Portfolio up ~40% for 2010 : Good or mediocre ?

tony2toes

ChiefGrasscutter wrote: »

Well, with an investment performance like that and a mixed and clearly significant portfolio of shares and options I suppose you won't be too bothered about how much it costs you to phone the DWP/Job seekers hotline on one of their 0845 numbers when you had been laid off work as per your post during 2009.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1989705

I hate to sound condescending ; this mystifying concept is called living frugally (particularly when one has been laid off !!).

If you spend more time trawling forbes/cnbc/financial websites etc than digging up my old posts from 1 year ago (!) then you might be enligtened:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/6-ways-to-live-like-a-billionaire.aspx

Investing/trading is a favourite pastime of mine and only a small chunk of my cash is allocated for this purpose.


p.s. I also enjoy my cashbacks/own haircuts/online retailer discount coupons/drive a beaten up Volkswagen Golf

tony2toes

bobbyj wrote: »

40% in grand scheme of things pretty poor, should have been able to quite easily double your pot at least this year.

Agree with you on portfolio being a double bagger for 2010, but if I only went ALL in on the stocks and the calls and puts.

Although I was biased towards growth, I also required a "safe" and consistent stream of very modest "chump change" income in my portfolio to overpay on my monthly mortgage payments/credit cards/the odd gadget/plasma TV etc/ - This was achieved via vertical spreads, shorting options in general (naked puts & covered calls). Thing most brokerages require some margin/collateral when you engage in option spreads/shorting options and stocks in general i.e. your £££ is tied up - So couldn't go all in on pure aggressive growth. I do not daytrade and am not a pure "trader" nor a punter in penny stocks or junior oil companies/junior miners.

I am still cautious about the economic climate and markets in general, so will probably shy away from highly speculative/aggressive growth & penny stocks and miss out on those 400+ % annual gains but who knows sentiments might change later in 2011