I biffed it in the stock market this quarter.
I was trying this strategy where I bet on the stock market collapsing. I bought several large puts on the S&P500, and some FAANG stocks, and then the stock market plunged. (That’s a good thing when you have put options: it gives me the ability to sell the stock at a higher price that it is currently worth).
I was so proud of myself. I had large “paper” gains. A paper gain is when the item is in high demand and can be sold for a large profit. Unfortunately I didn’t sell. I got greedy. I double down and bought even more puts. And just like all of the suckers before me, since the dawn of the stock market in Holland, before the tulip craze, the market did a 180 and recovered. My paper gains were erased and replaced with giant losses. The puts I bought were set to expire worthless. I sold them at a loss to recover some of the money invested instead of loosing all of the money. Frick! I’m confident I can make it back, but that was a very painful lesson to learn.
That peak in my portfolio around March 10th is when the stock market plunged, and the subsequent plummet is when I bought a bunch of worthless puts. Stock options are incredible multipliers.
This is all my “fun money.” I am not investing my retirement money. This is excess money that I have squirreled away that I gave myself permission to do what ever I want. I’ll keep playing these slots for a while and if I really can’t beat the market, then I’ll find some other slots to play. I’m not afraid to walk away.
Damn. I just made it out of the negatives.