March 2024 Investing Update

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For the third month of 2024, the DOW gained 490 points. That was a 1.25% gain for the month. Interest and dividend income was $2395 for the month. Withdrawals for living expenses came to $1150. Expense spending was back to normal for the month. Overall, my account balance increased by 1.53% from the prior month. In the past month I sold 100 shares each of YYY and ETY and put another $1000 into a money market fund. The market is reacting to rate cuts that are predicted for later this year, meanwhile money market funds are still paying at or near 5% interest. This rate adds about $1290 per month to my account. Dividend income adds another $520 for a total of $1810 per month.

In the past month it was tempting to buy into one of the new bitcoin ETF’s. But I still feel like it is an extremely volatile investment. There are just too many large investors who know how to make money off of the price swings in digital currency. The same could be said for the stock market, but that is a much bigger playground. The one I was watching is iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), mainly because the price is more affordable than some of the other Bitcoin ETFs. It is probably a good idea not to buy any asset when it is at an all-time high. That is the way I feel lately when I looks for stocks and ETFs to invest in.

Last month I mentioned that I thought Nikki Haley would be a good alternative to Biden or Trump. Unfortunately, she decided to drop out of the presidential race. Now it looks like we are stuck with a choice between either another four years of Biden’s deficit spending, or Trump’s self-serving ambitions. This will only serve to fuel more division in our political system. Maybe someday we will have an AI powered leader in charge of recommending a fair and sustainable path for our country. Then we wouldn’t have to elect a president and could focus on selecting our state representatives and senators to plan and implement the best of those recommendations.

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