Stock market | Forum
Admin Marisa
Sep 19 '15
Anybody into investments here? Where are we heading, another major bear market since financial crisis of 2008? The stock market looks so unhealthy now... Overreacting on every piece of news, bad or good.. Looks scary to invest an extra penny now... What do you think? Another bear market started or just a correction?
Moderator billyHill
Sep 19 '15
I trust absolutely nothing on paper, Marisa. Admittedly I do have several 401K accounts from employers, but I do not "play the market" directly.
Back in 2008 I watched my 401K accounts dwindle to nearly nothing.... the fact is I had put in 4 to 10 times the amount of money I wound up with ( not including my employer's matching contributions), and I just felt like I had been robbed.
What made it even worse was the fact that the banks were "bailed out" to keep them from falling flat and redlining to death, but I never saw one bit of that "bail out" reimbursed to any of my accounts.
If I did the math today, I might have broken even compared to the money that I was robbed of back in 2008. But in all honesty, I don't want to do the math for fear of the result. Some of those plans I have are looking very good on paper ( keyword is paper), but trusting those #'s is impossible for me to do.
I am locked into these 401K plans until I reach age 60 something, or else I pay penalties and taxes on them. I've resolved myself just to not even worry about them until that age starts to get close.
I also have one Roth IRA account. I don't recall which financial adviser I used to set it up, but it is doing remarkably well. It works very similarly to the 401K's, except I personally put the money in it after it was taxed. Therefore, I can pull money from it anytime I want with no fear of penalties or taxes.
Sorry I can't speak for the market itself. that is as close as I can get to it.... but the fact is the companies that run the retirement plans are the ones that invest my money into the stock market based on my goals of low, medium, or high risk asset management.
If I can add one more thing.... My momma always told me that after I had "extra" money, I could go ahead and gamble it ( like casino's, the stock market, business investments, etc)... and I have yet to find and "extra" money in my life. I've had more, but never extra... My momma taught me some valuable lessons in life, and I love her for them.
Back in 2008 I watched my 401K accounts dwindle to nearly nothing.... the fact is I had put in 4 to 10 times the amount of money I wound up with ( not including my employer's matching contributions), and I just felt like I had been robbed.
What made it even worse was the fact that the banks were "bailed out" to keep them from falling flat and redlining to death, but I never saw one bit of that "bail out" reimbursed to any of my accounts.
If I did the math today, I might have broken even compared to the money that I was robbed of back in 2008. But in all honesty, I don't want to do the math for fear of the result. Some of those plans I have are looking very good on paper ( keyword is paper), but trusting those #'s is impossible for me to do.
I am locked into these 401K plans until I reach age 60 something, or else I pay penalties and taxes on them. I've resolved myself just to not even worry about them until that age starts to get close.
I also have one Roth IRA account. I don't recall which financial adviser I used to set it up, but it is doing remarkably well. It works very similarly to the 401K's, except I personally put the money in it after it was taxed. Therefore, I can pull money from it anytime I want with no fear of penalties or taxes.
Sorry I can't speak for the market itself. that is as close as I can get to it.... but the fact is the companies that run the retirement plans are the ones that invest my money into the stock market based on my goals of low, medium, or high risk asset management.
If I can add one more thing.... My momma always told me that after I had "extra" money, I could go ahead and gamble it ( like casino's, the stock market, business investments, etc)... and I have yet to find and "extra" money in my life. I've had more, but never extra... My momma taught me some valuable lessons in life, and I love her for them.
Admin Marisa
Sep 19 '15
Yeah, I also have Roth IRA, but no 401K as I am self-employed. I am sure your 401K rebounded back nicely since 2008, there has been a huge 6-year rally in stocks and I am sure you broke even since then and are now pretty much ahead. 
I wished I was in game back in March 2009, the good stocks were selling for peanuts, that was a life-time buying opportunity. Maybe those of us who missed the boat in 2009 will have a second chance now, who knows?
Moderator billyHill
Sep 19 '15
yeah, the keywords there are good stocks. Apple was a great one to buy into back then.... but who can predict the future?? a marabout?? an Orisha?? Witch doctor?? Psychic?? Shaman?? ( you get where I'm going, right? )
I was always told with the exception of natural disasters, real estate would always go up in value..... so if a natural disaster did happen, it was wise to buy in that area depending on the sale price of the land.
but a few years ago the housing market artificially inflated, and when it was proven that all of the demand created by the people that really could not afford the houses they wanted all went into foreclosure, that bubble burst.... making a second ( and never considered) exception to the rule.
I'm sure the similar principles applies to stocks, I just don't know enough about them to make educated decisions. That is why I hired financial advisors that know more than I do.
While I get the feeling you are not one to be scammed
.... the SEC does put out a couple of near worthlessly worded documents on the subject.
https://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/fraudsurvivor.htm
https://www.sec.gov/investor/online.shtml
my dad was into stocks big time.... and when I was on the east coast near him I would consult him about stuff like that. I think he gave me great direction, but he also knew how to do research.
