Monkeymama's entry made me realize that I did a year-end update, but didn't update my monthly in NetworthIQ.

Wow, I'm actually shocked, but my December turned out to be a pretty substantial jump. The stock market staged a rather nice relief rally recently, but the overall trading volume has been so low that I frankly can't take it seriously. Individual investors have been scared away, and institutional has been on vacation. I am bracing myself for a January slaughter, and I recommend others to do the same.

This light trading is also the reason why I haven't touched stock trading at all in the last month. I just went straight into hibernation. That and I just didn't want to be involved in the automaker bailout, although hindsight being 20/20, there was a point where I felt relatively confident that they were going to get bailed. In retrospect, I should have played that. I shouldn't let my personal opinions in the matter cloud my trades. But then, it wasn't a bad idea to stay out at this point anyway.

Speaking of stock trading, I was watching Jim Cramer's Mad Money on MSNBC not too long ago, and he was talking about how it might not be a bad thing to do a little bit of speculation on the side. It keeps you interested, motivated, learning the market and the economy at large, and frankly, that's not a bad thing so long as you do it with money you can afford to lose.

You know what? I fully agree with him! So long as you're not betting the farm or even your retirement, a little bit of cat and mouse wouldn't hurt.

But again, I'm also in no rush. I want to see how January turns out. I am beginning to learn that it's not the quantity of trades that matter, but the quality of the trades. After all, it's better to made a few good calls rather than several bad ones, especially when you factor in trading fees. But don't worry Jim (Cramer)! I'm still in the game! 2009 is a whole new year for me to lose Mad Money! Heh.