To the Editor:
Evidence presented to The Times-Tribune showed that I made $1 million in the stock market BUT for other people — family members. It also showed that I lost $24,000 of my own money in CALLS (see footnote for a definition of CALLS).
My doctoral degree is in Educational Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and I am the brother of Marvin Mills who ran the Western Auto store in Corbin for 30 years.
Remorsefully I relate it was painful during this time to lose $24,000 of my own money. But from my gains of $1 million for family members, I paid $186,000 in cash for a house for them; $12,700 for a roof for the house and $5,000 for a chimney for it — all for others. Paying cash for big ticket items is the way to go I say. At the end of the day, by June 2023, I managed a balance of approximately $522,000 in the 14 different accounts — 12 of which were for others. All accounts are run by me so taxes are paid timely and so trades can be done quickly.
It has been my practice to take some cash off the table, so to speak, every January. In 2022, I took $41,000 out of the market for others. Looking back, I should have taken out $80,000 — my original goal — since the market has tanked from that date. But hindsight is 20/20 and is rarely helpful in stock market investing.
At the current time, I have $91,000 in profits mostly for others. And yes, I have almost saved $24,000 to get back into the CALLS market. Asked why I didn’t consolidate some of the accounts to make up for my $24,000 loss, I simply replied that you don’t mix accounts. That way you can clearly see which accounts have GAINS and which ones have LOSSES based on the stocks in each account. Each account is independent, and besides, 12 of those accounts were other people’s money and that would be stealing.
I asked my friend Jerry Gambrel about this situation and Jerry said, “Doc, some of us were just meant to be poor. Enjoy it. You may be eligible for food stamps.”
The hard thing about investing in the stock market, I say, is getting the money to invest. You have to save, save, save — and then not make a mistake when you first invest. If you make a profit on your first investment, you have that profit money to work with to further invest, but if you lose 50% of your first investment, you will have to double that investment just to get even. Now that’s a hard row to hoe. All of my accounts are for family members. I add that I am not licensed to SELL securities and thus do not comment publicly on stocks.
Glen D. Mills
Middletown, Ohio
Calls are options for a specific period of time, like six months, to purchase shares of a stock at a given price. If the share price goes up, the value of the call goes up and you make money. If the share price goes down or the time period expires, you lose money or your entire investment. Like life, all investments are a gamble.