A Watch List

[Click to enlarge.] I wanted to share this watch list with you. You can see that I prepared it as of 12.01. That Saturday (12.02) I went through all of my stock research--notes on stocks I was watching and had done research on--maybe even owned in the past. I created this watch list to keep an eye on a few items.

When I create my watch lists, I "pretend" I buy 100 shares of each so that I can freeze the price and watch the progress. If you don't keep a stock notebook, I really suggest that you do. I personally like Levenger's circa products. You can get their compact product which is just perfect for noting each stock position that you have or are contemplating. As you close positions, you can move the sheets to the back. In fact, it was my stock journal that I went to and pulled these items out. I had notes about why I did or did not buy or why I closed a position. {If you are not familiar with Levenger's you can visit their website here (no, I don't get anything for sending you there!) http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/NAVIGATION/Products.asp?Params=category=326|level=2|pageid=1749

And for any of you guys always writing on scraps and bits of stuff and putting it in your pockets, do yourself a favor and get their pocket notes. You have to be able to write things down--it's a sign of great genius, and you'll amaze yourself by what you wrote down that you can not currently recall.}

I'm not saying that the results above speak for themselves. Those stocks could have all gone down. But I think it is fair to say that these were stocks that had a good enough value proposition to be worthy of a further look. And since I had already done quite a bit of homework, not revisiting them would have been a waste of lots of past time. I know that you are not supposed to have regrets, but I had meant to start a position in HIG, and missed the move. I did pick up MIND by doing this very same thing, and I closed my position with a nice profit--you can see that watch list here. http://theperplexedinvestor.blogspot.com/2006/10/watch-list-review.html

I have another notebook that I always have with me when I'm reading on line or off line. I find it useful to go back through my notes to see how things have played out or not. It's quite a useful perspective in building one's personal mosaic of understanding. Everyone's personal organization system is just that--personal. Each of us thinks and processes information differently. I'm a global learner--so if you are going to feed me bits an pieces and expect me to understand it, I will not. I need the big picture first, then the details make sense to me. It's important to be respectful of how people learn, how they process information, and how they relate to others. Make sure that you understand how you learn and process and formulate your successful life strategies (not just investing!) around that.

I don't wish for any of this to sound strident or preachy, but I it is something that I feel is important at least for me. It's New Year's, you know, and we must be on the look out for things to improve!