Before I continue my delightful absence I’ll chime in so Jeanne isn’t so lonesome. After all, there is no better way to sustain readership than a 24 hour glut of three posts followed by three weeks of inactivity. I suppose it is somewhat ironic that I joined this blog about the same time that I completely withdrew from the stock market. I'm not investing so I don’t have very much to contribute regarding investments nor was I ever qualified to speak on them. So when I consider the general content of Screwtape Files, it is fair to say that I won’t be posting very often. However, one thing I can contribute is my personal experience that some others might be able to relate to.
Until Lehman Brothers went bankrupt I didn’t care too much about what stocks I owned or didn’t own. I simply diversified through index funds and everything was fine and dandy until all of a sudden it wasn’t. Then I started reading, and then read more and more often, until eventually about 50% of my free time was dedicated to studying economics and finance. I listened to Bloomberg radio for two hours daily during my commute and heard just about every opinion and perspective that was available to be heard. Let me say now, fuck all that noise.
It used to be that I trusted Wall Street to preserve my capital, but Jon Corzine and MF Global severed the last thread of that bond late last year. He made me realized that Patrick Bateman from American Psycho probably exists in real life. Why would anyone want to associate with that guy? The truth is that it has been damn liberating to no longer worry about the daily bipolar machinations of Wall Street.
Now I listen to MLB radio network or Bluesville during my commute and worry less about getting into a car accident because some radio personality said something that was disagreeable to me. 90% of the time I spent on finance is now going towards things that I actually enjoy. That’s what life is about in my book. Unfortunately, it took me three full years to realize what I used to know: I’m not an investor and don’t want to be one. I like to work with my hands and that doesn’t include clicking a mouse 5000 times per day. I plan on working until I am no longer able. If I sit around for more than a few days I get stir crazy. So in the long run, I’m not concerned with beating the street, but merely staying on the road.
Sometimes slow and steady is the better approach (unless you’re on a mission from God).
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