Wednesday market watch

Once again, Diamond Offshore (DO) gained today, as did Joy Global (JOYG), Oilsands Quest (BQI), Xanser (XNR), and J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM). Only Altria (MO), and our two airlines, American (AMR) and Southwest (LUV) lost on the day.

On average, our stocks went up 1.15% today.

Wednesday

Today, I went to Wal-Mart to buy a newspaper, Subway for lunch, a gas station to buy gas, and Wal-Mart again to buy dinner.

Spare change collected today: 5 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel, 6 pennies.

Total spare change collected: $1.46

Add in $1 for the day, and the total for Wednesday is: $2.46

Total collected overall so far: $25.29

Tuesday market watch

Today, Joy Global (JOYG) and Oilsands Quest (BQI) made small improvements. Southwest Airlines (LUV) experienced no change at all. American Airlines (AMR) took a hit, but Diamond Offshore (DO) recovered nicely from their fall yesterday. On average, our stocks went up .98% today.

Tuesday

Today, I went to Wal-Mart to buy a newspaper, some candy for my co-workers, and lunch.

Spare change collected today: 3 quarters, 3 dimes, 1 nickel, 3 pennies.

Total spare change collected: $1.13

Add in $1 for the day, and the total for Tuesday is: $2.13

Total collected overall so far: $22.83

Monday stock watching

As you can see, we added two new stocks to our watch, American Airlines (AMR) and Microsoft (MSFT). I am looking to add a little diversity to the portfolio, while adding two stocks that have been popular choices as of late.

AMR did particularly well today, gaining 3.64 percent. They were the big winner today, while Oilsands Quest (BQI) and Joy Global (JOYG) continue to disappoint.

Monday

I went to work today, stopping at Wal-Mart for a newspaper and a quart of oil for my Jeep, then went to Subway for lunch later.

Spare change collected today: $1.50

Add in $1 for the day, and total collected for today: $2.50

Total collected overall so far: $20.70

Sunday

I went to work today, bought the Sunday edition of the paper at Wal-Mart, and stopped by KFC for a snack on the way home.

Spare change collected today: 5 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel, 3 pennies.

Total spare change collected: $1.43

Add in $1, and our total for Sunday is: $2.43

This brings our 7-day total to: $18.20

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Today, I went to the DFW Coaches Clinic (http://coachesclinic.net), and had my car inspection renewed.

Spare change collected today: 4 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel.

Total spare change collected: $1.15

Add in $1, and our total for Saturday is: $2.15

This brings our total for the week to: $15.77

Friday, January 26, 2007

Today in the market, among my picks, it looks like only Oilsands Quest (BQI) and Altria Group (MO) did well.
The Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) and Standard & Poor 500 (GSPC) both took a hit, too, so our results are not atypical.

Today, I went by Wal-Mart for a newspaper, and Subway for lunch.
Total spare change for the day: 5 quarters, 1 dime, 2 nickels, 5 pennies.

That brings my total for the day to $1.50.
Add in $1 for the day, and our total for Friday is $2.50.

This brings our total for the week to: $13.62

January 25, 2007

I went by Wal-Mart to buy a newspaper, and went to Whataburger for dinner. Total spare change for the day: 4 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel, 2 pennies. That brings my total to $1.17.

Add in $1 for the day, and our total is $2.17.

This brings our total for this week so far to: $11.12

As the chart above shows, both Oilsands Quest (BQI, down 0.32) and Xanser (XNR, down .04 ) took a hit today. That's okay, we're looking at this for the long haul, not the short term.

This is my first spare change count. I'm combining all of my spare change together for this week so far, with $1 added in for each day.

Spare change collected Monday, January 22 and Tuesday, January 23, 2007: $4.81
Add in $2, $1 for each day, and you have a total of $6.81

Yesterday, January 24, 2007, I went by Wal-Mart to buy a newspaper, and Subway for lunch, so spare change collected is $1.14

Add in $1 for Wednesday, and you have $2.14

This brings my weekly total so far to: $8.95

Hey, I already have enough to buy a share of Xanser (XNR), currently trading at 5.68 or Oilsands Quest (BQI), trading at 5.27 (assuming we ignore the trade fee).

I'm well on my way .

Howdy and Welcome

Hello, all new visitors. Welcome to the From Spare Change to Stock blog. The purpose of this blog is simple: to track my collection of spare change each day, and to take that spare change and invest it each month in stock. I will then track the stocks I buy, to watch my investment grow. I think it will be both an educational and fun experience.
I came up with the idea for this blog after seeing Change Is Good (http://www.changequest.blogspot.com/), a simple blog about finding and collecting loose change. In this blog, I'm going to expound on that idea, keeping a running tally of all the spare change I come home with each day, and then using it eventually to buy stock.
I think just about everyone drops their spare change in a jar or plate or bowl after arriving home from work; I have a change dish on my bureau for this very purpose. I'm just going to take my spare change, add $1 to my total each day (so I get a nice round number, and so my tally grows quickly), add it all up until the end of the month, then buy some stock with it.
I'm already keeping my eye on a few stocks I'm considering: Xanser (XNR ), Oilsands Quest (BQI ), Diamond Offshore (DO ), Altria Group ( MO ), Joy Global, Inc ( JOYG ), Apple, Inc( AAPL ), and Southwest Airlines ( LUV ). I think these stocks will give me a diverse portfolio, with a clear emphasis on energy, but transportation and technology mixed in.