Fenders,
Absolutely agree with what you wrote. I started investing in and around the tech boom, well, a little before 1997/1998--my first investments was a kplan, opened a roth in 98 (I believe that was the year they came available due to Senator Roth?), an Exxon (b4Mobil) drip plan, and a I think an Ameritrade account for Paychex and some Janus Funds. At the time I thought it was amazing that I received dividends! Couldn't believe those first deposits! Sold Exxon and Paychex as a down payment on a fixer upper--good learning experience but I should have rented and enjoyed myself more because a fixer upper is a lot of endless work. Plus, keeping Exxon and Paychex would have been a better move, imho...Hindsight is truly 20/20. Then again, it did teach me valuable life lessons. The tech boom/bust destroyed whatever I had particularly my Janus funds--I panicked and sold locking in my losses creating an "x" amount of tax write offs. Paychex and Exxon was gone because I bought the house and my Kplan had so little there was nothing to do--when I think about it probably wasn't even 10k dollars that disappeared. Then again would you flush 10k in the toilet, right now? NO LOL. Built up my investments nicely between Vanguard (Roth), my kplan and one individual stock--Markel. Then the real estate bust happened, knew something wasn't right when bartenders I knew started selling real estate and were making crazy money...My golfing buddies and I would look at each other and say something is off in the world? It's like wait a minute? Bartenders and Barbers are supposed to have bookmaking and shylocking as a side business, or maybe, cutting hair or serving alcohol as the side business depending how one looks at it lol...not selling real estate!! Of course as the real estate bust happened I was hit with cancer and was on my deathbed--friends would call me and tell me to sell! SELL! It's NEVER COMING BACK!! Friends that had finance degrees, friends in the financial business--I told them what's the point, I'm sick, I'm just trying to live...I never looked at my investments--When I did look it went from 212 maybe 214k tops to 104K total....79k was in the kplan the rest in the Roth and Markel stock. The helping factor was even though I was sick, the kplan deductions were never changed and I was still buying during the downturn, the same with the Roth--it greatly benefited me buying dollar cost averaging all the way down to the bottom--even though I didn't know it at the time. I kept buying, eventually moving into a DGI based investor with anything outside the kplan. And that's where I sit today with what I have...it's a fact I have what I have because of that massive recession. When the market goes down, I tell my friends this is when we make money! Real money!! Last fall when my friends were getting nervous and a financial adviser I know was spending all his time on the phone talking people to back away from the cliff--(selling). I was buying...I'm a Bull by heart but I welcome the Bear, I want that Bear because the Bear is vicious, spitting snarling crazy unpredictable beast that no one wants to face but it happens, when it turns into the Bull hold on for the ride! If no Bear? Corrections work well too....And it doesn't matter, buying on the way down or on the way up--dollar cost averaging is a friend.
There are countless ways to invest and the only right way is the right one for you, the one you feel comfortable with doing....I tell people that all the time...When someone asks me, "I would like to invest, what's a good way to go about it?" I tell them, know yourself first, get to know you yourself inside and out, what's your fear level? I have so little fear of a downturn that a good friend tells me I'm sick...he'll call me on a bad market day, week, month or whatever cause he gloats when he knows when I'm losing money and I tell him I'm buying!! I tell him to buy!! Then he calls me sick in the head and hangs up.
And you're right--it's really hard to find something in this market. I can see it being this way for another two years or so. All my contributions/divis have been going in cash accounts.
I'm not afraid of the market going down, I'm not afraid of losing everything...I'm afraid of getting sick, I'm afraid of friends and loved ones getting sick cause that's bad, really bad. I've been there--in that bed, I've seen people die right next to me, I've rubbed my grandmothers head and told her it was okay when she passed away, I was helping changing my grandfathers diaper when the last gurgling noise came out and I said he died--the nurse said I was just talking to him!! I said he's gone--I put my hand on his chest and sat there until it went from warm to cold--he was gone. I've watched my mother take her last breath, her eyes go black then sink, my step-father asking her to come back, please come back, he cried, we all cried. Last year one of my best friends was goofying around with his daughter and said...wow I'm really thirsty all of sudden, walked to the fridge and fell over...the doctors said massive heart attack, most likely gone before he hit the ground. Never sick a day in his life. Gone.
Money doesn't mean much...does it make life easier? Yes
Investing for me has become my safe-space...when I'm stressed, bad day...sit down read about a company, do some research, it's black and white.
