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Each day, I watch five hours of business and news programs. One program in particular appears to be focused on investors who are, for the most part, "day traders". I believe the producers of the show make certain that the host invites someone who is or believes in buy-and-hold investing. It is only fair that all aspects of investing be offered, and I am glad this happens. Today, one of the guests was a man whose name was Mr. Alllan Boomer, representing Momentum Advisors. He was recommending three stocks: BRX, VNOM, and BDC. I have not done any research on them yet, but as he spoke, he emphasized they paid generous dividends. What caught my ear was the way the host made a joke over the fact that he had never heard of them. This was annoying to say the least. The host of the show trivializes income investing and occasionally says the word "Dip Buying". I am a strong supporter of income investing and support the investing strategy of finding good stocks that have a record of increasing their dividends and producing a product the consumer buys regularly. So why do I continue to watch this show? Well because I know occasionally a gentleman of Allan Boomers mentality will appear and give some recommendations for viewers such as I.

When I became interested in the stock market, buying stock was extremely expensive. Then, Scottrade developed the concept of charging a minimal amount for a trade, which became popular with those who could not afford the fees stockbrokers charged. These are the four firms I have dealt with in the past seventy years: Baker-Weeks & Co., Scottrade, TD Ameritrade, E-Trade, and then Chas. Schwab. Eventually, Schwab acquired TD Ameritrade. The last three were all banks and neither has a platform showing the benefits of ‘Dip Buying. They are interested in people who buy and sell stocks daily, and that type of investor needs to have thousands of dollars and more. Serious investors should ignore the turbulence of the stock market. It is turbulence that creates buying opportunities. Think about it for a moment. If the market moved sideways, the opportunities for you to find good bargains would fall. Dip buyers are not traders. They are long-term investors. I will not attempt to give anyone advice on trading. As a working individual, you do not want to risk your hard-earned money. Every day, I watch three financial programs, and on occasions, a guest will mention the importance of “time in the market and not timing the market.” As a dip buyer, you will see your portfolio grow with dividend income and by periodic increases in dividend amounts and stock splits. I hope to make you “seasoned Investors” who can ignore all the hype and rumors and remain confident that your strategy is good. Previous articles prepared you for searching and finding the stocks you wanted in your portfolio. Once you have purchased a share of stock, the cost of the share is known as your “Entry-level price, at this point, you should avoid adding more stock of this symbol unless it falls in the price you paid. This strategy is known as Dip Buying. Here is a known fact. When a good stock paying a dependable dividend falls in price, its yield goes up. But, if at the same time, they cut or reduce their dividend, then the yield falls. This is a mathematically proven fact. So, once again remembering why you purchased it fortifies your belief that it is a good stock and that when its price falls you should add to the shares you already own. Your “Gain or Loss column will help you identify the fallen stocks. Please email me with any questions. You may find that one or more of your stocks have risen in price since you purchased them. When this happens, place that stock in” Drip Mode” until it falls below your cost. So, “red is good” Whenever any of the stocks in your gain or loss column indicates a red number, it is a sign to buy and average down. If you have any questions, you can contact me by email at investsmallpotatoes@gmail.com. Otherwise, be sure to check this newspaper again for more Investing with Small Potatoes. If any of you would like me to collaborate with you one-on-one, send me your phone number and name which I will place in my phone directory so I can identify you when you call. The information given in Small Potatoes does not mean that investing is risk-free. The user must be careful about the quality of the stocks they select. Small Potatoes is neither a registered investment advisor nor a stockbroker/dealer, and all investment/financial information expressed herein is the opinion of the author, based on personal research and experience. Although effort is to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.

