The "Digging" Report Q1 2003

March 31, 2003

My Personal "Mutual Fund" OTC:RASXX

Note: OTC means Over The Counter. The ticker symbol is fictitious; please don't ask your broker to buy it. In the rare event that such a ticker does exist please inform me at once, in order to change it. I don't want to mislead anyone.

The first quarter of the year was indeed rocky to say the least. It appears that this bear will continue for another year. By the middle of March the 2002 bottom was tested and it held. After a modest rebound that ended in the vicinity of the 200 day EMA (again), it looks like another test will be made. Meanwhile my own personal situation has deteriorated to the point that if the market were to finally turn around, I would not be able to fully participate. For the moment I must concentrate on staying alive, so to speak.

The freedometer ratio calculation will be changed to measure the percentage of the living expenses covered by portfolio income (at the 7% rate of withdrawal), rather than the old calculation based on current salary, since I no longer have a "guaranteed salary".

Performance as of 03/31/2003

NAV: 15.25

* Annualized compound return

The 1, 3, 5 and 10 year periods are counted backwards starting from the report date

Performance is before personal taxes. Maintenance and research costs (my personal time doing the accounting, trading and web publishing; time spent on the web and investment books) are not taken into consideration.

Freedometer ratio: 2.71%

Scale: 0-10 Worthless slave; 11-25 Rank and file; 26-40 Lowest level privileged; 41-75 Candidate for temporal release; 76-99 Almost free on parole; 100+ § A free person!

§ Unless you can't make ends meet with your present salary.

Quarter/Year to date

Since Inception

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