As the joke goes, an old man goes to church on multiple occasions, always praying for one thing. He asks God to let him win the lottery. After his umpteenth visit to pray for the win, a voice comes out of the far reaches of the church’s fresco painted ceiling.
The voice says, “You come to church praying over and over to win the lottery, it’s always the same story with you. (Pause) I am tired of your prayers, so here is what I want you to do,” In a profoundly deep voice, he says to the old man,” Meet me half way for crying out loud, and buy a ticket!”
Like the old man you have to be in the game to even have a chance of winning. Likewise, you have to own stocks in order to receive their long-term rewards.
Six months ago, I wrote a section on buying stocks in the Lifestyles section of the book that gave specific stocks to purchase based on a combination of investment philosophies. The investors I tried to follow were Warren Buffet and Peter Lynch. Keep in mind this was my interpretation of what they would buy.
For the six months the results were pretty interesting, I must say. I didn’t take an unusual amount of risk and I tried to buy stocks that had weight from huge assets, and companies that made things our family used. You can see the list; it’s in the book. After reviewing the list today, I think it continues as a sound portfolio today, albeit, with a couple of minor changes.
The Results
Portfolio starting value $1177.46
Portfolio ending value $1429.55
Difference $252.09
Percentages gain 21.41%
Dow Jones Average 6.67%
Additionally, I recommended a mutual fund that invested in stocks and it returned 11% for the period. There were two other stocks I should have bought, but like the shoulda, woulda and couldas of the world, along with $3.85 I could buy a Vente Cappuccino with one sweet and low and a small bit of whip. This is a six-month period and is not a forecast of future results, but I am just saying… Buy the book!