In about two days I will be celebrating my 93rd birthday. Recently I have been reflecting on my life increasingly. I am happy to share a brief history of how I became the person I am. My parents were both in their teens when they arrived from Naples, Italy. From what I have learned, most marriages in those days were pre-arranged. I was the last of ten children, two of which passed on in their early childhood from causes unknown to me. I have a surviving brother, who is 100+ years old and living in Florida. In the old days, a midwife delivered the children. Knowing that we all survived childbirth was nothing short of a miracle in those times. Having been born in the middle of the Great Depression, our parents allowed us to earn something doing chores for others. I inherited the job held by my brother, delivering prescriptions for a corner pharmacy. I also stocked the shelves (with the aid of a stepladder at times). I clearly recalled having to package certain products for women in a way that would allow them to avoid embarrassment when having to walk out in public. This was because “modesty” was paramount then. Men, of course, had their needs secreted in a lap drawer behind the counter. That was then, today is another story. When my dad believed I was strong enough, he took me to Bayshore L.I. when school was out to work as a laborer. When I graduated from High School, I worked at various jobs until I entered the service. In late 1954 I enrolled in evening classes at Pace Institute, later called Pace College in lower Manhattan. My first job was as a bookkeeper for J.P. Morgan. In those days, there were no computers just adding machines. One of my responsibilities was to prepare a monthly balance sheet. It was there at Morgan one day when I received a call from their Comptroller telling me my balance sheet was off two cents. I will never forget his remarks, “Take care of the pennies, the dollars are big enough to take care of themselves.” Although I was never an accountant, I carried that phrase in my mind throughout my business life. At age 40, I moved to Candor, NY. While seeking employment, I worked for a local dairy farmer and learned the true value of a gallon of milk. Eventually, with the help of my nephew, I started a business called Candor Specialty Packaging. This business specializes in the consumer packaging of processed grains of all kinds. In 1980 I had the opportunity to purchase a 100-year-old firm called “The Raymond-Hadley Corp. We moved that business to Spencer, NY, and merged the packaging business with the newly acquired company. At age 82, I retired and put the firm in the hands of my two highly competent sons. Needing something to keep me busy, I once again turned to investing, which has kept me busy to this date. ******** This column is a departure from what I had planned to write about. /In recent weeks, the markets have experienced some serious declines. I have remained focused on Dip and Drip investing. If you have opened an account with a brokerage firm and believe you are ready, this would be the most advantageous time to begin investing. I encourage you to do the following: Email me with your name and email address. Give me a general idea as to the time you could contact me to set up a “one on one” session during which you and I could set up your positions spreadsheet making it ready for your first stock purchase. If you opened an account with Chas. Schwab, I could easily walk you through the process as I have a Schwab account. Disclaimer: The author of “Small Potatoes” is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor, or a stockbroker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed in the “Small Potatoes” articles are from the personal research and experience of the author of the articles and are intended solely as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur. The information given in these articles must not be understood as “risk free” investing. The user must be careful about the quality of stocks being selected.

Three days ago, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about one thousand points, causing me great pleasure. Why? Because as a seasoned investor, these fluctuations provide a smorgasbord of stocks at deep discounts. Schwab’s platforms allow you to arrange your portfolio to show all of the big losers according to the sum of money they have lost. This column offers you a way to look closely at the stock you’re considering buying by using information easily available in your brokerage account. In the research section of your account, select “stocks” Enter the stock symbol in the area where you see a search mark. Again, a Google search will allow you to find the symbol if needed. Once the stock in question appears, you must do your analysis of the stock When you decide on a stock, never forget why you were attracted to that stock. I say this because it is a fact that to some extent the stock market is “manipulated”. Traders in the stock market profit from living by driving the price of a stock up and down. These individuals are called “Day Traders”. So, I repeat never forget the reason you selected a stock. If you buy with a long-term holding, you should ignore the market’s gyrations. Here I list the factors you need to focus on when selecting: Company Profile. Here you will find information on what kind of business they are in, and at the bottom a date the business was founded. You will be surprised that some are over 200 years old. Rating by analysts. Here you will find several firms offering their rating. Morningstar is a reputable firm and very picky about the companies they analyze. They use a term “Moat” in their analysis which others do not use. If you picture in your mind a Castle with a drawbridge and a body of water surrounding the castle it will make it easier for you to understand what they are telling you, and why a company with a Wide Moat is so strong that anyone wanting to compete for their business would have to spend a huge amount of money to get started and they give up the idea. Capital Strength. On Charles Schwab’s platforms, there is a section where they show your stock and others in the same classification. here you will find a wealth of information. Volatility. indicates whether the stock is stable or subject to high daily trading numbers. I like at a rating of 40 or under. P/E Ratio. This tells you if the stock is priced too high. I like to be in the ten to thirty range. When you hear a financial station reporting a company is expected to earn $2.00 a share, you would look at the P/E and if the p/e is 10, then ten times $2.00 would mean the stock should be selling for $20.00. If the stock sells for more than $20.00, then you need to justify spending far more than its fair price. To make it easy for you to decide, because the information is not readily available, then stay in the range shown, mine being the ten to thirty range. Dividend yields. Many quality stocks pay small amounts in dividends. Only you can decide whether you want to own one or more of them. I have purchased low dividend payers solely to keep my portfolio more equally balanced within the sectors I like: Quarterly and Monthly Dividend payers. When searching, don’t exclude monthly payers, as owning a small number or assortment of monthly payers will provide a stream of income to which you can add a few dollars more to buy another stock that pays its