He always said the time to buy is when they are low.... but to me, how can you predict if it will go lower ( possibly to zero), or go up in value??? He did very well with his decisions. so whatever his research tools were, they paid off. He read the WSJ every day and it was delivered to the house... he spent hours in that newspaper every single day it was published ( this was 20 or more years ago now)....
I was always told with the exception of natural disasters, real estate would always go up in value..... so if a natural disaster did happen, it was wise to buy in that area depending on the sale price of the land.
but a few years ago the housing market artificially inflated, and when it was proven that all of the demand created by the people that really could not afford the houses they wanted all went into foreclosure, that bubble burst.... making a second ( and never considered) exception to the rule.
I'm sure the similar principles applies to stocks, I just don't know enough about them to make educated decisions. That is why I hired financial advisors that know more than I do.
While I get the feeling you are not one to be scammed
.... the SEC does put out a couple of near worthlessly worded documents on the subject. https://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/fraudsurvivor.htm
https://www.sec.gov/investor/online.shtml
my dad was into stocks big time.... and when I was on the east coast near him I would consult him about stuff like that. I think he gave me great direction, but he also knew how to do research.
He always said the time to buy is when they are low.... but to me, how can you predict if it will go lower ( possibly to zero), or go up in value??? He did very well with his decisions. so whatever his research tools were, they paid off. He read the WSJ every day and it was delivered to the house... he spent hours in that newspaper every single day it was published ( this was 20 or more years ago now)....
The Forum post is edited by billyHill Sep 19 '15
Admin Marisa
Sep 19 '15
you cannot predict when they hit the bottom, but at least you don't buy at the top, you buy when they are trading at discount. It is just like shopping for anything else. You wait until stuff goes on sale. Of course you never now, maybe later the sale will be better, or even clearance, but at least you know you got it cheaper than a regular price. If you buy an overpriced stock, it will take longer for it to rebounce after market crashes. Might take years. But if you buy at discount, even if it goes down more, it will still rebounce faster. And it WILL rebounce sooner or later, just like houses did. I bet that's what your Dad meant.
The good quality stocks always bounce back. In the long run you will always win. Just as with real estate, but real estate is more hassle to buy and sell. Of course there is always a chance that Google or Apple or Mobil or Walmart will go out of business, but the chances of it happening in the near future are slim, tbh.
Moderator spectrumAU
Sep 29 '15
I dabble in both. Many years ago, during the dot com era I was well into the share market and made quite a bit... as did many others. Then in more recent years we had the crash. I couldn't sell, they had gone too low. Some of those I still have as they haven't even yet come back to break point.
The Australian share market is now looking healthier than it has for years and I'm starting to get interested again. I have some of the reliable stocks and will look at the speculative ones as well, after all, that's where you can get the nice bonus if you just take a chance. Of course, you only take a chance with money that is not going to break the bank if the stock goes the wrong way. 
Income producing real estate is good. Housing is becoming unaffordable for many people and more and more are turning to renting which means a constant flow of income for landlords. You don't have to buy anything fancy, just a small flat in a very good transport corridor will make it attractive to low income renters.
Admin Marisa
Sep 30 '15
Could be the right time to look into stocks, Louise. The market keeps falling. I already have a list of what I want to buy, but too scary to jump into it right now. Real estate is also great, but being a coach potato for me stocks are simply an easier investment. Too bad I cannot click on a real estate online and "Add to the shopping basket". 
Admin Marisa
Nov 19 '15
Today was IPO of Match group, the company that owns most popular dating sites, like Match.com, Chemistry, Okcupid, Tinder, Meetic, Twoo, and their most recent acquisition, PlentyofFish, which they bought in July for $575 millions. The shares were initially offered at $12 per share. but went up over 20% during the day, right now the price is $14.33, but NASDAQ is still open as of this writing.
Of course it doesn't mean that their stock will keep going up, it might drop tomorrow, you never know. But if you have a firm believe in the dating industry overall in the long run (I do!! at least scammers will not let it die LOL), this might be a smart move to invest in Match group. Especially providing that it is very rare for a dating company to go public.
Number1
Nov 20 '15
My Brother in-law says that gold and silver are going to jump soon. Just make sure you have the metal in your hands. Not paper gold. and don't put it in a safety deposit box.
Admin Marisa
Nov 21 '15
Sure, gold and silver will go up one day, especially if the bear market in stocks starts, but I don't think it hit the bottom yet, with the Fed raising interest rates in December it might go even lower. But I could be wrong.
Number1
Nov 22 '15
It might go lower. It's not far from cost of production right now. ( I think, not real sure tho ) If I buy metals it won't be for the long haul. I'll sell when it jumps like it did last time. I haven't bought any yet, kinda like you, waiting to see if they drop any more.
