Dealraker, I do not have cash. Yesterday morning we (bride and I) had 1.5% of our portfolio in cash by last night we have less than .2% in cash (bought DG).

Our cash comes in during the year via our business income and dividend income. We put that to work to buy either existing portfolio holdings or something new. My post yesterday probably was written poorly and missed what I was trying to convey. What I was trying to convey is there are few really good, high quality companies selling at attractive valuations to my eye. The other side of the comment was there are so many companies stumbling forward. Not quite zombie, but not attractive.

In the meantime, I continue to do research to become aware of companies with compelling long-term dynamics. It is a luxury I can afford. The following may sound like a contradictory statement: We put our 1.5% cash to work yesterday buying DG. DG is a big company and at some point it will be at the top of its life cycle S-Curve. For now, it is still attractive at yesterday's valuation. As cash comes in, we deploy into worthy value situations as for example, happened to banks back in the spring when we bought EWBC.

I am perpetually researching Value Line, podcasts, periodicals for small to large companies worthy of future investment. It is part hobby, part long-time investor mentality. I may go years before finding a potential big position to take. When I do, we compare our existing positions to the new potential big position and if the new potential position grades out better for the long haul, we sell the older position(s) and buy the new position(s). Again, we may go years before coming across that opportunity. The last time we did this in a big way was 2020 when we sold older appreciated positions and bought into oil related positions. The world was offering outstanding valuations in the petroleum space.

I admire Buffett's viewing of return on original investment when speaking of Coca Cola and other long-term holdings. It has helped us understand holding on to our positions for a long time. Some of our holdings are now paying more than 20% of the original investment in annual dividend income. When viewing our portfolio, the focus is on the health and long-term viability of each company. If there is a looming threat of long-term consequence to a company, we trim that position. If not, we continue to hold because of the tax aspects and to also continue harvesting dividend income.

Berkshire has been our center core holding for 25 years. We don't sell it. We gift it to our children and grandchild. We it gets cheap, we buy more Berkshire.

Thanks for your comments, Dealraker. I appreciate your feedback.

Uwharrie