The only way you can have an actual, rather than a mythical, profit is to sell when it's high, but every sale depresses it some (and involves taxes). Fortunately my sales are too small to have a noticeable statistical effect, but I'm kind of allergic to taxes.

Remember how sudden the Bush Recession came on? You have to be able to move fast and dispassionately, or you get screwed in the short term. Of course, the market tripled from the Bush low during the Obama administration and was near record highs before this recent election.

Stock prices are a fantasy, based on what the consensus fantasy is. Some wealthy folks are now riding the fantasy that Trump will be good for business - subject to change without notice.

The big problem is what I ran into at the start of the Bush Recession. I thought, "maybe I should just tell my broker to sell everything" - but the taxes on the very long term profits would have been way, way high, and I decided I had time to ride it out - and that worked very well for me - because I didn't need the money.

I'm so accustomed to being poor, I just don't spend much. Uncle Scrooge would be proud - but my paternal grandfather thought Uncle Scrooge was a spendthrift, and would shake a finger at me.

My father was almost blind, but had to get eyeglasses from a charity organization because his daddy, the town banker, couldn't see spending the money.