Jump to content

I'm Baaaaaaack !

A2

By A2
in Charlotte Coffee House

Recommended Posts

Eastman Whistle-Stop

Eastman

Posted
Posted

Thank you for the reply. I have an opportunity in the near future to actually pay off my home, I don't know, something about driving up to it and telling Wells Fargo you don't own this seems attractive, but the stock market was always calling. My dad, who is 86, never believed in the market, owned his home and paid cash for cars. new ones. I thought he was crazy. He seems pretty smart right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 39
  • Created
  • Last Reply
A2 Town

A2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

^That will depend a lot on your age, income, debt, etc. You can't control what happens but you can control how it might affect you.

Generally I've always subscribed to the theory of having as little personal debt as possible, preferably none. This goes counter to a great deal advice that you hear, but it has worked very well for me. The 3 most common things you hear are:

  1. Buy as much house as can possibly afford. That doesn't sound like such good advice now in these days of declining prices, does it?

  2. A big mortgage means big tax deduction. Huh? You are spending a $1 to get back 30-40 cents from the government.

  3. Don't pay your house off, invest the money. What investment returns, tax free, the rate you pay in interest on a mortgage? I would rather have no payment rather than to worry about the stock market.

The people who tell you these things have never experienced the freedom of no debt or they are trying to sell you some debt. Never carry a balance on revolving credit. Its a license for the banks to rob you. If you have to borrow for a car, that is understandable. Pay it off as fast as possible, then keep putting that car payment in savings. Don't get rid of your paid for car until you can pay cash for the next one. Maybe you won't be so fast to do it. Going in and plunking down $60,000 cash for that new Mercedes is quite different than signing up for a monthly payment on a 5 year loan for one. (or even worse, a lease) It's the difference in understanding what you need versus what you want.

Don't gamble on the day to day goings on of the stock market or individual stocks. You will eventually get your ass handed to you. If you have time, take the long approach, open an index fund and put money in it periodically and don't mess with it based on events of today. Instead, ask the question, what is going to happen to this money over the next 5-10 years. Shorter than this, don't invest it. Also, don't do this until you have paid off all debt. The one exception is if you get a matching 401k fund from your employer. At put in enough to max out their match.

Nursing is a very good field to be in these days. Getting an advanced nursing degree even more so. Nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, etc are in very high demand and make good wages. I expect demand to rise as more and more providers shift work off doctors to save money.

You didn't say what field you are in, but always be prepared to get the news that you might be redundant. I can't stress how important it is to be flexible and to continue to educate yourself a much as possible. You never know when some obscure skill you picked up might be something that is useful to yourself or someone else. My formal education is in electrical engineering, but I have done a multitude of things having nothing to do with that since I got my degree and that also has worked very well for me. I will say that it is probably not a good time to be working at the banks right now. 20 years ago, it was not a good time to be working in the technology field (pre-internet) and hundreds of 1000s got laid off. So I moved on, changed what I did and even authored a patent in basic internet technology when that started becoming important in the mid 90s. This in a field that basically didn't exist when I entered the workforce a decade earlier. The point is that people get through these things and move on. It will be that way for bankers too.

Finally I will add that because you can't control what will happen to business, the economy, etc. try not to worry about it especially what might happen. Focus on the moment and the present for yourself and your family. I know that might or might not answer your question, but this is my current philosophy on things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
A2 Town

A2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Just an FYI for those of you who might be trading these wild swings in the market. Expect a Bounce on the S&P to about the 1120 area. We could even see a spike to as high as 1160-1180 ish. However, DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR A NEW BULL. This will be a corrective bounce only. At this point one would be wise to recoup any losses by selling those stocks that you have been wanting to unload at that time. The time frame should be well before year's end when this target is met.

IF, and this is a BIG IF, this rally does not materialize the floor on the S&P to watch is 840. If that snaps say hello to 777 (Old lows set in 2002). If that snaps then, well.....

lookout,

B

E

L

O

W ............... :cry:

A2

(ps---I know all of this has been a bit off topic from the usual things discussed here on UP, but my thoughts are that Development goes hand in hand with the general markets and the Economy, so that is why it is helpful to have an outlet like UP to discuss the ailing Economy and the future impacts of what it can and will do to our beloved Urban Centers.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 months later...
monsoon Gigalopolis

monsoon

Posted
Posted

Nice to see you back again A2. As for scorn, I completely understand what you are talking about. :)

This economy isn't going to recover anytime soon because they have yet to address the real problem with real solutions. I laugh at the notion that we can borrow enough money to fix a problem that was caused by too much borrowing. Is there no common sense anymore?

I applaud your advice as I do think stocks will eventually rise again. And your advice on following the crowds is correct. I pulled out of the market last Feb/March. Not perfect timing, but getting out when the S&P was 1300+ is a hell of a lot better than getting out at 800. My rational was that oil prices were going to be the straw that broke the camel's back, and it did. When I made this decision I was told I was crazy. Now the rivers are flowing with crocodile tears.

I am curious on where you got your break points for getting back into the market. I would also add that for anyone that doesn't have balls made of titanium, make sure you have a 10+ year position on this money.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
A2 Town

A2

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Nice to see you back again A2. As for scorn, I completely understand what you are talking about. :)

I am curious on where you got your break points for getting back into the market. I would also add that for anyone that doesn't have balls made of titanium, make sure you have a 10+ year position on this money.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bynocerus Unincorporated Area

Bynocerus

Posted
Posted

Is mounting debt a problem? Yes. Are we BANKRUPT as a nation? Hardly. As a % of GDP, we're nowhere near the Japanese - at 180% - or the UK, a country with a national debt over three times as large as its annual output.

As for a currency crisis, if everyone is singing out of the same hymnal via paper money, I'd prefer my songs be printed on dollars thank you very much. Doesn't mean the entire system can't collapse, but if the dollar collapses, we'll be trading each other two cows for five pigs or paying each other in local scrip anyway and it won't matter. Oh, and if you think gold is a refuge under such a scenario, read a little history; Roman nobles found dead in homes stacked with gold bars following the Empire's collapse should be a clue, as gold is intrinsically worthless unless you're building spaceship parts or high-end electronics. As an inflation hedge? Sure, but hyper-inflation in the USA would literally be the end of Western Civilization.

President Obama would be wise to take the reigns sooner than later (fiscal policy, restrictive or expansive, is immediately and completely ineffective as a method for impacting consumption under floating exchange rates unless and only if that policy is designed to maintain infrastructure or improve productivity vis-a-vis technology. In other words, the tax cuts in the stimulus bill are great political theatre but useless economically, as are any projects that do not have the stated purpose of keeping states afloat, keeping infrastructure in tact or building a green economy), and the crap sandwich we've all taken a bite out of is very real and very big. But, that doesn't mean we're Zimbabwe or Weimar Germany just yet.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to stocking my pantry. Just because a currency crisis is unlikely doesn't mean I won't need those cans of tuna to keep my intarwebs on in a few months ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.