FFOMO May 17, 2022May 16, 2022 Stocks we bought with money we could truly afford to lose are way down, so this seems to be a good time to tell you that — in taxable accounts — what I usually do when a stock is way down is buy more. Then wait 31 days to avoid the “wash sale rule” and sell the original shares for a tax loss. Except that by then they’ve often fallen further still, so again I buy more, planning to wait another 31 days and . . . well, you see where this is heading. Sometimes, it actually works out. Other times, I’m just doubly and quadruply proven to have been an idiot. What many people do is sell first, wait 31 days, and then reestablish the position. Not me. I can’t bear the thought the stock might snap back while I’m sidelined. It’s not rational, but I find it less painful to lose real money than to miss out on a gain. FFOMO. Financial Fear Of Missing Out. From the Lancet: . . . What is so shocking, inhuman, and irrational about this draft opinion is that the Court is basing its decision on an 18th century document ignorant of 21st century realities for women. History and tradition can be respected, but they must only be partial guides. The law should be able to adapt to new and previously unanticipated challenges and predicaments. Although Alito gives an exhaustive legal history of abortion, he utterly fails to consider the health of women today who seek abortion. Unintended pregnancy and abortion are universal phenomena. Worldwide, around 120 million unintended pregnancies occur annually. Of these, three-fifths end in abortion. And of these, some 55% are estimated to be safe—that is, completed using a medically recommended method and performed by a trained provider. This leaves 33 million women undergoing unsafe abortions, their lives put at risk because laws restrict access to safe abortion services. . . . Ireland and Italy were great.