dividend quarterly. I own about 30 monthly dividend payers in small numbers. This strategy minimizes my risk exposure. Now that you have read the second column in which I listed the sectors, I want to touch briefly on another class of stock hardly ever mentioned because they are not listed as such in the stock market. Conglomerates. A conglomerate is a company whose investments in other companies are many. I know of two and one is BRK/B which is called a financial. The other is IEP, which is called an Industrial conglomerate. The first company was formed by the famous Warren Buffett, is high priced, and doesn’t pay a dividend but is considered a “Growth Stock”. IEP was formed by Carl Icahn, pays a hefty dividend, but it's risky. If you go to the website of your brokerage firm and look for “Research,” you can enter the stock symbol and then read their profiles, you will understand what I am saying. Read the column below to learn how to make an informed decision on what you want to own. Here is a monthly dividend payer EFT. Remember, do your due diligence Next week is a special week for me where I will divulge some aspects of my life. If you have any questions, you can contact me by email at investsmallpotatoes@gmail.com. Otherwise, be sure to check this newspaper again for more Investing with Small Potatoes. Raymond Maratea is a retired small business owner who has had some experience investing in the stock market (not a financial advisor or broker/dealer). Having started investing with small amounts, on individual investor platforms, Raymond is offering his experience to individuals who would like to invest, but who feel that because of their income level the stock market is out of their reach. The information given in Small Potatoes does not mean that investing is risk free. The user must be careful about the quality of stocks they select. Small Potatoes is neither a registered investment advisor nor a stockbroker/dealer, and all investment/financial information expressed herein is the opinion of the author, based on personal research and experience. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.

My last column covered the steps you need to take to get set up with your stock brokerage account and banking arrangements. This column will give you some tips for selecting stocks for your portfolio. My preference for stocks is limited to Consumer Staples, Healthcare, Utilities and Communications, to name a few. Also, because I am a Dip Buyer (buying stocks when their price dips below what I first paid for it), I also focus on the dividend yield of the stock which is, simply put, when some companies pay their shareholders a small amount of the profit they make from selling the products they manufacture. At times, the market will experience severe ups and downs. These movements are called volatility. When volatility occurs and your stock loses some of its value, remember the reason you purchased the stock because, if you decide to be a dedicated dip buyer, it is at these moments you should consider purchasing more of the stock that has fallen in price. To begin your stock selection, imagine the Stock Market as the supermarket you shop in weekly. Most of the products are separated by categories, making it easy for you to find what you want. Well, the Stock Market is like a supermarket of stocks separated by categories, of which there are eleven. In the stock market they are called “Sectors”. Consumer Staples: products consumers use just about every day. Consumer Discretionary Items: consumers buy these items, but they are not necessities. Travel & Leisure: fast food, automobiles, jewelry to name a few. Healthcare: provides medical services, insurance and equipment. Utilities: provide gas, electricity, water, and wastewater management. Industrials: provides machinery and related goods, such as drill bits, drills, sandpaper, sawblades, etc. Real Estate: provides physical properties and the buying, selling, and management of properties. Information Technology: provides hardware, software, and operating systems. Financial: provides borrowing, saving, investing, credit cards and financial planning. Banks, accounting, and auditing firms. Energy: companies that provide all forms of energy, electric, propane, natural gas, fuel oil, diesel fuel, etc. Communications: provide broadcasting, telephones, both hard-wired and wireless, satellite systems, etc. Materials: provides raw materials, wood pulp, (for paper and packaging materials), and materials extracted from mining. As you can see, you have many investment options. However, you must focus on those stocks that are priced according to the amount of money you have available to invest. Use the Google search engine to find stocks you can afford. For example, you can type in “Stocks under $25 per share,” or whatever amount works for you. There is always a good chance that if you search “Stock Rating Firms”, such as Morningstar, they will offer stock recommendations also When you have made your first stock purchase, that purchase, known as a “buy”, will be recorded on a page known as a position spreadsheet. These spreadsheets can be set up as you choose. A Schwab representative (or the representative of the firm you have chosen), will help you arrange the spreadsheet in the order that is most easy for you to understand. I have shown the column titles I use on Schwab below, and there is a good chance these same titles will appear on another brokerage firm’s spreadsheet. My spreadsheet headings: From left to right: Symbol, Yield, Last Div, Qty, Price, Price Chng. (check by $), Cost/Share, Cost Basis, Mkt Val., Ex. Div., Reinvest, Gain/Loss, (select by %). If you have questions on these headings I will respond to your email. When you first look at your positions spreadsheet some of these columns will be missing. There is a way to include them, and your “representative” will be more than willing to show you how and where they are found. The categories I have shown give me ways to grow my dividend yield. I can arrange my list of stocks by showing the highest yield at the top of my spreadsheet. The gain/loss column allows me to select the stock that has fallen in value the most. This is important if you are a “dip buyer”, which is what I am interested in. Future articles will explain how a stock’s yield increases when you continue to buy it while it is falling in price. You will need a strong will to resist selling. If you have any questions, you can contact me by email at investsmallpotatoes@gmail.com. Otherwise, be sure to check this site again for more Investing with Small Potatoes. Raymond Maratea is a retired small business owner who has had some experience investing in the stock market (not a financial advisor or broker/dealer). Having started investing with small amounts, on individual investor platforms, Raymond is offering his experience to individuals who would like to invest, but who feel that because of their income level the stock market is out of their reach. The information given in Small Potatoes does not mean that investing is risk free. The user must be careful about the quality of stocks they select. Small Potatoes is neither a registered investment advisor nor a stockbroker/dealer, and all investment/financial information expressed herein is the opinion of the author, based on personal research and experience. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.

