Tag Archives: Starbucks

Tesla. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it. But you CAN afford the stock!

~
English: Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5, the fourth-...

English: Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5, the fourth-generation Roadster from electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Over the Memorial Day weekend, we were in San Diego seeing loads of  family. One other thing we saw loads of were shiny, new Tesla cars. They were at the restaurant we ate at, they passed us on the freeway and they were parked by us at the beach.  Mama started to get that itchy stock feeling.

Tesla Motors is real because there is, apparently, a growing market of folks who can afford this electric car extravaganza at $90,000 a pop. Not me, of course. But I had a better idea. Buy Tesla stock. (Nasdaq: TSLA)

Now, let me  be clear that I don’t have beaucoup investing bucks lying around so I sold a little something else that was stuck in first gear (not all Mama’s picks are superstars) and traded it in for this new, flashier model– 25 shares of Tesla at  about $103/share on May 29. Then it dropped to $94  on June 5 and I bought another 25.  And then Tesla stepped on the accelerator and sped to $128 by July 15! That was crazy– I made nearly $1500 bucks in about a month…but only if I sold. So I did.

I usually buy and hold stocks because mama gets attached to her stocks but this high flyer made me nervous enough that I decided to take some profits. But I wasn’t done with the stock.  No, indeed, because just a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that a Tesla store had opened in Burlingame which is just 20 miles up the road from their Palo Alto flagship store. They are clearly expanding to keep up with demand.  The way Tesla is speeding along, it reminded me of Starbucks’ rapid opening of new locations back in the early ’90s when I jumped on their stock.  So,  I jumped back in to TSLA on August 7  with 50 shares at $132/share. And, now, I’m not going to worry about the daily ups and downs and the experts financial crystal ball chatter & baloney that can make you crazy.

Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Why shouldn’t you listen to all the  chatter? Because while lots of experts are predicting Tesla’s big fall from grace,  others are promising Tesla will continue rocketing.  I say, “Keep your eyes on the road.” If you keep seeing Tesla in your rear view mirror,  you’ll know what I know. Tesla is changing the car buying game. I may not be able to afford to ride in one but I’m riding the stock and hanging on tight!

Related articles
Advertisement

Question:Why did a middle school teacher ask what else Mama was buying? Answer: Starbucks.

~
Starbucks Ueno

Starbucks Ueno (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here’s a bit of history on my stock picking track record.  Way back in 1992, my son was studying basic economics in  middle school. The teacher assigned all the students to pick a stock and track it for a few months to learn how the stock market works.

The next day the kids shared what stock they had  chosen with IBM, Microsoft and GE among the common choices. My kid chose Starbucks. His teacher said, “Starbucks isn’t a stock.” My kid said, “Yes, it is. My mother bought it.”  Several months later, when the rest of the class’ stocks were mostly treading water and Starbucks had started its remarkably caffeinated rise, the teacher said to him: “What else is your mother buying?”  Enough said.  StockPicknMama was born on that legendary stock pick.

Why did I buy  Starbucks (Nasdaq:SBUX) way back in the last century? Because Starbucks was the first really good, dedicated coffee store in the U.S. And every where I went, a Starbucks store was opening– usually next to a Noah’s Bagels (but theirs is a much sadder story).  When my husband was relocated from Southern California to the Bay Area, I had three criteria for our new home location: near a Costco, near a Trader Joe’s and near a Starbucks. So, when Starbucks went public in 1992, I bought the stock. And they’ve grown from grande to venti to ubiquity ever since.  (One thing my readers will soon notice is my penchant for punning and word play. As in Starbucks? Yeah bean there, bun that!)

I’m still buying Starbucks because the world has gone crazy for hyper-caffeinated coffee with a global pedigree and green practices. I don’t expect it to soar like the olden days, but it’s still a mighty fine cuppa joe to hang onto.

Starbucks

Starbucks (Photo credit: Ivana Di Carlo)

Related articles