My next monthly ShareBuilder automatic investment (for October 2006) is on Tuesday

My next monthly automatic investment through ShareBuilder will occur on Tuesday, October 10, 2006. The cash will automatically be debited from my bank checking account on Monday and the purchase (Microsoft (MSFT) stock) will occur "sometime" on Tuesday. There is a fixed $4 commission on each monthly purchase. This is my fifth monthly purchase for this new dollar-cost averaging investment plan.

The debit to my bank checking account doesn't seem to actually hit until Tuesday.

This investment plan is actually a very small plan, but when you're trying to rebuild your finances after a bankruptcy, every little bit helps.

I still haven't decided whether to switch this plan so that it contributes to a Roth IRA account. For now, I would prefer to keep it readily available if for some reason I need to sell it to raise cash for unforeseen contingencies.

So far, the return has been quite good, with a total gain of 15.3% over four months even assuming the whole investment amount had been invested for the entire period. But, rule number one is "Easy come, easy go", and we should not  "book"gains or losses over short periods of time.

-- Jack Krupansky