So back on Feb 27th I posted about my recent foray into the stock market. I started my portfolio with a single share of Google, and I’ve been adding other stock positions each week since.

If you recall, that Google share started things off rather poorly, almost immediately losing 15% of its value. Well, I’m happy to report that last week Google reported its quarterly earnings, and they were veddy veddy good. The stock price regained that 15% and a little extra, so now I’m in the black on Google. (And I have a stop-loss order in place so the stress on my heart won’t repeat if they drop again.)

I won’t bore you with the details, but I will share some numbers.

My hand-picked portfolio is up 7%.

My professionally run 401k is up 5.7%.

My ING savings account currently returns 3%.

This makes me happy. Sure, the market is a volatile she-devil and these numbers change daily, but that ratio has grown pretty steadily. And I’m not knocking the 401k performance in comparison to my personal picks (after all, I still chose the funds that make up my 401k), I just like the fact that my personal stock choices are proving my efforts worthwhile. Granted, I spend about four hours/week researching and evaluating the market, but most of that takes place during work… so I’m getting paid for my time.

My biggest winner so far is Apple (refuse to use their products, but love their stock!) I’m up 27% there, and I expect it to continue in both the short and long term. In an intentional bit of synchronicity, aside from being my biggest gainer, Apple is also the biggest percentage of my portfolio. They announce their last quarter earnings later this week, which I expect will give the stock another boost… so tomorrow I’ll be extending my position yet again.

An addiction? Perhaps. But I can stop anytime I want… I swear… just let me buy a few more shares…