Here's How! (all of the following was written in 2000, so may be outdated in some areas)
Investing On-The-Road
What's the problem? I'm traveling in my RV, I've got my money in mutual funds, I call my broker's toll-free 800 number to check every month or two to see how they're doing, and I watch the news to see how the market is doing. So what's the big secret?
If this describes you, there's no need to read on. If you're an active investor (e.g., like to trade 2-3 times a week or more), you need to keep a closer eye on the markets and on your stock in particular. If you can get online easily, just use the techniques I described on my Invest Online page and whatever else you prefer. If getting online while traveling is a problem, check out my Online On-The-Road page for my tips on ways to get online. If that fails, the tips below describe methods I've found for keeping up with the market and my investments when I can't get to the Internet.
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I mentioned this on the Invest Online page, but here it is again. The best non-Internet source I've found for uptodate market information is the CNBC channel. If you're camping where they've got cable, plug in and tune in to CNBC. They start early in the morning telling you what's happened overnight, how the market's going to act when it first opens, major ups and downs to expect from specific stocks and the reasons why, and significant events to watch for during the day and beyond. As the day progresses, they feature interviews with key market experts, notification of any positive or negative trends, and minute-by-minute status of the world's markets. CNBC has been one of my best guides on buys and sells when I can't easily get online. Click on the CNBC logo on the right to get more info about them.
So you're hooked up to cable and watching market action on CNBC -- but you want the specific quotes on stocks you own. If you can't get to the internet, let's hope you're signed up with a brokerage firm that offers quotes over their toll-free number. Most of the major brokers that I'm familiar with offer several options -- you can call in and ask for quotes on specific stocks, you can get a qoute for all the stocks you own with a single punch of the phone button, or you can input a list of other stocks in which you're interested and then access it with a single phone button. What's more, most payphones don't charge you for toll-free calls (yes, some do charge). When I'm in the wilderness with no ready Internet access, but with a payphone nearby, I simply pull up my lawnchair, call my broker's 800 number, and get my list of stock quotes. On very active days, I might do this 4-5 times a day to make sure I don't get any bad surprises. If things get really hectic, trades can be made on the phone, although I really object to the fees charged for doing trades in any way other than the Internet.
Well, that's about it for tips. Nothing really earth-shaking, I guess. The bottom line is that you're obviously better off if you can figure out a way to get to the Internet. As I come up with more tips, I'll add them in here. If you've got anything to add, feel free to put an entry into my Guest Book.
2013 Update: All below is still fairly well true regarding the value of CNBC, but obviously doesn't consider the fact that most travelers now have cell phones and can contact their brokers most anytime. Beyond that, smart phones and others with internet service pretty much make most of the info below obsolete.
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