Money Panel: Thomas Blackburn 74, retired, Tampa

By FRED W. WRIGHT
Published July 30, 2006

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How did you get started in investing?

I got started mainly in real estate, buying a couple of houses and renting them out. In 1973.

What is your best investment?

Other than my home and real estate properties, Canadian oil and natural gas stocks.

What is your worst investment?

There was a stock I bought way back - a real estate investment trust. I bought it for $5 a share and sold it for less than $1.

What have you learned about investment that you think all investors should know?

I've never had much luck buying and selling stocks, even when stocks were going up so much.

How would you describe your approach to investing?

Conservative. I'm not a gambler.

What do you find the most difficult about investing?

Keeping track of things. Sometimes, I wouldn't see the price of stock for a long time. Then I'd see the price and think the stock must have split, only you find it didn't split. It just went down.

How are you invested?

Largely oil and gas royalties. About one-third of my investments are in one stock, a preferred stock paying almost 8 percent dividend.

What changes have you made in your investments in the past year?

I sold a lot of stock, mostly oil and gas royalties - not for investment purposes but because my kids wanted to borrow some money from me.

Do you think now is a good time to invest?

I never think any particular time is very good or very bad. I'm always cautious.

What is your goal for your investing?

To have enough money ... so my wife and I can live a life without being short of funds.

What is your biggest money concern?

I worry about the huge deficits that the president and Congress are running and wasting money on an unwinnable war.

Where do you get your investment tips?

I take the Wall Street Journal. I take BusinessWeek. I use Stocktrade.com.