Yes that was true for the most part. But using a strategy such as "Dip Buying allows you to invest wisely at any time because the Stock Market is in perpetual motion all of the time and it is at times when it has literally "fallen out of bed" that there are bargains galore. It is a mathematical truth that when a good stock with a good record of paying dividends is falling because of market conditions, it's yield actually rises.If you start with a well diversified portfolio the odds one of your holdings will be open to purchase and increase in number the amount of shares you hold in that stock. My column will cover how to use the gyrations of the stock market to your advantage. If you wish, I will forward on to you the name of a firm that analyzes dividend paying stocks for you to peruse. Ray

Welcome to Small Potatoes, a new column designed to help those who believe their income level prevents them from participating in the stock market to growing their savings. Investing using “Small Potatoes” is an idea that came to me one day when I visited a Wendy's in Owego, NY. While waiting for my order, I had the opportunity to speak with one of the employees there and was surprised to learn he was unaware that Wendy's was a listed stock that he, and anyone else can own. I thought about it for a while, wondering how many people were working in similar entry-level, minimum wage jobs, believing investing was beyond their reach. I’m here to tell you it isn't beyond your reach, that owning stock is achievable for you. All you need is about twenty-five dollars, access to a computer, and the willingness to take the steps listed here. (If you do not have a computer, you can use one at your local library.) Step 1. Find a brokerage firm that will allow you to open an account without a cash balance. CharlesSchwab.com is one, and they are available to answer questions 24/7. Step 2. If you are without a checking account, open one now so that you can transfer money to your brokerage account online. Brokerage firms are very willing to assist you in every step of the process. Step 3. Determine what type of investment account you can use. Two of the most used are the Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA. Roth IRA’s use money on which you have already been taxed and therefore earn “Non-taxable” income when withdrawn later. The traditional IRA allows you to invest earnings before being taxed, but at the time of retirement, you will be taxed. I personally do not want the government to share in the growth of my investment, so I lean towards the Roth IRA. Stock Selection: You may be wondering how to pick stocks to invest in. I have made picking stocks easier by finding the names of the companies that make the products I put in my shopping cart each week. For example: do you use Tylenol? What breakfast cereals do you eat? What is your favorite brand of coffee? Etc. Make a list of these products, including the manufacturer, so that you can find out what stock market name and symbol the product(s) are listed under. For instance, the symbol for AT&T is “T”. Using Google Search, you can find just about any stock in which you have an interest. In some instances, you may have to search "Who owns this product", as it may be only a distributor listed on the package and not the name of the company who is listed on the stock exchange. Google search will also provide you with the stock symbol, and price per share of the company stocks you are considering investing in. I am ending this article here, as those of you who are interested in following the above steps have a good-sized assignment. If you have any questions, you can contact me by email at investsmallpotatoes@gmail.com. Otherwise, be sure to check this site again for more Investing with Small Potatoes. Raymond Maratea is a retired small business owner who has had some experience investing in the stock market (not a financial advisor or broker/dealer). Having started investing with small amounts, on individual investor platforms, Raymond is offering his experience to individuals who would like to invest, but who feel that because of their income level the stock market is out of their reach. Disclaimer: The author of “Small Potatoes” is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor, or a stockbroker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed in the “Small Potatoes” articles are from the personal research and experience of the author of the articles and are intended solely as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur. The information given in these articles must not be understood as “risk free” investing. The user must be careful about the quality of stocks being selected.