[continued from previous message]   
      
   >> personal comfort level choice.  Having a safety margin isn't uncommon   
   >> when one's been through rough patches where there weren't the   
   >> resources for meals...or similarly, having a car that won't run.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >>> Don't forget that anybody's net worth is zero. Life's always fast   
   >>> heading that way. But some aren't aware of this and some are. Some   
   >>> ruin 95% of life into "money for a better life later", and get to   
   >>> enjoy 5% of it the way they want, and some live 95% of life the way   
   >>> they want, and ruin only 5% of it for money matters.   
   >>>   
   >>> Another angle. Do other life forms need money? What is the "net   
   >>> worth" of a mosquito buzzing around? You can't escape the fact that   
   >>> life for a mosquito is every bit the same thing as life for a human.   
   >>>   
   >>> Now "buzz" away as I've got to feed the cats, watch a nice pirated   
   >>> movie, and hit the sack :)   
   >>   
   >> No worries - the varmints have been fed here too, obligations have   
   >> been met for the day, and its too late to start a movie...   
   >>   
   >> -hh   
   >>   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   > Nymshifter? I've never been nymshifter in my life. When I change alias,   
   > it is because I really have changed.  So depending on what my main type   
   > of activity has been, every few years my alias also changed accordingly.   
      
   "alias" = "PotAto, PoTaTo".   
      
      
   > And I've never had more than one alias at the same time.   
      
   AFAIC, even an annual change is too rapid to be bothered with.   
      
      
   > You're underestimating what an individual can do by himself in the world   
   > of stocks and cryptos.   
      
   No, I'm merely recognizing that the difference in effort to decrease the   
   gambling risk is quite nonlinear; with the ROI being unfavorable, I   
   choose to not play that game.   
      
   > Also, you have a ton of money in your mind when you think and speak   
   > of it, large enough to make you really concerned.  So I understand   
   > why you leave it to experts to handle such sums.   
      
   I think you've misunderstood what I was saying with the experts: their   
   performance track records aren't any better than passive, and since they   
   cost more, they have an inferior ROI.  This is why ~half the individual   
   investor market today has changed from active to passive.   
      
   > My world of trading is a microcosm of what experts are doing. It is a   
   > baby game compared to those who play with hundreds of thousands of   
   > dollars and higher.   
      
   The raw dollars largely doesn't matter; it is if you're achieving one's   
   goals or not - along with the insight of how much work is it taking you,   
   to see if its worth the effort.  If its gambling for entertainment,   
   that's fine so long as entertainment is your goal and you're willing to   
   pay for it at up to the "100% loss" level.   
      
   > Also, presence of experts in the field, or volume of their activities   
   > doesn't mean that they are necessarily competing with you. They can't   
   > play god, they can't control you down to your baby game if you know what   
   > you're doing. There are ample opportunities for an individual to make a   
   > few extra thousand dollars a year without even be felt by the big guys.   
      
   You'd be surprised.  I think I've mentioned a friend who's tinkered with   
   a momentum-based decision tool; their conclusion is that roughly ~1/3rd   
   of a price is from manipulation.   
      
   > This isn't about suddenly making a ton of money, which can happen but   
   > one cannot rely on such strategies. It is about steadily making a little   
   > sum of money for "silly" expenses as I described. Especially during   
   > retirement.   
      
   That can also depend on what sum is required for "silly", along with   
   what one's risk tolerance is for gambling.  Buying a lottery ticket can   
   have just as much upside potential, but at a lower level of effort.  Or   
   to have sufficient margin such that 'silly' expenses are noise.   
      
      
   > Try it if you like. Make a Robinhood account and put, say, $5k in it and   
   > try to turn it into $10k in one year. You'll have a lot of fun ahead of   
   > you :)   
   Oh, I dabble in my 'gambling' set-aside.  Had a 100% loss a few years   
   ago on one pick, but well enough on a few others.  Current speculation   
   is up roughly +300% in less than a year.  But point is that I know that   
   its dabbling, and not necessary for my well-being or happiness.   
      
      
   -hh   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)