| Sargent & Lundy Savings Investment Plan |
| ADVICE FROM FELLOW SAVERS |
The following excerpts are from an article in the Tuesday, January 20, 1998 "Wall Street Journal". The opinions expressed through correspondence with the author, Jonathan Clements, may or may not reflect those of the SIP Committee. In last week's column, I invited readers to send me ideas on how to become a better saver or investor. Here are some of your thoughts, edited for brevity: ** "I keep a computer file of every stock or fund I bailed out of - and the one I then went into - and how each has performed since," Tony DiBiasio relates. "It's a humbling experience. Now, whenever I feel the urge to make changes, I review my past maneuverings." ** "When recording the amount of a check in your check register, round up to the nearest dollar," Jon Arfstrom suggests. "Clean out the excess at the end of each year and invest it. You will never miss the money." ** "Jot down the reason you are buying a particular stock and the risk involved," James McKeown advises. "Whenever you feel pressure to sell some of it, read what you wrote. More often than not, you will find no action is necessary." ** "The best single thing I ever did was to arrange for monthly automatic transfers from my checking account to the mutual funds I like," says David Hoecker. "And the best way to do that is when you get a raise. Just take the raise and have it automatically sent to your fund-of-choice." ** "Deposit all small checks, including $1 or $2 product rebates and $10 dividend checks, in your savings account or money-market account," writes Theodore H. Mecke Jr. "When these deposits reach $250 or $500 - which they tend to do rapidly if you are disciplined in following this practice - transfer the money to your mutual fund." ** "For a homeowner with a mortgage of, say, $150,000 at a 7.5% rate, that's about $1,050 a month," notes Fred Buffone. "If the homeowner pays an additional $25 a month, that would enable the homeowner to pay off the mortgage some 2-1/2 years early." ** "If you are investing on a regular basis, a drop in the market is your friend," Stan Lane argues. "You should be cheering for a big drop that lasts a long time, but then recovers when you need to liquidate the investment. When the market is down, you buy more shares. This dollar-cost averaging will greatly enhance the prosperity of your retirement." |
This page updated on 3/10/98