Failure to follow my basic rules
I'm no day trader. I have a career to focus on. So the purchases I make are planned to be long term investments (12-18 months minimum) typically. I currently hold 7 positions and started creating them in January of 2010. At this point, I already missed out on the huge gains from the generational lows, but I finally felt comfortable with my own finances that I could put money to risk. As of today, I hold positions in 7 stocks - C, BWEN, DE, HON, ONNN, PEP, and ECA. Taking this as a moment to reflect on the past 22 months, there's a lot to learn about myself and investing. My portfolio didn't add C or DE until 2011, so let's focus on my portfolio from the perception of the initial 5 (HON, ONNN, PEP, ECA, and BWEN). I believe in a diversified portfolio. I also liked the idea of having a little speculation - I'm still relatively young, plus I love the idea of trying to get a big turn around (doesn't everyone wish they bought AAPL back ...