How good is your retirement plan?

Excellent. I applaud you for researching your funds before investing. How did you go about researching funds? I don't invest in them and I am curious as to the best way to do that. I am thinking it's a mix of historical returns, drawdowns, fees, and other things, but I'm not really sure there. Also I wonder how many different funds would be ideal to invest in. I also like that you mix up your allocations to small, medium, and large cap. Historically small caps outperform large caps big time, but the stocks I see taking off now(at least the ones that are in my portfolio) tend to be in the large cap arena. I am also hearing good things about stocks in emerging foreign markets (but you know how that goes). Anyway it's great to see you are getting good consistent returns. I wish I could comment on real estate ventures, but I am largely in the dark there. Surely there are some successful real estates investors in mylot...

Sorry that my three recommendations turned into five, without having correct my preface. Hope that didn't cause any confusion. Toodles!

Excellent. I didn't think of seeking funds with low marketing costs. That seems right on, as some of the best funds around take off through performance primarily. "We also sought out industries and/or companies that mirror our view of future issues." I like this. Many of the great investors that I have read about say to align yourself only with those who share the same trading philosophies/styles/ideas as you. Though through a technical perspective I also think many waste treatment stocks are ready to rise in price. You seem to have a good grasp on fundamentals. That is great. I have never followed fundamentals in my investing, but I know for a fact that it is a winning approach as well if you know how to use it objectively. ...I have to finish this on another post. Cut & paste would help me here.

Good for you for saving. I assume you are investing in "low risk" things such as mutual funds. But would mutual funds not also lose in a market crash?

I have no idea. I always gain something from it, so maybe not. The funds are guaranteed by some financial institution or I think government too. My husband has another plan I'm not sure which, for 30 years and it never fails him so far. The other guy I told you about was investing for forign currency too, but I don't know if this was where he almost lost his money.

Hidey Ho Limitup, A big thumbs up on doing research, and lots of it. This is one area where being a 'news junkie' is of real benefit. Do you tend to watch and particular managers? And, do you subscribe (not necessarilly literally) to Brinker's market timing principles? And, have you ever commodities traded? This is one are that I've shied away from. I don't think I have the nerves to dabble in straight commodities trading.

"Limit up" is what made me think you might dabble in commodities. Incidentally, it's also the name of a little known, and good movie from the 80s. You're right about discipline in investing! I'll look into your educational suggestions. Certainly none could argue that it's smarter to emulate the successful, than to re-create the wheel (as they say).

Thanks for the kudos. I am not a news junkie in the regular sense of the word as it comes to investing and trading. A very big misconception is that you have to be glued to the tickers and the markets in general to become profitable. That seems a slap in the face to what most Wall Street analysts and hedge fund managers teach, but my personal investment style is not about becoming obsessed. My time and research goes into my system. The entrys, exits, profit targets, etc. My system has nothing to do with fundamentals at all. It is strictly technical, or based on charts (anyone who says that technical trading is unprofitable has not done the research). My trading "hero", if you could say I have one, is Ed Seykota. Ed Seykota teaches developing a winning trading system and then developing yourself mentally to stick with your system. Ed uses a trend following approach. He was literally one of the first traders in the world to implement computers into trading and is one of the most successful traders in the world. He is a mentor to some of the greatest modern traders. The book "Market Wizards" by Jack Schwager is where I heard of Ed. Check out his site. www.tradingtribe.com . You may be amazed at how much he focuses on psychology in trading (and in success with anything in life). I am not familiar with Bob Brinker's market timing principles. I will look into his past trading performance and his principles. Oh, and no. I do not trade commodities right now. That's actually funny because "limit up" is a futures trading term. I just liked it's definition and the way it sounded ha ha.