Brip Blap
By: Joe Taylor | January 13, 2009
What Brip Blap is About
(bettertrades) - Brip Blap is a personal finance blog that takes a look at the whole picture - money, investing, life, family, career and financial freedom. Steve, the author of brip blap, writes about everything that affects our daily lives, but always tries to take a different view and explore (or blow up) conventional thinking. He writes from the perspective of a married father of two who left a six-figure corporate career to explore the entrepreneurial life. brip blap looks at the ups and downs we all face and tries to make sense of them.
About the Author
Steve is the sole author of brip blap.
"I am a professional, an auditor, a consultant and a would-be writer and currently a problogger. I live in Jersey but I love New York City. I have roots in Mississippi but I have lived in Russia. I think this is the Jets' year, but I think that every year. I think a lot about personal finance, my career, self-improvement and health, but I also love a good movie. My ultimate goal is financial freedom. I'm going to reach it, because I'm already well along the path to achieving it, but focus and discipline are my watchwords! My qualifications? I am not a financial planner, first of all. I am not a doctor, second of all. All of my 'advice' is my own opinion. Before rushing off and doing anything you read in this blog I strongly suggest you should consult with a professional in that field. All that having been said, I can give advice in the following categories for the following reasons:"
Money: I am a successful consultant, making six figures a year. I advise Fortune 500 companies on their Sarbanes-Oxley, audit and finance issues. I own a large (for the area) home in the most expensive housing market in the US, New York City (and I am sure some Southern Californians could argue with that). I am debt free and my wife and I have a fairly sizable investment/retirement portfolio, not including the net worth of our home (which I don't think should ever be included in net worth). We have an emergency fund built up for 6 months of my salary, and the final kicker is that we do all of this on one income, since Bubelah is a stay-at-home mom!
Diet: In 2000 I weighed 300+ pounds. Seven years later, I have lost approximately 100 pounds, I have placed in the top 5 in my age category in 5K races, and at my most recent physical my doctor told me that I am as healthy as someone ten years younger than I am.
Life: This one's a bit tougher to quantify, but I have traveled all over the world in my younger days for work and for fun. I have been to places as 'routine' as London and Paris more times than I can count. I have been to locations as 'exotic' as remote Indonesia, the Romanian countryside and tiny ex-gulag villages in Russian Siberia. I grew up in a small town have now lived in two of the world's major metropolitan centers for the last 11 years (Moscow and New York). After being a committed bachelor for years, now I'm a committed (and happy) family man, with a young son and daughter. I am constantly striving to become more organized, a better person and more at peace with myself and my family. I am deeply concerned about the state of the world and what that means for my son, both in terms of the decline of US economic and moral power and in terms of the climate crisis. It's a lot to worry about, plus changing diapers!
Other: I read a lot, too? that's got to count for something, doesn't it? I speak three languages (OK, one is English, but I speak German and Russian, too) and I can recite Pi to 10 places. Take that, Stephen Hawking.
Better Trades Interview
(interview with Brip Blap) -
How did you get the name brip blap?
The phrase brip blap is from the movie "How to Murder Your Wife" starring Jack Lemmon (which apparently is a comedy despite the ominous title). I've never seen it, but my parents have, and they liked the phrase which apparently was used to describe a manic depressive type whose moods went briiiiip?.blap. They bestowed this moniker on me at a very early age because my ?baby moods' ranged from extremely happy to extremely mopey very quickly. Although I am cheerful most of the time these days I expend a lot of effort controlling my temper and moods.
How long have you been blogging?
I started blogging in 2003, writing a politically-oriented blog. I relaunched it in June 2007 as a personal finance blog.
What got you started blogging?
I am an opinionated person about a lot of subjects and after I started reading a few blogs I suddenly thought - like many bloggers probably do - "hey I could do that, too."
What is the focus of your blog, i.e. how does it set you apart from the other bloggers out there?
I like to think that I have a distinctive writing style and a bit of a contrarian's take on life and the world.
What is it you hope a reader will come away with when they visit your blog?
I hope people take away something to think about - something they hadn't thought of before.
Do you like to be edgy in your posts and try and stir up some controversy?
I do - I'm not trying to start a fight, but I do like to challenge my own beliefs and also readers' beliefs. I think it does boost subscribers. I like to think that most people - at least people interested in learning more about the world and about themselves - enjoy a bit of controversy.
When did you start to trade?
I've been "trading" since high school.
What is your favorite instrument to trade (stocks, options, forex, futures, bonds, etc.)
My holdings and activities are limited to stocks and bonds and funds. I've never spent the time studying other instruments, and what I don't understand in trading, I don't do.
What is your favorite strategy to trade?
Buy and hold, almost exclusively.
What time frame do you like to trade?
Very long term. I'm not Buffet - I will get out of a position - but for me a quick trade is holding on to a stock for two years.
For someone new coming into the markets, what steps would you recommend they use to get started?
Study the markets, study the companies, and don't think that you are going to beat the markets without a LOT of hard work - probably more than most people are willing to put in.
What is the biggest stumbling block you see for most beginner traders, i.e. where do you see them making the biggest mistakes?
Beginners get caught up in emotion - they buy companies they "know" and get attached to the stock. They think "hey, I like Pepsi" and buy Pepsi stock - and then refuse to sell even if it's doing badly for years because they don't want to admit to themselves that they didn't base their decision on anything other than their own preferences.
In today's trading environment, where do you see the biggest opportunities for traders?
Long-term there should be some amazing opportunities to pick up blue-chip, dividend-producing stocks for very cheap prices right now.
What do you see in store for the markets in 09?
I think we're sunk for '09. The markets have become irrational, and even though we may see a temporary lift early in the year, I suspect we're going to be reading bad news - economic, environmental, political, international - for a while.
Do you use technical analysis?
No
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