The headlines of the advertisement tell us there is a 4 day sale or 2 day sale or limited time offer. We are interested. We read the ad, and sometimes even act on it or want to act on it. Was it a good sale? at least one item was a great buy, the others which the store hoped we also bought, likely no better or no worse than a store we would normally shop at. The sales people and advertisers know we become very interested in the words of limited time offer. It makes us think we are special (we are), the company is lowering its margins to allow us to save money by not spending as much money and that is a good thing. The margins being referred to are every firm has a cost and then they add their margins. When the sale is on, the sale is on their margins, not the entire price of the item. An example is 3.00 cost, 100 % markup = 6 retail. Sale is 50% off which means 3.00 cost plus 50% markup = 4.50 retail.

Linking to dividend producing stocks, the opposite of limited time offer is the advantage. If you own the shares, the company paying the dividends deposits the money into your account. There is no limited time offer, but an expected dividend payment every year. Over time as the company continues to earn money, through continued dividend payments, the stock price rises. In the short run fluctuations happen, in the long run, more money is in your account.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions