*Investors Blog*

Yes and no. I say get started. You never know where you may go.
Of course get started investing if there is disposable cash after spending what's needed to live like someone wants to live, or needs to live. Not everyone as a new investor has enough cash to be a significant investor initially. Yes, could make some money starting out slow and keep investing, or could also lose money too if the economy goes full choas and has a huge down turn at some point.
 
Of course get started investing if there is disposable cash after spending what's needed to live like someone wants to live, or needs to live. Not everyone as a new investor has enough cash to be a significant investor initially. Yes, could make some money starting out slow and keep investing, or could also lose money too if the economy goes full choas and has a huge down turn at some point.
Agreed only a few have significant seed money; I sure didn't. But if you aren't going forward, you are going backward and losing valuable time.

In my case, I wanted a stock plan and options as part of my compensation.
 
In my case, I wanted a stock plan and options as part of my compensation.
Definitely if someone has a good job that offers stock options, 401K with matching, etc then they should start it ASAP and go for as much of their pay check they can afford to invest. I did that and it made a huge positive for retirement purposes.
 
Was talking to my friend David at a local Costco this morning. He's a top employee, been there since 2003. He told me management has asked employees to shorten their work week by about 4 hours. 1st time he's ever been asked that.

He also told me prices have never been like this.

Of course David is a Cowgirls fan, so there's that.
Yeah, but that is on a very local level. Maybe more so with the stagnation taking place there. But forget all that.
You post caught my attention because Costco knocked it out of the park for the month of Sept.
Keep in mind they have over 900 warehouse clubs and sales for Sept 2025 over a very good Sept 2024
Anyway, business was up 8% year over year for the quarter.
https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NASDAQ/COST/earnings/#google_vignette

WIth that said, I find it impressive that these companies, many of which electronics was and still is a big part of their business continue to show gains. I say that because these items really arent big ticket items anymore. The public can buy 75inch TVs for $500 what used to be big 65 inch even for less. The digital camera business is dead. Audio is dead. I mean, this economy continues to keep humming along on borrowed money. Far exceeding the time frame I thought it could... and why... I learned many years back to stop fighting the market. Its worked out very well for me and my investment method.

I suspect your friend's statement is a consequence of efficiency improvements. That will continue. My wife and I shop a lot :whistle: Costco here is always packed. The Sams Club a mile away from Costco is too.
 
If you don't wanna pay taxes don't make any money. I wanna pay more than Gates, Musk, Bezos, Ellison, Page, Zuck, Brin, Huang, etc all put together.
Not sure what you are getting at "don't want to pay taxes don't make any money"?

I simply mentioned that the percent of who owns stocks looks similar to the percent that pays income tax, particularly the bottom 50%..

The most recent income tax chart I could find is from 2022

The top 1% paid 40.40% of all taxes paid vs top 1% own 54% of stock wealth

Top 10% paid 72% of all taxes paid vs top 10% own 90% of stock wealth

Top 50% paid 97% of all taxes paid vs top 50% own 99% of stock wealth

I have been in the bottom 50% income tax bracket most of my life, but retired earlier this spring on my 49th birthday, no inheritance, or pension. I knew I wanted to retire early at a young age, so I made it happen. Never had the "victim" mentality. I always was happy for those fortunate enough to be higher income earners, even though I was not one of them. However, lower income earners can still achieve success in the market with time and determination.
 
Was talking to my friend David at a local Costco this morning. He's a top employee, been there since 2003. He told me management has asked employees to shorten their work week by about 4 hours. 1st time he's ever been asked that.

He also told me prices have never been like this.

Of course David is a Cowgirls fan, so there's that.
There are no parking spots at any Costco I go to. Packed all the time, gas lines are long.

Is management taking it out on employees due to inflation and lower profits, or do you have a local demand issue? Or is the insane popularity and long lines resulting in shoppers like me taking money elsewhere? Around here there is sooooo much better pizza and hot dogs than what Costco sells…
 
There are no parking spots at any Costco I go to. Packed all the time, gas lines are long.

Is management taking it out on employees due to inflation and lower profits, or do you have a local demand issue? Or is the insane popularity and long lines resulting in shoppers like me taking money elsewhere? Around here there is sooooo much better pizza and hot dogs than what Costco sells…
I am not sure I would call it, "taking it out on employees". I would all it management. Management is tough. You can make the case management is saving jobs by cutting hours instead of layoffs.
There is no demand issue in Silicon Valley; we are talking about inflation. Your dollar simply does not go as far; prices have never been this high.

Costco's supplier cost increases have to be spread across the business; hence the management decisions.
 
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