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Finance Articles
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Catnip of the Stock Market
By Al Thomas
Debt Management Help Do you struggle with the bills every month? No matter how you juggle your finances there just doesn`t seem to be enough coppers in the bank to pay your creditors. You are not on your own. The UK has been spiraling further into debt for a decade and a large number of families find themselves in your position. Their incomings can`t compete with their outgoings and this can prove to have a detrimental effect on family life. There are options available to people that find themselves in extreme financial difficulty. They can seek Debt Management Helpthrough financial firms who can provide plans that are suitable for each individual customer. If you have explored all other options, Debt Management Helpcould arrange for you to be put on a plan where you`ll pay one fixed affordable monthly fee. They`ll deal with your creditors on your behalf and you`ll make monthly payments to the debt management firm. Once a structured management plan is in place you`ll be able to cope with your regular outgoings and steer a steady path to greater control over your finances in the future. Seek Debt Management Helpduring these difficult times and you`ll see light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in ages.
Rocket (that`s his name) reminds me of a one of those people who buy a stock and hold it. At first while it is going up there is great pleasure and then euphoria until they know they are market geniuses. That`s the drunken stage. Finally when the market turns against them they fall over not having enough sense to quit (sell) and later when realization returns they have a huge hangover (called hindsight) - and no money. Can these 4-footed animals teach us 2-footed beasts anything? Can we be smart enough to quit while we are ahead? Rocket (and his friends) continue to make the same error time after time. We are supposed to be smarter so let`s learn from their misconduct. If you own stocks and/or mutual funds and the market is going up it is super catnip and we keep buying knowing that somewhere over the rainbow we are going to be rich and retire like kings. Almost none of today`s investors ever think about selling. Wall Street tells us to buy and hold. They don`t want you to sell because if you do they quit making money. Brokers make nothing on money market accounts. Today with money market accounts paying less than 1% investors know the market will come back up. That is what all brokers preach. That is their catnip; their promise of better times ahead (with no plan to protect your cash). If they take that catnip promise away you might sober up and get rid of those losing stocks and mutual funds. The great mother of all stocks, AT&T, well, it used to be, has dropped from $100/share to $14. What are those widows and orphans eating for supper now? Not steak. Maybe cat food. When your equities are no longer rising and many are declining it is time to exit the market. Give up the catnip. When the trend stops its upward angle it is time to sell. Of all methods of investing the safest and most reliable is trend following. It is the catnip on the way up, but when the trend starts to decline you realize you are one smart cat and you are sober and walk away (sell). 
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