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2025 Investment Thread

AbsolutEnduser said:
that is, pretty f-n strange

is it time to buy ORCL? I don't think so , but...
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Let me tell you, I got royally FQED by Ellison, I had a short option position (a strangle) that would've stayed profitable as long as ORCL moved less than 13%. These things don't always work out, and on a several contract position if shit goes south, I might expect lose a couple thousand bucks. Oh well, try again next time.

But no, these douche canoes released the EXACT amount of information to create the maximum amount of chaos. Perhaps to try to cover the fact that their current quarter numbers really stunk? I can understand that they don't give a crap about traders with short positions, but by failing to state that the entire backlog was from a single customer who may or may not even have the money to pay what was promised, they burned the shit out of god knows how many regular investors, who are now trapped with shares purchased at super inflated prices. And all for what... so Ellison could claim that he was richest man in the world for a day?
 
I’ve been ahead of the game when it comes to boycotting the broadcasters. Bet I haven’t averaged a hour a week of tv over the past six months. It’s basically YouTube or nothing. Should probably just cancel my Netflix also.
 
I would like nothing more than to toss our tv, cable and streaming shit. SWMBO would have a fit......
 
Apple finally came out of the doldrums which is good as my wife is "never sell" on that stock and it represents 2/3 of her IRA and all of her Roth IRA.
 
I'm considering dumping our Apple (wife's RSU's) incrementally as needed as long as I / we stay on this side of the grass. This is one option to pay myself in retirement. If, that is, her 2026 and subsequent RMD's don't satisfy this requirement. That is going to be a big tax hit. I need to be careful to stay under the MAGI limit for Medicare. :flag
 
900ss said:
I'm considering dumping our Apple (wife's RSU's) incrementally as needed as long as I / we stay on this side of the grass. This is one option to pay myself in retirement. If, that is, her 2026 and subsequent RMD's don't satisfy this requirement. That is going to be a big tax hit. I need to be careful to stay under the MAGI limit for Medicare. :flag
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This is probably going to sound a bit wacky and complicated (and it is), but you can actually use the options market to borrow against equity collateral at extremely reasonable rates (right now about 4.5% APR.) If you're worried about the collateral (AAPL stock) losing value, you can sell call options against that to de-risk further.

It's probably not worth learning if those RSUs are only like +20% in LTCG, but if you've been holding them for a good long while and they are 90% LTCG, and you have ALOT of them, it's a super nifty trick to learn. It could also help your heirs become a whole lot wealthier if they can inherit your RSUs at a stepped up basis and just pay off the accumulated loans.
 
mercurial said:
This is probably going to sound a bit wacky and complicated (and it is), but you can actually use the options market to borrow against equity collateral at extremely reasonable rates (right now about 4.5% APR.) If you're worried about the collateral (AAPL stock) losing value, you can sell call options against that to de-risk further.

It's probably not worth learning if those RSUs are only like +20% in LTCG, but if you've been holding them for a good long while and they are 90% LTCG, and you have ALOT of them, it's a super nifty trick to learn. It could also help your heirs become a whole lot wealthier if they can inherit your RSUs at a stepped up basis and just pay off the accumulated loans.
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Thank you, most sincerely, but 🤯 In addition, I plan to spend as much of my heir's (sole son, married, 34 y.o) inheritance as I can! My wife wants to dump (her) Apple and Oracle options, but I have told her that although I would love to, we would be kicked into a higher tax bracket (and in the balls by Uncle Sam). I figure selling Apple as needed to support our lifestyle - i.e., keeping income close to what it was when I was working - is a viable option. We have many other investments in our portfolio that I could tap into. I wish I had jumped on the Roth conversation train years ago.
 
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900ss said:
I wish I had jumped on the Roth conversation train years ago.
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I'm still amazed how many people do not do this prior to collecting SS.

None of my friends or family has done it despite our having done it for years.

By the time we start this time next year with SS we will be 80 percent Roth.
 
GAJ said:
Apple finally came out of the doldrums which is good as my wife is "never sell" on that stock and it represents 2/3 of her IRA and all of her Roth IRA.
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GAJ said:
I'm still amazed how many people do not do this prior to collecting SS.

None of my friends or family has done it despite our having done it for years.

By the time we start this time next year with SS we will be 80 percent Roth.
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Because if you are a W2 employee in a high tax bracket, it makes a lot of sense to offload as many pre-tax dollars as you can. Also at certain income levels, you are no longer eligible for Roth contributions. If you own a business, you have much much more control on how you recognize income, and can structure your income to ensure that you can contribute to Roth and to reinvest money back into the business which, upon a sale, becomes a capital gain instead of income.

The tax laws are vastly tilted in favor of business owners over W2 wage earners.
 
GAJ said:
I'm still amazed how many people do not do this prior to collecting SS.

None of my friends or family has done it despite our having done it for years.

By the time we start this time next year with SS we will be 80 percent Roth.
Click to expand...

IMO, Roths are great if you anticipate being in the same or higher tax bracket when you retire. But if someone anticipates being in a LOWER tax bracket, it makes less sense. Same thing for a young person who plans to retire early. Having a big Roth would force him to pay penalties if his withdrawals dip into the earnings before age 59.5
 
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mercurial said:
Because if you are a W2 employee in a high tax bracket, it makes a lot of sense to offload as many pre-tax dollars as you can. Also at certain income levels, you are no longer eligible for Roth contributions. If you own a business, you have much much more control on how you recognize income, and can structure your income to ensure that you can contribute to Roth and to reinvest money back into the business which, upon a sale, becomes a capital gain instead of income.

The tax laws are vastly tilted in favor of business owners over W2 wage earners.
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All our conversions were done post retirement and pre SS as our income was lower.
 
Taking $120k in one of my Roth accounts which has been sitting in money market for a few months and taking a risk and buying PLTR.

Tell me why I'm a dummy.

With SS kicking in this time next year for us both at 70 I'm not too worried about the risk.
 
I bought small positions in August '23 and April '24. It is my one and only 10-bagger. I think it will still grow with all the turmoil, present and yet to come. That is just my gut feeling, which as we know is not a performance metric, and I usually suck with my gut feelings! Good luck.
 
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900ss said:
I bought small positions in August '23 and April '24. It is my one and only 10-bagger. I think it will still grow with all the turmoil, present and yet to come. That is just my gut feeling, which as we know is not a performance metric, and I usually suck with my gut feelings! Good luck.
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I'll take that as a hearty endorsement.

Not sure what a 10 bagger is.

I generally suck at picking individual stocks.
 
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