. Some have suggested alternatives which I agree would likely cut down on the number of silly comments posted daily.

An attempt at a solution (which has not been made before) is playing out. No one can accurately predict whether, when or to what extent it will be successful or for how long it might be. The underlying issue is not hard to grasp; a radical, religious ideology that does not value human life vs. a free, democratic society that has been subject to hate and persecution for its entire existence. Both cannot exist in the same place. The State of Israel has been under constant attack since the day it was founded in 1948. Iran and its proxies are merely the latest iteration of a present enemy and threat. Most of Israel's neighbors wisely gave up trying to attack and destroy it (because they always failed and failed miserably) and there are now good relations between Israel and Egypt/Jordan and the UAE. Israel would like to have good relations with Lebanon to its North but the Lebanese government has been completely powerless to rid itself of Hezbollah (an Iran proxy) which occupies much of Southern Lebanon near the Israel border. The irony is, Lebanon would very much prefer that Hezbollah disappear or be destroyed and unfortunately the Lebanese citizens in cities like Beirut and nearby towns and villages are often victims of the fighting. Without question, regime change is the best chance for a lasting peace and for the citizens of Iran. The US has expressly stated that regime change is not its goal but realistically it has to be an unspoken objective. Regardless whether Trump makes a deal with Iran or not, Israel is going to continue to protect itself and purse its stated objective of regime change in Iran. Because of the solid relationship between Israel and the US (and their present respective leaders) Israel is willing to sit back and allow Trump and the US to pursue some kind of "deal". Personally, I don't think any such deal will last but politics (i.e. short-term thinking) drives current decisions more than what is ultimately best for the region and humanity. Yet make no mistake; Israel has reached a point where it will no longer tolerate Iran and its proxies so with or without US involvement, it is absolutely intent on achieving its objective of eliminating the Iranian regime. Clearly Israel has the means and intelligence. Its only a matter of time and continued will of its people, who I believe are strongly united on that front. As an aside, a family member was a victim of Oct. 7. It doesn't get more personal than that.

You write as if Oct. 7 was the first such instance. It was the worst such instance but these acts have been going on for 50 years. I would encourage anyone here offering opinions to research a little history. Most of the opinions here reflect a clear lack of any understanding. Constructive and civil conversations can be had but not with those living in a bubble as to how and why we are in this place today. It is sad that people who obviously have never stepped foot in or near Israel seem to have all the answers and facts about a conflict that long outdates most of you and one in which you had entirely no interest until Trump decided to do something about it. To your credit you, Sanjeev seem the most grounded in terms of perspective even while allowing stupidity and worse to reign free here in this thread.

Right; any time the playing field is leveled you lose your advantage. Which is why it is usually much more fun playing on an uneven playing field.

Nah, and if you recall, I didn't/don't support any form of "takeover" of Greenland or Canada, though you guys really should try a little harder to recognize when Trump is speaking tongue in cheek just trying to get a rise out of you, particularly when it comes to Canada. You didn't answer the question, which is an answer in and of itself.