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And, like I said, the product they were selling was not items that went out the door across the register. They were setting up stores that were doing almost no business. In fact I can take you to a huge Target not 5 miles from here that has had virtually NO CUSTOMERS for 6 years.

They were not selling products out of these new big boxes in the 90s but they WERE selling shares on Wall Street.

I knew a guy in the early 90s that quit the Navy in the early 90s after twelve years. Sailing around the world on his boat. I asked him once why he quit instead of finishing. He had been a backseat guy on carriers. He said in 12 years he had not spent a check. There was never opportunity. So he learned stocks. He said the year he realized he was making more from investment (a lot more) he quit. But I will never forget the advice he gave me. Never invest in a company you can not casually check up on fairly easily. Figure out so way to see for yourself. The example he gave me was oil companies. Every company will do whatever to paper over bad news. For oil companies the first corner to cut is housekeeping in the bathrooms. When the “books” say everything is fine but all of a sudden the bathrooms aren’ clean, get out.

So, remembering this, I got out of all my mutual funds when I got a bad feeling about just how thin the “90s good times” we’re coming to an end as BJ was being put out of DC. I missed a 40% correction. Entirely. I could see big boxes going up everywhere that we’re based on a business model that was NOT related to product sold but shares sold (Tulips, anyone). Hell, I am not even sure of the name, I think it was Frank’s Garden Center. They were everywhere all of a sudden. In 6 months they were all out of business. Frank got in, made a bundle selling shares, walked away rich, empty stores everywhere in his wake.

Yeah. When I see folks talking about the great 90s I realize PT Barnum was an optimist.