Plus, I don't do FB much....it's here and SA....this is my FB lol
Absolutely agree with what you wrote. I started investing in and around the tech boom, well, a little before 1997/1998--my first investments was a kplan, opened a roth in 98 (I believe that was the year they came available due to Senator Roth?), an Exxon (b4Mobil) drip plan, and a I think an Ameritrade account for Paychex and some Janus Funds. At the time I thought it was amazing that I received dividends! Couldn't believe those first deposits! Sold Exxon and Paychex as a down payment on a fixer upper--good learning experience but I should have rented and enjoyed myself more because a fixer upper is a lot of endless work. Plus, keeping Exxon and Paychex would have been a better move, imho...Hindsight is truly 20/20. Then again, it did teach me valuable life lessons. The tech boom/bust destroyed whatever I had particularly my Janus funds--I panicked and sold locking in my losses creating an "x" amount of tax write offs. Paychex and Exxon was gone because I bought the house and my Kplan had so little there was nothing to do--when I think about it probably wasn't even 10k dollars that disappeared. Then again would you flush 10k in the toilet, right now? NO LOL. Built up my investments nicely between Vanguard (Roth), my kplan and one individual stock--Markel. Then the real estate bust happened, knew something wasn't right when bartenders I knew started selling real estate and were making crazy money...My golfing buddies and I would look at each other and say something is off in the world? It's like wait a minute? Bartenders and Barbers are supposed to have bookmaking and shylocking as a side business, or maybe, cutting hair or serving alcohol as the side business depending how one looks at it lol...not selling real estate!! Of course as the real estate bust happened I was hit with cancer and was on my deathbed--friends would call me and tell me to sell! SELL! It's NEVER COMING BACK!! Friends that had finance degrees, friends in the financial business--I told them what's the point, I'm sick, I'm just trying to live...I never looked at my investments--When I did look it went from 212 maybe 214k tops to 104K total....79k was in the kplan the rest in the Roth and Markel stock. The helping factor was even though I was sick, the kplan deductions were never changed and I was still buying during the downturn, the same with the Roth--it greatly benefited me buying dollar cost averaging all the way down to the bottom--even though I didn't know it at the time. I kept buying, eventually moving into a DGI based investor with anything outside the kplan. And that's where I sit today with what I have...it's a fact I have what I have because of that massive recession. When the market goes down, I tell my friends this is when we make money! Real money!! Last fall when my friends were getting nervous and a financial adviser I know was spending all his time on the phone talking people to back away from the cliff--(selling). I was buying...I'm a Bull by heart but I welcome the Bear, I want that Bear because the Bear is vicious, spitting snarling crazy unpredictable beast that no one wants to face but it happens, when it turns into the Bull hold on for the ride! If no Bear? Corrections work well too....And it doesn't matter, buying on the way down or on the way up--dollar cost averaging is a friend.
There are countless ways to invest and the only right way is the right one for you, the one you feel comfortable with doing....I tell people that all the time...When someone asks me, "I would like to invest, what's a good way to go about it?" I tell them, know yourself first, get to know you yourself inside and out, what's your fear level? I have so little fear of a downturn that a good friend tells me I'm sick...he'll call me on a bad market day, week, month or whatever cause he gloats when he knows when I'm losing money and I tell him I'm buying!! I tell him to buy!! Then he calls me sick in the head and hangs up.
And you're right--it's really hard to find something in this market. I can see it being this way for another two years or so. All my contributions/divis have been going in cash accounts.
I'm not afraid of the market going down, I'm not afraid of losing everything...I'm afraid of getting sick, I'm afraid of friends and loved ones getting sick cause that's bad, really bad. I've been there--in that bed, I've seen people die right next to me, I've rubbed my grandmothers head and told her it was okay when she passed away, I was helping changing my grandfathers diaper when the last gurgling noise came out and I said he died--the nurse said I was just talking to him!! I said he's gone--I put my hand on his chest and sat there until it went from warm to cold--he was gone. I've watched my mother take her last breath, her eyes go black then sink, my step-father asking her to come back, please come back, he cried, we all cried. Last year one of my best friends was goofying around with his daughter and said...wow I'm really thirsty all of sudden, walked to the fridge and fell over...the doctors said massive heart attack, most likely gone before he hit the ground. Never sick a day in his life. Gone.
Money doesn't mean much...does it make life easier? Yes
Investing for me has become my safe-space...when I'm stressed, bad day...sit down read about a company, do some research, it's black and white.
Plus, I don't do FB much....it's here and SA....this is my FB lol