[CardMinger]

Squiffy,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a great reply!

It is somewhat strange actually that you and I actually have some things in common. My permanent residence is actually in Hanford CA (right next to Fresno) and I am currently attending college at UC Irvine. I also am invested in the Vanguard S&P500 Fund (I am including a P.S. regarding that fund at the end of this post).

I currently do not have a real job per se...I have worked doing web development for a real estate company for awhile and so I do have an inclination toward real estate but like yourself I want to "get rich quick" within reason and also agree that the RE market around the valley resembles the technology bubble of the early 2000's. Either way I dont really pay taxes (shhh!) on this side job so I dont believe I can put money into an IRA...is this correct?

Sorry theres not much content to this post I guess I just wanted to tell people a little more about myself.

Also as far as the side note for the Vanguard fund goes...I noticed a trend that the S&P (and other major indices) as a whole usually jump during the holiday months between October and January 1st. So around October first I bought 25k worth of the Vanguard S&P500 Index fund at 104.25 and just sold it at 112.23 for a pretty nice gain.

Do you find value in these kind of moves or do you think things will even out long run?

Again thanks a lot for all the valuable information!

I will also look into the books you suggested after reading the ones I just ordered that were suggested in the books thread and will take your suggestions to watch for trends in the market and read more online....do you know of any other forums such as this one where people discuess general stock strategy and not really a certain stock in general?

Thanks again...and sorry if I rambled!