Stocks not so hot neither is being a FaceBook brand new I'm-gonna-retire-now millionaire

By Dian Vujovich

I’ve always admired investors who have enough common sense to take money off of the table when they’ve made some from their stock investments.But if everybody did, what a boring horse race the markets would be.

That said, this has been the worst performing week of the year for stocks in all three indices. I heard on one of the way too many business reports I listen to during that day that not since 1973 have the market experienced 12 consecutive days of losses. Haven’t been able to verify as of this posting, or, pinpoint which market index it relates to.

In any event, the market is not looking so hot for the short-term, near-term, or day-trader. Reason being— local, national and world economies aren’t robust. There are personal and political problems everywhere. There’s even an inkling that something not great in the not so distant future is about to happen within the fixed-income world.

Of course there is, and always has been, money to be made no matter what’s happening in the world or among the various markets. Which brings me to today’s newly minted millionaires created thanks to the fizzle-filled first day of trading for the way too over anticipated FaceBook IPO.

Let’s pretend that you were one of the approximately 3200 Facebook employees, or, a member of their family of private investors who sold shares of the stock today. Let’s also pretend you owned enough shares to make you an instant today millionaire.

To do that, one way would be to own 30,000 shares. And if you were lucky enough to have sold those shares all at $39 a share, you’d have $1,170,000. (39 x30, 000=1,170,000.)

Truly, a nice day at the office..

Now let’s pretend that you’re also 30 years old, healthy and figure what the heck, I’m a millionaire and I’m going to retire. That’s where that I’m-rich-now Gold Rush notion looses its luster.

At age 30 today, one is likely to live to age 90, 100 or beyond and one million bucks isn’t going to get you very far if that’s the case. It also won’t afford a lifestyle of new Ferrari’s each year, or guarantee one of champagne and caviar, private jets and pole dancing. Not for long, anyway.

Divide that $1.17 million by 70 years and the budget you’d have to live within each year would be a measly $16,714. Yes, a year. Not a month.

If the Grim Reaper’s visit came after 60 years, you’d have had $19,500 a year to spend before all was gone. Or, 1625 a month. That’s equal to $375 a week. About the same as earning $9.37 an hour when working a 40-hour week.

What a buzz-kill!

Then again, this was simply a pretend scenario and the $1.17 million was never invested.

But even if it was, the moral of this blog is one worth remembering: A million dollars might not get you what your dreams would like you to believe.