November 2024 Investing Update

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For the eleventh month of 2024 the DOW gained 2,858 points, or 6.80%. Year to date the index is up 19.08%. Interest and dividend income was $1,794 for the month. Withdrawals for living expenses came to $906. An increase of $18,321 in market value was the highest monthly increase since last November. But with a goal of having a one-million-dollar account balance, there is still a long way to go. This past month I added 200 more shares of FBND. I also bought 200 shares of SHLD and sold 100 shares of USB and QCLN. My profit on USB was $1091 and I still have US Bank coverage in Nasdaq bank ETF FXTO which is up 21% so far. My annual dividend stream is currently $7,672.90. This number changes as investments are bought and sold.

Next month will be my 12th and probably my last investing update. It was more of a personal diary as I try to manage my own retirement account. I don’t have big flashy gains or losses like the option traders you read about on wallstreetbets. My transactions are boring 100 share buys and sells. The few times that I have bought stocks in companies that had become popular, I ended up losing money. This past year it was tempting to buy one of the Bitcoin ETFs, but my experience told me it was a bad idea. Bitcoin is dominated by speculators and large investors, so I’m going to stay clear of it. Without the excitement of huge trades, I don’t think anyone but me is interested. Everyone has a different perspective based on their level of risk and account balance.

Trump is in for another four years. He wasted no time in making tariff threats and unusual cabinet selections. We will have to wait until January 20th to find out what he does on his first day in office. I expect he will continue to ruffle feathers and create disruption among democrats and extreme right-wing liberals. I feel like every TV show, movie, and commercial ad produced since 2020 has to include a non-white actor. Some companies like State Farm have replaced their spokesperson with an African American. I would like to remind them that only 13.6% of the US population is African American. If you go by media’s current representation, you’d think it was the other way around! The same goes for gay and lesbian. According to recent Gallup data, around 7.6% identify as LGBTQ, yet I see them every time I turn on the television.

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