Go High and go to Hawaii

When it comes to investing most of my money has been tied up in mutual funds. It all serves a purpose. Some funds are in a locked in account that came from a former employer’s pension plan. That’ll generate me a small income when I turn 65. Other mutual funds pay a monthly dividend to me right now. I’ve moved away from mutual funds and am investing in exchange traded funds (ETF) because generally they have a much smaller management fee than mutual funds. More money for me and less for the account managers!

I also like real estate investment trusts (REIT) from reading David Bach’s books and he recommends them as a good investment. (Disclosure: if you click on a link and make a purchase from Amazon, I’ll receive a small commission for the referral.) He writes The Automatic Millionaire and the Finish Rich series. Start Late, Finish Rich, Smart Couples Finish Rich, and Smart Women Finish Rich.

A caveat on these books. Make sure you’re “smart” and buy your country’s edition, there are American and Canadian editions. For the most part the information is the same. There are editing details to direct the reader to websites that are country specific and the retirement funds have different names. In the states they have IRA and 401k and in Canada we have RRSP and TFSA among others. I wasn’t so smart and bought Smart Couples Finish Rich at a Barnes & Novel in Portland, Oregon only to discover that the Canadian edition (that I later bought) had more specific information on Canadian taxes and retirement advice.

A smaller amount of my investments are in individual stocks. I’m a little more nervous here and tend to buy small just cause I think I should have a diversified portfolio. I only buy as much stocks as I’m willing to take a risk on and never see that money again. Decades ago my mother had some shares in stocks, in mines. Unfortunately she was very unlucky and they all went belly up over the years. I avoid buying mines and I avoid retail and restaurants that might be a fad today and gone tomorrow. Though some of the funds I own have shares of mining materials and restaurants in them. McDonald’s comes to mind.

In the summer I read articles about how everyone should have marijuana stock in their portfolio. That never would have been on my radar. I never touch the stuff. I do recognize there are medical benefits for people who suffer chronic pain, and although it’s not for me I’m no judge and jury and don’t want to deny a product that helps people through their pain. Maybe in my future I’m going to need weed jujubes to help relieve pain.

In June 2017 I bought 100 shares of a medical marijuana company called Aphria. At $5.70/share I decided if the stocks went belly up I can afford to lose around $600. As is the case with just about every stock I buy, as soon as I purchased, it went on a downhill slide, going to a low of around $5.20. For the next 3 months Aphria went up and down in the $5 and $6 range, getting to $7 by October. Like most stocks it goes up and down, increasing to $7.50 before falling back into the $6 range after a news announcement that the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) was taking a look at Canadian medical marijuana companies with holdings in the United States and possibly delisting them, and Aprhia is on the list. On October 31, 2017 I read an article in the Motley Fool that thought Aphria might be heading for a wild ride up, predicting that when Canada legalizes marijuana in July, 2018 that Aprhia has the potential for a 400% increase, possibly trading at $35. That might have been my clue to buy another 100 or so stocks, but no, I missed that bus.

Then the Aphria stock went crazy in November climbing higher and higher and was over $11/share by December 1. A press release announcing that Aprhia has partnered with Shopper’s Drug Mart – a large Canadian drug store owned by the super mega group Loblaw’s (home of the huge grocery store chain Real Canadian Superstore) to be their provider of medical marijuana. The shares jumped over $2 in one day!

As December came to a close, Aprhia was trading at $18.70/share, the last day of trading in the month was a wild one with trades fluctuating between $15.63 and $19.83.

My only regret is that I wasn’t braver and that I’d purchased 1000 shares of Aphria. That was too high a risk for me. These weed stocks have a lot of volatility. Losing $600 isn’t going to make me lose sleep. Losing $6000? Ouch.

I have to sit back and look at my long range goal for this stock. I purchased 100 shares for $5.70 that are now increased in value by $13 and worth $1870.00. If I’d left that $570 in my bank account, there’s no way it would have made that kind of interest!

In following with that article predicting Aprhia will reach $35/share, I have decided that if and when that happens I will sell my shares in this stock.

Maybe Aphria will go higher than $35, but realistically how high can it go? As high as $100? I doubt it. I wish I had a crystal ball.

My goal is to sell Aprhia at $35/share and take that $3,500 and spend it on a vacation to Hawaii.

Hawaii or bust!

And why Hawaii? Well – why not? You know from a previous post that I love reading books that take place in Hawaii and right now I’m reading Lucky Beach. I love Hawaii. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. The plan is to go to the Big Island for one week and stay in Kona because I’ve never been there. I’ll get a car rental for my stay and venture out on some fun experiences. Plus I really want to go back to Big Island Candies and Cookies in Hilo. Yum!

I’ve heard Kona has wild horses and donkeys roaming the area. I want to take photos of them. If I can find a day trip to Molokai, I’d love to take the mule ride down the 26 switchbacks to the former leper colony. I’ve only had a quick visit at Volcano National Park, and this time a bike tour through lava tubes is on my list. It’s been years since I went to a luau, so that’s obviously on the list. As a foodie (or maybe I’m just someone who likes to eat!) I want to eat malasadas and enjoy an expensive mai tai on the beach. And I can’t forget a hot stone massage in an oceanfront gazebo.

Experiences!

That’s what life is all about. I’ve had a lot of travel experiences and I’m not done yet.

Join me on my journey as getting high will get me to Hawaii. You can keep an eye on the Aprhia stock at Yahoo Finance and see how close it’s getting to $35.

Are you like me and a piggyback investor? Do you buy stocks just cause someone else said it’s a good idea? Do you hold any marijuana stocks and what plans do you have for them?