Diary of a Financial Melt Down

8:30 a.m.

It is the 17th day since the Financial Crisis turned my pristine world into a post apocalyptic nightmare. Already I have seen the JPEG (Jobless People Eating Garbage) population swell from one or two former executives holding “Will Work 4 Latte” signs into bleary-eyed hordes roaming the street. Nobody is safe anymore. This morning I saw a gang JPEGs jump a college student after a rumor circulated that the student had found an internship. This is Hell!

The market spiked yesterday. This gave many of my friends a crumb of hope which they held onto as if it were life itself. I do not begrudge them this misconception. They need hope as badly as they need dividends. But they are wrong. What they felt is the same deceiving emotional up-tick a former lover feels when an ex hooks up with him for a fling. The markets just needed a quick lay with some profits. Today it will be back in it’s free fall.

Money makes the world go round...

As well as making wine, there’s another experiment I’ve embarked on: the market. This is the “games” part of “Minotaur Wine & Games.” My entire investment philosophy is based completely on the idea of treating the stock market as a game that even some one with as little capital as I have can play in.

Now, I know that with the amount of money I’m playing with, I can’t expect any big payoffs. I think I’m doing pretty well to have made back what I’ve spent on commissions – with one major exception that I’ll talk about in December. But I’d like to know what you think about what I’ve misnamed as the “Minotaur Funds – a Very Tiny Hedge Fund.” My goal with posting updates on this investment experiment is not to give advice (read: do not listen to me for advice) rather I want to start a discussion about the small time investor and the responsibilities s/he has to the market and the market has to him/her. And if I can make a bit of bread off this experiment so much the better.

The pie chart in the corner represents the break down of my investments, I’ll be putting a more detailed one up eventually with percentages and details about shares up but right now I’m looking at making some major changes to my minor holdings.

It's time to sign off now this morning. Let me know what you think about this investment discussion idea and what topics should be discussed.